The Langebaan Treehouse

The upper storey of a big family house on the edge of town, where the houses stop and the reserve starts. Three sunny bedrooms sleep six — two queens and a room with two singles — with a generous kitchen, an indoor braai for the evenings, and a treetop deck that stays usable when the wind is up.

The views run over the West Coast National Park and the bay. Walks start at the front gate: a short climb takes you onto the koppie, where the lookouts over the Langebaan Lagoon are the sort of place you take a bottle of wine at six. The reserve next door is unusually rich in plants and birds, and spectacular in spring.

It is a quiet cul-de-sac with plenty of parking, and covered storage in the garage for small boats, bikes and gear. Two honest notes from Michelle. The front garden and the laundry are shared with the Kiteshack, the garden flat below, which is let separately. And the garden is wild, unirrigated and mostly left alone — no manicured lawn, but a family of mongoose on daily patrol and a great many birds.