I couldn’t wait for the day to arrive so we can go camp in Jongensfontein as it will be our first beach camp. The week leading up to the weekend, i couldn’t find anywhere where is states if there was electricity or not. So we asked oom Pottie as he has camped there before and he said yes, but he thinks it you need the blue caravan plug. He is not sure. But he is very jealous, because it is his absolute favourite camp site. We looked at each other, and i both said at the same time, invite them! So the invitation was send and we were very pleased that both him and tannie Louie-Cecile will be joining us for the 4 days! We have been looking for the right moment to camp with them, so this camp together was long overdue. You will also remember that oom Pottie was the one giving us advice about which tent to buy in one of our very first blogs. So we could only learn from them during this camp.

i made sure we packed EVERYTHING! WE need to prepare for wind, rain, sun as the weather can turn without any notice at the beach. We packed the evening before, as it helps with the basics and that we don’t have to worry to much the following morning. i managed to ask the boss if i could leave at 12:00, as we need to check in by 16:30 and with the traffic expected to be bumper to bumper for easter, we didn’t want to leave to late. So Yolandi picked me up at work at 12:00 and we were ready to hit the road. i listened to the radio all morning, there were no incidents or backup yet so the plan was to take the N2. As we came round Hospital Bend, we got a call from Yolandi’s dad saying that he got a message to say the N2 was closed. So new plan is, N1 via Worcester and Ashton, although there was still NO mention on the radio about Somerset West being closed as reported. We had no real traffic at the tunnel, except for some slow moving in the tunnel itself. We made a brief stop for toilet and lunch at Worcester Shell and of to Robertson. We got a voice note from oom Pottie that the traffic was standing dead still in Ashton. So i turned to Yolandi and said: “are we going via Villiersorp then?” Stupid Ilze. What would have been a 110 km trip to Swellendam via Ashton and a 20 minute delay now turned into a 256 km trip to Swellendam via Villiersdorp, only to “avoid” the traffic in Ashton. End of that discussion.

We EVENTUALLY turned into Stilbaai and after a brief stop at Spar for roosterkoek deeg and wood, we arrived at Jongensfontein where our fellow campers were on there 4th beer and all pitched. We wanted to get settled as early as possible with the little daylight that was still there. Then it was braai time. the extra 140 km was in the past and now we can enjoy our much needed break. We had some lovely chicken and roosterkoek and by the time we sat and noticed it was almost 23:00! Time to tuck in for night with the sound of the ocean our backdrop music.

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The next morning we woke up and it was time to explore the campsite. What an amazing camp site! Chock and block full of campers and what a sight the beach is. There are plenty to do: kids play area, a library where you can take out books to read, museum, outdoor showers, generous tidle pool, restaurant just outside the camp gate, local supermarket. You cannot be bored here and your mind can switch off. The camp spots itself are all grass covered, and there are some trees, but not ready for shade. I was extremely impressed with the camp itself and how well run it is for a municipal camp site. There were accommodation in the camp as well so perfect to invite some family who does not camp 😉 We had breakfast and off we went to Stilbaai to pop in at my dad. We invited him for a braai at our campsite the evening and back we went to Jongensfontein. On the side of the road on your way to Jongensfontein, is a trailer full of wood with an honesty box chained to it.. R80 for a big white bag or R20 a small bag of Rooikrans! Really impressed with the wood as the small bags had about 22 pieces in them compared to the bags at home that only have 10! I would braai every day if i stayed here! 🙂 Back at the camp we went to the tidle pool for some snorkeling and some Vitamen Sea. The water was COLD!! Ofcourse! Really enjoyed the tidle pool and the we would definitely be back in the coming days. We had a lovely braai with the evening and off to bed.

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The Saturday was Market day in Jongensfontein 🙂 I LOVE MARKETS! And when i saw there would be roosterkoek for sale, breakfast and lunch was sorted! I mean really, aunty Poppy is well know in the area for her roosterkoeke and i can see why! Massive ones that is enough for two people and only R30 for a curry mince one! Generosity at is best. We went for a 5km run first and joined the others for breakfast on the beach. Love the vibe. Spent the morning at the market, then we went to my dad for a braai the evening. Lovely time spend with him. Sunday we went for another run, and the news on the block was that it would rain that evening. We went to the tidle pool again, it was a little higher than the previous day. I snorkled a bit and as i came around the one big rock, a huge fish of about 25cm was hiding under the rock. I thought to myself here is my opportunity to catch a fish! I am going to drop my line right there by the rock and catch this big one for my first catch. I was patient, but Yolandi and the others has been calling my attention as they wanted to go back.. i waved them off. i was in just about to catch my first big one! Hang on for 10 minutes! i could see him, the fish, nibling on my bait.. As i felt the line getting tight i ripped him out of the water and i my heart was pumping of excitement! Then i lost him :(. my first big catch gone. i was gutted. I only needed a little more time! next to me stood a small boy of about 8 years old and he was so excited. “tannie tannie daai was n groot ene’ Yes, i know. So i called him over, put some bait on his hook and said to him that he must not move from this spot. that fish will bite again and you will catch yourself a big one. I had to rush to get back to my people who was ready to leave. Still disappointed i got in the car and as i looked over at the young boy, he got the fish! My fish! I could see his smile from 100 meters. My smile! Would have been. The only way i could get over the disappointment, was to think about how happy that boy is right now. Telling all his friends, sharing with all his family the huge fish he caught. And hopefully mentioning that the aunty who first caught him, helped him. Just writing about it brings back that feeling of disappointment. Anyway, back to the campsite we went to start our potjie for the evening.

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We planned a brisket and milk stout potjie for the sunday afternoon and while the potjie was gently ‘pritting’ away, we decided to take down our extender because of incoming weather forecast and to take down that big extender in the rain, would not be ideal. So the following morning, we only had to pack up our tent. The potjie was delicious, what a winning recipe. I just love that potjie. The meat is tender and potato mash was just smashing! The rain did not come until well into the following morning about 01:00, so we sat by fire to burn out all the wood leftover. Fire therapy 🙂

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The following morning we packed up in the drizzle and left for my dad to get the last few stuff from him and some breakfast. We wanted to leave early as we knew the traffic was gonna be slow, with only one stop at Buffelsjag in mind. Yes, we took the Swellendam, Ashton, Robertson, Worcester road this time and we needed to stop at my moms anyway. The road was busy, but at least we were moving at decent speed and only at Ashton did we have a bit of a waiting period. They have been busy with that road for the last 5 years and it feels like it is not close to complete!

All i can say about Jongensfontein is that it is absolutely worth the 3 hour drive for a long weekend. This will become our new spot every Easter with booking opening on 1 December 2021 for Easter 2022. I cannot wait!

