Go! Drive & Camp June/July 2025

Every now and then, something unexpected happens – and the timing is just too perfect to chalk it up to coincidence. That’s exactly what happened to me earlier this year at the Caravan Show in Midrand. I stepped away from the Drive & Camp stall for a bit to wander among the other exhibitors on the Saturday afternoon – not really looking for anything or anyone in particular, just wanting to catch up with familiar faces, see what clever new products our local manufacturers had come up with, and get a general feel for where our industry’s at. And then I found myself in conversation with Lea Erasmus from Ultimate Routes, after she called me over to their stand. She told me more about what they do, and the overlap…

We love hearing what’s on your mind! Write to us at drivecamp@gomag.co.za and please remember to include your full address and contact details. Drive & Camp reserves the right to edit and shorten letters – and publish them in the magazine, on the website and elsewhere. In March, we spent a week camping in Botswana with four other families, and I’d like to share two useful tips with fellow travellers. Because we were aware of the regulations around taking meat across the border, we decided to place an order ahead of time and collect it on the other side. We ordered from the modern new Spar at the Palapye Junction shopping centre. It’s a large, upmarket store with everything you’d expect to find back home – plus a fantastic butchery.…

I know this is a tricky topic, but for those of us who head to a campsite to unwind for just a few days, the behaviour of some long-term campers can really sour the experience. I understand and appreciate that long-term campers provide a steady income for campsites over time, but it does bother me that they so often occupy the best stands – and then take up almost two stands with all their shade netting, gazebos, vehicles and trailers. I’ve even seen some of them hijack communal water taps with garden hoses, running water all the way to their stand. As an ordinary camper, I’m told my dog must be on a leash and within my sight at all times – yet it often feels like those same rules…

BUNDU LODGE Bundu Lodge is a new caravan manufacturer based in Paarl, and they came to show off two offroad caravans: the Rhino 2 and the Elephant 4. The team behind Bundu Lodge, Ebbie Lambrechts (design) and Jacques Calitz (manufacturing), say that in the competitive offroad caravan segment, campers are looking for ones without canvas panels that are quick to set up, with an indoor bathroom and dining space, and the ability to be self-reliant. That’s why Bundu Lodge’s models are solar-ready and equipped with a water system and geyser. The bodies and chassis are made from stainless steel, while the doors and pop-up roofs are aluminium. At first glance, the two models look similar, but the Elephant has two beds while the Rhino has one. The second bed in…

Campsites in the Northern Cape are few and far between, which makes the news of a new one at Vanderkloof – opened in December – especially welcome. The Vanderkloof Damwal Caravan Park lies on the banks of the Orange River, with stands right beside the waters of the Vanderkloof Dam and opposite the highest dam wall in the country. Owner Gerrit Crous, who also owns the Monte Crous Hotel in town, says Vanderkloof has taken on a holiday atmosphere in recent years, and he saw a gap for a decent campsite. So, he transformed this 2,5 ha patch of land into a neat caravan park. The water is clean and offers excellent fishing. There are 25 grassy stands, each with amenities like a power point, tap and built-up braai with…

The GX is based on the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado and has been available in South Africa since April this year. The GX is the fifth addition to Lexus’s X-range of off-road capable vehicles; the others are the compact UX, the midsize NX, the sleek RX and the full-size LX, which rubs shoulders with the Toyota Land Cruiser 300. The GX is available in three trim levels: the Overtrail (R1 766 000), the Overtrail Bi-Tone with a black roof (R1 776 200), and the SE flagship model (R1 829 000), which places more emphasis on luxury than off-road ability. What do we have here? As mentioned, the GX is based on the Prado, but instead of a 2,8 ℓ diesel engine and an eight-speed gearbox, the Lexus version gets a…