An Unexpected Experience.

Thesen Island. Knysna.

By Louis Wilsenach

This part of the world is called the Garden Route and the ‘lagoon’ that surrounds and hold this island captive is actually a river, a very big river mouth.

A stunning setting for a hotel.

In Knysna on the Garden Route? More like the Garden of Eden! Where else in South Africa can you stroll in ‘circles’ through a magic forest of thousand year old trees, no wonder it is the setting where one of our most famous and most loved books was birthed.

The mountain range that fronts the ocean from the land, made a gap for the river to flow into the sea and they call this break, The Heads.

Altogether too wonderful a setting for Thesen Island.

Interesting history of this island - it was once an industrial complex with turbines and shipyards and work sheds until CMAI, an architectural development group got hold of it, dug canals and built an award winning island development with hundreds of villas and amazing shops and boulevards. Today Thesen is a very sexy address.

Which brings us to the heart of this piece. The Turbine Hotel. All five stars of it! What makes this hotel unique in every sense is that the developers got the go-ahead to remodel this old electricity factory into a hotel on one condition : Don’t touch the old turbine machines! It’s historical. And that is the magic of this hotel. All the beautiful old machines and pipes and goodies are all still in place but now part of the décor and design and heart of the place! Everything beautifully restored and painted in the wildest colours! You sit right there amongst all the pipes & industrial things in the Gastro Pub! Cool!

So expect the unexpected.

Passages are lined with pressure meters and gaudy pipes and valves. This is a pleasure factory today! What this hotel is now turbine and pump for fine cuisine with marvelous service. And it is situated right on the canal. It looks a little bit Venetian at night... all the lights reflecting off the water, romantic. Yes ma’m, very.

We were a little bit surprised by the food. More gourmet than what we expected. Jan Louis, the chef is a beautiful soul with a very nice touch in the kitchen. The food does not come out of a ‘factory’, it’s hand crafted. The Island Café is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner for resident and non resident guests.

Have breakfast right there on the canal under an umbrella listening to all the different tongues rapping around you as visitors from all over the world enjoy the best croissants on the route d’gardin.

And, before I forget, one of the treasures of this island is Ile le Païn. Markus & Liezie’s bakery.

Whatever you do - do breakfast at le Païn. Okay do lunch also! More importantly - buy bread! A few loaves. Take it home. Freeze and keep it! The best bread in all of Africa but then, so are all the other baked goodies also!

I have stayed in hotels of all sorts all over the world but never in a turbine factory that was wonderfully converted is a very special place. Cameras out! Shoot shoot shoot!

And! Walk the streets. Buy some artwork. Or that breezy top. Or take a cruise with the Turbine Water Club. There’s plenty stories coming from your skipper, Monty, a beautiful Malawian man. While you are at it, order some ‘refreshments’ for the cruise. The crumbed prawns are yummy and the wine ice cold. It goes very well with his stories, of the big fires, tales of the famous and infamous locals, all the wonders that makes this part of the world, very interesting.

Staying at the Turbine feels eerily like being on a boat. Quite surprising waking up the next morning to find yourselves still moored to the island. Luckily, Thesen is a nice island to be marooned at!

And do go for a walk in the Knysna Forest. There is still a few elephants roaming around the forest but they have super soft feet and you won’t even know they are there. That’s part of the magic. Circles in the forest - go on! Buy the book. Sit back on the Turbines deck, order whatever and let history unfold and entertain you and make fresh and nice for you!

The Turbine pumps pleasure ... five stars ... all the time.