So last week went something like this: We were sitting in the livingroom, brainstorming ideas for our petshop, when I was matter-of-factly informed that our drone has arrived… I did not even know that we ordered one!

Immediately my brain went into holiday mode! “We HAVE to go test it!”, I said… “And the dogs must go with!” I added, thinking about the cute pictures we can take of them bouncing about somewhere in the great outdoors!

I hopped onto Facebook and asked for availability on a Pet-Friendly Facebook group. Within minutes I had a reply from Werner at Riverbend Country Cottages. A few minutes later, and our weekend was booked!

An absolute bonus for us, is the fact that Riverbend is less than an hour and a half from our house in Pretoria. Even in Friday afternoon traffic, it felt like a hop, a skip and a jump and we were there!

Riverbend has 4 cottages. At the time of our visit, ours was the only pet friendly one. Another pet friendly unit should be ready by the time you’re reading this review, while the other two cottages will focus on romantic getaways for couples once the last furniture arrives.

(Our cottage’s roof can be seen on the far left of the picture. The next pet friendly cottage will be the one on the far right)

As the other units were still in progress, we were fortunate to have the entire place to ourselves! Our dogs were off-leash the entire weekend! It was a bit nerve-wrecking for me at first, as I had no idea how they’d react… and with one of the cottage’s boundaries being a river, I was on high alert for a while. Werner has such a calm demeaner and we quickly adopted the same approach. By Saturday morning I reckoned: If the dogs fall in the river, we’ll finally find out if Pippa can swim. If not… we’ll push our friend in first to go and rescue her.

If you’re looking for over the top accommodation, with all the bells and whistles, Riverbend might not be for you. If you’re a “lekker” person that goes on a holiday with your pet to spend time with them and to go with the flow, you can start packing your bags! The cottage has two bedrooms with two huge king size beds. There is an additional single bed in the one bedroom, and both have ensuite bathrooms with showers. If you’re expecting white linen, you’re in for a surprise. We had a nice chat with Werner about a couple of things, and he mentioned that the copper and iron levels in the river where they got their water from were higher than normal, and for that reason it was just not practical to have white linen. (A weird fact for many people, I know, but some people reckon that ONLY white should be allowed at venues, so that you can see whether or not the bedding is clean).

I’m one of those people who judge a venue by the size of their coffee mugs. For that reason, I was more than happy with the kitchen setup! Big coffee mugs, and enough glasses, cutlery, plates… plus a microwave and gas stove. Honestly, what more do you need when in the bush?

There is not a lot of furniture in the unit – Werner prefers a clean and simple layout. I read a very snotty comment on Facebook (where you could only see a three-seater couch in front of the fireplace), asking where the rest of the furniture was. Dear keyboard warrior, if you need extra space to sit, walk the 2m’s to the front porch and bring in some patio chairs! (PS, Werner is waiting for more chairs to be delivered, but it is a challenge being far from major cities).

Water pressure in the units is amazing with a large shower head that makes you feel as if you are standing in a rainstorm and the bathroom has a very modern feel, much better than many hotels we have visited. During loadshedding the pressure drops a bit, but once again… pour yourself another drink or go for a walk… you can shower later!

The unit has a stunning fireplace – it was lit a few hours before we arrived, and our unit was so nice and cosy! Werner’s staff made sure that we had enough wood to last us for a week… even though we were only there for a weekend. Nothing was too much trouble for them! Due to the fragile terrain around the river, you cannot park your vehicle close to your venue, but the staff quickly took all our bags (and the 101 things I packed for the dogs) and delivered it to our front door with big smiles.

The unit’s garden is HUGE. Not large, HUGE! Plenty of space to run around and play ball… and of course to enjoy all the sounds and smells of the bush, the river and the small doggie splash pool! It was such a blessing watching the sunset from the porch, listening to the river in the background and enjoying a braai with a glass of wine. Just what the doctor ordered! The unit is fenced on 3 sides, and has a river on the 4th side, so your fur kids can’t go far!

Above you can see the cottage in the background, this photo was taken from the other side of the river that borders the cottage.

HUGE garden! You can also see the fence clearly in this photo.

A few 100 meters from the unit, there is a little walkway across the river. Have your camera ready, in case your doggies take a quick swim (or an accidental plunge in Pippa’s case). On the other side of the river is a circle route in the field – it will take you about 20 minutes to walk if you stop a lot and allow your doggies to smell everything. The farm is actually so big that you can walk for hours, but we were there to rest, not to get fit, and did not explore much further.

Werner is an amazing host! He sent us the loadshedding schedule when we arrived, as well as a list of emergency numbers. He also popped in once day to make sure we have everything we needed… he sat on the grass with us and our dogs were all over them! Oh, we almost forgot – they had two huge water bowls waiting for them on the grass when we arrived, as well as a bag of cookies. And when we left, Werner waited for us at the gate, to give them each a roadtrip cookie.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and will definitely be back!

PS, if you’re a bigger group and book more units, there is a communal swimming pool and braai area that you can also use!