It’s not often you get to hear the beat of a pelican’s wings as it flaps its lazy way across the water to roost for the night. But then again it’s not often you get to sit and watch the sky dissolve from burnt orange into a deep, plummy purple in absolute, all-consuming silence. Silent, except for the squawking that is.

Across the sunset mirror of De Hoop vlei, a cacophony of birds breaks the stillness as they noisily bed down for the night, chattering in the dark like schoolgirls on a sleepover. To the north, a spotted eagle owl hoots a warning or two, before vanishing into the gloaming.
 The rocky ledge where we sat and watched the scene unfold was the perfect spot for second sundowners, bidding farewell to another day at De Hoop Nature Reserve, a short way from the southern tip of Africa.

Second sundowners, I hear you ask?

Well, De Hoop is the kind of place that encourages you to put the brakes on, let your hair down a little and ease into the rhythm of one of the Cape’s best nature reserves. De Hoop is justifiably famous for its 55-kilometre Whale Trail that leads pampered hikers from Potberg in the east down to the rocky shoreline and along the water’s edge to Koppie Alleen. While the trail gets booked up a year in advance, weekend visitors can still enjoy the spectacular scenery that hikers enjoy uninterrupted for five glorious days.

In the height of whale season the solitary Koppie Alleen is far from deserted though, both on land and out at sea. Annual visitors of one kind – Southern Right whales – bring weekenders such as myself flocking to De Hoop to enjoy one of the best land-based whale-watching spots on the planet. At any one time you’ll be treated to a circus of cetacean acrobatics, as these portly passers-by breach, lobtail, spy-hop and generally lol about thanking their luck stars they’re not in the frigid feeding waters of Antarctica. You can almost picture them warming their callosities against the kitchen stove of the warm Agulhas current.

The high dunes of Koppie Alleen and the imaginatively named Long Beach are ideal for gazing out over the – officially, now that you’re east of Agulhas – Indian Ocean in search of whales, but the shoreline also has hidden surprises. The serrated coastline of beaches and coves is a perfect playground for kids. Calm, clear rock pools are filled with tardy fish who missed the last tide out, and endangered African Black Oystercatchers tip-toe through the waters in search of mussels… no, they don’t only eat oysters.

Undisturbed crescents of sand wait patiently for a picnic basket or bucket-and-spade with castles on their mind. Boardwalks make their way cautiously over the rocky headlands that separate beaches and, from the rocks, yet more whales are to be seen along with terns bombarding shoals of fish. Yet even the most avid whale fanatic surely has a limit for staring out to sea, waiting for a black blob to burst above the ocean. Mine is about an hour or two; after that every other wave looks like a whale and the binoculars rarely leave my lap, kamikaze terns or no. Luckily there’s more to the reserve than the watery visitors and when you tire of whale watching, or if you visit outside of the July-October peak season, the reserve is a wonderful place to wander.

From whales to warblers… De Hoop happens to one of the Overberg’s twitching hotspots. Even if you’re not a Roberts’-at-the-ready kind of person (I most certainly am not) you’ll enjoy the well-marked walking trails laid out from the accommodation area at the Opstal along the edge of the De Hoop vlei. Three separate trails separate the holidaymaker from the hiker, varying in length from 5kms (Coot Trail) to 15kms (Grebe Trail). All three follow a similar route along the eastern edge of the vlei, before looping back to the cottages and houses.

Wandering back through the fynbos you'll almost certainly bump into the herd of eland that never seem to venture far from the lush lawns surrounding the Opstal. Along with the eland, there are 86 mammal species wandering the 34 000 hectares of conserved land. Keep an eye out for the white snouts of the rather rare bontebok as you meander through the endangered lowland fynbos.
Part of the walking trail is also open to mountain bikers, although the 5.6-kilometre off-road route on the fringes of Dronkvlei will offer more of a challenge to enthusiastic riders. Cyclists can also tackle the 8.7-kilometre circular track in the hills above the Opstal. Keep your eyes open and you might spot one of the reserve’s endangered Cape Mountain Zebra. The circular track can also be enjoyed as a scenic drive, but is only recommended for 4x4 vehicles.

With such a range of activities it’s a destination for all types of visitors, and has the accommodation to show for it. Campsites under the milkwoods offer the bare basics for hardy travellers, while the Vlei Cottages and Opstal Houses offer comfortable accommodation for up to six people. If you don’t mind sharing communal bathrooms, the Vlei Rondawels (R500/night) are perhaps the best value to be had.

Most of the accommodation in the reserve was privatised in December 2008, with all of the houses and cottages at Opstal and Koppie Alleen completely revamped. A delightful restaurant, The Fig Tree, was also opened to provide for visitors, especially foreigners, who didn’t want to self-cater.

The standard of accommodation has been greatly improved, but inevitably the prices have gone up. Long-time visitors complain, with some merit, that locals have been priced out of the reserve, but I get the feeling that a cash-strapped CapeNature is between a rock and a hard place. Without government funds to upgrade facilities, it could either let them keep deteriorating or privatise and hope that locals will fork out for the new and improved cottages.

What is certain is that some of the once shabby rooms have been given a new lease on life, and perhaps some SA-only special deals will entice loyal locals back to the beaches.

As for me, I think I would scrounge together a few extra rands just to enjoy that sunset again. The second night of our stay we were back at our rock on the water’s edge; the burnished sky reflected in the mercurial vlei, a bottle of single malt and each other for company. With long summer days on the horizon and a fine meal waiting for us at the Fig Tree it was altogether easy to feel hopeful at De Hoop. The price may have gone up, but the magic of De Hoop is as powerful as ever.

For more information visit www.dehoopcollection.co.za.

First published in The Weekender.

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