This week we announced our next location, Stanford Hills Estate. Time to break out the champagne and get excited because this location is packed with beauty and a wide range of activities to keep both young and old entertained.
Take a look at this sneak peek of this stunning location. Video by James Yeats and Mattis Hansen.
Can you picture yourself walking through this beautiful estate, grabbing lunch at the Tasting Room, swimming in the dam or exploring via horseback?
Stanford itself is located 2 hours from Cape Town. This quaint town is on the banks of the Klein River. This area is becoming a known highlight by foodies who flock there for their delicious food, found in both the markets and restaurants in the area.
One of the highlights on this property is their restaurant, The Tasting Room, which uses local organic and free-range products.
No struggling with your stuff just come and relax in your fully equipped tent! That’s what glamping is all about. We have made a top 10 list of things, you definitely do not need to bring when you’re staying with us at AfriCamps!
Bed linen & towels
We have you covered. You don’t need to bring your own bed linen or towels. Each tent had 3 nice beds where you (and your children) can relax after a day of fun activities around the camp. We also have fresh towels which you can use after your shower in your own tent!
Flipflops for the bathroom
No walking to a public bathroom because you have your own! It’s not glamping unless you have your own private bathroom. Easy!
Electric blankets
No getting cold at AfriCamps. We have lovely electric blankets to keep you warm. During the winter it can be cold in South Africa at night and electric blankets will help you to sleep well.
Firewood, Braai Grills
Each tent has its’ own wood stove inside and braai area outside. Don’t worry about bringing a grill, tongs or oven mitts.
The word braai is Afrikaans for “barbeque” or “roast” and is a social custom in South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia.
No, no, no! Leave it at home. Each tent has his own fully equipped kitchen with everything you need to have a pleasant stay.
“We have everything AND the kitchen sink”
Food
Next to your braai and kitchen, you can also order the breakfast! Fun fact: every AfriCamp has a different breakfast pack each filled with its own qualities, yum!
What is the first thing that comes to mind when we say Robertson? It must be wine. Known for it’s wine tasting and beautiful views, this town in the Western Cape of South Africa offers much more than just your odd wine tasting on route down the coast. Have a look at our list of highlights in the area and extend your stay for a few days to explore this area more thoroughly.
Here is our list of the 5 things to do in Robertson.
1. Wine time
Robertson is known as a wine valley, so of course, you have to do a wine tour. But which tour do you have to do? We definitely recommend the Viljoensdrift wine tour. This tour is nestled in the south of the Elandsberg Mountains. The main benefit of the tour is the possibility to do the tour on a boat down the river.
Every first Thursday of June the Robertson wine valley will host the Wacky Wine Weekend festival. The festival takes place over 4 days and with over 40 wineries participating. Boutique wineries and tourist establishments showcase the valley’s award-winning wines. Thousands of wine lovers come to this lovely festival. For around R150 you are allowed to visit this festival every day. You also get a glass, water and a tasting voucher at every winery.
Another popular festival is called the Wine on the river festival, which will take place every second Friday of October. This festival is known as the “most beautiful wine festival” because this festival takes place on the riverside farm of Goudmyn and gives wine lovers the opportunity to taste more than 250 wines from 30 wineries. The ticket prices are between R90 till R180 a day and R190 till R250 for the entire weekend.
3. Best view of Robertson
Want the best view of Robertson then head over and do the tractor trip in Montague. This tractor trip is Nestled at the foot of the majestic Langeberg mountain range.
“The tractor, pulling its load of sightseers, meanders its way up the Landeberg Mountain, reaching an altitude of 1500m above sea level. On the way up you will have a bird’s eye view of the Koo Valley and, once at the top, you can look down into the Robertson Valley.”
If you want to do something different, then you have to visit the world’s largest hedge-maze.This botanical garden is chosen as one of four best botanical gardens in South Africa. A really nice part of this garden is the possibility to do a guided tour, where you can do a ‘’flower tasting’’ and you get to hug a cactus. This entrance has to be booked online here.
