"But I have just come back from Joburg!" I retorted. "I am stressed! I want to be with my family, in my own bed… cuddled up in from of my own fire. Where am I going again?"

"You're going camping and quad biking in Elgin," she said quietly, as we watched the practically horizontal rain pelting against the office window. "There's no electricity or cell phone reception."

"Right," I said with a sigh, pulling my jersey tighter around me. "Andreas is so going to love me."

Arriving
The drive from CT to Buttonquail Nature Reserve is a very pretty one, but I would advise at least a 2 x 4, as the last few kms of dirt road down into the valley are pretty treacherous. We arrived in the rain and the dark though, so short of finding our tent and the communal boma, we didn't see much.

After that, it all went terribly fabulous-shaped.

"I thought we were camping!" asked Andreas, looking around our accommodation in delight. Buttonquail's "tents" are permanent huge, en-suited fabulous things – ours had a large fluffy double bed, bunk beds for the boys (who immediately began bouncing on them), a built-in shower (with thoughtful toiletries bag), plumbed loo, tea, coffee and delicious little biscuits. Oh, and best of all? A GAS HEATER.

Their "boma" is very similar – a large communal tent with a carpets, fabulous squidgy couches, gas stoves, freezers and long dining tables and a real fire (in a closed stove, with a pipe out of the tent. They aren't silly, just fiendishly sorted.) Mariette, one half of the management couple, showed us around while simultaneously managing to put both children and parents at ease, which I thought was an impressive skill. She's nice.

The rain had eased up by now, so we braaied a few chicken kebabs, gobbled our dinner (it's self-catering) and went straight to bed. With the sound of running water nearby, we were quickly lulled to sleep.

Saturday
We were up early, gawping at the incredible scenery. We woke to find ourselves on the banks of the Palmiet river, staring out into an unspoilt fynbos reserve. After bolting down a delicious Mariette breakfast (that IS included) we were off to meet Brian Pickering, of http://www.naturediscovery.co.za/Nature Discovery Tours, who was to take us quad-biking.

How fabulous is quad biking? I had no idea.

Brian Pickering is a seriously great guide guy. He has such an obvious passion for Elgin, its history and his "hiking on wheels" concept that he draws you right in, even if you – as I – didn't give feathers for fynbos or old wagon trails to start with. He also didn't laugh when I mistook the hazards for the throttle on my quad, which I thought was very gallant. Oh, and he has a very sexy and endearing grin. (What? You need this sort of detail in a review.)

After a few hours of quadding about, we lunched at a beautiful waterfall (Paradise Pool, I think it's called) and returned to our camp, muddy happy and awash with fresh air and a sense of the majesty of the place.

Later that evening Buttonquail's owners, Jeanine and Ralph Garlick, arrived and wined and dined us – which was fabulous. I don't think everyone gets this treatment, but that didn't mean it wasn't lovely. They even laughed at my jokes; well… the better ones.

And while the adults played, my boys were having a complete ball – scaring each other witless with torches (it's pretty dark at night in a valley with no electricity), roasting marshmallows and generally horsing about. In fact, I would say my favourite bit about Buttonquail is how incredibly child-friendly it is.

We then crawled in to bed, happy and a little squiffy, surrounded by sounds of the Palmiet… and you know what? I was feeling relaxed for the first time in months.

Sunday
After another lovely breakfast, Murray (the other half of the management couple) took us around the reserve on a quad. Again, even I was struck by his infectious enthusiasm for all things fyn… later he helped me pick a beautiful fynbos bouquet to take home… suikerbossie, geelbos, everlasting, and sorts of fabulous bits and pieces. We also had a short boat ride around the dam.

Buttonquail is full of vignettes of incredible beauty – from hidden waterfalls to fynbos vistas – the sort of beauty that makes you question why you live in a city.

And then we went, rather regretfully, home.

Family reaction
Andreas: "This is beyond fabulous. When can we bring my parents?"
Josef: "Quad biking is even cooler than ice-skating!"
Benjamin: "I am blind!" (torch on) "I can see! (torch off) "I am blind!" ...

And me? The weekend made my soul feel happy.