Some 16 years ago, I mooched around the length and breadth of South Africa for three months in a Land Rover Discovery II. A freelancer at the time, I had been given an assignment: I was to produce a small book called South Africa’s Top 50 4x4 Trails.
But time and technology move ahead, and here I was in a gleaming new Firenze Red Land Rover Discovery, on my way to the Cederberg Wilderness. Instead of sleeping in an old battered tent, as I had all those years ago, I now had a Bush Lapa Baobab... and not just any Bush Lapa, but a limited-edition Military Edition.
The Bush Lapa I was towing belongs to Jannie Oeschger, the owner and founder of Bush Lapa’s own Baobab off-road caravan, and was the prototype, already fully tested. There will be only 30 of these Military Edition caravans rolling off the factory floor in August 2018.
I wasn’t a stranger to the Bush Lapa off-road caravans. In 2015, I covered some four thousand or so kilometres in Namibia with a Miskruier, practically all on dirt roads. And to this day, I tell people, “Not a speck of dust in the van after 4 000 kilometres.”
This time, I was in for a more local trip to the Cederberg. I headed out to Bush Lapa’s new showroom on the Old Paarl Road between Klapmuts and Paarl to collect my home for the next week. As with all Bush Lapa clients, I was first given a top-to-toe demo of how every item on the Baobab works. I was itching to get on the road, but Jannie insisted that I first follow the whole routine myself, including setting up the patented Bush Wing Awning.
As it was already a bit late in the day, I spent my first night at the Berg River Resort a short distance down the road from the showroom. The next morning, editor Francois and Dean Castle from our office came around for some coffee and a photo-shoot of the setup, as well as to get drone footage.
Esta historia es de la edición April 2018 de Caravan & Outdoor Life.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición April 2018 de Caravan & Outdoor Life.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Resorts Of The Month: Kruisrivier Guest Farm
Off the beaten track and ideal for the off-roading camper
Lagoon And Beachfront Bliss
Morgan Bay Campsite, EC
Conservation: The Endangered Vultures
Rating: The conservation of vultures in Africa is generally regarded as high priority, although limited resources are made available to assist with this important work.
Crisp, Clean Air & Gurgling Streams It Seems
Old Mac Daddy, WC
Destination Of The Month: Transkei On The Fly
When the call came in from a fellow journalist, that his doctor had suggested he not travel due to a recent op, I had about a day to get everything prepared for an adventure to the Transkei Wild Coast.
13 Top Tips For Outdoor Accessory Maintenance
You certainly don’t want to arrive at your holiday destination only to find your gas bottles are empty, the tent has been chewed to heavenly holiness by marauding mice, and you left grandma napping in the caravan when you put it out to pasture at your local Storage Land for the winter season.
our take on SNAKES
Caravan & Outdoor Life joins some of South Africa’s leading herpetologists in the Maputaland region to find rare species and teach the local rural residents how to react to snakes. With Opposite Lock on board, we’re all set to strike at a moment’s notice…
Caravan clinic
Our expert answers your technical questions & gives camping advice
Around The Campfire
Readers share their outdoor adventures and air their values
In The Shade Of A Dappled Glade
Slanghoek Mountain Resort, WC