What our
hikers say
Diversity Trail Guest book
“Our group of 12 retirees highly recommend the experience of this luxury hike. The staff were friendly and helpful. The accommodation at Bellavista and the catering were outstanding. The excellent guide provided a mine of fascinating information. He kindly modified the hikes to suit our more limited capacities. While each day had its highlights, the final dinner prepared by the Michelin Chef was memorable.”
JP van Niekerk, September 2023
“Such a special trail with luxury accommodation as a base, and a well thought-out itinerary – we spent time in ancient forests, flowering fynbos, coastal dunes, alongside a clear sea, next to waterfalls and walking through vineyards. Plus we visited a unique art gallery, enjoyed a bird-watching boat ride, wine tastings, playing with gin flavours and more. Just great!! Our guide, Christoff, shared his huge knowledge with us easily, and paced the walks every day according to weather and how the hikers were coping. Really one of the best slackpacking trails I’ve completed. Thank you all.”
Clare Manicom, 2023
“An amazing experience immersing ourselves in the Walker Bay Fynbos environment, Gin and Wine tasting, Dune walking, River boat cruise, Cave explore and Swimming. Our guide Christoff was such a knowledgeable and lovely man, who looked after us very well. The accommodation was very luxurious indeed. The meals were a culinary delight and included a Michelin chef on one evening. Exceeded our expectations by quite some mark.”
Philip & Tessa, 2024
“We had the most amazing 4 days slack-packing on the Diversity Trail. Christoff is an extremely knowledgeable guide! The whole day was a master-class learning experience, that covered birds, insects, trees, flowers and plants (we even tasted the edible plants).
From breakfast to lunch to dinner we were treated like 5-star guests, and the final gala dinner was an astronomical taste buds delight! Will highly recommend the Diversity Trail to everyone – should form part of your bucket list!”
Rene & Carel, March 2024
“I absolutely loved everything about our experience with the Diversity Trail team. We learned so much about our amazing environment, you can’t fail to be touched by the nature you are immersed in. Christoff is an amazing guide and so knowledgeable and helpful. The perfect person to lead our walks and spend time with. Accommodation absolute luxury and food perfect. Do yourself a favour and take time out to do this Trail. You will love it.“
Maureen McGuiness, March 2024
“We, a group of four, recently had the pleasure of embarking on the Diversity Trail slackpacking hike, and it was an experience beyond compare. From the moment we set foot on the trail to the final gourmet dinner, every aspect of this journey was simply outstanding. Our guide, Christoff, was the epitome of excellence. His expertise and captivating stories about Fynbos enriched our understanding of the region, making each step of the hike more meaningful. Christoff’s passion for nature and commitment to providing an informative yet entertaining experience truly set the tone for the entire adventure.“
Danél Geldenhuys, February 2024
“Absolutely stunning and worth to do. Every day different landscapes and lots and lots of explanations about plants and animals. A must for hikers.”
Lothar Höfle, February 2024
“Fabulous five days with three days of exploring the diversity of the region on foot
Fantastic accommodation, delicious food and wonderful people running the show.
Christoph, our guide has amazing and extensive knowledge of the different plants, trees and birdlife we encountered along the way. Highly recommended, pace is adjusted to suit all members of the group.”Duncan Mcguinness, March 2024
“Lucia and Rynhardt van Rooyen did a four day diversity trail from 3 March 2024 to 7 March 2024. We immensely enjoyed this experience and found it very interesting and informative. It offered a wide variety and much more than what we expected eg fynbos education and exposure, gin and fynbos pairing, Agulhas area wines, fantastic art gallery, caves, beach walking and a seven course dining experience. Our guide, namely Christoff Longland was exceptionally knowledgeable in fynbos as well as in the fauna and flora of Grootbos. He was also very friendly and professional in dealing with the group. The dog Blue was also a big treat for the group. All the other staff was also very friendly and efficient. We highly recommend Grootbos, its people and the experience”
Lucia & Rynhardt, March 2024
“A fantastic three days of casual walking through the fynbos and the dunes. The guide, Christoff, had extraordinary knowledge of the flora and fauna and lead us to the Grootbos HQ where we swam in the dam, the beautiful beach leading to the Klipgat caves and finally the Lomond wine estate. All of this enhanced by great accommodation, food and service at Bellavista. Go with friends and enjoy!”
Peter & Fiona Harris, March 2024
“An amazing experience immersing ourselves in the Walker Bay Fynbos environment, Gin and Wine tasting, Dune walking, River boat cruise, Cave explore and Swimming. Our guide Christoff was such a knowledgeable and lovely man, who looked after us very well. The accommodation was very luxurious indeed. The meals were a culinary delight and included a Michelin chef on one evening. Exceeded our expectations by quite some mark. Parking: Plenty of parking space. Fees: As visitors from the UK, we felt the charges were very fair for the excellent service we received.“
Philip Pullinger, March 2024
“We loved the Diversity Trail. Christophe was an exceptional guide – interesting, well-informed and good fun. We learnt a lot. He was also very good with our interest in birds – again exceptionally knowledgeable. The tour was well-organised and varied. The accommodation and food were very good and we were very lucky to have excellent company with our fellow travellers.“
Ian Ferguson, January 2024
