{"id":8140,"date":"2020-07-31T09:57:53","date_gmt":"2020-07-31T07:57:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getitmagazine.co.za\/ballito-umhlanga\/?p=8140"},"modified":"2024-05-28T12:42:30","modified_gmt":"2024-05-28T10:42:30","slug":"glamping-in-the-african-bush","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/getitmagazine.co.za\/ballito-umhlanga\/blog\/2020\/07\/31\/glamping-in-the-african-bush\/","title":{"rendered":"Glamping in the African bush"},"content":{"rendered":"

Love getting away with your family in the great outdoors and African bush, but don\u2019t fancy crawling in and out of a tent and using shared ablution facilities? Hello glamping! It\u2019s our new favourite thing and we spent a weekend at Hluhluwe\u2019s newest must-visit spot doing just that.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Editor Leah with her two sons Nathan and Harvey outside their bush camp tent<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Arriving at Hluhluwe Bush Camp is like discovering a hidden away, self-catering gem. It feels like a lodge – only the walls to your weekend home are canvas and despite there being wooden floors, a beautifully finished interior and warm beds, it still feels like you\u2019re camping! Well, sort of!
\nIt was Friday afternoon when we arrived at Hluhluwe Bush Camp, after a just over two-and-a-half hour drive. We couldn\u2019t get there soon enough. Lockdown has been long and unforgiving, and an escape into the African bush was pretty much all we could think about for weeks on end.<\/p>\n

Now we were here and, as the kids excitedly explored the incredibly quaint \u2018tent\u2019, we unpacked our groceries into the mini wooden kitchen (complete with gas stove, fridge and all the crockery and cutlery you need) and finally started to feel ourselves unwind.
\nAs the sun began to set behind us, our bushveld view of False Bay park (which lies adjacent to the bush camp) was completed with the pink and purple sky overhead and the sound of African bush creatures slowly starting to settle in for the evening. So \u2026 we did what almost any other South African would do in a similar situation \u2026 we opened a bottle of wine and lit the fire. Finally, freedom.<\/p>\n

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There are four luxury tents which sleep five people and the fifth tent sleeps six.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hluhluwe Bush Camp is owned by Dutch couple Trienke Lodewijk and Peter de Wit. Having lived in various parts of South Africa over the past 20 years and owner-managing their eco-lodge in Northern Mozambique, the couple finally decided to settle in Hluhluwe. Trienke is the local sales agent for the Luxetenten tents, which make up the accommodation at the bush camp. The tents really are quite phenomenal.<\/p>\n

They manage to be stylish and surprisingly roomy, while still giving you a rustic \u2018bush\u2019 feeling. The tents are also very new and (important in these times) spotlessly clean. We were lucky enough to stay in one of the five luxury tents (four of which sleep five people, one sleeps six), and our little canvas \u2018lodge\u2019 comprised of two separate bedrooms, one sleeping three (with a bunk bed and single bed) and the other with a double bed. There is a bathroom in between the rooms, which has a (very cool) shower, toilet and basin. There is also a comfortable lounge area and a dining room and the kitchen opens up onto a spacious verandah. This is where we spent most of our time. Reading books and enjoying the surroundings or, when they weren\u2019t off riding their bikes and exploring the bush, playing chess and birdwatching with the boys.<\/p>\n