Oudtshoorn: Karoo Retreat, Surval Boutique Olive Estate and Buffelsdrift Game Lodge

Oudtshoorn

We stayed at a lovely self-catering guest house called ‘Karoo Retreat’ which offers 4 very comfortable guest rooms and an extra cottage on the side. It’s got a large swimming pool ( Always a plus!!), very spacious and cosy Karoo- style country kitchen and a braai which of course Andrew was very happy about 🙂
www.karooretreat.co.za

Lovely stay in Oudtshoorn and we got to experience Surval Olive Boutique as well as a sunset game drive at Buffelsdrift Game Lodge.
Surval was a surprise find, we hadn’t seen it before and just read the sign ‘ Olive tasting’… sounded great! They have a beautiful and very large restaurant where we sat down to do the Olive Tasting… of course you cannot taste Olives without a glass of wine, and with a glass of wine some other nibbles and snacks go very well…. 🙂 So our Olive Tasting turned into a lovely lazy afternoon with great food and wine, and we enjoyed the beautiful surroundings.
They do have accommodation as well which seemed quite comfortable as well.
www.surval.co.za

Oudtshoorn
We stayed at a lovely self-catering guest house called ‘Karoo Retreat’ which offers 4 very comfortable guest rooms and an extra cottage on the side. It’s got a large swimming pool ( Always a plus!!), very spacious and cosy Karoo- style country kitchen and a braai which of course Andrew was very happy about 🙂
www.karooretreat.co.za

Karoo Retreat - Room
Karoo Retreat - Kitchen
Karoo Retreat - House
As a highlight in Oudtshoorn, I organized a sunset game drive at Buffelsdrift Game Lodge. Before hopping onto the open game vehicle, we quickly signed the indemnity form and then off we went into the reserve. The Game Reserve is such is not very big however the variety of animal species, different birds and reptiles almost makes you forget it’s that small!
Surval 1
Surval 2
We were lucky to see giraffe, buffalos, meerkats, hippo and springboks amongst many other animals.
Our ranger drove us to one of the highest points of the reserve to enjoy the sunset and breath-taking view onto the reserve with the Swartberg mountains in the background while sipping a sundowner drink!
Buffelsdrift Game Lodge is located off the R328, just over 6 km from the town centre of Oudtshoorn, and the luxurious tent suites are built around a dam that is home to a couple of hippos. They offer an elephant experience including feeding, walks and rides on the elephants, as well as meerkat safaris. Their a la carte restaurant is open to guests and the public and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and is a great spot for sundowner drinks.
There are Luxury waterfront tented suites that are situated right at the dam and the other rooms are in second row behind them. The interior is basically the same in both room categories though and offers a private outdoor hot water shower, air- conditioning, telephone and free Wifi. The luxury waterfront rooms come with their own sundeck and a direct view onto the dam.

In my opinion, Buffelsdrift is a fantastic option for people that, firstly, want a change from the usual guest houses or hotels on their trip because the tented suites are something completely different albeit very comfortable. And secondly, if you don’t have enough time or budget to do a 3-4 day safari at Kruger National Park or in the Eastern Cape but still want to enjoy seeing some animals close- up on the Garden Route, this is a lovely option to do it.
However, if you want the ‘real’ safari thing, Buffelsdrift won’t be for you and it doesn’t compare to a safari in the Kruger Park or in the Eastern Cape. But for anything else, it’s great!
www.buffelsdrift.co.za


Buffelsdrift 2
Buffelsdrift 3