Eco-Friendly accommodation
Teniqua Treetops endorses the vision of a cleaner world for all. Our resort is as eco-friendly as possible whilst offering modern facilities.
We take our impact on the environment seriously. To remain low density and low impact, we limit the number of guests we receive, whilst actively trying to minimize energy usage and protect the indigenous forest on our piece of paradise.
How do we do this?
The timber used in the construction of the suites is a combination of Pine and Gum, both are sustainably farmed. The suites are built on stilts to minimize our footprint on the forest.
We use septic tanks and soak-away pits for all the suites. These avoid damaging the underlying root bed of the forest floor and are not close to a water course. The bio-degradable detergents are filtered through soak-aways and swales nourishing the forest root systems.
All our household and laundry detergents are bio-degradable and eco-friendly. Our guest amenities are provided in glass bottles and when we do not have an alternative, we only use multi-use, recycled plastic.
Compost bins are placed in all suites and composted on the farm for the garden. Recycling bins are provided in all units, this is collected weekly by Knysna Municipality.
Water
Our water is drawn directly from the Karatara River, the water is darkened by humic acid generated by the forest vegetation through which the river flows and as such is a rich amber colour. This water is passed through a 10-stage eco-friendly filtration system. No chemicals are used.
Toilets and Irrigation
The by-product from our water filtration system and our laundry waste is pumped into separate holding tanks and piped to each suite for flushing and feeds the irrigation line around the property.
Laundry
We harvest rainwater from all structures except the Treetop Suites, this water is pumped to separate holding tanks and fed to the laundry.
Fire Control – water supply
We have a reservoir which holds our river water and excess rainwater, this is linked to the fire control pipeline.
Power
We use a combination of gas, solar and electricity, we are constantly striving to increase our solar systems and reduce our gas and main grid reliance. Currently we generate 11Kw via solar panels using an AC coupling system which feeds our grid. Our aim is to run the entire lodge on solar within the next 5 years.
Ultimately, each suite will be supplied with a small inverter battery, which will power lights and critical electrical points in the event of a power outage.