Bushveld Paradise

Bigger isn’t always better. I discovered this at Riverside Paradise, a small but lovely campsite on the edge of the Elands River some 20 kilometres from Cullinan.

- Richard Van Ryneveld

I first started setting up the 2-sleeper Crown Trax caravan at Site 6 of the main campsite. The main campsite has six campsites all with electricity, a braai facility and potable water. The main campsite was chock-a-block full, but Hettie Vermeulen had kept the last of the campsites alongside the small water canal open for me.

Hettie and Neels Vermeulen, the owners of Riverside Paradise, were waiting to welcome me to their piece of lovely bushveld. Hettie is obviously a good reader of people for she immediately said, “Wouldn’t you like to have a look at the bush campsite first?”

She had read me like the proverbial book? Taking a short walk to the well-shaded camp alongside Elands River turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. I wasn’t worried about not having electricity; the well-grassed campsite with the lazy river in the shadow of a steep krantz on the other side of the stream was my idea of bushveld tranquillity.

Riverside Paradise is on 35 hectares of prime bushveld close to both Pretoria and Johannesburg. The resort is part of a much larger surrounding conservancy and there are no fences between Riverside and its neighbouring farms. The ‘river runs through it’ would be a good description since the small Elands River runs through the non-electrified bush campsite where I set up camp.

Don’t be fooled by the word ‘bush’ the lower campsite, like the dedicated six-stand caravan sites, are all on well-watered and trimmed grass. Hettie shared a fascinating fact, she said, “The Elands River is the only A-grade River in South Africa.”