Lake Eland - Campsite Review and Rating

For our second trip in the Commander, we joined friends at Lake Eland for a long weekend away. We had one off-road caravan, one on-road caravan and two tents.

The thing I remember most about this trip was the bone-chilling, mind-numbing, teeth-chattering cold! It was freezing! Thank goodness I'm a pack rat and there, in amongst the pile of ''definitely not going to be needed but bringing it anyway' items, was a small heater fan. If you ever go to Lake Eland in the winter months...you really need one of these!

Upsides:

• The park is about 30mins from Port Shepstone so not too far
• There are a few wild animals such as Giraffe, Wildebeest and buck that make you feel like you are in a game reserve
• There is a well stocked shop
• The campsites are large
• There is a privi fence between sites at the top dam
• Each site has a shaded area
• The sides all face onto the dam
• Fishing in the dams
• The ablutions are clean
• The showers are hot
• The communal washing up area is spacious, clean and the sinks have plugs
• There is a kids jungle Jim near the shop
• Plenty to see and do between fishing, game drives, the suspension bridge across the gorge, scooter tours and ziplining

Downsides

• No counter to put clothes on in bathroom and the floor gets really wet. There is a small shelf and a few hooks for towels.
• No mats on the floor to give you somewhere dry to stand while dressing
• The basin to brush your teeth is in another room
• The check-in process is quite stern and you need to take proof of payment along with you as they only pull a statement on specific days. It's never nice to start your holiday trying to prove you paid.
• It is not a cheap holiday with the various activities the kids will want to take part in.
• Small circular braai
• The ground is rock hard and smashing tent pegs in is not easy

Tips:

• If you are camping in winter you need really good sleeping bags/feather duvets and a heater fan
• Take a portable boma fire with you in winter so you can enjoy the evening outside
• Take a mallet and strong tent pegs
• Don't leave anything outside at night, the dew is crazy in winter and everything gets wet
• Print your proof of payment and have it ready
• Budget for Ziplining - it is so much fun
• Visit the restaurant at Leopard Rock to take in the view and watch the Hornbills eating french fries
• Take groundsheets - in winter the grass is dry and lands up all over the tent or caravan floor.
• The campsites at the lower dam look amazing but small - I don't think we would have managed to get the Commander onto the site.
• Take bicycles and running/walking shoes - it is an active person's dream location and kids will love riding bikes to the shop.
• Take a scorpion torch for night time. We managed to find one and it's amazing for the kids to see.

Ratings:

Kid friendly - 8/10

Safety - 9/10

Overall Camp Cleanliness - 8/10

Bathroom Cleanliness - 7/10
Sites - 6/10
Tranquility - 6/10
Water, electricity, braai place - 7/10
Location: 7/10

Overall - 7.5/10

Mkuze Game Reserve - Campsite Review and Rating

For our first ever camping trip in the new Commander, we chose somewhere not too far from our home in Ballito: Mkuze Game Reserve, about 3 hours north on the N2.

Upside:

• it's a big 5 reserve
• it has amazing animal hides
• it's quiet, nowhere near as busy as the other big 5 parks
• self drive game driving routes are plentiful
• game drives are reasonably priced at approx R250 per person
• it is the only big 5 reserve in KZN that offers a campsite. Hluhluwe and Umfolozi do not have this option.
• they offer basic necessities at the shop
• the rhino-dino offers delicious burgers, toasted zarms and the like
• the main roads through the reserve are newly tarred 
• there are plenty of trees for shade in the campsite
• campsites are level
• the sound of the baboons and wildlife at night
• the campsite has a play area for kids
• the ironwood you can buy there is amazing firewood
• the campsite is fenced, which is great for kid safety

Downside:

• the park is a bit run down sadly
• the shop is not well stocked
• the pool in the campsite was not a pool when we went, but rather a murky green pond
• the electricity is generator run and therefore only operated between 5pm and 10pm and 5am and 10am
• the bathrooms could be a little cleaner but considering all campsite cleaning is handled by a single person, this is understandable
• every campsite should have a tap and a braai, you have to arrive early to get a campsite with these.
• the campsite is fenced, which takes away from the wild and exciting danger of big 5 camping for me. It would be great if you could choose.

