Kuru Lux Safari Cabin, De Pakhuys

August 2021

In our previous post, we’ve told you about our adventurous road trip from the Tankwa Karoo (you can read about it here).

We’ve now arrived at another stunning place where we will stay for 2 nights … and our main reason for staying here, is to do the Heuningvlei Hiking Trail in the Cederberg Mountains (you can read about this amazing hiking trail here).

Arriving at De Pakhuys

De Pakhuys:

You will find that our accommodation for the next two nights, (De Pakhuys), are perfectly placed in the Cederberg Mountains. It’s about 26km from Clanwilliam and on route to the historic village Wupperthal (while driving over the beautiful Pakhuis Pass).

You can either choose to camp or to “glamp”. There are beautiful cabins, cottages and camping grounds for either tents or caravans. For a change, we’ve decided to go the “glamping” route and booked the Kuru Lux Safari Cabin. In this post, we will show you just how beautiful this accommodation is – a real gem in the Cederberg Mountains!

Kuru Lux Safari Cabin
Our amazing view of the mountains as seen from our front porch

This (self-service) cabin is literally surrounded by big rocks and you don’t see (or hear) anybody else, except for the sounds of animals.

You can’t get closer to the rocks of the Cederberg Mountains than this
The front porch of our cabin – perfectly placed next to a big rock where we’ve enjoyed our “braai” (barbeque) evenings

Although De Pakhuys is a popular accommodation option for people who are active in bouldering (rock climbing stripped down to its raw essentials), they also welcome other tourists (like us, who wants to enjoy some of the splendid hiking trails). We’ve seen a couple of energetic youngsters (maybe also some older ones) who were camping. They were out in the mountains, bright and early every morning, to enjoy the stunning rock formations for some bouldering.

But let’s get back to our accommodation! I’m sure you would love to see the inside of Kuru Lux Safari Cabin. Let us take you on a tour …

A very comfortable (and big) bed in our cabin with soft luxurious linen
There is also a single bed … and bonus: a fire place for the cold winter months

The kitchen is fully-equipped with everything you may need while staying there. Everything was super clean and to our delight, we’ve also discovered a fancy coffee machine.

Lovely kitchen in Kuru Lux Safari Cabin
Such a beautiful view from the kitchen’s window

By now, you know how easy it is to impress us ☺️. A special touch in any accommodation always puts a smile on our faces. And that was exactly what we’ve got here at De Pakhuys … home-baked rusks and a wonderful selection of Rooibos tea (we are in Rooibos tea world after all).

That special touch: Home-baked rusks and a wide selection of Rooibos tea

And if you thought I was impressed with our bed and the kitchen, you must have seen my face when we’ve walked into the bathroom! The sight of that bath made me very happy (and you will understand my connection with the bath even more after our long hike the following day …).

This bath is the cherry on the cake in our cabin

After my excitement over the bath, I saw a curtain which I thought was leading to the back yard of the cabin …

What could be behind this curtain?

It was indeed the back of the cabin … but then I saw the shower that is built into the rocks (an outside shower)!

The outside shower as seen from the bathroom

I think this is a brilliant idea for the hot summer months to cool down! But definitely not high on our list as it was quite chilly during our two-day stay. Maybe we should come back in 4 months’ time to test this outside shower!

The outside shower is protected by high rocks

To prepare dinner, we’ve spent both evenings outside and next to the fire to have a “braai” (you know, a barbeque). It was quite amazing to sit here, in total seclusion, just enjoying the fresh mountain air and hearing night noises of different animals.

Our favourite time of day – “braai” time

Another beautiful spot close to our cabin, was a colourful bench that was placed against a rock. I can imagine how peaceful this must be to sit here in summer time with a book or just to relax … as it is now spring, it was surrounded by pretty little wildflowers.

A cool spot to relax

On the day we’ve left (after we’ve done our hike), it was overcast and started to rain. But the view as we’ve left our cabin, was still beautiful with the Cederberg Mountains shrouded in low clouds.

The view as we’ve left De Pakhuys

And to our surprise, we could still see a carpet of wildflowers, even though it was a grey and misty day. I bet this must be a beautiful sight on a bright and sunny day!

Wild spring flowers at De Pakhuys

Great, we’ve discovered another amazing gem on one of our road trips! We’ve enjoyed it so much, that we wanted to book another night, but unfortunately it was already fully booked. It seems De Pakhuys is quite popular and we will have to come back at another time … in summer to test that outside shower!

In our next post (the last one of this series), we will take you on an incredible hike to the Cederberg Mountains – the Heuningvlei Hiking Trail … get your hiking poles and backpack ready, we’ll see you there!