Super excited we are to be able to camp again! And just a few weeks after Greyton, we found a little gem in Rawsonville. From the research and pictures, really nice and green grass. Now, there are a few things to remember when you book at Berg en Water: You can’t book a spot, it is first-come-first-serve; there is no reception desk, you just arrive and pick your spot; no eft, the manager comes around every evening to collect your money; bags of wood can be pre-ordered and will be delivered on Friday evening (the wood was very wet though); there is electricity and they employ a security guard for the evenings. Yolandi got us some caps, t-shirt and mugs printed with our Two Chix and a tent logo! This looked so great and very excited about what this has in stall for us 🙂 Dankie engel.

This time around, Tatum and Alyssa will be joining us the Saturday morning with Tatum sleeping over and Alyssa will be going home with her mom, because she does not sleep over. She wants the comfort of her own bed and can’t sleep without her mom next to her :). We packed our van and we were on our way the Friday afternoon just before 15:00. Don’t worry, i packed my grid this time around 😉

We followed the gps directions, but let me give you tip: When you turn right onto Goudini road, DON’T TURN LEFT WHERE THE GPS TAKES YOU. Just follow the road straight and you will drive into the camp site. As we got there, the camp was already pretty full. There was one massive plot still available in between two already packed campers, so we took the initiative to set up camp there. The only other spot available was by the ablution blocks. THE PLOTS ARE MASSIVE! And completely covered in grass, Yay!! There were no trees for us to set up camp under, but it was completely fine. We set up camp and had a walk around. The ablution block are very neat and tidy and has a washing up station as well. There is one area to access the river to the top end of the camp site, with some of the campsites also having access to the river, but not ours. It got quite cold as the sun set over the mountains. We had some supper, had a shower and went straight to bed. Tomorrow is gonna be a busy day with my brother and Liam joining us again, as well as Tatum and Alyssa joining us.

The next morning we got up and it was very dewy on the ground. Had some breakfast and our first guests arrived at around 10:00. Tatum and Alyssa went to the river with Yolandi as Daneel and Liam set up camp. The pump broke to blow up the matrass so we had to think of another plan for later the evening, as no one in camp had a spare one! This time around, they came with a trailer/rooftop contraption. After they settled, Liam and Alyssa really enjoyed playing together. Liam al of a sudden spoke a delicious english with Alyssa giving instructions in afrikaans. Gonna be an interesting day… The rest of day was spend between swimming, braaing, chilling, playing cricket, camping activities for the kids and back swimming again. As the evening draw closer, it was time for Alyssa to go home. But this one all of a sudden had a change of heart and now wanted to sleep over!! WHAT?? There was a lot of firsts for her on this trip: first time swimming in the river, first time showering (she prefers baths) and now first time sleep over without her mom! We made supper, had a shower and off to bed for the little ones and for Yolandi. 🙂 The Gin and Red Sparletta got to her so she turned in early. I borrowed Daneel and Liam a bed, as their matrass was still flat, so they were gonna have a very unpleasant evening with only a small bed between the two of them. And so the snoring also continued.. i had a splitting headache and had to sleep on the floor of the tent. Yolandi, Tatum and Alyssa took the beds we had and Daneel took the extra one we had. Remember, Alyssa wasn’t suppose to sleep over, but the fun she had that day, i would sleep on the floor anytime. I managed to squeeze myself onto Alyssa’s bed at the foot-and-end for about 2 hours sleep.

The next morning we got up and started to pack up as we needed to get to Cape Town for a birthday party Alyssa had to attend. i still had my headache. What a great weekend and great memories made at a camp site we will definitely visit again. Highly recommended.

Our first camp post Covid 19. Well, where we were allowed to hit the road and stay over, whilst still taking every precaution at camp to still wear masks and sanitize as often as possible. And boy did we need this break after a stressful few weeks… We were suppose to camp at Twin Rivers last year, but due to Covid we had to postpone our trip. We have not camp in almost a year, so our camping gear was not all in one place (this is my excuse for things to come later ;)). We packed the Fortuner on Thursday evening after work, having my checklist in my head as always, so come Friday we just need to pack the last bits and bobs. I started with my prep of carrot salad and cooked some beets for the weekend, perfect salad to accompany any braai. I invited my brother and nephew to join us on this trip, so the weekend will be very different to other weekends.

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Friday afternoon i got home just after 12:00 in order to pack the last few things, then we will hit the road as the N2 can get busy on a Friday afternoon. Ok, all packed and just after 13:00 we were ready to start our well deserved weekend away. We made a quick delivery in Stellenbosch before we got back onto the N2 and decided to stop at Grabouw Spar to grab some last minute dough and ice for the evening. As we walked in the shop, I turned to Yolandi and asked her if she packed the sausage and salads? “No, was i suppose to?” NOT a good start. You see, i just assumed that because she was at home, she would do most of the packing and in that moment i was very upset. I spend the whole of Thursday evening preparing the food for the weekend, now it is wasting away in the fridge as home. Turns out, we also forgot the eggs and bacon. It was only later that evening when i had a chance to reflect that I realize it was unfair of me to assume Yolandi would pack most of the stuff, because although she was at home, she was working from home. Big difference. So it was wrong of me to expect her to pack everything when she was also trying to get her work done.

Anyway, we bought some food, got some diesel and hit the road for the last hour to Greyton as per the GPS. As we got to Greyton, i could not help noticing how much of a vibe there was in this little small town. We would definitely explore a bit more on Saturday. As we turn into Twin Rivers, Yolandi got us checked in at reception, and Wendy was very helpful in guiding us to what there is to do and where the best spots were. We booked stand 1, and she also mentioned that stand 2 was also booked, but by regulars and they are lovely people. More of them later!

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We liked our spot, and decided to set up tent near the end. The stand had 2 build braais, so we could pick whether we want the front or back space. We chose to set up towards the back of the camp, a little more sheltered under the trees. As we unpacked, i realize I forgot my most priced piece of equipment when camping… My braai grid… i was fuming at myself for not taking the time to go through the list in my head and double check what was left behind. After we setup camp, we went for some exploring and to see where the two rivers meet. (hence the name). The river has some bare areas, but once you get to the main swimming spot, it was nice and deep. The stands are HUGE, and can easily fit 6 – 8 tents on one spot! There were 2 ablution blocks, the once closest to us was the only one with hot water. I can only imagine if the camp is full, the ablutions won’t be enough to cater for everyone. Some of stand are literally on the river bank, whereas others are more inwards, lots of trees and grass and the spots under the trees had a lot of sand. There is no shop at this camp, you can guy 75 pieces of Blackwattle for R50.00, otherwise Greyton is about 2km away, so no real issue there.

