South African Country Life – September 2019

“T

herestorationofthe

FeatherbedReserve

afterthedevastating

fireof 2017 was

a mammothteam

effort. Each personhereis proudoftherolethey

have and still areplayingonthisjourney,andit

has certainly beena hugeprivilege,”saysNicole

Tunmer, salesandmarketingmanagerforthe

Risen

AtFeatherbed Reservein Knysna,

theGarden Route’s premiere

rehabilitation project shows how

catastrophe can lead to renewal

WORDSANDPICTURESANNGADD

FeatherbedCompany,whmI meetbeforeI take

a tripto thereserve.

“Wewouldnothavebeenableto achieve

whatwe'vedonewithoutthevisionofthe

ownerandthemanagement,withoutbudget,

andwithoutthecleanslatethefirespresented

to us.Thiswasthe‘silverlining’ofthefire

• thefactthatalmosteverythingwasreduced
  to ashes.Wehaveputa hugeeffortintothe

rehabilitationprojectultimatelyin aneffortto

restorethebiodiversity.”Thereservereopened

on1 December2018.

SafelyaboardtheRivercatFerryat

KnysnaWaterfront,to makeourcrossing

to theFeatherbedReserve,wecruisepast

luxuryyachtsandfishermentryingtheirluck

onsmallerboats.MarkEdwards,ourtour

guide,tellsusasthattheKnysnaEstuaryis

The view towards Thesen Island from

Featherbed Reserve and jetty. The burnt tree in

the foreground is a reminder of the devastating

2017 fires that swept through the area.

from the Ashes

September 2019 062 http://www.countrylife.co.za