Joy River Backpackers

Simple but beautiful house, safe, view was great, calm location, great equipment in the kitchen, lots of space, if you like rustic experiences this is your place to be. friendly dogs and cats. Marietta was very kind and helpful, gave us a lot of advices.

the location is hard to reach, especially at night and in darkness. we recommend arriving during daylight and with a good car. make a screenshot of the road description provided by the hostel owners - internet and phone connection may be very bad to access this information last minute.

Very well located, and great facilities

There was a gravel road to get to the property

Everything and Mariette was the cherry on top. I ended up extending my stay. They also have the coolest shower powered by firewood it's so cool.

The roads to get to backpackers are not for low profile cars

The owner was really nice. I liked how the bathroom was designed. The kitchen is equipped and with amazing variety of spices.

I think that description should be slightly changed to better describe the location. I was really surprised where the accommodation is situated when I arrived. It’s a proper African experience and I love it, but it would be amazing to know it in advance and be prepared for that.

The host was very nice and helpful getting us there and settled in, We had the cottage which had plenty of room.

If you come here in winter be prepared to make a fire, it was pretty cold without the fireplace going.

Close to Blyde canyon, nice stuff.

Almost impossible to find the hostel using google map.

This is a gem. We loved the views and surrounding areas, a unique experience. Great stopover on the Panorama Route. Loved that it had indoor and outdoor fireplace and was very convenient.

Nothing

Pictures on Booking.com was from 2013, was not as advertised.

Room and kitchen was clean. The next morning the room was full of ants.

it was such a lovely place, way more beautiful than the pictures! such a nice place to relax. everything was amazing. the dog was sweet and their cat was so cuddly. super clean and nice shower too + washing facilities. we sat by the fireplace outside for hours (bring some warm clothes as the height of the area makes it very chilly in the evening) read their directions, screenshot them beforehand for if you don’t have connection! you need them. very fun to stay in a more traditional African place

the only thing i would say is that the beds are not too comfortable, but definitely not bad!