Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2017 i Caravan and Outdoor Life

Goodbye Winter; hello Spring! I’m always excited when September rolls around. By now, the changing of the seasons is becoming more noticeable. It’s great to see the sun rise a little earlier each day, and set a bit later in the evening. We’ll soon notice the first hints of fresh green as the trees and plants all around us starting to bud, getting ready for the new growth of a new season. It seems that it’s not just nature that blooms this time of year: the caravan and camping industry is also showing new life. In this edition, take a look at the“new”Skipper trailer (page 30), plus Imagine's Comfortvan XL seem ready to roll out; Sherpa is expanding their range with a fibreglass trailer, Sensation will soon be launching their…

I love camping, whether I’m in a motorhome, caravan or tent. One of my favourite little chaps is a mix of a trailer, a tent and a caravan – the Skipper Tent Trailer. Last year, I towed the Model T from its home in Park Rynie in KZN to the Mozambique border. Now I was on a mission to explore the coast south of Durban. I had been upgraded to the Oyster LTX, the top model in the Skipper range; and for the tow vehicle, I had another favourite: a six-speed Ford Everest XLS 2.2L 6MT 4WD. This area of Kwazulu-Natal is known as the Hibiscus Coast, and there is a host of caravan parks dotted along the coastline. The south coast is a camper’s dream, since the warm climate…

Riverside is indeed at the riverside! The caravan and camping stands on the lower terrace of the resort are just 20 metres from the shore of the Kleinbrak River, and the upper terrace about 50 metres away. There is total peace and tranquillity, with the wind sighing in the trees, and the distant sound of surf breaking on the shore mingling with the calls of Osprey, Marshall and Fish Eagles. Riverside is very central for touring the Garden Route from Knysna, Sedgefield, George, and Mossel Bay to Oudtshoorn. There is also a horse-riding farm and Botlierskop Game Farm 5 km up the road. Imagine waking up at sunrise, taking your fishing rod, strolling a few metres and casting into a tranquil river, before maybe bringing back a grunter or cob…

MOVERS ON A SHERPA For the“more mature” caravanner, even with a smaller light unit like the Sherpa Tiny RR, I can recommend the use of a power mover. This accessory is expensive to purchase but is a godsend when parking in tight spots at home or in campsites. I have since modified the installation to provide protection plates in front of the motors to prevent stone strikes on gravel roads (you can see the chips on the support rail) and have wrapped the motor in a rubber conveyor-belt type material as an additional precaution (which I have seen on other off-road trailers with power movers in Windhoek). This seems to help a lot when one is travelling on gravel roads with an“off-road”caravan. One question: I was reading the letter and…

Two-wheel manouevre Motorcycles have larger turning circles, which make them difficult to manoeuvre around tight corners. The Roadque Bike Mover saves space, time and effort. The mover is basically a dolly that fits all bike sizes and carries up to 500kg. It has 9 easy-lock swivelling bearinged castor wheels, with wheel locks and non-slip platforms, and can fold up and fit into the trunk of your car Price: R2 995 (incl VAT) Available from Roadque Manufacturers. For more information, visit www.roadque.co.za, email info@roadque or phone 012 804 1967. See the difference With fully-coated lenses for optimised clarity and brightness, the Tasco Essentials binoculars from Trappers are well-suited for all your outdoor game and bird-watching activities. The rugged, weather-resistant housing is coated with rubber armour. To round off the specs, the…

Skipper Tent Trailer. Three simple words that in my estimation seem inadequate to describe this compact home on wheels. Simple, easy to put up, comfortable, and with the side tent it is also very spacious. The Skipper range of tent trailers is the brainchild of the Kerkhof family. Robbie Kerkhof and his wife Jenny have been in the caravan game all their lives. Perhaps you remember the Gazelle or Kerkhof Gazelle? Hand-built, it was considered the Rolls Royce of caravans in its time. Robbie and Jenny finally decided to retire to Pennington on the south coast of KZN. But you can’t keep an old ‘gypsy’ like Robbie down: caravanning is in his DNA. Teaming up with his son Reinhart and daughter in-law Charmaine (who makes all the tent accessories), the…

As far back as 2004, my wife and I formed the idea to travel across Australia and beyond in our own vehicle. By 2010, we found the right vehicle – an Australian-made Earthcruiser model EXP, based on a Mitsubishi Fuso 4x4 Canter – and we started to wean ourselves off full-time work. We started with a six month trip around the Eastern half of Australia. We returned to contract work for a few months and then embarked on our Western trip around Australia. By then the travel bug had bitten, and we've never looked back. Over the next few years, we travelled the length and breadth of Australia. In 2015, we shipped the vehicle to North America on a trip through Alaska, Canada and the Western USA. A round-trip of…

