Information
Join husband and wife team Leon and Tilla Nell for a variety of fascinating excursions to the Little Karoo and Knysna Forests.
With the Nells you will travel into the deepest realms of the forests, smell the rank vegetation and forest litter, hear streams murmuring past hauntingly gnarled trees and the call of the Knysna Loerie from the tree canopy far overhead.
From a vantage point rank with fynbos you can see the Knysna Heads looming in the distance, Robberg stealing into the ocean and Plettenberg Bay.
Join us for a treat of hand-selected indigenous snacks and local drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) under a huge yellowwood tree. All are catered for-carnivores to vegetarians.
After a trip with the Nells, your mind will become uncluttered by everyday mundane trivia and you will view forests with new eyes.
Not so fit? Not to worry! Although some short hiking trails are conducted, they are all easily negotiable with little or no exertion.
Join the Nells for a tour with a difference! Minimum 2, max 6 persons. Meals, snacks and refreshments are provided.
Tours
Knysna Forests
Drive and walk with the Nells through a mind-boggling diversity of forest and fynbos vegetation – where huge canopy trees, smaller sub-canopy trees, woody shrubs, scramblers, vines, ferns, moss, lichen and fungi grow in profusion – where Knysna Louries squawk high in the yellowwoods, and perhaps even see the secretive Narina Trogon.
The hikes are easy enough for young and old to join us in this fairytale wonderland. The forests seethe and teem with life in every conceivable form.
Local refreshments such as Knysna-brewed beer and Garden Route cheese, wine from the Little Karoo and Karoo cuisine are served en route.
Gamkaskloof
Also known as Die Hel or The Hell. The beauty of this fertile valley is something to see. Join us to learn more about this European community that lived isolated from the rest of the world for almost a century, before a road was built to the valley in 1962.
Baviaanskloof
The kloof’s name is derived from old Dutch, 'Baviaan' literally meaning baboon, as there used to be many in this wild valley. These wild tribes are still there, and seem to have outlived many animal species. Baviaanskloof is home to at least 58 mammal species, 239 bird species and 11 freshwater fish species, which include the eastern Cape red-fin which is found in many smaller streams, as well as black bass, carp and eel which occur in the Groot River.
Garden Route and Little Karoo Week Tour
Join us for a seven-day, six-night tour, to experience the full spectrum of the Garden Route and Little Karoo. Overnight in style and luxury, yet enjoy the feel of the land through its back roads, gravel roads and secretive forest paths.
Other Tours
Other tours include destinations such as Plettenberg Bay, Baviaanskloof, Meiringspoort and Prince Albert - just to name a few, while tailor-made tours are also available by request. Day tours take between 6-10 hours while the duration of overnight tours is about 1½ - 2 days. Tours can however be extended by request
Departure and arrival:
Tours commence at 09:00 am and return at approximately 15:00 pm, depending on interests, weather and circumstances. A maximum of six passengers ensures that all will enjoy our exclusive attention.
Ecotours
While we show the relationships and interactions between living organisms and their natural or developed environment, we strive to minimise ecological or other damages to areas visited for their natural or cultural interest.
Our tours feature different ecotones, or zones of transition between different ecosystems, from exotic plantations to natural fynbos and indigenous forest with its multitudes of vegetation as well as animal and bird life. We also show the various ecotypes –the different species of plants and other organisms who have genetically determined adaptations to certain environmental conditions of their habitat.
Our eco-tours blend with the cultural impact of humankind on the environs, the different cultures of the past and their habits, how they lived off the land and its natural resources. Our tours are more than eco-tours, often described by our customers as an eco-cultural experience with a difference.