Sabie River Camp Review

Sabie River Camp

A vacation is no good if it is not at the ocean! Well, that's the way I have looked at vacations for around 40 years. This year I did things a little differently. I packed the car with camp gear, loaded the girlfriend and her 17 year old son and headed to the mountains.

          We risked not booking, and that over the December period in South Africa is living on the edge. Our road stopped in Sabie. We got turned away from a few places (which I will visit in the near future). We squeezed in at Sabie River Camp, located on the banks of the Sabie River.

          The camp grounds are well grassed and suitable for family outings. The resort boasts with two pools, Cold and Hot (Well, warm sometimes). The cold pool has a large tanning deck and swimmers get to hang over the edge of the pool and watch the mountain fresh water of the Sabie drift past. The pools are a tad small for the amount of people that visit, but it lends itself to the family atmosphere of the place.

          Young and old visit Sabie River Camp. It is marketed as a family place, which I can buy into, except there is not that much to keep the kids busy besides the pools and a small play area. There was a large group of youngsters in the Boma camp that partied hard. Till 10pm. Then the place was quiet and hypnotic as the tumbling waters of the river lull you to sleep.

           Ablutions are clean, and there is hot water for showers if you can figure the gas system they have installed. The staff are friendly and helpful. The owner, Raymond, is a hands on manager, and will frequently scoot past your tent on his golf cart and say hi.

           The tents the camp provides are neat, clean and comfortable. The price to sleep in them may be a little high for what is on offer. The tents have all the required amenities. Shade is built over the tents, which makes the stay cool and cozy.

           Wood and Ice is available from the office, and town is a short drive away if you need to get supplies. Sabie River Camp is an ideal spot to sleep over while you explore the surrounding countryside. Sabie is full of adventure accompanied by spectacular views. I recommend Sabie River Camp as a well kept, clean and pleasant rest camp.

           I bought a inner tube for a truck from the camp for R100, and spent a good hour floating down the Sabie river. The river wasn't deep or strong, and in a patch here and there I had to get off the tube and brave the rocks to walk to deeper waters. But it was well worth it. Oh, you buy the tube. Not rent it. So, I now have tubes for a future adventure.

Scores are as follows:

 Our Stay: 26 December 2015 - 3 January 2016

♦♦♦    Camp Site: (Grassy, some areas well treed, enough power plugs available, just a bit exposed to neighbours)

♦♦♦    Ablutions: (Clean, comfortable, hot water. Single sex ablutions for the conventional and unisex bathrooms for the adventurous)

♦♦♦    Pools: A Hot pool and a cold pool. (Just a bit small.)

♦♦      Activities: (Swim, Tubing in the River, Fishing, Cycling) These are activities that can be done at the camp or from the camp. The camp provides free Wi-Fi, although it rarely worked during our stay.

♦♦♦♦  Kitchen Facilities: (Clean, Hot Water. I liked the availability of some kitchen items - toaster, kettle, 2 plate stove and a fridge)

♦        Shop Facilities / Restaurant: (Wood and ice available. No Restaurant. Town is a short drive away)

♦♦     Child Friendly: (The camp is not a child haven. The pools and play area and cute and comfortable, but children may get bored on a long stay.)

♦♦♦   Pet Friendly: There were a number of good humoured pooches wandering around and your pet is welcome as long as it behaves.

♦♦     Birding in the Camp: (My Hobby! Some birding spots for king fisher, wag tails and paradise flycatchers)

♦♦♦   Overall: Neat, clean, friendly environment

I liked the place, and will definitely visit there again

Check their Website here: http://www.sabierivercamp.co.za/sabierivercampframeset.html

Follow them on twitter here:  https://twitter.com/SabieRiverCamp