Wagon Wheel Country Lodge

Yes, it’s a fairly basic motel on the main road between Jo burg and Cape Town, but it really deserves to be declared a South African national monument. You can only guess at the number of travellers who have stayed here over the years or seen it from the road. I recently stayed here again after a 40-year gap and loved every minute of it - the pure Karoo air, the friendliness of the staff and the surprisingly good restaurant. I enjoyed it so much that I returned for a second night. The smallest rooms are very small but if you choose a bigger room (not expensive), walk around the grounds and eat supper and breakfast here you are unlikely to regret it. Wagon Wheel deserves to go on for another 100 years. It probably will.