As creators and owners of Simply Bee, Helena and Pierre van der Westhuizen remains committed to Responsible beekeeping practices and the cultivation of awareness about the importance of bees as an integral part of our daily lives.
Bees are their passion, so in conjunction with their show room at Simply Bee, they have now also opened an all new Simply Bee Observation Centre, right next door to the shop at 31 Church Street, Hopefield, West Coast.
At the Observation Centre, Simply Bee offers an informative, educational and interactive way of learning everything about the incredible life-cycle of honey bees, how bees make their honey and how Simply Bee produces such a high standard of organic honey and propolis, whilst maintaining proud traditional and responsible farming practices.
The Colonies of bees in our hives are from the Cape Honey Bee (Apis mellifera capensis) – a subspecies of the western honey bee that occurs naturally in the Western Cape region of South Africa.
The Centre also offers a wonderful glimpse at the origins of the family history and the beginnings of Simply Bee.
We also proudly boast the West Coast’s first glass bee-observation hives with 2 live bee colonies. The hives have glass panels which offer a safe opportunity to view a bee colony in their natural environment, and to learn in an unobtrusive yet safe way about the incredible work ethic and processes of how bees feed their young, make their honey and communicate with each other.
We offer special age appropriate educational packages for school groups, study groups or tourist groups.
By prior arrangement and if the weather permits, there can also be demonstrations arranged by the beekeeper to show visitors how honey is harvested, the tasting of honey and to learn more about the fascinating practices of the beekeeper.
On display in the centre, we have a life size Honey Badger taxidermy mount. Being a near threatened species, Simply Bee supports the fact that more should be done now to ensure the long-term survival of the African honey badgers before they reach a critical status on the IUCN Red List. All of Simply Bee’s hives are placed on badger-friendly stands.
Simply Bee offers special package deals for tour and school groups (over 10 people). Picnic style snack packs & drinks are available – bookings are essential to ensure this deal and full educational demonstrations.
