To Camp – or not to Camp…
June 2008
If you enjoy camping,
then good for you. My compromise? Hubby can braai 3 times a day, every single
day – BUT I NEED TO STAY IN A SELF-CATERING CHALET WITH THE BASICS.
Those were my words after a horrible caravan-camping
trip December 2006. After the 3rd
day, there was no water for a shower or the toilets. And you had to run through mud to reach the
ablution blocks.
Time mellowed me. Or is it age?
Maybe it’s my new exercise class – Tai Chi. A traditional Chinese mind-body exercise.
We planned a tent camping trip. With a twist though – the tent, bed &
bedding, cupboard for clothes & food, gas fridge, 2 patio chairs, patio
table and braai are provided. Nothing
else. No electricity. No cellphone
reception.
It’s called the Borakalalo Nature Reserve (www.borakalalo.co.za), 60 km North of
Brits. The non-electricity camp is
called Moretele Camp. R266/night during
the week – R327/night over weekends/holidays.
My camping-fundi sis in Perth sent me their camping list. (They really rough it – with spades,
etc. If you know what I mean…) Hugo,
Hein’s brother, sent me his list. I
combined them together and so the planning started…
The hardest planning part was the menu for 6
days, 7 nights. I worried about the
meat, but went to a butcher and they vacuum-packed all the mince, chicken,
steak & boerewors portions. That way
it will keep for quite a while in your fridge.
And it did! Also my menu planning
was spot-on. Nothing wasted.
Saturday, 14 June 2008
The cat-kids were already in their hotel. After coffee, we started to pack Rissiepit
(our Mitsubishi Pajero.) We were
apprehensive about the cold (our tent was right on the river bank) and packed
extra duvets. Our water tank’s tap was
missing. Sent up a quick prayer – Hein
found it in the hall cupboard – right in the front. Prayer answered. But there were no space for charcoal or
wood. And the camp didn’t sell
wood/charcoal. Sent up another little
prayer…
We arrived at the Borakalalo gate at 1 o’
clock. They had 3 bags of wood – we bought all three. And they will organize for more wood and
charcoal. Another prayer answered. At the tent, our gas fridge wasn’t working,
but they quickly fixed that.
Our tent. Quite big, with lovely flaps all over for
ventilation. 2 Single beds & bedside table with 2 paraffin
lamps. True to myself - I couldn’t resist moving
furniture around.
Interesting fact:
Push 2 single beds together. Buy
2 king-size fitted sheets. Put them over
the 2 single mattresses and VOILA! A
lovely king-size bed! The fitted sheets
keep the mattresses firmly together.
There are 10 tents right on the
river banks. A few small ablution blocks
contained 2 toilets and a shower. Each
ablution area has a roof and the ‘walls’ were of reeds/bamboo and plastic. Not too flimsy and it have gaps between the
roof and the walls. So if you shower,
you can see the trees outside.
The showers have a rack for your
shampoo and soap and quite a few hooks for towels & clothes.
Top photo is taken from the inside of the
tent. You can see the river right in front of our
tent. Most mornings the river had a mist-veil.
Unpacked everything, took a shower. Sent up another quick prayer – to have quiet neighbors. On the one side was an
elderly couple (quiet-ish, although they talked non-stop.) Other side was a German family, but they were
mostly with their friends right at the other end of the camp. Another prayer answered… or so I thought …
Hein made a lovely fire and we had boerewors
rolls with a Chakalaka sauce. For
left-over food, I didn’t take Tupperware.
But Ziploc bags. Takes up much
less space.
Although we closed all the side flaps, there
were 4 roof flaps left open during the night.
I struggled to sleep, because my face was cold. But after we closed the 2 closest to us, we
were cosy as bed-bugs.
Sunday, 15 June 2008
Woke early, boiled water for coffee and then
heard … the fish eagle! It is one of the
most amazing sounds – coupled with the mist on the river – unforgettable.
We had coffee in bed with rusks. Did some Tai Chi outside, which warmed me up
considerable. Went to have a shower – no
hot water. But being undressed already,
I jumped around under the cold water, did a few soap strokes and that was that!
Driving around, we saw loads of birds, some
Impalas and huge animal droppings.
Rhino’s?
Lunch was bully beef, eggs & onion on
Portuguese rolls. Hein reported the
shower problem and they worked till 8 at night trying to fix it. It worked.
On the food cupboard, they’ve posted a warning
about monkeys. And by the afternoon, we
knew why. I was on the bed, reading,
when I saw a few of them. They came
right to the tent opening and I had to shoo them away.
Dinner was chicken on the braai, cooked baby
potatoes & kernel corn. (Tinned)
Monday, 16 June 2008
After a nice hot shower, we went for a 3-hour
drive. We saw a small jackal, warthogs,
an ostrich, wildebeest, giraffes and fish eagles.
Back at the camp, we were starving and made
Mince Mate. Our neighbors told us there
was no water in the whole tented camp.
DISASTER!!
After lunch, we saw an iguana swimming down the
river. And then we suddenly realised …
We were all alone in the whole
10-tent-camp! Oh boy … maybe my prayer
for quiet neighbors just backfired!!!
Although we had a lovely quiet evening around
the fire, I must admit to being a teensy bit frightened.
That night, we locked the tent-flaps from the
inside.
Tuesday, 17 June 2008
It was a splendid morning! For breakfast, we had lamb chops, boerewors
& ‘samp & beans’. It’s in a tin,
although next time I’ll scoop out the gelatin on top. It was a bit ‘mushy’. And the whole time I sent up little prayers
for the water to be fixed.
With still no water, we decided to shower at
another camp and made a decision to go home.
One can camp without electricity, but DEFINITELY not without water.
