Spioenkop's Surprises — What We Got Up To!

Destination: Spioenkop Nature Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal

Dates booked: 25th March - 24th May 2022

No. of nights: 60

Our adventure at Spioenkop was certainly a memorable one.

Jam-packed full of quality time with family and friends, beautiful weather, gorgeous scenery and wildlife, and some awkward, crazy, and funny moments — it was sure a keeper!

On our very first morning as a travelling caravan couple, we rose from our deep slumber to a cloudy Saturday morning — not quite bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Let’s just say it took a while for my eyes to adjust and for my brain to register where we were and what was happening!?

Surprisingly, Dale was way more up-and-Adam than me, and when I surfaced, he handed me a glorious, steamy cup of coffee as I emerged apprehensively from the tent. My body ached with the culmination of two intense months of bending and heavy lifting, and my head was cloudy, but at least we were here now — our new life was finally beginning.

Soon, the clouds cleared, and my eyes began to soak in the rosy, sun-kissed surroundings of our very own African safari.

After about 20 minutes, as my brain slowly thawed with every sip of delicious caffeine, our close friends, who lived just down the road from the reserve, called us unexpectedly.

They wanted to visit us right now!

After getting dressed in a flurry and trying to look semi-presentable, we happily greeted our friends about 10 min later. We hadn't seen each other for a very long time, so it was so good to catch up. To my huge surprise, I managed to locate what we needed from our storage boxes to get a lunch braai going (or barbecue, if you're from the States!), and we ended up having a lovely Saturday enjoying good company and the beautiful surroundings.

It really was a magical day and just what we needed.

Sheltered from the midday heat, under our newly purchased gazebo, we enjoyed the cool breeze off the water’s surface and even a quick dip in the dam for a good cool down. The food was great, and the conversation too — what more could one want? 😊

On Sunday morning, we embraced spontaneity even more and decided to 'make the circle bigger,' inviting more friends over for a joint braai. It was so much fun and so good for our souls.

Nothing beats time with life-long friends, soaking in the warm African sun around a classic South African braai.

It's very dear to every South African's heart...

If you're wondering what the net over the gazebo is, it's a storm net to keep the gazebo from bending in the wind. It can get super windy at Spioenkop in a flash, so we had to be prepared.

My planning, organizing, and 'keeping things tidy all the time' brain really took a holiday that weekend. Perhaps for the best too...

By this time, I had also given up trying to assume any inkling of order in my tent. Our fold-up tables were at least up, so we had surfaces to work on, but we were mostly still operating out of our storage boxes — getting what we needed as we went along. The real arranging would have to wait until Monday.

As the sun faded and we bid our friends farewell, we soon welcomed the start of a brand-new week in our new home.

Adjusting to Our New Way of Life

Monday morning echoed in with a bang.

Good, bad, or so-so…? Time would have to tell.

It sure was an interesting experience adapting to our new way of life. The weeks that followed saw us doing a great deal of organising and rearranging while obviously trying to complete work during the weekdays. Everything was a huge learning curve for us.

From Monday, I started working full-time as a freelance content editor. The content manager I worked for online was starting to recruit new writers, so the rise in editing work was certainly coming in at a perfect time after being retrenched. God is so good, and His timing is always just right!

Dale continued with his studies (a bachelor’s degree in theology and Christian counselling through SATS) and then took up an amazing professional coaching course at the same time. During our time at Spioenkop, he completed his full course and started completing his qualifying hours towards registering with the ICF (International Coaching Federation).

Our days were definitely busy but also so fulfilling.

It's funny how one door closes, and another opens — you’ll never imagine what you’ll see on the other side. Often, it really isn’t as bad as you thought; it's simply wonderful!

After facing retrenchment and being faced with very uncertain circumstances, we started seeing this new adventure as an opportunity to mould and design the life we desired.

I had always wanted to be a writer and self-employed, so editing was certainly in the right direction now. And hey, I’m writing this blog, which counts!

If you’d asked me when I was a child what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would have said an architect, as I saw myself designing weird and wonderful houses — my imagination around house designs was pretty impressive! But, I soon realised that I was way more captivated by the possible stories surrounding those imaginary houses, and I discovered that I really wanted to be a writer.

I could see myself writing wonderful content for my readers, creating riveting tales and thought-provoking works of art with words. I saw myself becoming a sophisticated writer, with her head in the clouds at times, a pen in her hair and journal in hand, but with her feet still firmly on the ground, too — if you know what I mean!?

Dale was also really starting to work towards his dream work.

As far back as he could remember, he always wanted to be in a profession where he could help enable people to find freedom, purpose, and fulfilment in life. While his ongoing, part-time degree was setting him up with a strong foundation in Christian Counselling, he could now start using his coaching course qualifications to practice what he loved the most.

After acquiring all the qualifying hours, he registered with the ICF and launched his own online coaching practice. Woohoo, you go, Babe! I'm so proud of you!

One of the many beautiful early evenings we spent working overlooking the dam. Dale was doing coaching training on Zoom while I caught up on editing work.

Take a peek at see what coaching Dale offers now...

So, going back to the nitty-gritty of caravan life.

Spioenkop turned out to be a very productive time of figuring out and planning our new mobile life.

Seeing my dad’s caravan was on the smaller side and that we had brought WAY too many belongings than necessary, we spent a lot of time setting up one space, then disassembling and setting up another.

