A Piece of Paradise

I see a lot of caravan parks and campsites. But, every now and again, a place comes along that’s so magical you want to keep it greedily all to yourself. One of these is Coral Tree Camp, high up on its own little ‘shelf’ on the forested mountainside in Magoebaskloof in the Limpopo province.

- Richard Van Ryneveld

The camp is deep in the kloof and only accessible by 4x4, which helps to maintain its “Top Secret” status.

I towed the tough Gecko Off-Road caravan up to Coral Tree using 4x4 lowrange. The Gecko’s weight out of the factory is 1320kg (Tare) and can be loaded to 1900kg (GVM); luckily, I had a powerful Range Rover Autobiography V8.

If you are worried about getting to the camp, especially if you are towing, I would suggest that you give Elspeth or Ralph Humphreys a ring. This enterprising couple started farming on this piece of paradise some 20 years ago. They built their own house and started farming avocados on the lower slopes of the mountain. The Humphreys now farm with macadamias and herbs in addition to the avos.

They had horses and stables on the farm for many years, and later, after selling the horses, they decided to turn the buildings into the now popular Herb Cottage.

It’s quite a steep climb up through indigenous forest to your mountain eyrie. The bonnet of the car seems to aim heavenward for a good section, until suddenly you are on a magnificent flat, grassed plateau. The whole campsite is fringed with flower beds, and when you get your bearings, you will stare slackjawed as you take in the plunge pool and wooden deck of a building on your left.