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As we walked back, we saw neighbors had pulled in… Now I don’t understand if you have the WHOLE plot to set up tent, why would you set up right next to us???? Really don’t understand some campers. Be mindful, if someone set up camp before you, have the decency to setup your camp at the other side of your plot as to not disrupt your neighbors. Because i forgot my grid, i hade to make the sausage and roosterkoek in the pan.. a first for me, but it turned just fine and the roosterkoek was now some version of a vetkoek. So we will just give it another name… VETROOSTER. One of my absolute favorite things to do on the camp, is just to sit next to the fire, just staring at it. It is so tranquil. As we settled in for the night next to the fire, all we could hear is the same guy talking next to us. The whole camp will be dead quiet, and all you hear is this guy, in a group of about people, talking. I later turned to Yolandi and said this guy probably invited this particular group, because he knew he would be doing all the talking. As the night got on and the camp got quieter, the sound from his annoying voice just gets louder and louder. To some point, where his wife, who had gone to sleep already, had to ask him to keep his voice down. When all his friends went to bed, and we settled in for the night, he obviously could not talk to anyone, so he started to ‘move’ his dishes, chairs and heaven know what else, but with a lot of noise. Seriously, no consideration for others. I just hoped he is not a snorer…..

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Yes he did snore 😦 And loud as well. So it is safe to say we had a very restless night. We woke up the following morning tired, to say the least. But also excited as my brother, Daneel and his son of 4 years old will be joining us for the first time. It will be Liam’s first camping experience and we looked forward hosting them. The other advantage, or was suppose to be an advantage, was that they could bring anything we forgot right? Wrong. Seems like forgetting the essentials runs in the family! As he also forgot to bring the grid! Eish. As they arrived, you could see the excitement in Liam’s eyes as to being out in nature like we were. After they setup their tent, we decided to go for drinks in town and to buy a grid. As we got back, we explored the camp site and went for a swim as we got some peace and quiet for a change as our neighbors also seem to be out for the day. As the afternoon passed, we did a lot things to keep Liam busy. He was a real treat and i would go camping with him anytime. We settled for the evening in front of the fire and before we knew it, Liam and Daneel was out! They were both worn out by us and all the activities that they both passed out by09:00 😉 We stayed a little longer, waiting till our 75 pieces of wood were all burned out before we went to bed and settled for the evening. Yes, our neighbor was still talking non-stop… And tonight we had an extra guest who snores even louder than the neighbor! Arggggghh. Note to self. The next time Daneel comes camping, we will place him at the far end of our stand!

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We got woken up at 07:00 by a refreshed and slept out Liam… And two hours later, i will be thanking him. We had a quick bite and then started to pack up. As we loaded the the final piece, the ground sheet, the heavens opened! And all i could say to our neighbor was.. ‘lekker, kry vir jou want karma is n bitch.’

When the president announced the national lock down for 21 days, we knew this would affect us, all of us, dramatically. How YOU respond to it, would be the difference between it affecting you negatively where you moan the whole day for 21 days OR you take each day as it come and use the time to reflect, make changes and do something positive everyday. So i don’t see it as a lock down, i see it as an opportunity to braai everyday for 21 days. Bargain. Cause that is my happy space and time. Thank you Mr. President. Just my 5c.

So, in order to make the most of our time indoors, we decided to go camping. Cause camping is our happy space and time. We did some research as to where we could go during the lock down and found a place that was still open to campers and booked for one night. We arrived at our destination, called Camp Lockdown situated in Goodwood, on Friday afternoon after a brisk walk. Really easy directions and we welcomed by the friendly owners who gave us our key to the facilities as well a roll toilet paper. Very nice of them. We unpacked our tent and setup camp. It took minutes to setup camp. Bliss. I wish every camping trip was this quick! After we setup camp, we took a walk through the site to see what is on offer. Really nice place i must say. Electric fencing around the camp site, nice shade over our tent, big communal swimming pool, huge indoor braai area, ablutions were nice and clean with hot water as well as a communal kitchen we could use or to store our food.

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As the evening sunset started to set, we lit the fire and Yolandi was practicing on her quitar, a hobby she decided to take up during lockdown, and that is just therapy right there. We were the only campers for the night, everyone seemed to have cancelled. The owners came over for some company. Don’t think they get a lot of campers and they don’t seem to go anywhere as well. After supper, we cleaned up and settled in for the night. i must say, it was a different experience as the noises were totally different to what we are used to from our previous trips. A part from a car that stopped somewhere outside in the middle of the night, we had a good night sleep.

The following morning we had our morning coffee and made our camp breakie. We have planned to make oxtail potjie the afternoon infront of our tent, but the weather made a slight turn for the worst, so we decided to make use of the big communal indoor braai. Yolandi did ran a 5km around the swimming pool and i tried my hand at fishing, again. Not even one bite. But i will prevail, my luck will turn, i know it!

We had our potjie with the owners, then packed up our camp and headed back inside the house. No, we didn’t go anywhere and camp in the front yard of our house 🙂

This was a very impromptu booking. Yolandi had her annual Mini Cricket Festival on Saturday, 14 March in Paarl and this presented the opportunity to camp! Whoop Whoop. I did some research on the Resort before and it came highly recommended by most campers. Terms are based on first-come-first-serve basis so you need to get there early to get the best spot. We packed the Fortuner on Thursday evening and the last bit on stuff on Friday morning and Yolandi left with all our stuff for Paarl. She will then proceed from work to Bergrivier and i will meet her there from work. I made sure the stuff i forgot from Skurwekop, are packed!

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I was able to leave work earlier due to some deliveries i needed to do and met Yolandi at Bergrivier at 15:00. I looked at the map before hand and decided to target the area between campsite 32-38, which shows on the map as to next to the river. As we drove past the sites, a few people have already setup camp and picked a shaded spot that did not have a lot of grass. Grass does not bother us, as all our other camping spots had no grass anyway. We started to setup camp as the camp started to fill up. We settled in quite quickly and enjoyed the sounds of the river in front of us. Then we got some neighbours….. At all our camping spots, you will get seasoned campers that have some camping etiquette as you consider other campers. Generally, this is older people (seasoned campers) and Afrikaans people. At Beaverlac, it was the noisy english speaking Houtbay campers and now at Bergrivier, we have the group from Britain that speak so loud, everybody in camp could probably hear them! Really, we listen to there conversation the whole weekend and can tell you all about there family feuds. Can’t they just talk like normal people? so that only the four of you can hear what you are saying? Even at night, they just keeping on rumbling on and laughing as hard as they could sounding like a bunch of hadidas. Really, i don’t get it. At Bergrivier resort, they have an announcer that drives past on the Friday evening to remind all of the rules. no music, 23:00 is quiet time etc. This was a nice touch, and when 23:00 came, someone shouted “23:00!!” and all of a sudden, dead silence from the neighbours.. Bliss.. Good night.

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The following morning we got up at 05:30 as we needed to get to Boland Park to setup the final few things for festival. The morning started out overcast, so a nice and fresh morning greeted us. We only packed our valuables in the Fortuner to go with us, the rest of the stuff we left and i was not worried about it getting lost. We had a great morning with the kids playing two rounds of mini cricket and it turned out to be a very successful event that was well organised by Yolandi. We got back to camp at around 13:30 and all our stuff were just as we left it. Our neighbours got 2 more guests set up their tent right to ours and i knew then that we were gonna have a looooong night. We went for a little power nap as the busy morning got the better of us. We then went for a little walk to check out the rest of the resort and take some pic.