It was time-consuming and frustrating. Our one main table in the tent, or “all-sorts” table (as I liked to call it), turned from a breakfast nook, to a full office, dinner table, and fishing rig set-up table, all in one day. Juggling the kitchen area was an interesting task, which was all of one metre from the “all-sorts” table along the side of the caravan. I had perfectly arranged all our spices, cooking utensils, and other cooking goodies along one side of the table, only to discover that it was on terribly uneven ground. Let’s just say that cutting vegetables for a roast turned into a game of chasing the spices and utensils under the table as they rolled in every direction. It certainly made life entertaining!

I am 'proud' to present our first kitchen below. We didn't have a drying rack for drying dishes yet, and our kitchen stuff was literally everywhere. Haha...

Looking back on this time, I marvel at how far we've come now. Everything has a beginning, and while it's uncomfortable and challenging at the time, when you look back, sometimes those awkward moments make the most precious memories.

Thankfully, we didn't have problems with the wildlife trying out our food, so we weren't worried about preventing access.

As you can probably tell by now, we loved working outside when the weather was good.

So, that "all sorts" table I told you about (pictured with Dale working on below)? Well, that dear table took its good share of turns in a range of destinations, too. It typically went from being in the caravan tent to under the gazebo as the sun rose, to being out in the open and then back under the caravan tent all in one day — weather-dependent, of course.

Dale working hard at night as he was doing an online overseas lecture and training sessions for his coaching.

It was exhausting moving that table around, but it sure made us make the most of some gorgeous sunny days in a unique way. I mean, who normally does a day's work overlooking a beautiful dam in the wide open?

Below, Dale was making the most of a good fishing day. He had put some bass fishing rods in the water while I worked under the gazebo. We even enjoyed some lovely swims in the dam on our lunch breaks between working hours.

What a life! And a super unique work experience.

Yes, we used gallons of mozzie mooty (aka mosquito repellant), but it was so worth it...

Spioenkop was also a very productive time for us in starting to figure out, plan, and set up our mobile lifestyle.

Very soon, we started compiling a much-needed wish list of all the camping goodies or odds-and-ends that would make our living situation a little more comfortable.

As we settled and had the necessary finances, we slowly started ticking things off the list, one by one, which was a great deal of fun.

What Were Our Absolute Highlights at Spioenkop?

Our 60 days at Spioenkop were filled with many, many highlights.

A major one was having so many amazing visits from family and friends.

My family (picture below) visited us on Easter weekend, while Dale's parents visited us near the end of our stay. Having worked in hospitality previously, going away to visit family on the weekends had been very challenging, so it was so special having the time now to catch up with them properly.

From the left: my Dad in his cowboy hat, then Dale, Mom, me, and my sister Megan.

I'll never forget the stunning self-game drive with my family through the Spioenkop Nature Reserve. After our drive, we enjoyed sundowners on top of the valley overlooking the dam, marvelling at the sun's bright golden rays catching the deep blue clouds above. The rich, purple-yellow reflections of the dusky sky reflected in the dam's water below. As we watched the sun go down, it soon started feeling very chilly up on the hill.

Another BIG highlight was seeing two good friends get married in the Champagne Valley while we were in the area. It was such a privilege to be there on their big day — a day filled with laughter, dancing, and many tears of happiness and joy. It was one of those weddings you'll cherish forever!

Being so close to wildlife in the reserve was a spectacular experience and a huge highlight, too.

We frequently watched giraffes, zebra, wildebeest, bushpigs, birds (of all types and sizes), and various buck come through or very near our campsite.

On one sunny afternoon, a young giraffe was so occupied enjoying the delicious Acacia leaves along the dam’s edge that he seemed to forget our quiet little campsite perched on the hill above him. While reading and typing away at my laptop under the caravan tent, I looked up in great surprise to see him walking towards the dam in front of us!

When he realized where he was, he froze, dead still and stared at us with his long eyelashes and peculiar large eyes. After a good few seconds, he bolted with great urgency across the camp onto the other side of the dam. What a stunning viewing for a weekday.

Last, but certainly not least! Fishing...

Having been just 7 metres from the dam's edge, you can imagine we ended up doing a great deal of fishing.

With fishing being one of Dale’s passions and favourite hobbies, we spent many hours on the water with a rod in hand. Mind you, Dale had the rod in hand most of the time while I had the phone to take pictures or videos! I also enjoyed some birding while Dale fished. I was very happy watching him in his happy place and would join him in his excitement as he reeled in a catch, relishing in the suspense of not knowing what was on the other end until it appeared flapping about above the water.

I’ll never forget his beaming smile on our first full day at Spioenkop after he caught his first fish on our great big adventure (pictured bottom left). It wasn’t about the size. It was about finally starting to enjoy the lifestyle we’d chosen for ourselves.

So, folks, that was pretty much Spioekop in a nutshell for us.

About 2 weeks into caravanning at Spioenkop, we knew for certain that we wanted to do this mobile lifestyle permanently, for as long as we could. There was no doubt about it.

We knew we wanted a life of adventuring together and making unforgettable, unique memories along the way.

Yes, it would have its unique challenges, just like everything else did in life, but we knew we'd regret not embracing the adventure that lay before us.

It was also a bit scary and strange — very different from the standard nine-to-five lifestyle with a house or flat. But it also came with a great deal of possibilities and new excitement.

Perhaps we would settle down one day when the time and place were right.

Until then, we decided to embrace the travelling life that was before us, with all its peculiar challenges and unique joys, taking our home along with us wherever we went.

The next step, of course, was to get our very own comfy caravan!

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