Tips:

• Take a chance and arrive early. We do it every time and they never turn us away. We arrive at about 10am and get to have the whole morning to setup camp and the afternoon to go on game drives
• Its first come, first serve - so get there early to get a site with a braai and a tap on long weekends
• take your own sink plugs for washing up
• I like camping on the fence line in case we spot hyenas on the prowl
• Take an extra long extension cord - this saved us when our plug point didn't work
• Take your own braai grid for their braai places
• Take a small braai to give you more campsite options - if you forget, the kids will love sourcing a few rocks
• Take mozzie spray and burners - the mozzies are hungry there
• Take a mat to wipe shoes as sites are quite sandy
• Lions are often spotted on loop road
• Elephants are often at Masinga Hide around 9am
• Watch out for animals and potholes on the road to Mkuze. You drive through a village and there are ALWAYS goats, cows and children in the roads.
• Follow the reserve signs not Google - Google has taken us a route that didn't feel as safe as the main route.
• Take EVERYTHING with you. Do not rely on the shop!

Ratings:

Kid friendly - 7/10

Safety - 8/10

Overall Camp Cleanliness - 6/10

Bathroom Cleanliness - 4/10
Sites - 6/10
Tranquility - 7/10
Water, electricity, braai place - 5/10
Location: 8/10

Overall - 6/10

First Time Towing

When the time finally came to fetch our new caravan, I was totally unprepared for the fact that I would be the one doing the towing.

A day of shouting for runners on the side of the road during the Comrades Marathon, whilst having the odd beer, meant that legally my husband was not going to be able drive. The plan was originally to leave Botha's Hill for Westville after the runners had passed through and fetch the caravan on our way home. This deviation from the plan of hubby driving had my palms sweating and my leg doing an uncontrollable double-bounce. I put my brave girl 'I can do anything' face on and tried to act nonchalant about the task ahead of me.

Arriving in Westville, we did a final transfer of knowledge between past and present owners and I began the process of reversing the car up a narrow driveway to line up the tow ball and hitch. With a bit of guidance from the seller and my husband, I managed to get the alignment close enough for them to push the caravan the last few inches. Jockey wheel now safely stowed away, I began the drive home to Ballito. Within 15m I encountered my first serious hill start and quietly thanked myself for buying an automatic a few weeks prior. Giving it gas, my Chev pulled the caravan up the hill like an oxen pulling a wagon and we were away.  Coming to my first stop street was a lesson that when towing, you need to brake well ahead or run the risk of not being able to stop in time.

Driving at a respectable and responsible old lady speed of between 70 and 80km/h (I was too terrified to drive any faster), I started to get a feel for towing and loosened my vice-like grip on the steering wheel, allowing the blood to flow back through my white-knuckled fingers.

Arriving in Ballito I felt a sense of accomplishment, I had towed something for the first time in my life and it had been uneventful. This caravan was already making us push boundaries and I liked it.

Reversing it into the driveway was slightly more challenging than just driving straight down the freeway. After approximately 10 attempts with my brother-in-law directing me, I finally had the Commander parked and ready to be inspected at our leisure.

The Conqueror Commander

We purchased a 2009 Conqueror Commander from a regretful seller in Westville in Kzn. He had modified the caravan to include the outside cupboard the newer models had, which in my opinion is an absolutely necessary modification to make.

The Conqueror Commander sleeps four. Two in a fold out double bed above the nose cone and two in a queen size bed that can also be split into two singles or a dining room table and two benches on either side.

Internal packing space is adequate for our family of four, although I can imagine you would need to be ruthless on longer trips.

