By Loren Anthony

One year my husband and I decided that we would be utterly spontaneous and simply pack the car and head generally south for our December break.

No bookings, no plans, no preconceptions.

And so we found ourselves in the rather miraculous dorp of Nieu-Bethesda, home to Helen Martens of Owl House fame.

We stayed overnight in the original blacksmith's cottage, but what drew the children was a lone ox wagon in a green field opposite the cottage.

They loved the idea that one's entire home could be packed up and transported from place to place , and so when we heard about ox-wagon accommodation set amid the Bobbejaans Mountains just 30km north of Pretoria, we couldn't resist.

Tussen-i-Bome Ox-Wagon Resort and Guest House offers this invitation: "Experience the nostalgia of ox-wagon accommodation. Snuggle up under a quilt and listen to the jackal howling before you drift off to sleep. Are you adventurous enough to take a bath in a barrel?"

Being adventurous types - we pride ourselves on this - we were immediately hooked. Bring on the barrel! We were braving the winter chill.

So we packed beanies and braai gear (it's self-catering), and headed into the mountains.

We found the resort in the most exquisite setting, in a valley between two koppies of red rocks and sickle-bushes. There are trees everywhere ; not your average bushveld acasias, but a glorious abundance of hoekthorns, silver-leafs, stamvrug and stinkwoods.

The trees are like the supports of a cathedral, with stretches of red sand and dry mulched ground between them.

There's an incredible sense of space here, coupled with a feeling of shelter. But before we could explore the craggy koppies, manager Marius van Staden led us to one of three ox-wagon camps among the trees.

The camps are like mini-laagers, set in a circle, with clay walls and a corrugated roof against rain. An authentic, perfectly restored ox wagon houses a cosy double bed. There's a rustic outdoor kitchen area (fully equipped), a flush toilet built behind reed walls, and a fabulous bathroom with a copper basin, tree branches to hold towels and the promised barrel bath. Kerosene lamps provide light.

Completing the circle is a well-insulated canvas tent (with twin beds), and a period clay oven for baking your own bread. Trees at the centre hold hooks for enamel buckets and pitchers.

There's a water-pipe and a small "donkey" so that you can heat up water for your much-anticipated barrel bath. Antique church benches are set around the braai area, and tripods and potjies - replicas of those used 150 years ago - line the fireplace.

The camp feels self-contained and out of sight from other guests. We felt like true adventurers, self-sufficient, pioneering, able to brave the elements and the howl of the jackals.

We were soon off to explore the eastern koppie, which has a sundowner deck and splash-pool. After a brisk dip in the surprisingly mild water, we dried ourselves on sun-warmed rocks and watched the sun set.

Darkness brought the campfire, a star-crusted sky and the sense of a sheltering universe. A lone zebra wandered into our camp, and this cemented our sense of being "out there", in the wild.

Later, we slept warm and snug and deep under our quilts. And the jackals? They were quiet that night.

Sunday Times