I have a dream and dreams sometimes do become reality
`(by Michael Lutzeyer owner and General Manager of Grootbos Private Nature Reserve)
In May 1991, when we first came to Grootbos, the incredible view of Walker Bay to the distant Cape of Good Hope overwhelmed me from the first second I stood on my potential property. The stunning natural surroundings with blossoms shining in their most brilliant colours, green fynbos bushes and old Milkwood trees gave me the feeling that here I was part of paradise.
I was born in Cape Town in 1952, after my parents emigrated from Germany to South Africa in 1951. After finishing school, I spent one year in the South African military before I went overseas to Germany, where I lived for the next 13 years doing an apprenticeship, running a coffee shop and working as a Sales Representative for a company that produced machines.
It was my love of open spaces and sunshine that brought me back to South Africa in the mid 80s. I started working for a company named NORDSON Atlanta, where I was responsible for importing machines for the packaging industry. In 1991 I laid the foundation for my new career when I bought the Grootbos farm near Gansbaai.
Some of my friends thought I was completely crazy when I gave up my former life to buy the farm and move my family out to Grootbos. Some dilapidated farmhouses on a worthless piece of ground - how could one create an attractive Nature Reserve as well as a 5-star Lodge out of nothing? It was definitely a very risky project. Everyone who visits Africa wants to experience exotic animals like elephants or lions first hand. We cannot offer the Big 5 at Grootbos. We only have baboons, bush buck, lynx, spiders, snakes, scorpions, a variety of birds and a lot of different flowers. But for that no one travels over 10,000 kilometers. And even less to see some small little flowers.
Several years passed before I realized that what I found most interesting about the area was growing right outside my front door. Dabbling with raising fynbos for commercial purposes gave me an appreciation of the complex symbiotic relationship that had evolved among local plants, insects and animals that also made my farm home. From the steady flow of friends and family who came out to spend time on our Grootbos, I knew from the beginning that I had found a pearl of a location. When these guests started to crowd out the main house, we started in 1995 to build five guest cottages under the nearby milkwoods to provide additional accommodation.
To convince my younger brother Tertius and his wife Gaby to return from Germany, where they ran a small restaurant, wasn't very difficult. Together with them and my wife Dorothee as well as my parents Heiner and Eva we started to create a small gem of a resort set in the fragrant wonders of the fynbos. As demand increased, our self-catering hideaway soon changed to a B&B. Along with our original farmhouse, which had been expanded into a dramatic reception building, we also built six further cottages as well as private houses, staff accommodation, stables and stores during the first five years.
From the very beginning our vision was to create something unique out of what we had, even if the beginnings were a little bit humble. Hard work, enthusiasm, honesty and the strong family corporation was the recipe for the success of Grootbos. Our original plan was not to build up a 5-star luxury Lodge of international acclaim. During the first few years we were busy transforming the old farmlands around the lodge into a spectacular fynbos garden. During this time fynbos graduate Sean Privett joined the Grootbos team and soon became our first gardener and nature guide.
For all of us it is hard to believe, when you now stand on the terrace of the Lodge and marvel at the beautiful indigenous gardens, that several years ago had been a tatty building site.
We created a world-class example of an eco-friendly Lodge, but Grootbos is not only about 5-star accommodation but also about conservation. We always have shown innovation and we are inspired by contributing to South Africa's future in terms of developing knowledge and skills amongst all South Africans. In particular we believe in developing youngsters from local communities, who in the past have not had as many opportunities as others.
One dynamic initiative set up by the Grootbos team in 2003 was the Green Futures College. This facility has been created on the reserve to train unskilled and unemployed people from the local communities in fynbos landscaping, horticulture and ecotourism. It is the first of its kind in South Africa. The whole purpose is to create a source of qualified previously disadvantaged Gardeners - not individuals who simply tidy gardens but highly trained individuals who can go on to create businesses of their own in this field in the future. My brainchild became reality through a public/private partnership between Grootbos and the DEG (German Investment and Development Company). Green Futures is a non-profit making organization, which aims to create change for good and opportunities for all South Africans. The college generates funds through plant sales linked to the colleges and there is an indigenous plant nursery and fynbos landscaping business. Through sales achieved over the year students generate funds to finance the college next year and so the operation becomes self-sustainable. The success of the programme has exceeded all our expectations. During the first two years all 23 students who started the course successfully completed and graduated. All of these students bar one have found employment or started their own enterprises within plant-based industries.
In the same year, and as a result of increased demand for accommodation at Grootbos, we decided to build a second Lodge on the reserve. During 2004 this additional Lodge was built on the north-facing slope opposite the original Grootbos Lodge. It consisted of a main Lodge, 11 suites situated on the edge of the forest as well as a state-of-the-art conference centre. During a devastating fire in 2006, we lost the main lodge as well as three suites. But just after 8 months we had rebuilt Forest Lodge and re-opened in October 2006 with 16 suites.
Currently Grootbos runs in its 20th year, and every spring and autumn our 27 luxury suites are fully booked. We changed from B&B to a fully catered Lodge and offer a wide variety of activities, e.g. 4x4 jeep safaris, walks through the ancient Milkwood Forest and through the reserve, horse riding, land and boat-based whale watching and our latest activities are scenic flights that depart from our own landing strip to marvel at the giants of the ocean (Southern Right whales) from a different perspective as well as beach horse riding.
The whole Grootbos Experience that we offer with its beautiful panoramic views, the exquisite cuisine, the luxury accommodation and the way we are introducing our guests in the wonders of our beautiful flora and fauna is the reason why so many people come to experience Grootbos first hand, and why so many return again and again.
We do not only offer stunning Lodges and eco-friendly tourist experiences but Grootbos and Green Futures also contribute a very important component in sustaining the beauty of South Africa and creating a healthy environment where local communities benefit through education and thereafter developing business opportunities for themselves.
It has been a long walk to make Grootbos what it is today, and our journey is far from over. Call it luck or destiny, but it all comes from that unique view and a dream to create something valuable out of apparently nothing - and in our case dreams sometimes do come true!
