Watch the birds on the river from your bed. Explore the wetlands by canoe. Swim in the pool or at one of Plettenberg Bay's beautiful beaches. Enjoy traditional farmhouse breakfasts and hospitality at this Provençal-style guest house.
Bitou River Lodge is both a destination in its own right and a central base for exploring the area - golf courses, forests, beaches, game farms, shops and restaurants are all just a ten-minute drive away.
Sue speaks English, Afrikaans, French and some German.
We welcome children who are 10 years and older.
Accommodation
Bitou River Lodge is a farmhouse-style guest house on the banks of the Bitou River. All the rooms lead into the garden and down to the river, with its water lilies and birds.
Each spacious, tranquil bedroom has its own private entrance and its own patio for enjoying sunsets. The rooms are all en-suite, with a bath and shower. Two rooms have twin beds and three have king-sized beds; there is also a sleeper couch in each room for an extra guest if necessary.
Each room has an overhead fan and underfloor heating as well as a TV with M-Net.
The guest lounge has comfy sofas and lots of books and magazines, as well as chess and solitaire. In winter, underfloor heating and a log fire make it a cosy place to sit and read.
The breakfast room opens out onto the garden & river. During summer the scent of honeysuckle drifts in to mingle with the smell of fresh coffee, while in winter the underfloor heating & the log fire keep guests warm & cosy.
Green Footprint
Twelve years ago we bought two fields from the farmer who's now our neighbour. The river was so choked with alien vegetation that the cows could hardly get down to the river. We've cleared the aliens (it's an ongoing process) & planted more than four hundred indigenous trees. The planting is also an ongoing process & helps to offset the carbon footprint of our guests.
How do we green the environment at Bitou River Lodge?
Water
• we use river water, filtered with a minimum of chemicals & Municipality-tested
• we use gravity-feed shower heads
• our grey water is aerated & used for irrigation
• we collect our rainwater in tanks
Energy
• we're replacing every light bulb with energy-savers
• we use solar heating wherever possible
• we cook with gas
• Paul designed a gravity-feed system to pipe water to the guest house to save electricity
Waste
• we have an active recycling programme
• our vegetable waste is turned into compost
• our grey water is aerated & used for irrigation
Product
• we've planted over 400 indigenous trees
• we use our compost to fertilise the trees & veggie garden
Innovation
Paul's gravity-feed system to deliver water to the guest house is a bit slower than using a pump each time, but it saves a lot of energy
using grey water for irrigation prevents pollution of the underground water-table
our eco-walk introduces guests to indigenous trees, the river, the wetlands & farmlands with all the different bird species found in each area.
