Knysna Nook

Knysna Nook is a detached white house behind a picket fence on Kingsway Street, and the name undersells it. This is a full house with a hard-working galley kitchen, several bedrooms and a patio table that seats eight.

A stepping-stone path crosses the lawn to the gate. There is a garage and a driveway beside a trimmed hedge, with parking on it, and a tree by the fence with a birdhouse in it. The frontage is low and plain and gives no hint of how much garden sits behind.

Galley, island, bookshelf

The kitchen is narrow and does a lot: a wood countertop with a cooktop and kettle, a fridge-freezer, a dishwasher, an island with bar stools where the dining counter gives out. Beyond it the lounge is bright, grey sofas round a wood coffee table with a bookshelf behind, and a second sitting area holds a blue sofa and the television. A study nook with a desk opens off the lounge.

Striped linen, cane chairs

The bedrooms are done simply and each one differently: striped linen with rolled towels and a cane chair, a cream tufted headboard and white bedding, twin beds under colourful patterned covers, a beige headboard beside a wood dresser. Electric blankets are provided, which tells you something true about Knysna in winter. One bathroom has a freestanding bathtub next to a glass shower, another a vanity and a window onto greenery.

The rock-and-stream garden

Outside there is more than the front suggests. A covered porch with a yellow sofa and wicker chairs opens onto the lawn, a tiled patio sits beside a rock-and-stream water feature, a long dining table seats eight under cover, and a courtyard holds a garden urn below the chimney. There is a braai and a sun terrace.

Kingsway Street and outward

This is a residential island in the estuary, tied to Knysna by a single causeway on Armstrong Road. Steenbok Nature Reserve takes the northern shore and asks nothing at the gate. For a smaller party there are smaller flats on the island.

Who books it

A family, or friends travelling together who want more than one room to sit in.