Stanley Island is a 25-hectare privately owned island and nature reserve nestled in the heart of the Keurbooms River, just outside Plettenberg Bay, Western Cape, South Africa. It is definitely a great base for all water sports and nature enthusiasts and for travellers exploring the Garden Route, one of the world’s greatest road trips.
Plettenberg Bay, or ‘Plett’ as it’s more commonly known by locals, is a coastal resort town with mountains, white sandy beaches, and crystal blue sea water, making it one of the country’s top local tourist spots. With its 15 kilometres of beaches that are only disrupted by the river mouth and Stanley Island, Plettenberg Bay checks all the boxes for the ideal vacation spot for any type of traveller. Plett is not just about beaches, bubbly and good times, although these are available in bucket-and-spades-full. The coastal golden child of the Garden Route is rich in history and heritage, and visitors to the region can expect to find interesting historic locations to explore.
Stanley Island has so much more to offer than only contemporary accommodation and beautiful scenery. Other offerings include an Island beach bar, retreats, amenities, and activities. They offer various options for self-catering accommodation in their recently renovated lodges.
A Glimpse into the History of Plettenberg Bay
Long before Jan van Riebeeck landed at the Cape, Portuguese explorers charted the bay in the 15th and 16th centuries, the first being Bartolomeu Dias in 1487. Ninety years later Manuel de Perestrelo aptly called it Bahia Formosa or the Beautiful Bay. The first European inhabitants were 100 Portuguese sailors marooned here for 9 months when the São Gonçalo sank in the bay in June 1630. The survivors built two small boats, one which linked with a passing vessel while the other made it to Mozambique.
Plettenberg Bay bears historical significance as the site of a whaling station that operated on Beacon Island for over eight decades, from 1834 to 1916. Presently, descendants of those early whalers still call this area home. However, the perception and treatment of whales have undergone a profound shift. No longer regarded as a commercial resource to be exploited for economic gain, there's been a revitalized focus on the appreciation and conservation of these magnificent creatures. This transformation reflects a growing awareness of the intrinsic value and ecological importance of whales in our shared natural heritage.
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During 1778, Governor Joachim Baron van Plettenberg visited the Bahia Formosa as it was known then. After inspecting the bay and surrounding area, he erected the Van Plettenberg Beacon slate possessional stone, indicating that the bay henceforth would belong to the Dutch East India Company. Henceforth the town also bore his name, Plettenberg Bay.
Accommodation on Stanley Island
Stanley Island offers a relaxed yet comfortable experience with all the essentials at your fingertips. Enjoy complimentary WiFi throughout the property, a charming coffee shop, and our riverside restaurant for casual dining. Explore the island’s private nature reserve: home to free-roaming zebras and indigenous flora or simply unwind with a slow breakfast under the trees. All our rooms on Stanley Island are self-catering. All our rooms are en-suite, offering private bathrooms for your comfort and convenience.
We do offer WiFi across the island, but please note - as a private island, we’re not connected to fibre. Stanley Island is a private nature reserve, home to free-roaming zebras, shy bushbuck, and a variety of birdlife. It’s not uncommon to spot wildlife wandering past your room or hear birdsong from the treetops. Guests are welcome to use our self-catering braai areas during their stay. Don't feel like cooking - enjoy a relaxed breakfast at the Stowaway Hideout from 07:30 to 10:30. Our island coffee shop offers more than just a morning brew - it’s a sensory, botanical experience. Surrounded by indigenous plants and forest, each cup is best enjoyed slowly, with the scent of milkwoods in the air and birdsong overhead. Explore our curated food and drink specials, crafted to reflect the island’s unique rhythm. Each space is personally designed with local and vintage elements. Our pool area, set beside the thatched lapa, offers a peaceful spot to cool off while taking in views of the open plains where zebras often graze.
Each lodge is unique in it's own way. In order to build anything on Stanley Island requires great "logistic antics" since every brick, every nail and every log needs to come across on our ferry over the river.
Lodges Available:
- Shorea Lodge: Shorea, or Meranti, is a wood that features extensively in our Shorea Lodge. Shorea Lodge is our first lodge and is situated close to the banks of the river. It is the perfect space for family or friend gatherings with two seperate units that each sleep four (upstairs and downstairs). A two minute walk over the bridge onto our sand banks where you can enjoy your very own beach. Each unit has been uniquely designed with a handcrafted finishes and a local flare.
- Acacia Lodge: Acacia, the iconic South African thorn bush, is a tribute to our family farm in the Karoo. This lodge has a long history and design of a hunting lodge which has become a unique feature of the interior spaces. Acacia lodge is situated at our grazing area where you can catch our famous zebra and maybe our visiting bushbuck. Acacia Lodge has the best of both worlds - it is close to our Lapa where our swimming pool is and still provides a tranquil atmosphere to relax and getaway from the hustle and bustle of world. Acacia has an upstairs unit that can sleep four with beautifully curated finishes. Downstairs deluxe units are en-suite unit and is the perfect getaway for two.
- Elegia Lodge: Elegia, or Cape Thatch Reeds, are quintessential to the marshes and sands of Stanley Island and now that there is only one thatched house left, this represents the beginning of our journey. This Honeymoon Lodge is the final lodge that has four deluxe units that each sleep two. These en-suite units are perfect romantic getaways for two people. The Deluxe self-catering has a King-size and Queen-size en-suite bedrooms with free-standing bath and shower. These self-catering units each sleep two.