If you are looking for an adrenaline rush then you have to go skydiving. Skydive Robertson is one of the longest running Parachute Association of South Africa (PASA) approved dropzone. You can do 2 different falls from 3.500 ft to 11.000 ft. Are you already excited? Book it here.
So come for the beauty, the nature, the wine and get some rest in this beautiful part of South Africa, Robertson is just one of the many gems along the Western Cape of South Africa. With our third location, AfriCamps at Pat Busch Mountain Reserve situated in Robertson we are sure that you will find these activities and many others to keep you entertained when you come and stay with us.
AfriCamps at Kam’Bati was launched with champagne and great company. Being the second location in our collection we have a great sense of pride as this one rolled around. As we edged closer to the launch date we saw the camp bloom with an upgrade to the design and our team’s adaptability with handling the new terrain much different from the rocky Klein Karoo. This new location brought with it, it’s own special charm and as you enter off the N2 and drive through the farm, the green pastures unveil a deep sense of relaxation. Depending on what time you arrive, you will have either the beautiful sun shining over these pastures or the beautiful sunset to welcome you to AfriCamps at Kam’Bati.
Entrance to Africamps at Kam’Bati Photo by Pieter Wolhüter, official photographer for LekkeSlaap.co.za and Travelground.com
The day started off with grey skies, which cleared up around 10am bringing through a gorgeous day. Our guested started arriving after 2pm and were welcomed with a glass of bubbly. Some got to explore on their own and others got a guided tour. A great collection of people stood around chatting and getting to know each other.
Perfect for toasts Photo by Pieter Wolhüter, official photographer for LekkeSlaap.co.za and Travelground.com
Cheers to the start of our second camp, AfriCamps at Kam’Bati Photo by Pieter Wolhüter, official photographer for LekkeSlaap.co.za and Travelground.com
This welcoming energy from new and old friends gave this special day the feeling of a family gathering. We loved having everyone over and were blessed again with a great bunch of people.
The team from AfriCamps Klein Karoo got to meet the new team from AfriCamps at Kam’Bati, and thus our AfriCamps family has now grown. Jaco, Deen, Liza and Tanja were the perfect hosts for this day, making everyone feel welcomed to their stunning property.
Jaco topping everyone up. Photo by Pieter Wolhüter, official photographer for LekkeSlaap.co.za and Travelground.com
After the glass or two of bubbly, some guests got to settle into the tents. We learnt that the only way to truly travel, especially for glamping, was to bring your own cooler box full of champagne. This is now the glamping standard thanks to Liza from Nosy Rosy and her bestie, Vanya. As the rest of our guests made their way to the conference area, one tiny guest got to test out the kiddies play area.
First welcome from AfriCamps at Kam’Bati. Photo by Pieter Wolhüter, official photographer for LekkeSlaap.co.za and Travelground.com
Living room, kitchen, dining room and woodstove at AfriCamps at Kam’Bati
Second bedroom – queen sized bed and single bunk bed above the queen. Both comes with comfy duvet, fluffy pillows and electric blankets. Photo by Pieter Wolhüter, official photographer for LekkeSlaap.co.za and Travelground.com
Tent on stilts for AfriCamps at Kam’Bati Photo by Pieter Wolhüter, official photographer for LekkeSlaap.co.za and Travelground.com
As the sun began to set the fire for the braai was lit and dinner was on it’s way. More drinks and one great speech by Jeroen, to thank all those involved in making this AfriCamps dream a success. It’s been 10 months since we launched AfriCamps Klein Karoo and we have had great reviews from guests who have stayed with us, such great reviews can only come from the welcoming hospitality from our hosts.
A wonderful speech by Jeroen AfriCamps at Kam’Bati
The evening continued much like the family braai with the young ones going to bed early, some turned in to enjoy a glass of wine by the fire in the tents and some, of course, stayed up celebrating until the early hours of the morning.
