A light footprint: Camdeboo’s most secluded pods for two
The Pods at Mount Camdeboo are the Eastern Cape’s most delightful escape in the middle of the vast Karoo wilderness. Not in a tent, but in a luxury pod.
Mount Camdeboo Private Game Reserve encompasses 13 000 hectares of wilderness in the heart of the malaria-free Great Karoo, where the purest mountain air, cornflower-blue skies and mesmerising views work their therapeutic magic literally within minutes of arriving. At both Eagle’s Flight Pod, overlooking distant mountain peaks, and the Camdeboo Plains Pod, overlooking the famous Plains of Camdeboo (of course), there’s a sense of childhood wonder on arrival.
Beautifully kitted out, these 26m2 wood-and-steel eco pods rest ever so lightly on the earth. And just like the treehouses of childhood, where your imaginary world was a cosy space suspended loftily in the boughs of a tree, The Pods are lined with wood, creating a cosy cocoon. Up here on the mountaintop, they offer a wilder, more remote African wilderness experience with a low fence for protection… after all, the reserve is home to lion, cheetah, elephant and rhino. But for most, it’s the experience of a silence so surreal that it takes a while to adjust to the sounds of nature with not a twinkle of light as far as the eye can see at night.
A bird’s-eye view of the vast Karoo
Each of the pods has a skylight for night-viewing of the starry black skies, while dawn’s rays slowly fill the pod with rose-amber light, streaming in through low windows on either side of the bed. After a day spent on game drives and possibly a thrilling aardvark sighting on the way back, you’ll arrive to a gently heated wood-burning hot tub, and a fire pit aglow in the boma – all perfectly positioned for privacy and views. After a hot day on the plains, an unexpectedly cool evening breeze arrives: the perfect time to climb into the hot tub, relax and savour the memories of this untouched land.
Whether you’re here on honeymoon or a much-needed retreat, once you have spent time in the fabled Plains of Camdeboo, you want to return at least once a year for your fix of fresh air and ‘nothingness’, to a warm and friendly refuge in the wild expanses of the Great Karoo, where nature remains unchanged for millions of years.
It always gives South Africans a pang of nostalgia for a childhood spent on farms where a lone windmill bought with it the water of life, where swimming in the farm reservoir was pure joy, and where afternoons were spent walking to a nearby koppie to watch the sunset. At night, succulent Karoo lamb redolent with the fragrance of aromatic bushes on the farm after a good rain, and the sweetness of baked malva pudding was imprinted on your memory forever. Read her book and you’ll yearn to return time and again… the Karoo has a knack of finding a tender spot in everyone’s heart.
What we love…
- That the pods offer such a romantic, luxury ‘sleep-out’ experience in Camdeboo.
- Their location: the views out over the iconic Plains of Camdeboo are both awe-inspring and majestic, especially in the early morning and evening.
- The stars: never have you seen them so clear and so abundant. The night skies literally sparkle here.
- The Pods are so cosy, even in winter when it can snow on neighbouring peaks!
Things to know…
- There is, for those who must have it, WiFi up here.
- You can combine a stay in The Pods with a few nights in the equally romantic Peppertree Cottage at the main camp in Camdeboo. Built from stone, this utterly private cottage is great couples to experience the main lodge at Mount Camdeboo to its fullest.
- A stay at The Pods in Camdeboo is the perfect way to break the long road trip between Joburg and the Garden Route or Cape Town, or combine with an Eastern Cape beach holiday.
- Staying a while? History buffs should explore Graaff-Reinet and the Valley of Desolation guide David McNaughton of Karoo Connections. Or take a day trip to Nieu Bethesda where you can visit the Kitching Fossil Exploration Centre, or the famous Owl House, the museum dedicated to eclectic artist Helen Martins.
- The Rubidge Fossil Collection is to be housed in a world-class research and exhibition centre in Graaff-Reinet called Karoo Origins. Opening soon, it said to be the world’s largest private collection of prehistoric fossils. Read more about Professor Bruce Rubidge, whose grandfather Stanley, pioneered the collection, much of which was found in the area.
Reviewed by Michelle Snaddon