Whacky places to lay your head

Awake in a wagon
Explore Napier, Elim and other small villages in the Overberg in a wagon, courtesy of Cape Town Carriage Company. At night, cook your meals over an open fire, then sleep inside. Each wagon sleeps two adults in the main section and there’s a foldout tent that can sleep another two. Tents can be provided for larger families. Experienced riders can hire a horse or pony to ride alongside the wagon.

$$ R3 250 for a wagon (sleeps two adults and one child) for a two-day tour, including meals. Tel 082-575-5669, e-mail info@ctcco.co.za, web www.ctcco.co.za.

If you’re not fond of horses, Witmoskloof Oxwagon Camp on Witmoskloof Farm in the Eastern Cape has eight restored wagons that can sleep up to 16 guests comfortably.

$ to $$ R250 a person self-catering and DB&B R450 a person. Tel 048-886-0630, e-mail info@oxwagoncamp.co.za, web www.oxwagoncamp.co.za.

Time out in a tipi
Healing Holidays offers tipi accommodation just outside Montagu, two hours from Cape Town. Each of the four tipis has a solar cooker, lanterns and mattresses on a wooden floor with built-in fire pits. It’s a good spot to get away from busy city life and relax, have one or two of the massages on offer and a Reiki session – or simply do nothing.

$ R350 for two in a family tipi; extra guests pay R100 each (four to five-sleeper). The honeymoon tipi is R450 a night. Tel 023-614-2901, e-mail philipeeanddeb@hotmail.com, web www.healingholidays.co.za.

The Blue Hippo Tipi Village in Greyton has seven tipis sleeping up to five each. There’s an organic vegetable/herb garden, cactus labyrinth, jungle gym and a dam (15 minute walk). Take candles or torches as the tipis have no lighting.

$ to $ From R300 a person a night on weekends and from R300 a tipi (sleeps five) on weekdays. Tel 028-254-9595, e-mail info@bluehippo.co.za, web www.bluehippo.co.za.

Forty winks in a treetop
If you’ve always dreamed of sleeping in a tree house, Teniqua Treetops has eight tented tree houses in the canopy of the Garden Route’s indigenous forests near Sedgefield. Each unit has a kitchen, deck, braai and a bath or shower with awesome views. There’s a swimming reservoir and a spa bath. For kids there’s an indoor games room, jungle gym and trampoline.

$ to $$ R950 for a honeymoon tree house and R1 190 for a family unit (sleeps four). Tel 044-356-2868, e-mail queries@teniquatreetops.co.za, web www.teniquatreetops.co.za.

For a treetop stay with game views, try one of Pezulu Tree House Game Lodge’s seven tree houses near Hoedspruit.

$$$ R795 a person sharing on a DB&B basis. Tel 015-793-2724, e-mail pezlodge@mweb.co.za, web www.pezulu.co.za.

If you want a romantic experience, Vindoux Guest Farm and Spa has four en suite tree houses, each with a spa bath and private deck with views of fruit orchards and the Saronsberg mountain range.

$$ From R800 B&B for two in a tree house. Tel 023-230-0635, e-mail vindouxfarm@gmail.com, web www.vindoux.com.

Sleep in a cave
It’s not quite like they did it in the Stone Age, but sleeping in a cave is an experience you won’t forget. The self-catering natural caves at Makkedaat in the Baviaanskloof have beds, kitchens and bathrooms with the added bonus of great Karoo stargazing at night. Take your own bedding; meals are provided on request. Activities include hiking, mountain biking, donkey cart rides and 4×4 routes.

$ From R160 a person a night. Tel 044- 934-1012, e-mail info@makkedaat.co.za, web www.makkedaat.co.za.

Live like royalty
Rapunzel’s Tower in the Clarens district is a miniature castle, a fantasy getaway out of a fairytale. You can let down your hair in this four-sleeper, with its views of the Red and Maloti Mountain ranges, and pretend your prince is coming to rescue you.

$$ to $$ Self-catering costs from R400 a person a night on weekdays and R650 a person on weekends. Tel 083-268-0497, e-mail info@castleinclarens.com, web www.castleinclarens.co.za.

Spend the night in jail
Although you won’t actually live like a prisoner, you’ll still get to sleep in a cell and pretend you’re doing time in an 1824 British settler prison, now converted into the Old Gaol Backpackers in Grahamstown. There are two-, four-and eight-sleeper lock-up cells, each with original prisoners’ graffiti still on the walls. The heavy iron doors and fort-like walls in this historic monument will ensure that your sentence feels authentic. However, there’s no curfew, you can eat when you want, have a drink at the bar and leave when you please.