The morning started off with breakfast baskets delivered to the tents by Liza and Tanja. These fresh morning smiles helped set the pace for the day as people enjoyed the last few hours in the tent and around the property.
Breakfast baskets at AfriCamps at Kam’Bati – Fresh, wholesome and healthy. Photo by Pieter Wolhüter, official photographer for LekkeSlaap.co.za and Travelground.com
Breakfast is served at AfriCamps at Kam’Bati. Best enjoyed as you take in the morning view from the deck of your tent. Photo by Pieter Wolhüter, official photographer for LekkeSlaap.co.za and Travelground.com
To sum up this weekend, it was a joyous occasion with friends new and old who are now part of the AfriCamps family. AfriCamps at Kam’Bati is open for bookings which can be done through our website. So come along and check in with us and enjoy this new location and all of it’s charm.
A big thank you to all who made their way to AfriCamps at Kam’Bati for our launch.
Vanya enjoying the view. Photo by Liza Botha from Nosy Rosy
Ostrich farm tours are famous for this region. The tours which run at AfriCamps are headed up by Laura and her team, on one of the largest Ostrich farms in South Africa.
As seen on the ostrich farm tour
We chatted to Laura to get the behind the scenes look at how it all got started and to find out a bit more about these birds.
When did you first start the Ostrich farm tours?
About 15 years ago, just after I met my husband. My mom in law asked me to show her guests at the B & B she was running at the time, the farm, as I speak German and Dutch.
How many Ostriches did you start with?
About 1000, and we now farm with over 25 000 birds, ages ranging from one day to about 15 years’ old.
As seen on the Ostrich farm tour
Did you name them all?
No, we do not have so many names, to start with……
As seen on the Ostrich farm tour
Do you or Piet have a favourite Ostrich?
We had a little dwarf female that grew to about half a metre, and then stopped… But unfortunately we had to kill her when bird flu was diagnosed on our farm about 6 years ago. All the birds had to be killed then, it was a very sad day. We had to start all over again.
Can you see different personalities in these birds?
Ostriches are very stupid animals. Their brains weigh about 40g, compared to the eye that weighs 60g! So you can just imagine. They stress very easily and they are frightened by the slightest noise or light. When thunder strikes, the just keep running around in circles like a chicken without a head. The breeding males are very aggressive; they do not allow anyone near them.
As seen on the Ostrich farm tourAs seen on the Ostrich farm tour
How old is the oldest Ostrich that you have?
Our breeding males are about 15 years old. We have one breeding pair on the farm, Jannie and Rosie, named after my mom and father in law. They are about 25 years old.
It basically says on Wikipedia that male ostriches’ have one true love. Is this true?
Yes, they say that ostriches mate for life. We have at least 2 females to each male, and they have to stay together on the farm. After the breeding season – Aug – April – they separate the males and females. They get a 4-month holiday, during which we harvest the feathers to export to Rio for the Carnival. Then we must make sure that the same males and females are put together again. They have tags on their necks to identify and help with this process.
As seen on the Ostrich farm tour
Who takes care of the ostriches?
Japie Potgieter has worked on the farm with us for over 13 years. He knows everything there is to know about ostriches. When to pluck, vaccinate, feed, weigh etc. How many birds at any certain time on the farm – and he is responsible for about 10 000 of these birds! He has a team of dedicated workers (not everyone on the farm knows how to work with ostriches).
As seen on the Ostrich farm tourAs seen on the Ostrich farm tour
Ostrich Farm Tour Information
Witness first-hand how these large birds are plucked, fed, weighed, and how we raise these peculiar birds from day old to 12 months. On this 2-hour tour, you might have the opportunity to see them hatch and take their first breaths.
R250 per adult
R125 per child (6-12)
We have family packages available – please enquire.
Daily scheduled tours @ 9h00. Private tours (outside of the scheduled times) for smaller groups available on request.
