Located among the many fynbos clad dunes of Gansbaai lies an area that can make any emotionally exhausted traveller’s eyes gentle up.
Pure Sea Resort is a boutique lodge to indulge, experience and expertise the therapeutic powers of nature. Constructed with its environment in thoughts, and should quickly be consumed by them, as quickly because the fynbos saplings on the roof take root.
Talking of taking root, Pure Sea’s beginnings began because the love story of two Belgians in search of therapeutic.
A protracted-term illness had plagued two Flemings, Bjorn and Annick, for years with medical doctors unable to discover a therapy.
However a visit to South Africa with common swims within the icy Atlantic waters gave supplied therapeutic via nature. ‘We seen the distinction as quickly as we landed again in Belgium,’ Bjorn mentioned.
The fast-paced life-style in Europe together with the excessive ranges of air pollution within the industrialised house was not conducive to therapeutic, ‘It’s a illness cocktail’ Annick provides, and being on the ocean was the closest they felt to feeling good and wholesome.
Therapeutic via nature
Their story was the inspiration of the Overberg oasis; the results of a long-term dream of shifting to South Africa and creating an area for others to really feel the identical remedial powers of Mom Earth.
The constructing is biophilic in design, connecting occupants extra intently to their environment – As in the event that they gently lifted the strandveld dunes and slid the constructing beneath.
Bjorn was hands-on in the course of the development; on-site day-after-day and even doing the plumbing and far of the ending himself.
His perfectionism echoes all through the house. As you stroll down the steps to your room, you may as effectively be strolling down a extra manicured model of the caves on the close by caves within the Walker Bay Nature Reserve. Pure supplies of wooden, stone and rattan are used as decor within the areas which create a seamless transition to a ground-floor balcony that opens out to the coastal biome outdoors.
Depart the sneakers in your room, and choose as an alternative to floor your self the second you arrive.Take a stroll right down to the seashore and really feel the sand between your toes by way of a pathway via the veld, bracing your self for the icy waters forward.
Don’t be afraid of the piercing waters – that is the place Pure Sea begins.
Leap straight in
Why chilly water immersion? The advantages of many a Capetonian’s pass-time have change into broadly identified – from boosting your immune system to bettering blood circulation, and that’s with out contemplating the holistic advantages.
Bjorn and Annick take two dips a day, and you might be welcome to hitch them as they allow you to courageous the swim. For these nonetheless cautious, there’s a swimming pool on the deck overlooking the bay with a extra agreeable water temperature, but it surely’s not practically as exhilarating.
After chilly water swims on our first morning, we did yoga on the higher deck overlooking the bay. In your go to, you may catch a glimpse of a passing whale whereas transitioning from downward-facing canine to the warrior pose, so be on the conscious lookout.
Annick had labored in wellness in Belgium so there are a wealth of wellness remedies obtainable too. You possibly can ebook a facial, therapeutic massage or the Ajna gentle journey therapy. If the final one sounds unfamiliar, the providing is exclusive to South Africa.
The Ajna gentle system entails a system of LED lights that sparkle at particular frequencies to induce a collection of trance states and nudge your thoughts into calmness as a type of meditative apply.
Leaving lighter
Bjorn and Annick mentioned that their intention is to create an area for friends to be to be immersed in nature, reconnect with themselves and their environment in addition to leaving no matter burden they entered with behind.
There are those that could dismiss Ajna gentle therapy or view chilly water immersion as a fad for Sea Level yuppies however no matter your convictions, a keep at Pure Sea will go away you feeling lighter, happier and wanting to return.
Annick and Bjorn are onto one thing; connection to the pure atmosphere is a big predictor of happiness, the place surveys have discovered that individuals who really feel as if their self-concept is intertwined with nature, report being happier.
A examine by the American Psychological Affiliation, the sense of connection you may have with the pure world contributes to happiness which incorporates decrease stress higher temper, improved empathy and lowered danger of psychiatric problems.
Even the sound of nature is recuperative, with a examine discovering that members who listened to the sounds of nature, carried out higher cognitively – so sleep together with your door open with the sound of the roaring ocean.
Understanding nature’s therapeutic is gaining momentum, and although approaches could differ, the nervousness over local weather change is a rising phenomenon – there’s even a time period for it: solastalgia. Satirically, top-of-the-line antidotes is time in nature. So cheers, I’m leaping in for a dose of vitamin sea.
Pure Sea Boutique Lodge
Located in Romansbaai, Pure Sea is ready to welcome its first friends from December. The boutique lodge has 4 ocean-facing en-suite rooms, designed to foster that intimate bond with nature.
Contact: [email protected]
Observe them @pure_sea_lodge
Image: Jarred Ruttenberg/ @Jarredincpt
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