A SPLENDID WEEKEND AT RORATAU

July 2023

Roratau Bushcamp is situated approximately 30km from Pretoria in the Leeuwgedacht Conservancy area. The conservancy is adjacent to the big 5 Dinokeng Nature Reserve. If you travel on the Moloto Road from Pretoria, the last 6 kilometers is on a gravel road. At the time of writing, the road was in a very good condition; you will be able to visit Roratau with a road caravan.

Roratau is a well-kept bushveldcamp and the owners Rob and Elsie are doing an excellent job at managing the campsite. Booking at Roratau was super easy, just a phone call and e-mail away. On arrival we were greeted by Rob and Elsie at the gate and were able to choose from a selection of campsites that were available.

We booked the last weekend of July 2023 just after the school holidays, arriving the Friday and departing the Monday. We were one of only three camping groups for the weekend. No children under twelve years are permitted at the campsite. The campsite is well looked after and in an excellent condition.

At Roratau you will find 5 Fenced Luxury Tented Bushcamps and 7 rustic campsites for tent or caravan campers. Five of the rustic campsites share an ablution facility and two have their own private ablutions. Most campsites are fairly level with Cheetah being the best suited for Tent Camping.

Campsites are evenly spaced with sufficient privacy, so you are not camping on your neighbour’s doorstep. All the campsites have sufficient shade so that on a hot summer’s day you will find a spot to relax. Two of the campsites, Vlakvark and Bosvark have their own private ablution facilities. Vlakvark is the furthest away from the rest of the campsite and caters for larger groups; it also has its own boma and private swimming pool as well.

Each campsite has its own water tap and 6amp electric point with three-point plug. The power is not sufficient to run a small heater for those cold winter evenings but is fine for charging lights and mobile phones. It should also be fine to powerup the essentials in your caravan if you are not doing tent camping. All the campsites have a braai pit, braaier and drum to cover the flames at night when retiring. The braais are cleaned daily. Each campsite has its own dustbin that is also cleaned daily.

The self-catering campsites all share an ablution facility with a scullery housed in the same building. The ablution facilities are within a short walking distance of most of the campsites. The ablutions are shared ablutions and there are no specific designated facilities for men and woman.

When you enter the ablution, you will find a small entrance hall with some magazines against one wall and then three separate private cubicles or bathrooms, two with shower basin and toilet, one just with a shower. There is also a cubicle with a separate toilet. All the cubicles have a small bench and some hooks to put your towels and clothing. Each cubicle is well appointed, very neat and kept in very good condition. The showers are gas powered and we never experienced any problems with hot water or water pressure.

There is partial reception at the campsite for some of the mobile networks. We had no problem with Telkom Reception, but MTN reception was intermittent.

As far as activities go there is a small swimming pool, as well as a communal braai facility and Lapa should you wish to spend the day at the pool and not at your campsite. There is a mountain bike trail inside the conservancy, and you can also take a walk on this trail. We took a walk to Tranquility, the Guest Farm next door to Roratau where they have a lovely restaurant. You will find an extensive menu and can order anything from pizzas, burgers, steaks, and milkshake.

Something that we really enjoyed at Roratau and The Leeuwgedacht Conservancy was being able to walk around and explore the area a little bit. Note that we did not see a lot of wildlife except for a few impalas; a porcupine visited the campsite every morning at five looking for something to eat. Remember not to feed the animals. We were warned by the owners that there are monkeys and baboons moving through the camp from time to time but there was no unwelcome visitors during our time of stay.

During our stay the weather was pleasant with the days and evenings nice and warm. The last day a cold front started moving in and it became cold, but we survived. Don’t forget to read our article on how to make your winter camping so much more pleasurable.

Would we recommend Roratau Bushcamp? Definitely. If you want to spend a few days in the bush just relaxing, reading, maybe taking a leisurely stroll or mountain biking in this lovely conservancy, then Roratau is an excellent option.

What to expect: A beautiful well managed campsite where you can relax and get away from City Life for a short while.

Website: www.rorataubushcamp.co.za

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