Hunters Tsala Treetop Lodge - Found Travel

A friend and I set off from Cape Town early Friday morning to experience Tsala, one of four 5 star experiences owned by Hunter Hotels.

We arrived at around 2.00pm and the guard at the gate seemed to know exactly who we were. The car park is conveniently located right next to Tsala's entrance.

This is five star and first impressions are always very important to me, I have to say, it certainly lived up to its standard. A porter was on hand as we parked, to tend to our luggage and we were greeted with a friendly welcome and a cool glass of punch. When you arrive at Tsala, you immediately feel calm and relaxed.

After drinks we handed in our check in form and made our way to the treetop lodge through the age-old indigenous forest via
 elevated wooden walkways.

Tucked away in the forest canopy, Tsala offers 10 hide-away suites and 6 luxury villas. They are complete with plunge pools, viewing deck, living room with open fire and spacious bathroom with external shower.
It was a cool day so I decided to sit on the viewing deck and take in the sounds of the forest, unpacking can wait.

I was born in London and have lived in cities ever since, so a trip to the forest is heaven. I think it must have been at least 30 minutes before I got up to fetch something from the mini bar and again resumed my position, with a glass of bubbles in hand, on the deck. It’s amazing where time goes, I sat there staring at greenery, I didn’t want to read a book or magazine, I just wanted to stare at nothing but nature and think how lucky I am to be experiencing this. 
After unpacking, I had a siesta followed by an outside shower, which I thoroughly enjoyed, as it’s something one never normally does so feels even more special.

Dinner was booked at the on-site restaurant Zinzi.
It’s a new restaurant with flavours from Africa, Europe and Asia. I had Moroccan lamb, truly delicious. The atmosphere provided a wonderful setting and sounds of the forest echoed around the star lit night sky. Once the meal was over, it was time to walk the short route along the lit path, back to the suite for a good nights rest.

The next day, once we had filled ourselves with a breakfast fit for a Michelin star restaurant, we made our way to Monkeyland. This is the worlds first free roaming multi-specie Primate Sanctuary, located 16km east of Plettenberg bay.

Although it was wet, we paid our R140 each, put on our plastic macs and toured the park with a guide. The best viewing for me was the Asian Gibbon ape, running, like a human, along the path as though we weren’t even there. Monkeyland offers you a chance to view a variety of mammals that would normally only be seen in cages. The sanctuary provides its primates freedom in a natural habitat, well worth a visit.  There are many activities and sites in the area, which include Treetop Canopy Tours, Horse riding, Sunset Cruises, A Bird Aviary, Elephant Sanctuary and lots more.
After a couple of hours of walking around taking as many pictures as we could, we made our way back to the Lodge to get ready to experience the second restaurant on-site, at Hunters Country House.

It’s a short walk to Hunters Country House past Zinzi and into the grounds of the estate. Walking gives you the opportunity to see the exterior and its luscious green fields. If time allows, you may want to book at both Tsala and Hunters Country House as both experiences are very different. If you have limited time, at least you will have a taster for a future visit and I’m sure you can organise a pre-arranged tour to see more of the Country House.

The restaurant menus are personalised, which provides a good feeling of the dining experience ahead. It’s little touches like that that I appreciate and those touches extended to the service, which was without fault. The food was exquisite and we both started off with The chefs daily soup, Charles then had Scallop and study of garden peas while I had Oxtail Ravioli. Just the right amount of food to leave you room for dessert, however we skipped dessert and went straight for the extensive cheese board, presented and explained by the friendly waitress. The candle lit tables and atmosphere of the room really provide a memorable setting and the food will leave you very satisfied indeed.

Once coffee was served, we signed the bill to our room at Tsala, which was very convenient and walked the short walk back to our treetop suite. Complimentary port is available in the suite, so should you require a little tipple, it’s yours for the taking.

All suites are air conditioned, so you can close all the windows no matter what the temperature outside. For those that like the sound of the forest and an early start, leave a window open and you will rise to the tunes of many birds.

Check out, after breakfast the next day, was a smooth operation and you feel unrushed, in fact you don’t want to leave at all. However, the time had come to drive back to the fast pace of the city from which we came, a far cry from the “elevated resting place” we just experienced.
I know that I will definitely be going back again.
by Paul Paley

For more details on Tsala, visit Tsala within our portfolio page at Found Travel Portfolio