Bergrivier Resort is a huge resort that really offers a lot. There is a “blikkies” camping area that has no electricity and very sandy. This is for the rugged campers and is at the far end of the Resort. The ablutions are very clean with hot water and the basics. There is plenty grass spots and plenty of shaded areas for you to choose. Because this Resort is also open to day visitors, there is a super tube, petting zoo, putt-putt, volleyball area, swimming pool, pick nick area, shop, Saloon, Games room, canoes for hire, jubes for hire, jungle gyms… At R100 per person and R100 per vehicle, you would think there won’t be a lot of people? Think again! The swimming pool area was packed! The shop is well stocked and the best shop we have seen so far for campers. We walked back along the river and this area is where you camp if you have kids. Clearly, as there is a large grass area for them to play as well as their own jungle gym area. There is one area that is specifically only for caravans, no tents, and this was packed with a caravan group that checked in for the weekend. What we also found interesting, is that there are permanent small houses on the Resort as well.

We got back to our camp and started to make a fire for our potjie i had planned for supper. All our camp sites so far had a steel braai at the sites which is great. Except, i don’t like a round braai. Normally my grid does not fit in, except if i use the small one; i can’t make fire and a potjie or have a fire on the side while i braai. For this reason, we made a separate fire on the ground and packed it with stones. This was really nice, as our feet got nice and warm and there was no wind. It was just the perfect evening… except for the hadidas next door. Our next door neighbours on the other side as a couple with a child and she walked over to us to ask for some wood, as it was loadshedding and they wanted to make a fire for light, but had no wood. We still had plenty left, and were planning to revert to the tent anyway. Turns out, she is from America (California), has been in the country for 3 years and has a yong toddler of 17 months. They live in Bellville, first time camping and we told her where we camped. Then she asked “Do you camp near baboons?” Huh? Why would you assume we camp in the wild? “No baboons where we camp, only people” i replied. As the fire started to fade, we killed the last bit of burning coals, went for a shower and tucked in. We watched some Masterchef episodes so we can’t hear the noise from next door. By this time, the wind started to pick up and this probably prompted the neighbours to also go to bed. Good night all.

We woke up the next morning and had a lovely cuppa coffee outside whilst enjoying the sound of the river. We made breakfast, got ready and started to pack up. This was a great weekend and really impressed with the Resort. I would recommend this Resort to anyone with kids, as there are lots to do. Onto April then, with a new addition to our tent 🙂

Time for camping again… Yay! i was really looking forward to this trip, as Skurwekop came highly recommended and really affordable. When i made the booking, i asked for a spot on the river and we were allocated with site 14. Skurwekop is situated just before Robertson, about 90 minutes from Goodwood. We decided to go to Goodwood Sports Club on the Thursday evening for some karaoke and a braai and needless to say, no packing was done. Now, let me give you some really good advise when packing. DO NOT GO KAROAKE THE NIGHT BEFORE YOU ARE LEAVING FOR A CAMPING WEEKEND. Our camping “stuff” was still in the same corner of the garage from when we came back from Rivierplaas in January, so the basics were packed. But the little things that makes a BIG difference were forgotten in a rush packing the Friday afternoon.

The arrangement was that Yolandi get a lift from Martin to work on Friday morning, then i will pack the car and pick her up from work on our way to Robertson. Trying to avoid Friday afternoon traffic, i packed in record time… and forgot some key components which i will find out later. Car packed, now ready to leave. I made some stops for work before i picked Yolandi up, just after 15:00. We stopped at Worcester Spar for some last minute shopping and we continued our journey to Skurwekop.. We arrived at the farm just at around 17:30 and what a pleasant welcome. Anytime someone welcome you to a campsite and give you your own roll of toilet paper, you some feel part of the family. Upon check in, you get your own key to the ablusions, toilet paper, Skurwekop sticker that you have to stick left back of your vehicle and a 10% discount voucher to use at Rooiberg Cellars. You also gain access to the gate, by phoning the number on the gate from the registered number. Easy peasy and we are ready to set up camp.

Site 14 is right at the start of the camping site. We assessed which way we wanted our tent opening to be, and opted for the river view. Our site had no grass, and one of the conditions when i booked, was that you had to have a ground sheet. The rest of the view was blocked with bushes. At our site, we had electrical point, as well as a ‘street light’ and tap. Each camp also has its own black bin lined with black bag. There is 2 toilets that you can use, but the showers are at the main ablusions a little further down. After setup, we had load shedding. This didn’t really bother us, as we are camping anyway. The shop, “pa se winkel” is open at 17:00 and 11:00 daily and they ring a bell to let you know the shop is now open. Don’t expect to find anything other than wood and ice in this shop. If you have forgot anything, you won’t find it here. it is probably the worst of the shops we have had so far. Needless to say, i should have packed everything right?

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After we have settled in, we made the beds. ” Where is the pillows Ilze?” Oops, i forgot the pillows. If you know Yolandi, her pillows are everything to her. It will decide her mood. If she has a bad sleep because she did not have the right pillow, trouble… So we made a pillow from the my sleeping bag and a picnic blanket we had. That will have to do for 2 nights. The wind was starting to really pump by now, and the flies were everywhere. They really know how to spoil a nice view by having to keep them away from your drink and food. If you read my blog on Beaverlac where we had the summer camp with children screaming and running around, you will know how annoying that was. We were back there, not at summer camp, but at kinder garden. There we small kids (between 6 – 9) running around up and down the street. There is a little incline as you come down the street and used this to push each other on the bikes and come screaming down as they get faster. As a parent, do you not tell your kids to keep other people in consideration and keep your voice down? Really don’t get it. And to be really honest, it is always the same kind of people. Last time, they were from Houtbay hoity toity, this time from Stellenbosch.. I was not looking forward to the night, knowing what is coming.

Anyway, as soon as it got dark, we were ready to braai and … the pepper grinder broke.. Eish, meat without pepper or other spice will just be bland. The shop was open by now, and i made a dash to see if maybe they have something i can use. on a shelf i found a lonely packed of ground pepper and steak and chops spice, @ R5.00 each. I bought a bag of ice to, and headed back. By now the campsite was also filling up and more kids appeared. To add to the screaming todlers, crying babies.. We had supper in the dark and at 08:00 the lights came on. We settled in for the evening, because the wind was just pumping and it was really unpleasant outside. The noise from kids jumping in the caravan next to us, i really don’t get how you can allow your kids to do that? I am not saying keep them quiet, but have some sort of respect for the people around you. Kids will be kids, so let them scream their lungs out during the day, when it doesn’t bother anyone else. Also, no noise or music are allowed, that is the main reason people choose a certain camp site. For this very reason, to have peace and quiet.

