Long before I ever set foot in the Cederberg Mountains, Bushman’s Kloof had already taken hold of my imagination. I remember seeing a photograph years ago — a dinner table floating in the middle of a still lake, bathed in candlelight, reflections dancing on the water like stars. Since that moment, I promised myself that one day I would go there.
When I finally did, exactly four years to the day I threw that wish out into the Universe, it felt like I had stepped quietly into a dream I had once glimpsed. Perched tall amidst the vast expanse of the scenery of the Cederberg,
Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve and Wellness Retreat is not a place that dazzles all at once. It reveals itself slowly, layer by layer, in gestures of beauty and stillness. Just under five hours by car from Cape Town, we took the coastal road heading west for Namibia and stayed for several nights in a lovely apartment by the sea. Those happy days of walking by the water, picking shellfish for dinner, were the perfect prelude. They slowed our rhythm, prepared our senses, and made the eventual arrival at Bushmans Kloof feel all the more like stepping into another world.
⸻
BUSHMAN’S KLOOF: A BEAUTIFUL WORLD
When you finally arrive at Bushman’s Kloof, the air feels different. Somehow, it’s lighter and the light deepens into a thousand shades of amber. The aesthetic perfection of the gardens and the grounds does wonders for the senses. Moreover, every moment is beautifully curated — as if invisible hands had arranged the details of each day. Whether it was lunch at the main dining room, where the menu brimmed with dishes personally selected by the owners, or an evening at Cederberg House, the villa where we stayed, everything carried the mark of thoughtful design and quiet passion.
Cederberg House itself was more like the country home of a friend with exquisite taste. It was an exquisite Cape Dutch house with contemporary chintz interiors, terraces that opened up to a private swimming pol, and shelves lined with the kind of assortment of books I love.
“The interiors, the art, even many of the books here were chosen by the owners themselves,” said Martin, as he led us through the living room to the private gardens. Indeed, I could sense how every room was thoughtfully arranged just like in one’s home.
The inspiration for La Esperanza Granada in Spain
Bushman’s Kloof is a luxury safari lodge with so much to do. However the first thing on my mind was rest. I settled into my suite, admired the view, and ensconced myself in a lounge chair by my private pool to paint a watercolor scene of our perfect little world. Nothing else mattered in the golden light of that afternoon, with dramatic hills all around that seemed to hum.
It was exactly here at Bushman’s Kloof, too, that I began to think about owning a property amidst incredible nature. The seed and inspiration for what would one day become La Esperanza Granada, my own hacienda in the Andalusian hills, was planted here. The way Bushmans Kloof balanced wild nature with cultivated beauty, and how it made guests feel both part of the landscape and gently removed from the world, left an imprint on me that has never faded. And now it has resulted in a hacienda of my own.
“OUT OF AFRICA,” THE SAFARI LODGE
The lodge offers two restaurants, a bar, and endless ways to dine in quiet extravagance. Truly, every moment was curated so well that I felt I was starring in my own movie.
One night, we drove thirty minutes through complete darkness to a 100-year-old shepherd’s cottage, where dinner was cooked and served entirely by candlelight. “Surprise,” Rory, then the general manager, said, about our little excursion into darkness. But, as with the rythmn of the days, after darkness comes light. Or, in this case, candles placed like a mural all over the ancient cottage. The room flickered and glowed, and the chef’s bread pudding cooked completely over open fire tasted of nostalgia and warmth.
If we were seeking an evening worth 100 candles (we counted) and a thousand Instagram photos, well, this was it.
Another evening, we dined in the walled garden, where tables are set among lantern-lit trees. I was told that on New Year’s Eve, the garden transforms into a glowing corridor of long tables and swaying lights — an atmosphere that feels both celebratory and serene. That night, it was just us and lanterns hanging from the trees.
⸻
FINDING THE PERFECT BALANCE
Bushmans Kloof occupies a delicate space between wilderness and wellness. It’s a place where days unfold gently. Guests return not for grand safaris, but to walk, breathe, and rediscover stillness. One of my favorite activities involved lying on a rock in an outdoor terrace while Stephanie, a yoga instructor and wellness healer, used a Tibetan brass bowl to tune my frequencies.
“We have guests who come back every year, and all they love to do is walk and sit in the gardens,” said Rory, whose calm presence seemed part of the landscape itself. One night, he took us stargazing in a 4×4 to find the Southern Cross. Instead we found a scorpion, made visible via special equipment. It was oddly beautiful — the kind of detail that makes a trip unforgettable.
The wildlife here may not include the Big Five, but it offers a subtler and more personal discovery of animals. The delicate Cape fox, with its silvery coat, is rarely spotted elsewhere. Meanwhile, the Cape mountain zebra, smaller and more compact than others, its stripes drawn as sharply as brushstrokes, can only be seen in these parts.
⸻
TRACES OF TIME IN STONE
The soul of Bushmans Kloof lies in its connection to the ancient past. Scattered across the reserve are rock paintings by the San people, some dating back more than 10,000 years.
One morning, our guide Martin led us into a narrow ravine to see one of the most remarkable sites on the property. We climbed over a hedge and there it was: a wall of paintings that stretched across three vast stone panels.
“This one was created over many centuries,” he told us as we stood before the ochre and red figures that seemed to shimmer in the filtered light. “You can tell the difference between generations by the pigments and by the overlapping of drawings. Each style belongs to a different tribe or a different time.”
Q&A: Bushman’s Kloof, South Africa
Q: What makes Bushman’s Kloof different from other wilderness lodges in South Africa?
A: Bushman’s Kloof blends luxury with heritage in the Cederberg Mountains. Guests can see 10,000-year-old San rock art, enjoy guided game drives, and stay in Cape Dutch-style lodges surrounded by wilderness. It’s a sanctuary for both nature lovers and cultural travelers.
And as he said this, I began to see it. The evolution of line, colour, and form, each layer whispering across time. Some of the oldest figures were faint, drawn in iron-rich earth. But others more recent, their pigments deeper, more deliberate. It was humbling to think of all the hands that had touched this same rock through the millennia — a silent story told by countless lives long gone.
Time, in that moment, felt almost physical. The wall itself breathed — a living archive of human memory, sunlight, and dust.
⸻
MEMORIES THAT LAST
Just when I thought I’d seen all that Bushmans Kloof had to give, there was one last surprise. Instead of returning to the Makana Restaurant at the lodge for our usual breakfast after an early game drive, Martin led us to a clearing where a champagne breakfast was waiting beside a giant boulder. White linens fluttered in the breeze, and the scent of omelettes cooking over an open flame mingled with wild rosemary, as the head chef stood waiting to welcome us, with a glint in his eye.
“You’re making it very hard for us to leave,” I laughed, though a part of me already knew I didn’t want to.
TEMPORARY TICKET TO BLISS
Even now, whenever life feels too loud, I close my eyes and return to that terrace at Cederberg House. Each night, after dinner, we sat outside with the stars overhead, the silence vast and kind. When I remember my stay here, even for a moment, everything feels perfectly still again.
Bushman’s Kloof is a destination in itself, though this is not always evident at the outset. Some guests check in all set for a typical South Africa luxury safari. But then they realize they’re happy to just do an occasional game drive then laze around and be pampered with unforgettable picnics and candlelight dinners. The Travelife Magazine team stayed here as guests of Bushman’s Kloof prior to the pandemic, and this article has been rewritten as a blog entry. Some of the photos here are credited to the Red Carnation Hotels group.
