Zoë Scholtz

Know before you go Travel time - approx. 4 hours from Gauteng  Road conditions - tar Electricity - yes, blue caravan plug adaptor required Ablutions - very clean and functional. Private ablutions available, enquire when booking Shop on site - yes, basic supplies Fuel - closest filling station, Little Switzerland (petrol & diesel) Closest supermarket - Winterton Getting there Hlalanathi is approximately a 4-hour drive from Gauteng. It's a relatively easy trip with most of the route following the N3 highway. Once you take the turnoff to Harrismith/Bergville the mountains make their appearance, and we really enjoyed the stretch of road passing the Sterkfontein Dam. This body of water is enormous and its blue waters and abundant wildlife were sights to be savoured.  After Little Switzerland, the road conditions worsened, and there were plenty of potholes peppered along the route. There was a section of road that had fallen away which necessitated a short stretch of very rocky ...

Here’s the scenario: We’d been researching offroad trailer/caravan options to decide which one to buy, but remained uncertain of the way forward. We liked the Bushlapa Boskriek, but was it really going to work for us? Even after inspecting as many of the various available offerings on the market as we could, we still had unanswered questions that were impossible to resolve by meandering around a showroom or chatting with a salesperson Here's where the expression “Try before you buy”  becomes relevant. It's s omething I wish hubby and I had done more of before purchasing big-ticket items. Buying any form of vehicle is a large investment and so we decided to rent a Bushlapa to experience it for ourselves.  Have you found yourself in a similar situation? Maybe you don't want to buy, but just need a rig for a once-off adventure? If so, our personal impressions after renting from Corcis Outdoor Rentals can help with your decision-making process. Click here to access the Corcis ...

Mom and Dad instilled a love for camping in me as a child. Trips to the South Coast, visits to Cape Town, and the Drakensberg were just some of the places we frequented. Everyone was expected to help and we each had a clearly defined task. I became proficient at wielding a rubber mallet, folding tents into bags, and earned a degree in tripping over guy ropes and tent pegs.  Aside from the obvious aspects, camping taught me useful life skills such as how to adapt and make a plan when things go wrong; magically being able to fit awkward shapes into impossibly small spaces; and the importance of planning in advance. It was also during these holidays that I grew to love the outdoors.  Whilst dad loved camping, he was adamant there should always be functioning facilities, I was thus accustomed to communal ablutions, flushing toilets, electrified campsites, and running water. Little did I know that such luxuries would all become optional extras when my husband and I started with our...