Rack of Lamb with Asparagus & Rosemary Mash Ingredients • Rack of lamb• 6 potatoes• 4 cloves garlic, chopped• 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary, finely chopped• 2 Packets of green asparagus• 1 lemon• Milk• Olive oil• Salt & pepper Method Asparagus 1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper in a pan. 2. Add asparagus and fry until lightly browned. 3. Remove from heat, squeeze a few drops of lemon juice over asparagus. Mash 1. Quarter potatoes, place in a large pot and cover with cold water. Place over medium heat and simmer (do not boil) for 15 minutes until tender. 2. Strain potatoes and set aside. 3. In the same pot, add oil, garlic and rosemary. Lightly fry over medium heat. When slightly brown, add potatoes back to the pot, and mix with garlic and rosemary. 4.…

WHERE IS MY DREAM GRAVEL-ROADER? We were blessed to spend a few days at Dolphin Holiday Resort in Ballito; it is always awesome being here! At their tea garden (where they serve complimentary tea and scones twice a day), I found some Caravan & Outdoor Life magazines from 2011 where there was much excitement about the Dethleffs, Fendt and Hymer caravans and campers. In those magazines, Jurgens/ Campworld advertised many varieties of“local is lekker”. It obviously worked, as virtually none of those other caravans can be seen on the road. Ironically, their importers, Motorhome-World, seem to be doing very well with their local products. Which leads me to a thought about Hoefer caravans. It is a month since the first South African dealership was scheduled to open, and I have…

INSIDE IMAGINE'S NEW CONCEPT After almost 15 years in the industry, Imagine has added a third caravan to their range. The Comfortvan XL is like nothing you’ve seen before in South Africa. At 6 metres long, the caravan is only 2080mm in height while towing – that’s because the entire top of the caravan lifts up. With the press of a button, the roof lifts up to 2830mm. The Comfortvan XL is built from aluminum fibreglass sandwich construction, on a hot-dipped galvanised chassis, with a galvanized mild steel open channel A arm, fitted with Gabriel shock absorbers, 8 blade leaf springs, and a 2500kg-rated braked solid axle. Inside, you find a fixed double bed (2000 x 1440 mm), and a cleverly-designed bench, of which the backrest can fold up to…

Last month's WINNER Congratulations to Rudi Gunter, who correctly identified last month’s image as the Victoria Falls on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia. The Victoria Falls is a waterfall in southern Africa on the Zambezi River at the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Victoria Falls is 1 708 metres wide, making it the largest sheet of falling water in the world. It drops between 90m and 107m into the Zambezi Gorge, and an average of 500 000 000 litres of water plummets over the edge every minute. NAME ORIGIN The local Makololo tribe living in the area in the 1800s named the falls “Mosi-oa-Tunya”, which means “The Smoke that Thunders”. This incredible sound of millions of litres of water crashing down can be heard 40km away, and the…

The historic town of Montagu, founded in 1851, is one of the “must-visit” towns along the now well-known Route 62 in the Western Cape. The town was once known as “Agter Cogmanskloof”, and lies between the Keisie and Kingna Rivers. If, before now, you have only passed through this town surrounded by mountains, I recommend staying over for a few days to explore the village and its surroundings. There is plenty to do. I like the cavaranner’s grapevine. A major reason a lot of us camp is not only to be out in the wilds but a larger part of it is the camaraderie found amongst fellow campers. You inevitably find yourself sitting around the campfire talking about your favourite campsite. Montagu Caravan Park is a venue that often comes…

Corian’s Pennington Caravan Resort KwaZulu-Natal Stay for 10 days or longer and get 30% discount. We also offer out of season rates during the October shool holidays. Contact: T: 039 975 1107 C: 082 572 3997 E: corians@telkomsa.net W: www.corians.co.za Ou Skip Holiday Resort Western Cape Pensioners’ discount: 10% all year round. Contact: T: 021 553 2058 E: ouskip@intekom.co.za W: www.ouskip.co.za Morgan Bay Hotel Caravan Park Eastern Cape Out-of-season caravan and camping rates: All sites R265 per day (maximum 4 people). Pensioner rate R210 per day. Long stay special: 1 month just R2 700, or 2 months and longer at R2 400. Contact: T: 043 8411062 T: 082 8528263 E: info@morganbayhotel.co.za W: www.morganbayhotel. co.za/camping Dibiki Holiday…