Back to the Wild

Imagine camping in the Little Karoo… a billion stars above you, the ancient desert beneath, the insistent flapping of your canvas tent in the cold night air. Then banish all the rustic images this conjures up – because Dwyka Tented Lodge will confound all your expectations.

- By Suzy Brokensha

I think I may have mentioned before that my husband is very fond of spending time in the boondocks. Usually in a tent, I will admit, but that’s only because I’m unreasonable enough to insist on some kind of a shelter – otherwise he would just be out there in the bush somewhere. We do a lot of camping and most of the time I love it. But sometimes I just want a nice solid wall between me and the great outdoors, especially if there’s wildlife about. I want a hot bath and a light switch on the actual wall, as opposed to a torch attached to my head. I want a big, comfortable bed made up with beautiful linen, a delicious meal not necessarily cooked on an open fire, and a glass of ice-cold bubbly to hand. Is that so much to ask?

Not any more, it turns out: Dwyka Tented Lodge, part of five-star Sanbona, is the answer to our marital prayers. It offers all of the above, as well as enough canvas, wildness, fire, wonder and adventure to keep my husband happy too.

The beautifully designed camp almost forms the shape of a heart, with the lodge where the two halves meet, and nine separate, luxurious tents fanning outwards from that – close enough to one another for comfort, and far enough away for complete seclusion, which is just lovely when you’re in the private hot tub on your deck at night, gazing up at the blaze of stars. Each spacious unit is part canvas, part solid, reassuring stone, and comes fully equipped with its own romantic spa bath, air conditioner, actual light switches on the walls, en-suite bathroom and outside shower (all solar-powered).