Western Cape camping and 4x4: a province guide

The Western Cape has the most listings of any province on this site: 11 campsites, four 4x4 routes and nine fitment centres, trailer builders and canopy makers. Most of the campsites are run by CapeNature or SANParks, with a few private farms and one municipal reserve, and each publishes its own rules on firewood, pets, power and vehicle access. This guide groups them by area and notes the rules worth knowing before you go.

Cederberg

The Cederberg has four of our Western Cape campsites, all on rivers.

Kliphuis is a small CapeNature camp in the Pakhuis Pass with 14 sites beside the Kliphuis River. It borders the Rocklands bouldering area, so climbers use it as a base. Showers are gas-heated, there's no electricity, and music and radios aren't allowed.

Sanddrif Holiday Resort is on the Dwarsrivier farm in the central Cederberg, about 250 km from Cape Town, with the last stretch on gravel. Its main camp has 31 lawn sites along the Matjies River, each with a power point and a braai. There's no cellphone reception, and permits for the Wolfberg Arch hike are sold at reception.

Two more farms offer camping. Jamaka, a working organic citrus, mango and rooibos farm, has two camping grounds on the Rondegat River. Cederberg Park on the Kromrivier farm has lawn sites under oak trees, each with its own private ablution and a power point.

Boland and Overberg

Tweede Tol sits at the original 1853 tollgate on the Bainskloof Pass, in CapeNature's Limietberg Nature Reserve, with river swimming holes for campers. Note the practical rules: firewood may not be brought in because of the shothole borer beetle (eco-logs and charcoal are sold at the gate), the entrance has a 3.2 m height limit, alcohol isn't permitted and payment is cash only. CapeNature also lists baboons on site. Check the height limit against your vehicle with a rooftop tent fitted.

At Grootvadersbosch, near Heidelberg in the Overberg, CapeNature has nine decked tent sites with power and USB points looking into indigenous forest, and five basic sites for caravans and campervans. Caravans and off-road trailers aren't allowed in the decked area, and firewood isn't allowed in the reserve.

Klein Karoo and the Swartberg

Two of our four Western Cape 4x4 routes are in this area, and one reserve can only be reached in a high-clearance vehicle.

Anysberg Nature Reserve covers about 79,600 ha between Ladismith, Laingsburg, Touwsrivier and Montagu. CapeNature says it can only be reached in a high-clearance (4x4) vehicle. Its five campsites share a kitchen and ablutions, with no power points and no firewood for sale, so bring your own.

Gamkaberg, near Oudtshoorn, has three campsites, and the newest is laid out for rooftop tents and off-road trailers. From the reserve office, the Zebra Crossing 4x4 route climbs to the plateau. CapeNature calls it moderate and puts it at about three hours to Oukraal camp and back.

The Swartberg 4x4 Route starts at the top of the Swartberg Pass and runs 25.6 km out and back along the crest of the range, with an optional night at Bothashoek hut. CapeNature warns that parts are slow going and will test vehicles, drivers and passengers. You need at least two and at most four vehicles, bookings are online and in advance, and fires aren't allowed anywhere on the route.

Great Karoo

Karoo National Park's rest camp near Beaufort West has 24 camping and caravan sites, a communal kitchen and a restaurant and pool within walking distance. The park has two quite different 4x4 routes. The Nuweveld trail is a circular route of about 91 km, about 55 km of it on 4x4 tracks, with no fee beyond park entry; day visitors must start by 11:00 because the area is remote with little signal. Pienaars Pass is only 6 km, but SANParks describes it as challenging and not for beginners.

Garden Route and West Coast

Wilderness Ebb-and-Flow, in the Garden Route National Park, has camping beside the Touw River and the Serpentine, canoe hire, and bird hides nearby at Langvlei and Rondevlei. There's no shop or restaurant in the camp, but the town of Wilderness is about 2 km away.

On the West Coast, Tietiesbaai in the Cape Columbine Nature Reserve has 60 seafront sites about 5 km from Paternoster, on a gravel road a sedan can manage. There are no power points or lights, bookings are taken in writing only, and vehicles may not drive on the beach.

Pets

None of the Western Cape campsites we list says dogs are allowed. Six say no directly, and the two SANParks camps fall under the national parks' ban on pets. Our dog-friendly campsites guide has the details and a list of questions to ask other camps.

Getting the vehicle ready

The Cape has nine businesses in our directory. For fitment, R&D Offroad in Brackenfell does custom overland builds with a mechanical workshop, GearUp 4x4 in Noordhoek builds vehicles for 4x4 and overland use, and Kamelback 4x4 in Worcester fits canopies, long-range tanks and Victron off-grid systems.

Four of our trailer builders are in the province: Invader and Metalian in Cape Town, Bushwakka Africa in Worcester and Imagine Trailvans in Stellenbosch. For canopies, Alu-Cab and Andy Cab are both Cape Town companies.

Browse the province in the directory by fitment, trailers and canopies, and see every camp on the Western Cape camping page. Before booking any of them, check the operator's own page for current rules, especially on firewood, which varies from camp to camp.