Otters' Haunt Eco Retreat — Hotel in Tlokwe Local Municipality

The Vredefort Dome is a remarkable place unlike anywhere else on the planet. It deserves its world heritage status just for its impressive Pseudotachylite (fake volcanic rock) alone, where they have a beautiful quarry with great examples that you can stand by and get unique pictures similar to nowhere else. Walking around the area you will find Stromatolites (the world’s oldest animal (fossils)) just kicking about along with other lovely stones and gems in the dirt. Other amazing things to see are the lake where the impact hit, the obvious lines / rings left behind, the only river within a meteor crater in the world, so much nature, and more!

If you want to experience this site properly though I would definitely recommend meeting with Professor Graeme and his wife Kathy, they run Tour company (along with Rafting + Hiking options too) and easily know more about the whole region than anybody else. I spent several hours with them for a really reasonable price, and they told me so mush about the history, showed many examples of rocks found in the area, then even took me to some of the best places to visit in the UNESCO World Heritage Site, so when going, please please please contact them beforehand @ +27-72-873-4616 +27-82-475-8767 / + 27-84-245-2490 if you want to get a real good understanding of the place, as unfortunately without a visitor centre or anything, many others on the internet were not able to find anything of interest and go straight to the internet / forums to bash the site for being rubbish when in reality they were looking in all the wrong places. The professor and several other tour guides in the area have a plan to buy a local building together and turn it into a visitors centre, so I am hoping that the next time I visit they will have been able to have raised the funds by then to do so, as then I am sure that many others will be able to appreciate it as much as I was able to!

To simplify all of this;

The site is worth visiting.

Visit Professor Graeme & his wife Kathy (at Otters Haunt Eco Retreat) beforehand to learn about it + get them to take you to some of the main sites.

Look out for Stromatolites, Chocolate Tablet Stones and visit the Pseudotachylite Quarry!

The more time you get with them the more you’ll get to do, see and learn, but in the few short hours I got I discovered so much and will never forget them. I truly hope to come back again one day to visit some of the other places that I didn’t get the chance to see this time.

Have...

We stayed at Otters Haunt (Otters Den right on the river)over Easter 2025 with our 5-month-old twins, and sadly, the experience fell short of expectations.

The property has so much potential with stunning views and a peaceful setting, but unfortunately, it’s not baby-friendly — which made our stay quite difficult.

One of the biggest challenges was the scheduled power outage every night from 11PM to 6AM. For parents of young babies, this meant no lights or warm water during the hours we needed it most for feeding and settling them.

Cleanliness was another concern. The kitchen was unhygienic — with grime on the stove’s glass cover, dirty cupboards, and a kettle so worn out it was shedding metal flakes into the water. There was no warm running water in the kitchen, so we had to fetch water from the bathroom just to wash bottles.

The bedding had visible stains and the pillows had a strong, unpleasant smell. Both bathrooms were in poor condition too — grime rings in the tubs, and one of the bath’s shower attachments was broken, which made washing up even more difficult.

On the upside, Karen was very friendly and helpful throughout our stay, and the location really is beautiful. With some maintenance and attention to cleanliness, this place could be a gem. But as it stands, we wouldn’t recommend it for families...

What a great spot. A cute cottage, several cozy rooms nestled away, and a big river house with a pool and jacuzzi overlooking the river. There's also a really cool bush camp, complete with a kitchen/dining pavilion, swimming pool, and braai facilities. The river serves up rafting, fishing, and spots to cool off in the hot afternoon sun. We've visited several times (Guinea fowl cottage and Porcupine room) and come for nature, the quiet, walks on the islands, the forest walk, and dipping in the river.

They offer a guided tour of the Vredefort dome meteor impact crater (a UNESCO World Heritage site) as well as guided boating/tubing trips down the river—real hands-on stuff in small groups.

We usually stay for 2-3 nights on our way to Golden Gate, the Drakensburg, or the Eastern Cape, but you could easily relax for a whole week here...go off the grid and decompress to...