We’ve been camping twice this year and the kids just love it, really LOVE it. There is something about the freedom and fresh air that makes them truly come alive. But as much as we have really enjoyed camping recently, it’s quite a mission to get organised to go – we need to borrow the tent and mattresses and then squeeze everything into my little car that is already bursting at the seams with three kids in three car seats. Needless to say that when I heard about Africamps and their gorgeous glamping sites, I wanted to find out more. The idea of camping without the admin plus the lure of a decent night’s sleep on a comfy bed while still enjoying the romance and atmosphere of camping definitely appealed to me.

Africamps has five beautiful sites across the Western Cape and it was hard to choose which one we should explore first. We settled on Pat Busch in Robertson because the photos on the website and social media looked utterly breathtaking and because it’s only a 2 hour drive from Cape Town and I thought we could manage that. This AfriCamps location is situated in Pat Busch Mountain Reserve – 2000 Hectares of spectacular mountain fynbos with streams, mountain dams, birdlife and various animals such as bucks, fallow deer, Nguni cows and even a very shy leopard in the area. We didn’t spot the bucks or leopard but the kids were equally intrigued by the cows, a pair of tortoises and a number of slow moving chameleons.

The possibilities on the property are endless and include several walking trails, good bird watching and swimming and paddling in the farm dam or beautiful salt water swimming pool. Both swimming spots are less than 5 minutes walk from the tents. The tents are completely kitted out and can sleep a maximum of five people – there is one double queen-sized XL bed in the main bedroom and then a double queen-sized XL bed with a single bunk bed on top in the second bedroom area. We put Ilan at the top and then set the little ones up sleeping across the middle of the double bed underneath. There is also aircon for the hot summer nights and electric blankets if it gets too chilly. There is a great little kitchen with a microwave, stove plates, kettle and toaster as well as a small fire place that completely warms up the living area. And the shower is pretty fab too. Oh and there’s wifi! More info about the tents here.

Our time away was absolute bliss – the views were incredible and we opened our tent sides right up so we could maximise our time looking out on the lush green valley with the Langeberg as a backdrop. We spent our two days braaing, drinking tea on the balcony and wandering from the dam to the pool and back to the dam. Although Africamps was fully booked while we were there we actually only saw one other couple at the pool area on one occasion. The tents are also set up 25m apart from each other so you really do feel like you have enough space. We kept our tent open during the day even when we were out swimming and everything felt 100% safe.

We booked our tent about 3 months in advance and were lucky to get a midweek booking during high season as this place is popular! We sampled and recommend the breakfast hamper which is a nice little add-on if you’re going for a short stay and don’t want to pack all the breakfast things. If you’re thinking of heading that way, I recommend you plan in advance – and it’ll be worth the wait!

We love Africamps at Pat Busch!

Find out more at www.africamps.com.

*This post was written in partnership with Africamps who invited us to give glamping with kids a go.