$ R100 a person in a dorm and R150 a person in a double room. Tel 046-636-1001, e-mail oldgaol@gmail.com, web www.oldgaol.com.

Doze off on a couch
Sleeping on a sofa may not seem like the best way to spend a holiday, but couch surfing’s a great way to meet people locally and internationally and travel on a budget. People belonging to Internet communities allow travellers to stay in their homes for free. Friendships are made and contacts in various cities and countries established. Web www.couchsurfing.com or www.globalfreeloaders.com.

Not a typical trailer park
The Airstream Penthouse Trailer Park on the roof of the Grand Daddy Hotel in Long Street, Cape Town, is more than a bunch of vintage caravans. The seven two-sleeper trailers have air-conditioned en suite rooms with DStv and have been decorated by local designers. In summer, you can enjoy an open-air movie on the roof at the Pink Flamingo cinema or just take in the great views of Table Mountain and the city.

$$ From R1 250 a night for two. Tel 021- 424-7247, e-mail info@granddaddy.co.za, web www.granddaddy.co.za.

Board a boat
Play skipper with self-drive houseboats from Lightleys Holiday Houseboats, with two-, fourand six-sleeper options on Knysna lagoon, Port Alfred’s Kowie River, the Vaal River and in Swaziland. You don’t need any experience or licence, just a sense of adventure.

$ to $$ From R1 025 for a two-sleeper, from R1 395 for a four-sleeper and from R1 495 for a six-sleeper, depending on the season. Tel 044-386-0007, e-mail info@houseboats.co.za, web www.houseboats.co.za.

If you’re not keen to pilot a boat, Langebaan Houseboats offers a 24-sleeper luxury double-storey boat, Nirvana, or six-sleeper Larus moored in the West Coast’s popular lagoon.

$$ Nirvana costs from R600 a person a night (minimum 10 people). Larus costs R300 a person a night. Tel 021-689-9718, e-mail langebaanhouseboats@mweb.co.za, web www.houseboating.co.za.

Shayamanzi I and II are luxury houseboats on Lake Jozini, northern KwaZula-Natal, with spa baths, air-conditioned rooms and a crew on board to prepare meals and see that your trip goes smoothly. Shayamanzi I accommodates 12 guests and Shayamanzi II takes 20 guests.

$$$ R2 000 a person a night, including breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner and transfers to/ from the boat. Tel 034-413-2299, e-mail shayamanzi@saol.com, web www.shayamanzi.co.za.

Play lighthouse keeper
Rent a lighthouse from the National Ports Authority. You can sleep over in former keepers’ cottages at Cape Columbine in Paternoster, Danger Point in Gansbaai, Cape St Blaize in Mossel Bay, Great Fish Point near Port Alfred and North Sand Bluff in Port Edward.

$ From R150 a person a night self-catering. Tel 021-449-2400, e-mail lighthouse.tourism@transnet.net, web www.transnetnationalportsauthority.net/.

Unwind on a train
JB Train Tours offers budget and luxury tours to Namibia, Namaqualand, the Garden Route, Victoria Falls, Cape Town, Kruger National Park and various festivals and sports events. You can choose two- or four-bed cabins, some with en suite bathrooms. Each consists of a basin, storage space, a fold-away table and packing space for clothes.

$$ Prices vary according to destination. It’s R3 850 a person sharing for a seven-day tour from Joburg to Cape Town (via Klerksdorp, Kimberley and Beaufort West). Tel 011-913-2442, e-mail info@jbtours.co.za, web www.jbtours.co.za.

Shosholoza Meyl’s Premier Classe train offers routes from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth, Joburg or Durban.

$$ From R720 a person for the trip, including all meals, accommodation, morning and afternoon tea (one way from Joburg to Durban). Tel 086-000-8888, e-mail info_premierclasse@transnet.net, web www.premierclasse.co.za.

Snooze outside
Fall asleep under the stars at Kagga Kamma Private Game Reserve south of the Cederberg Mountains. The open-air Outcrop Camp, with its own bed, is away from the main lodge. Have a picnic-basket dinner or eat at the restaurant. Weather permitting, you can have a luxury sleep-out without the hassle of setting up camp.

$$ From R660 a person a night, including meals and activities. Tel 021-872-4343, e-mail info@kaggakamma.co.za, web www.kaggakamma.co.za.