It is with much excitement that we welcome The African Pride Arabella Hotel & Spa to our hive with their commitment of 70 hectares of land to home honey bees, surrounded with rich forage (Arabella is home to more than 1600 species of fynbos), on land free of toxins.
Arabella is situated in the Cape Floral Kingdom, and in the heart of the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve in the Western Cape.
Under the watchful eye of our local keeper of bees, Danie Voster, this haven forms part of the Arabella’s Mark of Craft – The Art in Fynbos initiative which creates an experience of gorgeous fynbos honey for guests to enjoy, while supporting the environmental needs of the region in fynbos preservation and the needs of honey bees for space to be.
What is amazing about this area is its fynbos, which is the main vegetation type of the Cape Floral Kingdom – one of only six floral kingdoms in the world, the smallest and richest of the kingdoms, with around three quarters of fynbos species endemic to the area – in other words, they grow nowhere else in the world. The Cape Floral Kingdom has been identified by UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee as a biodiversity “hot-spot”. And it is against this backdrop that our 30 hives live toxin free to enjoy the bounty of forage that this kingdom has to offer.
Click here to find out more about the Arabella Safe Haven for honey bees.