12 Apostles Hotel

12 Apostles Hotel: Make Travel Matter. Image: Supplied

12 Apostles Hotel: Safeguards the natural environment for the future

The 12 Apostles Hotel and Spa is situated in the majestic Table Mountain National Park.

12 Apostles Hotel

12 Apostles Hotel: Make Travel Matter. Image: Supplied

The storms of January this year on the Cape West Coast were devastating for many and reminded us once again of the real impact of climate change. The drought of recent years seems to have been replaced by more, equally devastating acts of Mother Nature, such as the recent unseasonal and damaging storms, which according to scientists and climate change specialists, are only going to get worse. 

So wild were the seas, that the hull of an oil tanker, The Antipolis, which had run aground in 1977 and had been lying dormant for 45 years, was washed onto the rocks at Oudekraal near Camps Bay for all to see.  The occurrence has sparked renewed interest in the wreck and numerous others in the area that has, at nature’s behest, been brought to light again. 

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12 Apostles Hotel: Make Travel Matter

Interestingly, The Antipolis has its own fascinating relationship with The 12 Apostles Hotel and Spa.  The award-winning hotel is built on the site of the original house known as ‘Oudekraal, overlooking the very rocks on which the ship now ‘resides’.  It is the only building on this part of the notoriously hazardous shoreline because of its situation within a protected national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site. The two white front gables of the hotel façade stand out when viewed from the sea and to this day, there is still a legal (maritime) requirement that the gables be maintained white, in order to be visible from the ocean. And in a quiet corner of the Fynbos Garden in the hotel grounds, overlooking the sea, a piece of wood carrying the ship’s name and a plaque bearing the details of the incident all those years ago, provides a reminder to visitors of the phenomenal force of the natural world and man’s relationship with it.

The 12 Apostles Hotel and Spa, are only too aware of the role tourism needs to play in order to safeguard the natural environment for the future. The hotel occupies a unique position flanked by the Twelve Apostles mountain range and majestic Table Mountain National Park, overlooking a luminescent marine reserve with frequent whale and dolphin sightings.  A focus on sustainability is at the very heart of everything they do. They work in partnership with the non-profit TreadRight Foundation and also encourage guests and local communities to join them in their sustainability journey to #MakeTravelMatter.   

Read more here or visit their website for more information.