The following morning we woke up to the beautiful view of a windless Breede rivier staring at us. We had some coffee outside and just enjoyed the sound of nature.. Kids are part of nature though, and the screaming started at 06:30. By now, they found the little rickshaw contraption the camp has on offer for children. But seriously, can’t you tell your children to be quiet to at least 07:00 to accommodate others that might still be sleeping??? I call this CONSIDERATION and GOOD MANNERS. Something they will need growing up and in the future! I was getting ready to prepare breakfast… No pan or spoon.. Eish. At least i had a cast iron pot, i made scrambled eggs in the pot and heat the meat and sausage from the night before in the same pot.

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As we sat and enjoyed our breakfast, a girl in serious need of toilet paper came charging towards us. She went out for a run on the farm and as all runners know, her stomach became loose and she made her way back to camp in very a uncomfortable manner. We were the closest site to the toilet with toilet paper and we came to her rescue. This prompted Yolandi to also go for a run, and we got our tekkies on and ran a good 2 km or so on the farm. Once you are in the habit of training, it difficult to get out of it. Even when you are camping. It was a nice though and when we got back, we got dressed and ready to go fishing. We found a quiet spot where we could not hear any kids! This was so tranquil as the water from the trench that runs through the farm, flows here into this spot. This is also where Yolandi was bitten on her arm from something, and it has swollen up badly. We applied Peaceful sleep and threw in our lines.. Now we are waiting for ANYTHING to just bite the hook. Hours passed.. no luck. Another try and fail.. As we sat and waited for a bite, Yolandi spotted something in the water coming down the river. Was it one of those birds that catch fish under water? Or was it a snake??? It was a snake! Obviously one that is not supposed to swim, as he came up for air more often. Time to pack up i say, and no swimming in the river!

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We headed back to our campsite and made ready for lunch. An old man spotted our fishing rods and asked us if we caught anything yet.. “No sir, no luck” . Iggi from Pretoria then explained to us that we are doing it all wrong. Wrong bait, wrong hook, wrong weight… Eish, no wonder i could not even catch a cold! He explained that he did a lot of research on Carb and they are actually Vegetarian fish that eat from the bottom of the river. So they would eat something, then spit the mud out. The same applies to your bait. Best to use is brown bread or ‘stywe pap’ that you put around your hook to disguise it. As the Carb nibbles on it, he eventually will bite the hook. This sounded like proper advice and he will be back to bring us the stuff we need. After lunch, we went to take a stroll around the campsite to see what else is on offer and cooled off in the swimming pool. There were lots of activities that you could do on the camp site like Chess, trampoline, jungle gym, swimming pool, kayak… After cooling off, we headed back and Iggi and his dutch wife (forgot her name) came to show us how to setup the bait. Lesson learned, so we headed down to the river to try our luck. 2 hours later, still no fish. I wasn’t really dissapointed, cause now i have the correct technique and i know somewhere down the line i will catch something. We headed back to our camp and the weather was turning and the wind was back…

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They should call this place Windkop, really. Both evenings the wind picked up at around 17:00 and just pumps. It makes it really unpleasant and we quickly made a fire to get supper going as a few drops of rain also fell. The only good thing about this, was that the kids were now all indoors. So some sort of peace and quiet was very welcome. We packed most of the stuff away, in case it rains tonight, and headed inside the tent. The wind was really blowing tonight and Yolandi really thought the tent was going to lift at one stage. She had her laptop from work, and we watched a few episodes of Masterchef Australia Season 11 as we settled in for a rough and windy night. What you all know by know, is that Yolandi does not sleep at all if there are lots of noise or the noise is not soothing. Like the sound of crickets and frogs won’t bother her, but the wind howling against the tent would.

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After a difficult night, we woke up to…. screaming kids of course. The wind died down and it was really nice to have the tent open to listen to the natural sound of the animals (kids included). We got up really lazily and made coffee and breakfast. After breakfast we packed everything up and got the car loaded ready to head back home. We freshened up and headed back home after a fuel stop and felt really happy with our discovery of another gem of camp site. Until March…

Our first camp for 2020! Whoop whoop! This was long overdue, and we really looked forward to getting away. This time around, we decided that we will book camping once a month until April, then again from August/September again. We made a packed to go away at least once a month from this year, and as you camping, to achieve that, camping is the most affordable way to do it.

I chose spot C12, because it was close the fishing spot, as well as on the river edge. I kept an eye on the bookings to see how full the camp will be and if anyone was booked next to us. The camp has no electricity, so we made sure we bought an extra light for the tent and charged all our external batteries to be able to charge our cellphones. Few days prior to our departure, we pitched our tent in the front yard, just to make everything was clean and to avoid any surprises.

So we were packed and ready to leave, this time around we used the Toyota Fortuner instead of our car. This we will do moving forward, as it has a lot more space for all our stuff… If you pack smart ;). Needless to say we were packed and ready to hit the road! We knew we were gonna be stuck in traffic. There was an accident just after Klipheuwel on the N1 as well as backlog of traffic at the tunnel from a broken down vehicle inside the tunnel. We eventually arrived at our destination just before 18:00, with plenty of light left to pitch the tend. On checking in, the friendly farm owner allowed us to move from our spot C12 to C2 if we wanted to. He said no one has booked it, and it is a better and bigger site than C12. Also, C12 often get used as a “walk through”, as it is on your way to the fishing spot. This was a good suggestion, so we will be doing that. The reception also acts as the farm shop, which is stocked with the basics such as wood, ice, cooldrinks, chips, Peaceful sleep and some local produce from surrounding farms.

After we checked in, we arrived at C2 and made a decision where we wanted to pitch the tent. We setup camp and soon after the fire were making a beautiful sound to get us settled for the evening and some much needed unwinding. The spot were perfect.. We were right by the river edge, under trees and peaceful. When they say bring Peaceful Sleep cause there are “miggies and muskiete”, they didn’t just say that! They were on us as soon as the sun set! Luckily we were prepared.

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There were only a few campers at this stage in the camp, so not much noise. We had a nice braai, with salad as we are still on our detox. I am very proud of Yolandi for her determination to see this detox through.. To have a Lime and soda instead of the customary beer, really speaks volumes of her character and determination. As for me, i just want a roosterkoek! Normally we make enough roosterkoek on the Friday to last us the whole weekend. But we are both determined to not give in and stick to our goal. After supper, we settled in and we were very much looking forward to sleeping in our new beds we got for Christmas. Lights out..

The next morning, we woke up quite late! 08:30! But that is the beauty of nature. We got up to make coffee and i realized i only packed one coffee mug. Duh! Don’t know how that happen, so i had to have my coffee out of a stainless steel cup… not double wall, so i have to wear a glove… Ouch. Lesson learned. We got dressed and did a little scouting to see what the rest of the camping site has to offer. Kids play areas, fishing, foefie slide, hiking, running on the farm, swimming. Lots to keep you busy. The camp site is also pet friendly, and we did not find any of the dogs a nuisance. Quite bliss… 🙂

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The facilities are really good, the bathrooms are neat and tidy with the basics. You need to make fire for hot water before you can shower, wood provided for this. They even supply biodegradable dish washing liquid which i found handy as i forgot mine. Only thing is with the bathrooms, it is not enclosed completely, so i can just imagine if you shower in winter it will be extremely cold! We did not have a problem with no electricity, as our phones was charged using our powerbanks.

