Plaas Toe is a working farm inside Dinokeng Game Reserve, 45 min from Pretoria. Camping from R450/night, chalets, pool, wildlife, and clean ablutions. Our review.
We're starting a new series on the Kampi blog: Hidden Gem Camping Sites. These are the spots you won't find on every Top 10 list, the kind of places locals whisper about and regulars guard jealously. First up: Plaas Toe, a working farm tucked inside the Dinokeng Game Reserve, barely 45 minutes from Pretoria.
This past weekend our family descended on Plaas Toe for a birthday party. We rented the venue, rolled in with caravans, and the family members who prefer a roof over their heads booked chalets. Everyone sorted, nobody left out. That mix of camping and chalet accommodation on one property is harder to find than you'd think, and it made the whole weekend work.
Plaas Toe sits on a private farm inside Dinokeng Game Reserve, near Hammanskraal in Gauteng. You enter through the De Witskraal gate of the reserve. From Pretoria it's a short drive north, roughly 45 minutes depending on traffic. For Joburg folks, you're looking at about 90 minutes. That "weekend getaway without the long drive" sweet spot.
One honest warning: the last stretch of road is rough. If you're towing a road caravan, take it slow. Very slow. We're talking first-gear-and-patience territory on some patches. A 4x4 or higher-clearance setup handles it fine, but even with a standard caravan you'll manage as long as you don't rush. If you're unsure whether your setup can handle gravel, check our caravan departure checklist before you leave home, and maybe add a tyre pressure gauge to the list.
Plaas Toe has 8 camping stands (3 paved, 5 on grass) plus 4 self-catering chalets sleeping 4 to 8 people each. The property can host up to 52 guests, which makes it great for group bookings, family reunions, birthday weekends, or a club outing with your caravan club.
What surprised us was the ablution facilities. Clean. Properly clean. Five showers, five toilets, hot water from a gas geyser. You know how some farm stays treat the campsite bathrooms as an afterthought? Not here. The ablutions alone tell you the owner cares about the experience, not just filling stands.
The kids practically lived in the pool. It's not some fancy resort pool with slides and a cocktail bar. It's a proper farm pool, good size, clean water, bushveld trees all around. The kind of pool where you cool off after a hot Gauteng morning and then drip-dry in the shade with a cold one. The playground kept the younger ones busy for hours between swims. Swings, climbing frames, the works. We basically parked ourselves at the braai, watched the kids run between pool and playground, and called it parenting.
Saturday morning we did clay pigeon (disc) shooting on the farm. Fair warning: the ladies in our group absolutely showed the men how it's done. Nobody saw it coming. It was the highlight of the weekend and something different from the usual hiking-and-braai routine.
Because Plaas Toe is inside Dinokeng Game Reserve, you've got actual wildlife walking around. We spotted antelope, warthogs, and plenty of birds throughout the weekend without even going on a formal game drive. Game drives and reserve permits are available separately if you want the full Big 5 experience, but honestly, just watching buck graze from your campsite while your morning coffee brews is enough.
This is the bit that turns a campsite into a place you go back to. The owner is a working farmer. He made us feel at home from the moment we arrived. No hotel-style scripts, no clipboard checklists. Just a genuine "welcome, make yourselves comfortable" and then he left us to it. You can see it in the grounds, the boma area, the outdoor kitchen. Everything is kept up by someone who actually lives there and gives a damn.
A 4.8 out of 5 on LekkeSlaap from over 130 reviews. So it's not just us.
Camping starts at R450 per night per stand. Chalets from R1,000 per night. For a weekend inside a game reserve, 45 minutes from Pretoria, with a pool, playground, braai facilities, and wildlife wandering past your caravan? You can spend a lot more and get a lot less.
If you don't own a caravan and want to experience this place properly, rent one on Kampi. We have over 360 campers and caravans listed across South Africa, with an average rating of 4.9 stars from 730+ reviews. Find one near Pretoria, hook up, and head north. The whole trip from pickup to campsite can be done in a morning.
This is the first Hidden Gem Camping Sites post. We'll keep sharing spots that deserve more attention, places where the owners care and the bathrooms are clean. If you've got a hidden gem you think we should visit, let us know.
If Plaas Toe has you thinking about a weekend away, browse campers on Kampi and start planning. No EB licence needed for most of our smaller trailers, and if you're new to towing, our renting vs buying guide will help you figure out what's right for you.
Happy camping.
More than 5,600 completed trips, 373 active campers and caravans, and a verified review average of 4.89 out of 5 across 782 ratings. Browse campers on Kampi.
Inside the Dinokeng Game Reserve, north of Pretoria. The coordinates and route are on the Plaas Toe booking page.
Powered sites, ablutions, communal swimming pool, farm pool, kids play area, and basic shop. See aerial view in the post above.
Roughly 60 km, about one hour drive from Pretoria's northern suburbs.
Yes. The access road is suitable for most caravans and all off-road trailers.