Overlooking pristine beaches and nature reserves, Plettenberg Bay is the playground of South Africa’s wealthy. It’s also a town of contrasts that has somehow retained a village feel in the face of burgeoning informal settlements and luxury property developments.

Come winter, the town hibernates – boarded up, awaiting the summer migration of upcountry lemmings and international swallows.

It’s the secret green season in the Cape – moody and wet, but with mild weather between the cold fronts. Drive the N2 between Cape Town and Plett and you’ll see a spectacle of wheat and Canola fields, blue cranes, herds and aloes against misty mountains.

But the beaches are deserted, bar intrepid retirees who walk their dogs every day … long invigorating walks.  And the nearby forests are magical –  dripping green and mossy, brackish water rushing over dank earth.

We stayed at Gemini in Plett – a turquoise shuttered, Cape Cod style house right on Robberg Beach, booked through Perfect Hideaways.

Gemini is the perfect holiday house – beautifully designed and decorated, with great entertainment areas, stylish bedrooms and lots of little luxuries – relaxed and welcoming.

The house is well thought through, from the landscaped indigenous garden with its wooden walkways and hidden boma, to the open plan living area and kitchen with its top of the range appliances, it oozes comfort.

We loved the detail, Philippe Starck taps, the enormous Gaggenau stove,  an espresso machine and juicer, a great selection of books, deep comfy sofas and Lloyd Loom chairs.  The owners are clearly travellers and avid collectors, and they’ve shared their collection of beautiful artifacts around the house.

If you can raise yourself off the lounger, the beach is a close walk across the road and down a boardwalk through the beach vegetation, and you’ll have miles of sea and sand to explore. For the more adventurous, there’s a hike on the Robberg Peninsula – the views are worth the effort.

The Plett area has endless entertainment, exercise and foodie options. Try walking or biking Harkerville forest, visiting Natures Valley, taking a boat or canoe up the Keurbooms River, or just relaxing over a long lunch at Bramon wine estate or at the Lookout Deck.

For more info about Gemini contact www.perfecthideaways.co.za. Tel: 021 790 0972, or email: stay@perfecthideaways.co.za