Go! Drive & Camp Aug/Sept 2025

While working on this issue, the contributions from Deon Boshoff and Mic van Zyl reminded me again of those moments on the road when I’m at my happiest. It’s usually early morning, when I’m the first one up, strong coffee in hand, and I realise I’m seeing – no, feeling – what’s in front of me almost as if for the first time. In the Cederberg, it’s when the sandstone cliffs begin to glow red and gold as the sun peeks over the horizon. In the Kruger, it might be the flutter of a bird in the mopani trees while the cicadas clear their throats for the day. And on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, it’s the mist hanging over the ocean while I wait for the sun to burn it…

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. We were the lucky ones who bagged a three-night stay at Kalahari Lifestyle Lodge in NC Famous Lodges’ competition in the October-November 2024 issue of Drive & Camp. From the moment we arrived, we were warmly welcomed – with braaibroodjies, coffee, and tea and rusks, nogal.You feel like part of the family right away. We were also pleasantly surprised by how neat and well-kept the campsite is. The kitchen is kitted out with everything you need – there were even different sauces in the…

Bushriver Lodge near Hoedspruit has opened a new campsite. The lodge is 25 km outside town on the banks of the Olifants River, and according to Anthony van Aswegen, who runs it with his wife Lisa, people have been asking for a camping option here for ages. Although it’s a bush camp, the last 1,2 km of gravel road is smooth enough to handle with a regular sedan and road caravan. There’s electricity and water, so you don’t need to be self-sufficient. The unfenced campsite lies between the lodge and the river, about 150 m from the water’s edge. There are four stands, two of which are slightly more secluded and private. Anthony says they’re busy setting up three more. You camp in a cleared patch of bush with your…

The gap between a teardrop camper and a standard road caravan is huge. The former is really just a bed on wheels, while a conventional caravan offers significantly more living space. You’d think it would be tricky to strike the perfect middle ground, but Road-Tripper’s Free Spirit model proves otherwise. Road-Tripper has specialised in teardrops since launching in 2016, and has sold more than 200 units to date. Chris, a former aviation engineer, says he’s passionate about small caravans like these – though the business came about almost by accident. On a trip to Namibia with his son and a friend, he built each of them a little caravan for the journey. The teardrops turned heads everywhere, and when Chris got back, he was flooded with enquiries – the start…

Kotie grew up at the foot of the Swartberg Pass near Die Hel, in a family that loved camping. Later, he became a tradesman with a serious soft spot for steel bolts. He helped build a string of fast-food outlets across the continent before turning his hand to something new: a caravan of his own. The biggest challenge was translating the picture in his mind into something real. He went through designer after designer before finally building a wooden mock-up of what would become the Rooivalk. Designer De Wet Oosthuizen took that model and turned it into a set of detailed drawings. Kotie’s love for World War II machinery runs deep – and the idea of building an offroad caravan that stands out stayed front and centre. But there’s no…

The two big perks of a caravan with a 750 kg GVM: You don’t need a heavy-duty towing vehicle, and you can tow it with a standard licence. That makes this kind of caravan a popular pick for first-timers and anyone looking to downscale. The trick isn’t just the light gross vehicle mass – it’show much usable payload you’ve got left once it’s fully kitted out. Getting that balance right is no small feat. Built for the bush The SRNT (short for Serenity) is an offroad caravan, which means it needs to be tougher than your average caravan or even a gravelroader. This, of course, adds weight. Add standard brakes (more weight! – Ed) and you’ll see why, pound for pound, the Serenity has no real rivals. There’s hardly a…