Suikerbossie Guest Farm

Budget Getaways Review

Suikerbossie has evolved in massive leaps and bounds since the Captain Getaway and his trusty hound, 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 wild and craggy region, Suikerbossie is envied among locals for its gushing rock pools and waterfalls. Complementing the pristine setting are 18 camp sites, all virtually in the water and two of them equipped.  

You have to experience it firsthand, but to give you a small taste... 

Waterfall Camp (sleeps 12 in six double beds, plus 10 in own tent) is the most secluded – a spacious abode set above a waterfall and crystal pools. It's fitted with shutter windows, a thick timber counter and benches, a fridge, gas stove, oil and solar lighting and enough cutlery, plates, pots and tin mugs for a posse of campers who like their wild in style. Outside, there are hot showers, ablutions with two loo's and a scullery area.

Moving along to the main river, Ghoeboontjie Camp (sleep 4, plus 4 in own tent) is more rustic. In this case a caravan (or, if the group is larger, your own tent) provides a bed for the weekend, decked out in front with a pebble-fringed patio and a patch of green lawn under a shady wild almond tree. Like Waterfall, the camp has everything you could wish for in a rustic African safari, including an expanse of open water stocked with yellow fish.

Fairly close by are Kuil Camp (sleeps 12 and more), Waterfront (2-6), Bo River (10) and the Bo Tarzaan Swing (6-8) camps. All four are grassed, equipped with thatch gazebos for shade, and have access to fridges. You'll also find a Tarzan swing over the river - the experience just wouldn't be the same without it. 

A little further along, River Camp is a private campsite spread on lush lawns, under an enormous Cape pine tree.

Alison's Cabin, is a two sleeper wooden abode, for those not keen on a night under canvas. Set above the river with soothing river views, the cabin shares a communal bathroom.

All the camps have a tap for drinking water, a braai area, a large and centrally positioned ablution block and of course, the nearby river. 

Apart from unique infrastructure and gushing water, Suikerbossie offers good odds on spotting duiker, klipspringer, baboon, and maybe even a leopard. There are several walking trails in the area, among them a donkey trail that was used in the old days to transport wheat down the mountain. A super new 4x4 route has now been opened and there are tubes and boats for hire.

Really, what more could one ask for?