We got back for lunch, tried fishing again.. and again.. everyone else seems to be catching fish except for us! We tried the foofieslide as well, great fun. Late afternoon we settled in for a potjie braai, lots of leftover wood to burn and some book reading.. Yes, Yolandi is actually reading a book! Whilst i try fishing. Think she got more joy out of her book than i did from the fishing… As i packed the wood for the braai, out runs a scorpion! First time i saw one in real life. Now, i was scrambling around to try and take a photo and Yolandi is screaming at me to kill the damn thing already! (with her feet of the floor ;). She seems tough, but she is a pissy. Still love you… We had our final coffee of the day and settled in for our final night.

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I was woken up by the sound of raindrops on the tent.. such a peaceful and tranquil sound. We got up at 06:30, had coffee and took the opportunity to pack up when the rain stopped. We popped in by 13 Krynauw street, Worcester for breakfast and left for home to pack everything out and pitch the tent again, as it was still wet when we packed it. Then ofcourse, we hit the gym for a boxing session as this is how we roll nowadays…

This was a great weekend, nice camp site and so far we have not been dissapointed by our choices. Our next one if Feb is already booked. Another surprise, another chance to catch a fish….

It was time to book our second camping trip and we decided to book at Doringlaagte Resort as it came very well recommended by almost everyone we spoke to and every review we read. This time, we booked a chalet for the in-laws to celebrate Yolandi’s mom’s birthday and since it fell over mothersday weekend, we killed two birds with one stone 🙂

Since Beaverlac, we realised we needed some very important items to make our camping experience more pleasant: Table, headlights, Alva gas stove, sleeping bag and some sort of storage crates. The arrangement was for me to work until 12:00 on the Friday, pack and hit the road as Montagu is a good 2;30 hours drive. On Friday however, as i was about to start packing up, we had a walk-in of clients all wanting a demo on the Mothers day special we had on Facebook. I had to bite the bullet and give the demo on the machine to the clients, even as the Whatsapp messages from Yolandi keep coming in asking ..”have you left yet?????” My sh!t was booked :(. I ended leaving 13:45, after 2 sales, but one very angry wife. At my arrival at the house, i just put my head down, packed the car to get onto the road as soon as possible, i wasn’t expecting any help on packing ofcourse, so there was bound to be something i forgot. The in-laws left about 10 min before we did with the two kids, and we left soon after.

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Our journey of 177 km started.. and it was gonna be a loooong drive. We listened to Yolandi’s music and i don’t know if it was planned, but the shuffle was really making a point and played “When you say nothing all”, “Killing me softly” ,”It’s only words”, “more than words” Eish, its gonna be a long 2 hours… We encountered 2 stop and go road works on the way, which did not help my situation either. Finally, we stopped at Montagu Spar to grab a few last minute items and cash. The directions were easy, 5 minutes outside Montague, and we arrived at Dornlaagte. We followed the path around the dam towards chalet nr 9 as well as our camping spot right in front at E6.

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What a little gem of a place! All camping spots had grass, electricity and water! We were on the dam edge of the dam, although the dam was pretty empty and has been for the last 3 years. We unpacked, got ready to set up camp as we had about 1 hour of daylight left. At this stage, i was still just putting my head down, unloaded the car and followed instructions from a-tiny-more-relaxed-wife. We were helped by the Tatum and Alyssa in setting up camp this time, and i think this helped my case as Yolandi’s mood change a bit for the better. Finally were settled in and started the fire for an evening of roosterkoek and jam to accompany the huge snoek we were about to devour. No summer camp kids screaming, no dogs running around… This is so peace full and we had the perfect evening, no wind, just the sound of paddas in the dam. This is camping.. Then it started getting colder and colder and colder….

I packed the warm water bottle for this trip and placed it under our bedding before we went to bed, hoping to score some redemption points. We tucked ourselves in, and we just could not fall asleep! The blown up matras was not airated enough which caused Yolandi to be incredibly cold as it felt like the coldness came through the ground. She slept with a hoodie over her head, the air was so cold that when you breath you could see the condensation forming. IT WAS COLD. We had two choices: 1) We could go sleep in the chalet, as there was more than enough space left. Now, if you have ever stayed over with the Maddens and Nicholas in particular, you will know that he snores like a chain saw on the loose! This idea brought back memories of us sleeping in the car at Matroosberg to escape the chain saw, so the chalet was not an option. We still love you Nick! 2) I could go get a matras from the chalet, as there were 4 single beds of which 2 will not be used. This was the option i took. I got up, the sliding door was open and got a matras without disturbing the rest of the house. Back at the tent, we deflated the matras and placed the matras from the chalet ontop it. Immediate difference. More redemption points for me?

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The next morning we woke up at about 08:00, with a lovely warm ray of sunshine that is heating up the tent. We got up, ready to try out our Alva stove for some much needed coffee. (Save the say Yolandi’s mood was way better and i think i redeemed myself last night with the matras that i fetched 🙂 Really great investment and what a great innovation! Love it! it is going everywhere with us in future! We made breakfast, got dressed and were ready to explore what Doringlaagte have to offer.

We were the only campers on this side in block E, which only has 10 very big camping sites. We were really impressed with the ablution block as well which had hot water (which was on a 2 minute counter). Clean, neat and more than enough for the 10 sites. We walked around and found a fenced play area for the kids with some really big tortoises in it, a bush lapa next to the office, a secluded camp spot that is situated in the dam, and then there was the bushpub… Not many pubs around that has a heated swimming pool right in the middle of the bar for adults only! No Tv’s in the bar, prices really cheap and they offer pizzas. outside was an area for kids with a zip line, some canoes and a swimming areas with beach sand that makes you feel as if you are on holiday in Phuket!

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We spend some time here, needless to say, as the beer was really cheap. We followed the path from the pub around the dam where there is 3 glamping chalets, with separate ablution for them. The dam is really empty, but some kids still managed to catch some bass (catch and release). Right next to our camping site, is a outdoor swimming pool, not heated. The resort also offers a 9 hole mashi course, which on this visit we have played, but will on our next visit. Each chalet comes with a wood fired jacuzzi, which we made use of the Saturday afternoon. Back at our camp, we started a fire to make some boerewors rolls, played some cards and sat in the warm Jacuzzi.

