HISTORY
Crayfish Lodge is owned by German husband and wife team Sandra & Reinhard Kern. During their extensive travels throughout South Africa between 1995 and 2002, they fell particularly in love with the Walker Bay area in the Western Cape. To them, it offered so many things that they loved all in one place: the sea and its vibrant animal life – including whales – right on their doorstep, the unique beauty of the lush fynbos vegetation, and the temperate climate of the Gansbaai area.
With this in mind, they purchased a piece of land in 2003 in a quiet cul-de- sac in Gansbaai’s De Kelders suburb, with the dream of opening a small, exclusive guesthouse catering to discerning visitors. Having traveled extensively, they had a very particular vision for how they wanted it to be run.
Planning and construction of the house started in May 2004, and just over a year later in September 2005, Crayfish Lodge officially opened its doors.
Both Sandra and Reinhard are passionate about travel, good food and wine. They also have specific knowledge of South African wines, both having attended a Wine Evaluation program at Stellenbosch University in 2007. These passions are backed up by their professional expertise in marketing, general management and accounting.
Meet the Owners
Reinhard Kern
With an MBA from Germany’s Augsburg College, Reinhard’s expertise is in general management and accounting. Throughout most of his professional life he worked on various external management and accounting projects, as well as being a general manager at various companies. His last assignment was the management of a prestigious golf club in Southern Germany.
Reinhard is a long-time member of the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs and Ordre Mondial des Gourmet Dégustateurs, two international organisations consisting of food and hospitality professionals and enthusiastic amateurs.
Sandra Kern
With an MBA from Germany’s Augsburg College, Sandra’s field of expertise lies in marketing. Before starting Crayfish Lodge, she worked as a product manager for a German cosmetics company. While in this role, she trained concurrently as a beautician and today, she conducts all beauty treatments at Crayfish Lodge herself.
Our Philosophy
We care deeply about the natural world around us, and strongly believe that all of us should make every effort to conserve our environment. With this in mind, we put sustainability and quality first wherever we can. We try and use local products in order to minimise our carbon footprint and we buy organic produce where possible. This includes both animal products and our use of organic fruits, vegetables and grains that minimise your intake of harmful or even toxic substances.
A happy side effect is that most of the time the quality of this organically farmed produce is superior and so it all tastes better, too.
As a guest at Crayfish Lodge, we believe in treating you like a friend rather than a stranger. At the same time, we’re careful to keep our distance if that’s what you’d prefer, so that you never feel overwhelmed by too much attention. We’re very positive people, which impacts on the people that we recruit to work with us, as well as how we interact with you, our valued guests.