Nature's Valley Rest Camp — Hotel in George

This is one of the few camps I have gone back to year after year. It also means I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly. Nature's Valley is by far one of those African gems you cannot miss. Most see the small seaside town at a glance towards the end of the Otter trail or at the start of the Tsitsikamma with few paying note that the area has the densest population of old (100 years) Podocarpus latifolius in the region. With its Fynbos covered hills overlooking a wild ocean it is by far worth it just for the day hikes towards saltriver mouth. Cabins (a total of 9) can normally be acquired for R600 (2 people excluding conservation fees) and ±45 camping sites are littered between dense forests. The little monetary support the camp receives (from SANParks) goes into maintaining the grounds and upgrading the cabins. Unlike Stormsriver, the cabins are smaller (because they were built way in advance of those of its partner). This you can see in the online photo's and is reflected in the lower price. The price however mirrors that of some backpackers in Plett. Its close proximity to the water means the cabins are cold in winter but all harbor heaters and most now contain small fridges and microwaves. Any visitors should note that the site is largely open to the reserve surrounding it and that the pine plantations in the area (not only the human population) have sustained a large baboon and blue monkey population that ventures into the site. As these are protected animals management cannot physically harm them or keep them out of the camping site permanently and they do tend to venture into tents and try windows/doors if not properly closed. I have seen ripped tents and food being carried away (I have seen the poor manager age 30 years in the past 4 from this alone). If you keep your food in locked bins/car/lock the doors/windows you'll be fine. You do not enter a reserve an expect no animals, that's why everyone loves the local antelope and Knysna loerie. I have even spotted the local Narina trogon (very rare). I do implore SANParks to invest in reopening the Grootkloofbos hike (closed going on 5years), the seaside Saltriver route (closed going on 3years) and upgrading the Brakriver route and trail to the coast as it was heavily overgrown (the trail normally offers a rare glimpse into tree and ground orchids native to...

We often visit SANParks but were a bit disappointed in the quality of hospitality we've received under the following conditions: 1 During a peak season, the bathroom facilities were not always as clean as you should expect it to be despite a busy usage frequency of campers, hikers and day visitors. 2 There was not much rubish bins available inside the camping area. 3 We left the canoes at home to limit the luggage only to realize on arrival the website promises of renting canoes is not possible. 4 Camp sites are not leveled and need some filling up with gravel. Luckily we had no serious rain during our visit. 5 The hiking maps provided at entrance are out dated. Contour lines as well as a hiking route rating system on evaluating the difficulty levels of each route on the map, might help to do some pre-planning. 6 The different hiking routes are also not well marked at intersections with other routes and making things difficult to navigate to the correct end destination.

On the positive side I was more impressed in the way management manage the sewer waste at Nature's Valley than in the case at Stormsriviermond. Last mentioned dispose all sewer in the ocean which is not good for the resort's reputation where conservation is at high priority. The smell of sewer at the eastern end of the caravan park was evident of this issue.

Good luck with the management in maintaining these beautiful resorts.

Kind...

As someone who regularly supports SAN parks and Cape Nature reserves I must confess with great sorrow the apparent decline of accommodation of the Nature’s Valley reserve. ||||I had visited this reserve less than a year ago( we stayed in hut number 4), and apart from the monkeys that terrorized our little home I would describe our stay than no less than ideal. The beautiful smooth river and the lush green valley filled with wild life such as bush buck, vlei loeries and even the shy African Wild Cat. ||||But this time my stay was less so. We stayed in hut number 12 (which is a bit bigger and has an attached bathroom). When we eventually found our little house we were sad to see how much the living standard has declined. The carpet was littered with unknown stains, the bathroom had black mold growing on the shower and tiles. The toilet didn’t work and the cutlery was very sparse. No cleaning supplies were available and there was no grid on the braai. The curtains were tatty and didn’t work. This is not what one would expect from accommodation costing R 1 600.||||To conclude despite all of the above mentioned it certainly did not take away from the beauty expected from Natures Valley it is just sad to see the lack of care given to these...