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The chalet we had, has space for 12 people, big bathroom (shower, toilet & basin), 3 rooms, indoor braai area, fully equipped kitchen. Great for a weekend away! We made a good old potjie with rice for evening supper. It was gonna be another cold one tonight, warm water bottle under the bedding, hopefully we will get a good and warm nights sleep this time round! We slept really well, no complaints about cold and the ray of sunshine made the tent nice and warm before we got up for some coffee. As it is mothers day today, we made a nice full breakfast with the whole tooti: bacon, eggs, cheese grillers, braaibroodjies.. After breakfast and cleanup, we got dressed and ready to pack up for our trip home. All packed, but wished we could stay longer.

This is such a peace full place and we will definitely be back! Better than Beaverlac? It is only my opinion that it is :)…

On our way home, and I was still not sure if i am out the dog box, since i gave the incorrect directions to exit the resort… Eish…

The day had finally arrived!! We are packing for Beaverlac! So why did we choose Beaverlac? According to many Facebook Camp groups, Beaverlac came heavy recommended. Some of the great features: You can check in from 08:00 in the morning on your first day and only have to be out at 17:00 on the last day, plenty of shade, plenty of activities, dogs are allowed, no noise from 22:00 to 07:00, ablution facilities with warm water, a shop in case you forgot something. Together with the fact that it is rated as the number one camping spots by a lot of campers, we could not resist the temptation to try this out as our first attempt.

The excitement to leave was indescribable. Cannot believe Yolandi was so excited to go to a place where so will get dirty, with no reception and no electricity! Anyway, packed we were. We had a list, kinda. We will probably find out once we are there what we have NOT packed.

It is save to say it looked like we were moving, and this was only for 2 days! Needless to say, we are packed and on our way.

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We chose to take the N7 to Piketberg where we stopped for our last shopping of necessities and a driver swop, as Yolandi had some much needed refreshments for her effort in the first part of the drive, and on to Porterville we went. At the T-junction, we turned left onto the R365 and then we took a right onto Dasklip/Cardouw road. This is a dirt road and not to bad, just a few areas that rattled the car a bit. After about 9 km’s we took another right turn onto Dasklip Pass. Now, this pass is not for the faint hearted, not good for your marriage and was the first test of our marriage for the weekend! My goodness, there is no markings in the road, no railings on the side with a steep drop that makes your stomach turn! This is where Yolandi had to take something for the nerves! My suggestion to stop to take a photo was shot down before i could finish the question, and i could not dare to look right or left! “Kyk op die pad!” “Jy ry te vinnig” “Moenie uitswaai vir n kar nie, ry liewer in die kar vas”… Now you understand why this pass is a marriage breaker..

Just when i thought divorce went out the window, came the 2nd test of our marriage and the turnoff to Beaverlac , which was left and 3 km steep down on gravel road which is NOT fit for a low car such as ours. I am sorry to say, but all the suggestions on the blogs, posts, websites, magazines i have read that suggest you can reach Beaverlac with a small car, certainly does not look after their vehicle the way we do. Any dirt road, and Yolandi would grinch at the thought of what the car is going through. Believe me, this was more of a wedding breaker than Dassklip pass. All the way down until you reach the farm and to the front of the gate, there is loose rock, the road is not level, you will scrape your car at the bottom (i only managed it once and it was like i scraped the car all the way down!).

We finally reached the camp site office and i was very relieved. Think Yolandi was too (we haven’t spoken for the last km). I was greeted by Simon who politely asked for my booking printout. Now, if you haven’t been to Beaverlac, you can’t just turn up and pay for a spot. You have to go through a rigorous booking system before you can get a formal permit that gives you permission to the campsite. Best you visit Beaverlac website to get the full details. They will NOT allow you entry into the camp if you are not registered on their database and have proof of your ID’s and booking confirmation. All good, and we can camp anywhere we want.

We chose the first campsite on the right, parked and had a walk around to see where we can find the most shade, not to far from the bathroom, and close to a braai. This was our criteria :). We finally settled on a nice spot under an oak tree, close to bathroom and with a braai. Now for the 3rd test of our marriage: time to pitch the tent.

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This went quite well, and within 10 min we were all setup! I was proud of our efforts, and the fact that we pitched it before hand, meant we knew exactly what to do. Marriage back on track.

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We settled into our campsite for the next hour and watch all the other campers come in and watched them setup. We mainly looked for some tips we can take with us to our next trip, although we also had a nice (soft) laugh at some of the efforts of our fellow campers. Time to hit the road in search of The Secret Pool for our first swim of the weekend. The explanation on the map was quite clear: pass the orchard, turn left before the cement bridge, follow the path then you will discover The Secret Pool.

What a beautiful little secret this was. Wow, i can just imagine when the river is full how the waterfall would be much bigger than this, but still… Picture Perfect. We stayed here for a while and enjoyed the warm water before we headed back. Little did we know what is waiting for us back at the campsite…

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Back at our campsite and all of a sudden we had neighbours. It looked and sounded like an American Summer camp! There were kids and dogs everywhere! They (a group of 3 tents to start with) camped behind us, but is sounded like they were right next to us. We looked at each other, and we knew.. No more peace and quiet. About four spots from us was an old couple who we could see have been camping for years. There setup was amazing and they had EVERYTHING organised. We could also tell, they were not gonna be a nuisance. Unlike our other campers. As the afternoon lingered away, more people, more kids, more dogs joined the “summer camp” group. By late afternoon they were 7 tents, 3 dogs, 9 kids. They were running around screaming, the dogs had no manners and would just run everywhere without the owner taking responsibility of his dog. I don’t even think the dog knew his own name, cause he never responded to it! By night fall we started our fire. Where are our headlights? No headlights. Oops.. We will have to make do with the flash light on the cellphone, whilst the battery last as Beaverlac has no power for campers..

I made an effort to make some popcorn.. Note to self: get heavy duty foil for the next trip. I prepared the roosterkoek, a definite must when going camping.
we made enough food for breakfast and lunch the next day. Soon our list of thing we need to get got longer: headlights, table, lights for around the camp, braai bak.. Eish.. very bad packing, but we could survive without the items.

As the night progressed, the summer camp group got even bigger. 9 tents, 3 dogs and 15 kids later, we knew we were in for a very loooooong night and weekend. They were just out of control. Running around, screaming, barking..

After our fire went out, we decided to head into our tent and try to get some sleep, if this would be at all possible with the noise around. Fell asleep quite easily and at about 00:30 i went for a bathroom break and the summer camp group were still talking as loud as earlier! No respect for other campers. At 06:00 the following morning we got woken up by screaming kids and a soccer ball that was kicked against the tent! I could not believe that you would allow your kids to continue to scream that early in the morning! Really??

Yolandi got up and started the fire for coffee and breakfast. On her way to the bathroom, our neighbours asked her how we slept. Apparently the old man went to them at 01:00 to make them quiet and they were going to complain to the office later the morning as they are adhering to the camp rules. In the 50 years they have been camping, this was their worst experience with noise and dogs that does not behave. Now, that should tell you enough about the summer camp group noise levels and disrespect. Lovely couple.

