Kleine Paradys, Piketberg – Camping (South Africa)

February 2021

MORE CAMPING (but this time, a bit more luxurious)

While it’s still summer here in South Africa, camping is always a good option for a weekend activity.

Kleine Paradys – never heard of it – where is it?

Kleine Paradys (which means ‘Little Paradise’) is just around the corner from where we live – about an hour’s drive from Langebaan. We took the R27 and at Velddrif, turned east on the R399. Turn right at Moravia and follow the road to Broodkraal. Then drive through the farm community’s houses until the sign for Kleine Paradys indicates a right turn.

Friends, who had their last (disastrous) camp about 13 years ago, asked if we could take them on a camping trip. We decided that wild camping (which we usually do) would not be the best option for them and therefore chose a campsite that has all the amenities one could hope for while away from home.

This is exactly what Kleine Paradys is. It’s a beautiful campsite with soft green grass, paving with shade cloth overhead for your tent, an electrical outlet for lights/kettle/camping fridge and a ‘braai’ (barbecue). To top it off, you will have your very own ablution facility. For us, this is like 5-star camping and hopefully it will wipe out the last terrible camping experience our friends had.

Probably the best part of this camping site, was the view of the mountains. At sunset, we were sitting on our camping chairs and enjoyed nature’s free show.

As previously mentioned, the Berg River flows past Kleine Paradys. Although there is a fence between our campsite and the river (we chose the kid-friendly campsite as our friends have a toddler), there is a gate that led to the river.

As the sun was setting on our first evening, we made a fire to ‘braai’ (barbecue) steak.

The next day we made use of all the facilities that Kleine Paradys has to offer. There is no way you will get bored while visiting here.

The day was a real scorcher – temperatures were close to 40ºC/104 Fahrenheit, so there was really only one place we wanted to be, and that was the pool.

There is even a small indoor pool and jacuzzi under roof for the adults. I suspect this is a popular spot during winter months. We enjoyed most of the day at the pool and our friend’s little boy had a real ball of a time at the slide and at the shallow end of the pool.

Near the pool is a large play area for the little ones which is covered with shade cloth to protect them from the fierce sun in the summer.

There is even a paved area with a road mapped out where children can get on their bikes to play – safe and out of the way of cars.

Oh, and you don’t have to bring your own canoe or kayak to explore the river. This is provided by Kleine Paradys. Our friend took his fishing rod and jumped into one of the canoes and floated on the river for a while.

If you forgot something at home, you don’t have to worry. There’s a small farm shop at Kleine Paradys. Here you can buy wood, ice, soft drinks, sweets and even camping equipment that you might need. Just check the times, as they are not open all day long (and closed on Sundays).

After a long day in the water, everyone was hungry. We decided to make a chicken ‘potjie’ (a stew in a 3-legged pot) on the fire.

As the sun set, we saw thunderclouds beginning to form in the east. There was a prediction that we might expect rain tomorrow.

Sunday morning our friends prepared brunch (that meal between breakfast and lunch). They made a delicious frittata on the fire that left us full for most of the day.

And then, as predicted, the clouds started to gather and we had a few hours of gentle rain.

So, what does one do when there is a rainy day on a camping weekend? Well, what about opening a bottle of wine and get out a board game.

We were having so much fun that we didn’t even notice when it had stopped raining.

While our friends were taking their little boy to the playground, Berto decided it was a good time for a nap. I was happy with a book (and a big packet of chips) to enjoy the afternoon.

When our friends returned, we decided to stroll through the farm and showed all the different animals to our little camper.

When we got back to our camp site, we made another fire. It was time to prepare our last dinner for our camping weekend.

On the menu tonight was lamb rib and beef kebabs in a red wine sauce. We could not have asked for a better evening to conclude our weekend.

It’s difficult to understand how just three days of camping in nature can have such a relaxing effect. That’s why we’re already planning the next camping trip.

Thank you to the staff of Kleine Paradys for such an enjoyable experience – you know what campers need to be happy. We will definitely come back again.