The photos of flowers on the walls of the lodges are all Heine's work. They had a vision of something environmentally harmonious: that morphed into Garden Lodge which looks as though Austrian eco-architect Frederick Hundertwasser was commissioned by a family of African Hobbits. But the Lutzeyers are no huddle of furry little forest creatures. From their very real factory in Cape Town, they bought with them hard work, integrity and an effervescent enthusiasm that is perhaps the real reason for the success of the place and family. Son Michael was able to convince brother Tertius and father Heine, and their wives, to come in on the Grootbos project.

Originally there were no plans for a 5-star lodge of international acclaim. A sense of integrity and stewardship of the land, rather than material gain, was always the driving motivation.

They transformed the old farmlands around the lodge into a spectacular fynbos garden. Fynbos graduate Sean Privet joined as their gardener and 1st fynbos guide. When you walk through the profuse head-high garden, it is hard to imagine that several years ago, this was a building site.The ‘farm with a view’ soon became a tourist destination to rival the best in the region.

The original 120 ha’s doubled, then tripled. They started a fynbos and indigenous tree nursery, and around that time hatched the idea of turning the whole area from Stanford to Gansbaai into one large fynbos conservancy.

Sean is now the director of the Stanford Conservancy, which incorporates several landowners, and a number of ecotourism and social upliftment programmes.

Then came the idea of a fynbos gardening school. The school has recently enrolled its 3rd class of 12 students who come from local poor communities. After their yearlong course they will be the countries only qualified, specialist water-wise gardeners and fynbos landscapers.

When it came time at England’s Eden Project (an amazing futuristic development to re-create all the world’s major ecosystems) to tackle the Cape Flora, it was to Grootbos they looked. Now some previously unemployed folk from the Southern Cape hickland are involved in one of the world’s major ecological projects, and occasionally appearing on BBC TV.

Now that the Cape Floral Kingdom has been awarded the World Heritage Site status, Grootbos finds itself in a most enviable situation. It also comes from that initial dream to create something of value out of seemingly nothing.

Today the only parts of the original farm you would recognise are the much-reduced paddock and many ex-panded stables. It you want to see the wonders of Grootbos, you’ll have to take a guided walk, or horse ride, up to the ‘back’ end of the estate where the land drops breathtakingly away to the Baardskeerdersbos Valley. From there you are afforded views all the way to Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa.

Two years ago the Lutzeyers opened a 2nd lodge on a neighbouring farm they managed to purchase. On it was a 2nd milkwood forest at least as big and even more Hobbitty than the 1st.

Forest lodge is architecturally more modern than the 1st, Garden Lodge: until you approach from the car park along a 5 min. walk through the luxuriant greenery of that fairy-tale forest.

It makes you feel in touch with some ancient spirit, and thankful that someone had the vision to protect this unlikely natural wonder. There certainly is a big heart that place of the big forest, and one worthy of the highest accolades.

• Resident Master Chef
• 3 course dinners specialising in seafood are served in the circular restaurant with views of the bay
• Wine tasting before dinner
• All dietary requirements catered for
• Spoil yourself at the buffet in the main lodge; breakfast includes fresh fruit salad and juices, assorted cereals, yoghurt, homemade bread, fynbos honey, cold meats and cheese, farm eggs.
• Light lunches available at the restaurant
• Own vegetable and herb garden
• Own borehole with potable tap water