We decided to get ready early to get out of there and go swimming at the main pool before all the kids so we can have some peace and quite. It is a nice 5 min walk through the camp to the main pool, lovely big pool. Only “downside” is, there is no place to sit on the side apart from a couple of rocks. We swam for a bit to cool down, then decided to walk to the next swimming area further up the river along the Leopard trail. This is not an easy walk and you should be wearing hiking shoes. Since we did not pack any, I convinced Yolandi that it is only a short distance further up and we will take it slow as we were only wearing flip flops. After 25 min of uphill climbing, the path led us to a steep downhill slide and eventually we reached a beautiful secluded area with 3 small pools. There was no one there and we relaxed for the next hour in our piece of heaven with no noise from screaming kids, only the sound of water running over rocks. We decided to walk back to camp and hopefully the kids will all be at the pools. Our way back was a bit easier, but note to self: always pack hiking shoes just in case! We stopped at the shop before we reached our campsite and found out they are very well stocked! Even a wide variety of alcohol! They have ice, wood, bread, chips, cookies, sunlight and even paper plates! Bring cash though, as they do not have card facility because of the signal. We got some refreshments and on our way we were.

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We got back to camp and there was dead silence! The summer camp squad went to the pools, bliss! We spoke to our neighbours, and they made a complaint to office and Simon went to them to give them a warning. So tonight, we should have a whole different experience. We had lunch, roosterkoek and chicken, yummy! What to do when you finally have peace and quiet? Take an afternoon nap of course! Like the two old people next door, we decided to take advantage of the silence and had a nice hour long nap. We got woken up by the return of the summer camp group, of course. You could just hear the moms telling the kids to not scream and be quiet, so they got the message.

We decided to take another short hike on the Yellowfish trail, a flat short 2km walk. We ended up turning around as the directions on the trail path are very badly marked we were sure we were at the wrong spot. We went back to The Secret Pool to cool down, before heading back to camp.

Back at camp we realized we packed way to little wood. This is going to be a problem. Note to self: bring cash for extra wood! We used all the wood we brought with, at least it was enough for the meat. We could help to notice that the camp is so much quieter than last night! Even the kids were bathed at 19:00 and was getting ready for bed before 20:00! Now this is what it should sound like… only the sound of the fire in the background to provide the noise. Happy days… Now to solve the problem for a fire for the rest of the evening. I took a walk down the road and just past the orchard, I found a nice big piece of log, carried it under my arm and back to camp I went. This will provide us enough fire to take through the night. We sat by the fire, chatted, made lists of what we need to bring next time, planned our next trip and just enjoyed each others company. We went to bed with half the log still left to burn, hopefully we can use that the next morning to make some coffee.

The days are quite warm and the nights are crisp, so it really is nice as you don’t feel stuffy and sweaty in the tent. We also slept with the front door open, only the net was closed to keep out any unwanted guests. The following morning we were greeted with a gloomy and misty picture. O no, if the road get slippery from the mist, we will definitely not be able to make the road up to pass and out of there. We made coffee and breakfast and started to cleanup so we can pack up and hit the road quite early.

Packing up was no hassle, although I forgot a broom to sweep the inside of the tent before we pack it up. As we got ready to take the tent down, mr. spider made an appearance and ran down the back of the tent! Thank goodness he was on the outside! We were all packed and ready to leave. You cannot leave your black bag at the campsite, there is a R10 per bag collection fee if you leave your bag on site. So we took our bag with us. At the office as we checked out, we told Simon that we really enjoyed our stay here and will be back in future. Only the noise from the summer camp group put a damper on our weekend, to which he politely pointed out that this will be there last camp at Beaverlac and they won’t be welcome in future. That is what is liked as well. If you don’t have any respect for fellow campers, you won’t be back. Simple.

Now for the long 3 km up the misty road.. i was driving, of course, so my co-driver can shout instructions at me as to where to drive. 1st gear all the way up, slipped only ONCE and down Dasklip Pass we went. Again, instructions were loud clear! “Bly regs!” “Jy ry te vinnig!” Eish.. We didn’t get any traffic from the front, only at to bottom so i was very relieved. We drove to Piketberg for some much needed coffee and to through our black bag in the bin at the petrol station.

We got home safe, just after 12:00 on Sunday and already wanting to camp again as soon as possible. This experience was such great fun. Everyone should do it! And for Yolandi, whom i thought would NEVER do something like this, surprised me with her enthusiasm and eagerness to find our next camping spot 😉

2 important things we learned from our first trip: need to get a bakkie and pack enough wood! We made a list of small things we want to add, but that will come with time. Because, we are going to make this a very regular thing! Ready to plan our next trip, Beaverlac will see us again and would recommend this to any camper.

Welcome back!

This was gonna be the easiest part of camping. How difficult can it be, right? You Google “Camping tents” and click on the link with the cheapest price and vuala…

Looks great! And the price is right to. We especially liked the features: Sleeps 4 so plenty of space inside, UV protection and storm ropes to! So we were set on buying this tent. Then, Yolandi messages oom Pottie (a seasoned camper) for some advice and this simple exercise turned into weeks of visiting various stores for the alternative to the above and the ‘proper’ tent. What it basically came down to was, ‘goedkoop koop is duur koop’. Oom Pottie really gave us great advice and send us some pictures of people camping in the exact type of tent we were ready to buy, which could not withstand the heavy winds of Gouritsmond and were blown to pieces.

So we started a new search, this time we Googled: “Canvas tents” and got some results. Suddenly, the price tripled and we were in real doubt as to if we were going to spend this amount of money. We had two options: 1) Buy the cheap tent to start with, then end of the year we can always upgrade to the canvas tent. OR 2) Just see this as a great investment, and we won’t have to spend this money end of the year.

We went backwards and forth as to which one to buy, as this was a lot of money to spend now, in Januworry. We eventually weighed the negatives and positives of both and decided in the end that we were just gonna bite the bullet and buy the Canvas tent. We ended up buying the following tent:

The most important features here, was the size of the tent (5 sleeper), the Ripstop Canvas fabric (which makes them resistant to tearing and ripping) and comes with a steal frame. So we were really excited that the tent would hold up against any weather condition and big enough inside so you don’t feel cramped should you spend some time inside because of bad weather.

Now, we were really excited to pitch this tent and see exactly how the two of us would cope with this enormous 3 x 3 x 2.25 m tent. Everyone says you must pitch the tent at least once before you go to your first camp, so that was exactly what we wanted to do. This could either make or brake our marriage! Needles to say, we googled first, because we did this outside and did not want an audience from the whole neighborhood if we do get to a point where we walk out on each other. Click on the link to see our video for our practice run. https://www.facebook.com/238369773721828/videos/2248312018821165/?t=0

Now that we are comfortable with pitching our tent and we won’t look like complete newbies when we have our first camp, we are very much looking forward to our first camp in March, Beaverlac. In our next blog, we will look at what we took on our first trip as well as some useful information about Beaverlac from our perspective.