Taking the Plunge & Getting Our Own Caravan

Destination: Spioenkop Nature Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal

Dates booked: 25th March - 24th May 2022

No. of nights: 60

So, you may be thinking…

Why exactly did we feel the need to get ourselves a caravan?

Well, it was quite simple, really.

For sure, borrowing my parent’s caravan would have been the cheaper option by far, but we knew we needed to get our own anyway at some stage. We thought to ourselves if we decided to give our adventure a good go, then it would make sense to get our caravan sooner rather than later.

We’d also figured it would be a good idea to try to get our own caravan early on in our journey so that we could plan our living spaces and purchases of camping equipment according to the specific design and layout of our caravan and tent.

Early on at Spioenkop, we discovered that caravan life is like an intricate puzzle, where you're constantly creatively fitting your life into tiny or unique spaces while trying hard to remember where everything is! Haha… So, we needed to get our own “puzzle,” you could say, and figure out exactly where our life’s pieces would fit.

There was also the dilemma of the caravan’s size…

My parents' caravan was perfect for a fun getaway for a long weekend or even a month away (max!). But it was way too small for long-term caravaners like us — especially with all our loads of stuff at the time, I might add.

In essence, using my parent’s caravan had also always been a temporary thing, and using it had initially allowed us to get going on our trip and to figure out if the travelling caravan life was for us. Once we’d decided to embrace the journey, the next step was to get our very own mobile home.

And so…the epic search for our perfect caravan was launched.

With excitement, determination, and focus, coupled with a steady flow of coffee and chocolate, we ventured forth into the deep trenches of Facebook marketplaces.

We knew our caravan was out there somewhere in the world, waiting to be found.

It was just a matter of it showing itself! Eventually…

Dale and I spent countless hours looking at second-hand caravans online. Our fingers and eyes would get so tired from all the scrolling, and we had several late nights researching and figuring out what we wanted and could afford. Browsing through various Facebook pages or groups on second-hand caravan sales certainly gave us a good idea of the different caravan types you could get — and these were way too many to count.

We soon discovered that it would suit us much better to go directly through a dealer rather than a private sale. Living quite remotely and far away from densely populated areas at the time made it very tricky for us to view possible caravans that were scattered across the country.

Of course, there were many private sales that looked great, but we really didn’t have peace of mind with the private sale route. If we found a caravan we liked, we wouldn’t be able to do the necessary quality checks ourselves. We’d also have the added cost and headache of getting it through CoR (i.e., roadworthiness tests), and there would be plenty of backwards and forwards, with added travel costs.

According to the research we did, a dealer is required by law to make sure they sell a caravan according to certain quality standards. If anything is amiss, we’d be able to use the warranty in accordance with the signed agreement. These types of companies sell new caravans, along with second-hand caravans, which they repair and renovate before selling just as new, so you mostly know you’re getting quality.

The other huge perk is that they also install any extras before delivery. These usually include appliances and any extras you want, such as air conditioners or movers (these level and move your caravan into place through a remote control without you having to break your back — super nifty, right?!). Okay, we didn’t get the movers, but the aircon sounded very appealing!

We soon decided to go through Pretoria Caravans and Outdoor (LINK), and upon arriving on their website, we found the caravan that perfectly suited our needs and budget.

When making contact, a friendly salesperson onsite talked us through everything and gave us a grand tour of the caravan and tent from every angle via WhatsApp. After plenty of conversations and video messages, we decided to go for the few extras: an air conditioner and a movable porta-potty.

They also took care of the following for us: putting on new tyres, having it properly serviced, taking it through CoR, and getting it licensed. Woohoo….

After giving it all the official go-ahead, we clicked “pay” and were official caravan owners!

It felt amazing — just like being homeowners.

Okay, if you’re giggling at that, it may sound cute, I know, but it really was a wonderful feeling and one we’ll cherish forever. No matter the size, it was ours.

It was a unique milestone moment for us. We're not going back now, Bob! We’re doing this thing.

During the following two weeks, the salesperson kept in touch with us while they got everything ready. Once everything was complete, the little extra we paid for delivery meant they’d bring the caravan down to us from Pretoria. The owner of the company drove the caravan down from Pretoria to Ladysmith, where he met Dale at a petrol garage.

Soon, on that bright, hot afternoon along the dam, I watched Dale slowly bouncing along into the campsite with our new caravan.

It was so much fun looking at it in person for the first time — was this really ours?

YES, it definitely was.

At the time, our good friends, who had also just gotten married, were visiting us. Amazingly, they kindly offered to help us set up our new caravan for the very first time.

Let’s just say it was quite a long… process.

I had spent the morning packing up and moving all our belongings from the small caravan tent out of the way and getting everything ready so we could move things across to the new caravan once it arrived. The plan was to rehook our vehicle onto the small caravan, shift it a few metres away, then re-hook the vehicle onto the new caravan and move it precisely where the small caravan had been.

Sounds easy enough, right!?

Not so fast...

A process like that is never easy, especially when the ground is uneven and the heat of the day is beating down on you with a vengeance. It took us roughly two hours of re-hooking and unhooking caravans, levelling, and using rocks/bricks to raise the wheels — anything we could find to get the caravan level.

The next task was to get as much of the tent up as possible before the chilly evening swept in.

It took A LOT of time to figure out which tent pole went where, but eventually, the frame of the tent was up with the roof. Despite the dishevelled nature of our belongings, we decided to get a very late braai going with our friends before they needed to head off.

It was a scrumptious meal, especially after a tiring, physical day.

Our special friends bid us goodnight at dusk — what legends for helping us! We were so grateful to them for their help and support (especially the mental support).

After they left, this was the situation we faced...

Stuff was everywhere, and it felt pretty chaotic! But, we were super happy and couldn't resist a little cheers, while we did as much organising as we could .

With the cold evening about to descend on us, we quickly finished putting up the sides of the tent and got as many of our belongings under shelter as possible — the evening and early morning dew can often be as wet as rain. We then transferred our bedding to our new caravan and any essential belongings for the night.

After a good, hot shower, we sunk happily into our new bed, ready for our first night’s sleep in our cosy new home.

Next week, we’ll need to move all our belongings from the small caravan into our new caravan — quite a mighty task!

But those concerns could wait until tomorrow.

For now, we soaked in the surroundings of our spacious new home and the excitement that it was all ours. What a wonderful blessing!

We soon drifted off into a beautiful, peaceful sleep, listening to the cool evening breeze whistling through the Acacia trees and the distant calls of jackal pups echoing into the crisp dark night.

Our adventures were just beginning.