No extra guests are to sleep over unless prior arrangements have been made with management. All of our suites are non-smoking areas. Stanley Island is home to different wildlife. Online electronic payments are the preferred methods of payment. Stanley Island is self-catering accommodation. Each unit is serviced at least once every two days.
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01-2022 Roadtrip to Stanley Island Private nature reserve (Plettenberg Bay) - together with ROFstyle
Activities and Experiences on Stanley Island
Stanley Island is home to different wildlife. Local vegetation varies from Cape Fynbos to Knysna-Amatole montane forests further inland. The best examples of the original indigenous forest are to be found in the gully of the Keurbooms River, home to Knysna Loerie and Fish Eagles. The Keurbooms River estuary is home to the Knysna or Cape Seahorse, Hippocampus Capensis. This is South Africa's only endemic seahorse, and is found only in the estuaries of the Keurbooms, Knysna and Swartvlei rivers.
Explore the Island and find some of our hidden gems and make some memories. Majority of the items packed in small glass jars (120 ml). Enjoy a sixty minute couple massage. Enjoy a therapeutic full body massage using aromatherapy oils and warm stones to relieve deep muscle tension. Searching for something to release and reduce tension in your muscles? We have the solution for you. Enjoy a sixty minute Sports Massage. A Sport Massage focuses on enhancing the flow of blood to tissues bringing oxygen to cells which aids healing. It can further reduce the presence of oedema in muscles that can reduce muscle soreness. So for all the athletes coming to join us - take a break and have a massage.
The Robberg Peninsula is home to a large Cape fur seal colony, seals can often be seen in the surf off Robberg Beach. Great white sharks, attracted by the seal colony, can also be spotted from the high ground of Robberg Peninsula. Southern right whales are a common sight in the bay during their breeding season from July to December. Bryde's whales frequent the bay throughout the year being the most sighted during the summer months. Humpback whales migrate past during July and December. Killer whales (orca) and sei whales are occasionally sighted. Whales can be viewed from various viewpoints in the town as well as from Robberg Peninsula.
Exploring Plettenberg Bay and its Surroundings
Plettenberg Bay is one of those towns you would merely drive by en route to other destinations like Tsitsikamma National Park, Bloukrans Bridge, which has one of the world’s highest commercial bungee jumps at 216 meters, or Addo Elephant NAtional Park in the Eastern Cape province.
The Robberg Peninsula is every nature lover’s dream! A national monument, nature reserve and Marine Protected Area, this is an absolute must-visit. Steeped in history, the Nelson Bay Cave, also known as Wagenaar’s Cave, is a Stone Age archaeological site, showing evidence of human occupation as far back as 125,000 years ago. Hiking this amazing peninsula will offer up a feast of knowledge. Time to dig out those hiking shoes. On a clear day, the Athena shipwreck can be seen resting on the ocean floor from the golden sands of Robberg Beach.
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Shipwrecks are by no means a new phenomenon in the Plett waters. The most notable would arguably be the São Gonçalo wreck, a Portuguese East-Indiaman, overladen with spices, mainly peppercorns, which clogged her water pumps, causing her demise in 1660. Forest Hall, The Victorian Manor House, built in 1864, was one of the first homes built in the Crags, Plettenberg Bay. In recognition of this value and its now irreplaceable structure, Forest Hall was declared a National Monument by the South African Heritage authority in 1992. The essential character of this beautiful monument to South African history has not changed - even as everything around it does. The building and grounds are now open to overnight visitors who can stay in the Manor House or one of several cottages on the estate.
In August 1786 the Dutch East India Company ordered the erection of the Timber Shed for storage of timber prior to shipment by sea. Local settler, Jan Jakob Jerling was commissioned to build it and interestingly, some of his descendants still live in Plett (that’s quite an endorsement to happy local living). The first timber was shipped out in August 1788, but the project had limited success and failed to survive the colony’s First British Occupation in 1795. The Timber Shed was declared a national monument in 1936.
Plett’s oldest surviving building, The Old Rectory, was identified on a 1777 map as ‘visitor’s accommodation’. All indications are that from the time the timber shed was reconstructed in 1787, the Old Rectory building next to it was used to house employees of the Company (Dutch East India Company), who supervised the storing of timber in the hout huis (timber shed) and arranged for its shipment to the Cape. The building was later used as a rectory by the Anglican Church in the wake of the English settlers and was occupied by five rectors in succession until the present Rectory was built in 1939.
St Peters Anglican Church was established in 1851 with the construction of the little yellowwood building on the Newdigate farm in Piesang Valley. St Peter’s Church in Plett Central is the ‘mother’ church for the Parish. Situated in a beautifully maintained garden, this impressive stone church dates back to 1879 and today is an extremely popular venue for weddings. A temporary church was built in The Crags in 1881 and subsequently replaced by the existing St Michael’s Church, which was consecrated in 1905.
A navigational beacon was first erected on the Beacon Island in 1771. The original was a square block of stinkwood, inscribed with the latitude and longitude of Plettenberg Bay and erected to enable mariners to check their location. The next time you’re enjoying a cocktail on the lawn of the BI, spare a thought for the mariners of old. The Beacon Island site used to be the hub of whaling operations from 1913 to 1916. A house on the island at that time was imported from Norway and occupied by project manager Captain Jacob Odland.
The Van Plettenberg Historical Society was established in 1980. A non-profit organisation, it has staged some 175 talks over the last 30 years. We would also welcome voluntary contributions towards the Society’s activities. Transcripts or summaries of the talks are available on request to the Society.
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