Camping site: R250 per off-road camper per night plus R50 per adult per day. No electricity or water points at the River Camping sites. Basic cold water ablutions. Pet Friendly – no extra cost
On arrival we were met by Johan who welcomed us with a quick “getting to know your way around” chat. We were booked at Boplaas Campground but due to the excessive rains it had been closed to protect the roads. We made our way to the riverside campground and selected our spot beside the swiftly flowing Wilge River. The cicada beetles welcomed us shrilly.
Looming dark clouds encouraged us to set up camp quickly before the rain arrived. We had just put the awnings up when the wind blew the storm into camp. We settled down to watch the lightning show around us. Snug in our camp chairs, the flashes around us emphasising the darkness!
We had an early night snug in our cocoon and woke to blue skies with Piet-my-Vrous competing with the Diedericks cuckoo, Burchel’s Coucal Thick-billed Weavers and Paradise Flycatchers (among many others) in the bush around our camp and across the swiftly flowing river.
A pleasant day was spent birding, wondering around the extensive pathways of the hiking and 4×4 trails and just generally delighting in being back in the bush.
We thoroughly enjoyed a magnificent, star filled evening under the dark of the moon. It became evident that another storm was slowly building, but not before we could relish the superb company, fire, food and wine to the full. Another early night was made special as the elements blew and poured outside our snug, dry Tripper.
Waking up to a dark sky we decided to pack up and meander home early. The fields are plowed and showing a haze of green as the crops begin to grow. I cannot remember the last time I saw every dam we passed filled to the brim!
Yummy breakfast at Sergeant Peppers Restaurant in Balmoral in the sun. A Boer War memorial sobering with so many tiny white graves resulting from the deaths of 427 men, women and children in the Balmoral Concentration Camp in just two years.
Itchy Feet! 