The Dunes Country House in St Francis Bay scooped top honours in the 'Best For Conservation Of Wildlife and Habitat' category at the Inaugural Eastern Cape 'Adventure Province' Tourism Awards.

The Eastern Cape, recently rebranded as the 'Adventure Province', launched the new awards aim to showcase the outstanding tourism offerings available in the area and to celebrate its tourism diversity. Recognising service excellence in accommodation, cultural heritage, adventure and biodiversity as well as the unique skills and warmth of its people, the awards criteria include a commitment to transformation, good leadership and customer focus.

The Dunes Country House is set in a 600 hectare private nature reserve, bordered on one side by a pristine shifting sand dune system with a number of historical midden sites. The remainder consists of indigenous coastal fynbos and an extensive rejuvenated wetland system.

A 5-year campaign to remove alien rooikranz resulted not just in the successful rehabilitation of an area of land, but also attracted the 'homecoming revolution' of a large number of frogs and toads, some  rare.  In order to monitor which species were in residence, The Dunes launched an evening frog safari, which allows guests to spend time in the wetland helping to create a species data base. This novel idea has received positive approval from visitors, and adds another dimension to the 'must see' wildlife of the Eastern Cape.

Well done to all at The Dunes - they really deserve this award!

Stay at The Dunes Country House - Contact Portfolio for bookings and information.