Newsletter - Have Tent, Will Pitch

Have Tent, Will Pitch

Remember those nostalgic family camping holidays? Dad’s Peugeot 504 with red vinyl seats. The Venter trailer creaking under its load of canvas, lethal fold-up tables and a mountain of melamine. Arriving a week later at some far-flung municipal caravan park inhabited by Eugene Terreblanche look-alikes. Finding a spot alongside the men’s bogs. Dad’s panic as he realises there ain’t no tent poles. Sweet memories indeed… Happily, times have changed and a beer boep and Jurgens is no longer necessary to get the most from the camping thing. With the advent of nylon and nifty outdoor gadgets, camping is also a breeze to organise. What’s more we have the very places where you can put your tent to the test – a handpicked selection of intimate campsites, all set amidst gorgeous scenery and all removed from the maddening crowds. Check ‘em out!

Leopard Trail Guestfarm Perched high on the Langeberg slopes, Leopard Trail Guestfarm offers an action-packed nature weekend. Walks, hikes, kloofing, mountain biking and three 4x4 trails, six farm dams for swimming and fishing, educational tours of the farm and mountain,... Read more ...

Nature's Valley Rest Camp Draped along the picturesque banks of the Groot River, this appealing 'rest camp' is part and parcel of the Tsitsikamma National Park. A very pleasant 45-stand campsite and 10 Forest Huts tucked under indigenous trees along the wate... Read more ...

Oewerzicht Luxury Tented River Lodge & Farm Cottages A friendly fruit and cattle farm in the picturesque Greyton valley, Oewerzicht has grown in leaps and bounds since we first visited a few years ago. At last count the following were available: a luxury 'Out of Africa' style tented camp overlooking... Read more ...

Suikerbossie Guest Farm Suikerbossie has evolved in leaps and bounds since the Budget Brak first visited a few years ago. What started out as a rough and ready experience is now the ‘safari getaway’ of the Koue Bokkeveld. A 1700ha farm pressed deep into this ... Read more ...

Tweede Tol Campsite Squeezed into a narrow cradle of pristine mountains and cut by a gushing mountain stream tumbling over white rock and smooth pebbles, Tweede Tol is one of the prettiest campsites and day picnic areas around. The general site once served as a holding ... Read more ...

Warmwaterberg Spa As far as spa resorts go, Warmwaterberg has none of the usual crowds and associated trappings: no TV, tennis courts, putt-putt or tractor rides. Just three open-air pools (two hot, the other cold) surrounded by green lawns and stark, yet beau... Read more ...

Wild Olive Farm Stubbing the toe of the Witzenberg Mountains, Wild Olive Farm is a friendly olive farm with six neat cottages and a small campsite. For those travelling on a budget, Blue Crane, Plover and Hoopoe are the answer ... Read more ...

Wilderness National Park With five rivers, four lakes, two estuaries and 28km of coastline, the Wilderness National Park is your refuge from the holiday throngs and rumbling N2. The Park offers two comfortable camps, Ebb and Flow North and Ebb and Flow South<... Read more ...

Grootvadersbosch Nature Reserve Grootvadersbosch Nature Reserve encompasses the rolling green foothills and river valleys of the majestic Langeberg, and rubs shoulders with the Boosmansbos Wilderness Area – one of few remaining outposts of South Africa’s once extensive indigenous f... Read more ...

Hessequas Guest Farm Looking for a spot where you can let it all hang out? Hessequas is it! The concept is novel - a ring of tiny huts moulded from mud and straw, and a new 'family hut' called Cuckoo's Nest (which we haven't yet seen), both set in a... Read more ...

Glen Oakes Farm Conveniently appointed in an untrampled valley between Caledon and Hermanus (30km), Glen Oakes is a picturesque farm with a private campsite and two secluded cottages: a spacious Stone House perched on a hill under whispering pine, and a ... Read more ...