"The Cat’s Whiskers" is a self catering timber home offering immersive sea, cliff and forest views, located in a nature reserve in Ballots Bay, near George on the Garden Route.

Cliff Top Houses - The Cat’s Whiskers: “a person or thing that is excellent or superior”

Designed by multi-award winning architect Henry Paine, this contemporary timber house blends perfectly into the surrounding nature in a combination of light, glass, wood and open spaces.

"The Cat’s Whiskers" with splendid sea, cliff and forest views, sleeps 6 in three bedrooms en-suite.

The glass doors open from the living room onto the sea and cliff facing deck with endless sea, cliff and forest views. 

The dining room leads onto the fynbos deck with gas Weber braai. Watch the flash of red and green as the Knysna Turaco swoops over the forest canopy, or hear the call of the elusive Narina Trogon from deep in the forest. 

The house is fully equipped with quality furnishings and appliances - everything you need to feel pampered and comfortable. A wood burning fire place heats up the living rooms on chilly days.

The spaces have been created for peace, reflection and conversation. Play games, bird watch, do a puzzle, read or simply gaze at the view - there is no television to spoil the atmosphere.

Accommodation

Main bedroom – large queen bed with pure cotton bedlinen leading onto private deck. Bathroom en-suite with shower and luxurious bath big enough for two. Glorious ocean and cliff views.

Second bedroom – Large queen bed with pure cotton bedlinen leading onto private deck. Bathroom en-suite with shower. Wonderful forest and ocean views.

Third bedroom - Two single beds, bathroom en-suite with shower. Views of fynbos and ocean.

The Nature Reserve

Zebra, springbuck, wildebeest and ostrich roam the plains along the top of the cliffs and bushbuck, bushpig and porcupine forage in the forested gorges. At night, you might see owls and the highly secretive Caracal (wild cat) hunting for small rodents. 

Our nature reserve is a bird watcher's haven with at least 35 species that have been identified, many of them rare and endemic to the Southern Cape. It is home to sea, forest and fynbos birds making it unusually varied and prolific.

The nature reserve abounds with hiking trails, some gentle and some steep. The ‘Fynbos trail’ winds through fynbos flower species seen nowhere else in the world. The ‘Whale trail’ takes you along rugged cliffs and up and down steep gorges and the “Magic Forest trail” winds through forest and up to the plains. The rocks around Ballots Bay are a fisherman’s paradise and the pebbly beach is perfect for foraging and exploring or paddling in the river as it meets the sea. 

The reserve is accessed via a private strip paved road that winds over rivers and up and down steep slopes that some call challenging, we call magical. But don’t be put off; it is easily accessed in ordinary vehicles.

Further afield

Drive 10 minutes to famous surfer’s paradise, Victoria Bay, which boasts not only world-class surfing, but also an excellent swimming beach. George with its shops, restaurants and cinemas is 15 minutes away.  Wilderness, also 15 minutes away has beautiful beaches, lagoon and river, canoeing, great walks, excellent restaurants and country markets. 

Sedgefield, 25 minutes away is famous for its award winning Saturday “Wild Oats farmers market” with gourmet organic products grown in the vicinity. The serene inland lakes flow into the sea here and the beaches are amongst the finest on the Garden Route.    

The Garden Route is a golfers paradise featuring 11 of South Africa’s most spectacular golf courses, including the no 1 golf course – The Links at Fancourt. The Garden Route was awarded the 2014 Golf Destination of the Year for Africa by the International Association for Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO).

Popular holiday destinations Knysna, Mossel Bay, Oudtshoorn and Plettenberg Bay are within easy reach.