The base board of the fold out double bed is actually a large trestle table, which is incredibly useful for breakfasts and dinners.

It has a pull out kitchen on rails that includes a 90l National Lunar fridge, a two plate gas stove and a bracket that pops up to hold two plastic basins with a hot and cold tap fed from the 130l tank stored towards the back of the caravan on the underside. The Commander comes with cutlery, plates, mugs and glasses for 6 people.

Power is operated by two deep cycle batteries that run the LED lighting and fridge. An extension cord plugs you into shore power, allowing you to run the exterior plugs for toasters and kettles if required. In my opinion the only thing missing is an interior plug for charging cell phones and running hair dryers. Yes, I take my hair dryer camping.

It has an add-a-room tent that consists of an awning with easy to install Velcro sides to enclose the area. Vital for camping in wet or cold weather.

The inside dining table can be clipped onto the kitchen area below the outside cupboard. This provides a decent amount of counter space for food prep.

On the other side is an add-on bathroom tent/privy tent that is the full length of the caravan. The shower is installed on the exterior of the caravan in a little cupboard that conceals it when not in use. There is also a pull out metal basin with hot and cold running water.

What struck me most about this caravan is how strongly constructed it is. Almost everything is made out of metal. It makes for heavy towing with the base weight being nearly 2 tonnes. Loaded with gear, bike racks and water means you need an excellent towing vehicle capable of pulling the weight.

It takes us approximately 45 mins from unhitching the caravan to cracking open our first ice cold beer from the fridge.

The Conqueror Commander can follow your 4x4 almost anywhere. It's rugged and built to last. We have noticed that weight distribution is everything and if too heavily laden at the back it can sway, which makes for unpleasant driving. We haven't attempted driving with all our gear and the water tanks yet. When we do, I will share our experience.

We haven't had to test the batteries lifespan yet either. I will dedicate a post to testing this shortly as I am currently reviewing the options available to recharge those batteries when camping off the grid.

Honey I Bought an Off-road Caravan

I am a dreamer. I dream about travelling Africa. I dream about visiting startlingly beautiful and wild places.

I read books about people who have actually done it, people who have lived out my dreams in all their glory in tiny black print.

I am the mother of two amazingly bright, headstrong and sweet children, who have grown up taking short adventures to every weekend spot within a 3 hour radius from Ballito in Kzn.

I am the wife of an incredibly patient man, a man who listens to my dreams about trekking through the dust of Africa - even though he is a self-professed lover of 5 star hotels and really prefers the beach to the bush.

I talk incessantly about our retirement and the expeditions we can take in 20 years time when we are 60 and have the money and time to expand our border crossings beyond Mozambique and Swaziland.

Not too long ago the realisation hit home that 20 years is an awfully long time to wait before we begin to live that life. 20 years can bring about all new challenges and ever changing dynamics that have a funny way of derailing even the best laid plans. And what about the children? They will be 27 and 33 and long past adventuring with their parents.

This was the defining moment that I decided we needed to buy an off-road caravan. This would without doubt be the solution to the expense of traveling and would be one of the most exciting ways to travel together as a family.

With that thought firmly rooted in my mind, I threw caution to the wind and began the task of looking for the most perfect off-road caravan for our family. 

Why a caravan and not something like an Ossewa or Rooftop tent you ask? Well, simply put, the thought of having to pack up camp every time we want to use the car just didn't appeal to me.

I started researching online and making a shortlist of my must haves. In short we needed a 4 sleeper caravan with all the necessary equipment to support us on whatever journey we chose to make, be it camping at a family seaside resort or travelling to the Namib desert. I wanted us to be totally self sufficient if required, yet also be comfortable on longer stays. My must haves included 4x4 capabilities, off the grid power, an onboard fridge and stove, a kitchen/living area add-on tent room, a shower, water storage, hot water geyser (gas & electric) and a washing up area.

After hunting weeks for what seemed like an impossible achievement with our limited budget I had found it...The Conqueror Commander.