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Luxury 'camping' at Toorfontein

The Little Karoo is a broad valley stretching east to west hemmed in by the Swartberg mountain range to the north and the Outeniqua mountains to the south. Whilst the environment appears very vast and arid, the windswept plains are broken by mountains with deep ravines and breathtaking passes. Jen put on her 'travel agent' hat and found stunning accommodation at Toorfontein tented camp which would offer a completely different African experience for Jackie & Stu.

To break the drive we stayed at The Fernery on Friday night- the only hotel at the base of the Tsitsikamma Mountains which has views of the rugged coastline, deep gorges and surrounding forests. Our lodge was nestled against a small waterfall of the gorge which made for pleasant background noise as we braaied on our patio. On Saturday we meandered along the Garden Route, breaking for coffee at a French cafe in Plettenberg Bay and a picnic lunch in Knysna. We continued over the spectactular Outeniqua Pass from George arriving at Toorfontein, just out of De Rust, mid afternoon.

The manager's of the camp had warned that the entrance road should be taken with precaution, however we blew them off thinking they were being unnecessarily cautious. Turns out they were right- it was a 6km narrow dirt and rock laden goat track with some bog holes thrown in but with Stu leading the way on foot at a few precarious places we all breathed in and made it in the A3!

The location felt like paradise- it was breathtakingly beautiful remaining largely untouched by man. The camp lies snuggled against the slopes of a huge sheer rock face with 270+ degree views of the surrounding valley. The entertainment area was sheltered by an overhang of the rock face and a series of walkways and decking led to the permanent 'tents'. We booked the entire camp and opted for self-catering so were fortunate to be able to enjoy the serenity to ourselves.

Our tents were very luxuriously appointed and also had running water & electricity- so I guess the only traditional tent aspect was the canvas walls & ceiling! The huge decks leading from each tent that overlooked the valley and surrounding crimson hills was a great spot to sip on our sun downers. We had to have Harrison on a close watch at all times given he is now crawling but coped fine. The only injuries were sprinters all over his knees, but with 2 doctors on hand we had no problem extracting these!

We pulled ourselves away from the camp on Sunday and did a circular route driving over the Swartberg Pass and then returning via the Meiringspoort Pass. The Swartberg Pass, considered by many to be one of the most dramatic and scenic passes in Africa, connects the Great and Little Karoo. The present road was completed in 1887 by 240 convicts and has numerous impressive switchbacks supported by rock walls- bit scary if you ask me that we are still using a road built that long ago! Lunch in Prince Albert was pretty non-descript however thankfully we were able to find sufficient supplies (we were in the thick of rural Africa on a Sunday) to enable us to stay an extra night at Toorfontein. The return drive to Toorfontein via Meiringspoort Pass was equally impressive. The sealed road follows the valley floor of the Swartberg Range which quite frequently floods and gets washed away in winter.

When at the camp we quite easily passed the time taking in the scenery, sitting around the camp fire, watching the sparse game (klipspringer and impala) roam the desert floor or going for walks in the surrounding valley.

It was an incredibly relaxing 4 nights away with breathtaking scenery and a great 'camping' alternative, as we had previously hoped to be returning to Australia in April to camp with Jen's parents and friends on the Murray River.

Breakfast at The Fernery

Picnic lunch on the lagoon at Knysna

Beautiful views from the road/track leading to Toorfontein
The 'tents' were tucked away next to the sheer rock face- thank goodness for the shade or it would have been unbearably hot!
Our tent with some of the views
Playing with Harrison, sipping a G&T and enjoying a stunning view
Sundowners in the evening on the decking... 'just magic'!
Taking in the scenery from the campfire/entertainment area

The mountains that abound the camp

Jackie being artistic with her shots- the valley was filled with quite pretty fynbos!

Midway stop up the Swartberg Pass perfectly timed for a feed!

The exposed and stark mountain face
The dramatic gorges & ravines which the road follows to the valley floor

If you look closely you can see the rock enforced roads and some tight switchbacks
Stu at the Meiringspoort Pass- walking to the waterfall
Camp fire time
Ploughman's lunch accompanied by some vino

We went for an afternoon walk in the surrounding valley


Harrison happy as a lark in the baby bjorn


The canopy of shrub leading to the camp site

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