On the wild side

If you want an inexpensive weekend getaway less than two hours from Johannesburg and Pretoria, the Pilanesberg National Park in the North West offers a fantastic bush breakaway.

As parents of two young, adventurous boys we have found the Bakgathla camp on the north-east border of the Pilanesberg a brilliant place at a very reasonable price. For children, nothing beats the thrill of camping outdoors: sitting around a blazing fire under a shower of stars and having a marshmallow braai.

The campsite is well populated with trees so there is always a shady spot to pitch your tent or park your caravan. Each site has its own table, benches and braai, but these are not always ideally situated under trees. In summer, you dont want to be having lunch unprotected from the sweltering sun. But the swimming pools make up for this oversight. There is an enormous sparkling pool with a current that pulls you along the waters edge. Kit your children out with snorkels and goggles and they can float around like big jelly-fish for hours on end.

For parents of young children, or for those a bit nervous of swimming, there is a shallow baby pool. The campsite also has several jungle gyms and a trampoline. There is also a restaurant and a con-venience store that sells ice important for a hot summer stay!

I have to confess that, although I enjoy the bush and camping that, as a woman I have a thing about the cleanliness of ablution blocks. For guys it may not be such an issue, but I get the creepy crawlies when the toilets and showers are not sparkling. On that score, Bakgatla gets four out of five, which is good enough for me.

The only real concern is the vervet monkeys that raid the campsite. While offering wonderful entertainment for the children, they are a major pest and steal food and urinate in your car if you forget to close your windows.

In terms of game viewing, Pilanesberg is very well stocked and includes the big five. There are several large dams that guarantee a viewing of loud, obnoxious hippos as well as buck that come down in the afternoon to drink. There are also several hides across the park that offer a relief for children who are not interested in sitting in the car for hours, watching out for elusive animals.

The Pilanesberg Centre, which is situated in the middle of the game park, offers food and drinks and a chance to stretch your legs. While we were there, a family of wart-hogs came up to the restaurant deck to investigate the goings on. There is no fence so it gives you the feeling of living on the wild side, although, no doubt, with all the comings and goings, it is unlikely any predator would try their luck.

If you have had enough of the bush and want to try your luck at the one-armed bandits or spend a day at the Valley of the Waves, Sun City is a 30-minute drive from the camp.

Rands and cents