Just after breakfast, the camp attendants
arrived. The water would only be fixed
on Friday. But they could give us a key
for another camp. One with electricity
and in-between trees, not on the river bank.
When they left, I broke down and sobbed my
heart out. This camping was a test for
me – I wanted to make it work – I wanted to prove to myself that I could do
it! WE SO DIDN’T WANT TO GO HOME BEFORE
SATURDAY!!!
Hein accepted the key to the other camp,
Phudufudu – but he demanded a luxury tent.
One with a little kitchenette & en-suite bathroom. They didn’t offer any resistance.
While Hein drove to check out the new tent, I
packed everything. And waved a sad
farewell to the lovely river.
Phudufudu Camp consists of 10 tents in
all. The Luxury tent, the tiny kitchenette, double
bed, clothes cupboard, fridge with small freezer compartment, cupboard for food
with microwave on top and when you sit in the bath, you can have this
view. Technically.. unfortunately, if
you sit in the bath facing this flap, the bath plug is underneath your bum &
the water outlet at your back. Not
comfortable. If you face the other side,
you can look out the flap, onto the camp attendants’ house. The bath installer was clearly not thinking.
The camp is ideal for group bookings. Although the 4 luxury tents have tiny
kitchenettes, there is a central fully equipped kitchen for the whole
camp. Also a pool table, small swimming pool
and central area with chairs & tables for meals or conferences. And electricity, as well as cellphone
reception.
4 Luxury tents (small kitchenette &
bathroom attached) – R484/night during the week – R660/night during
weekends/holidays.
There are also 6 other tents – The
Standard Tents are constructed on concrete plinths and are equipped with 2
single beds, linen, towels, clothing cupboard, side table and 2 chairs with a
cocktail table on the patio.. Ablution facilities with showers &
toilets are close by.
Standard tents – R327/night during the week –
R497/night during weekends/holidays.
And from Tuesday till Friday night we had very
quiet neighbors … no-one. So be careful
what you wish for…
Lunch was Minute steaks on Portuguese
rolls. After all the excitement of
packing up & unpacking again, we both needed a nap.
We had tea & Romany Creams and Hein was
happy, because he had cellphone reception.
At least he was in contact with his colleagues.
Dinner was Rice Mate with meat cubes, but the flavoring was way too subtle for us.
Wednesday, 18 June
2008
Made coffee at 6.30 and had some Muesli rusks
from Woolworths. They are packed with
seeds, almonds & raisins and are yummy!
Did some Tai Chi & had a nice hot shower.
For brunch, we had boerewors rolls with a
cheese sauce.
On our afternoon drive, we saw more bucks and
an iguana at the dam. Warthogs were
chasing some Impala.
We both love reading, so during the afternoon
we immersed ourselves in adventure and intrigues.
Dinner was scrumptious sirloin steak on the
braai, heated creamy mushrooms (tin) – very good, peas (tin) and cooked
potatoes.
After dinner, we just relaxed and Hein started
to get restless. He even asked me if we
could go home a day earlier. When he
gets restless like this, he actually only starts to relax at that moment. And definitely needs a few more days of
holiday.
Thursday, 19 June 2008
Up at 6.30 am.
Made coffee in the flask, took rusks and dressed warm. It was 4 degrees outside. The car’s bonnet had a light film of frost on
it. We went to the dam, watched the
birds and saw more bucks.
To fill up on petrol, we drove to a little town
nearby (think it was Hebron). Complete with 3 ATM’s, a chemist, a Pep
Stores, 2 clothing stores & a supermarket called Score. Quite similar to Checkers. We bought some lovely boerewors & a few
snacks.
Lunch was boerewors and tomato, onion &
cheese sandwiches on the braai. Yum!!!!
We drove to the dam again and saw more giraffes, warthogs, monkeys &
bucks.
After a nap, we had some tea and read
again. Sometimes I would just gaze at
the trees. I cannot express in words the
absolute peace and quiet we experienced there.
Dinner was chicken pieces on the braai, some
quick-boil Tastic Basmati rice mixed with a can of kernel corn & green
peas. Absolutely delicious. The rice takes 4 minutes to heat up. It comes in a pouch. Well worth the money spent. I also heated up a tin of refried beans. Lovely taste, quite mushy.
By 8pm we were in bed, reading again.
Although the evenings and mornings were very
cold, we weren’t cold in the tent.
During the day it was lovely and warm, but still required a long top at
least.
Friday, 20 June 2008
Once again, up at 6.30 am. Coffee in the flask, rusks for Hein & I
took a leftover braai sandwich from the previous day. That tasted so good with the coffee.
Unfortunately, the camera’s battery was
flat. We stopped next to a cliff and saw
2 tiny klipspringers. They were at the
bottom, but the next moment they were up halfway to the top of the cliff. They were so agile and dainty – it’s just
unbelievable. Also saw some fat dassies.
For lunch we braaied chicken pieces with bacon
and boerewors. I also made some curry
mince for dinner & added a tin of butternut stew. We wanted to pack most of our camp stuff in
Rissiepit, so we used their pot, plates & utensils for dinner.
Apparently there are 70 rhinos in the
camp. We just had to see them!
At 3 o’ clock, we had a final game drive. My eyes were red from watching between the
bushes and branches. And then.. yes!
3 of them!
We were overwhelmed. Our camera
doesn’t have a great zoom option, so Hein looked through the binoculars and
aimed the camera through the binocular lens.
It worked. We are definitely
saving for a nice camera.
We saw more giraffes, zebras, another jackal
and also elande. They are huge
animals. So much bigger than the rest of
the bucks. While the sun was setting, we
drove to the dam for some sunset photos.
Can you see the fish eagle in the tree?
At 6pm we were back at the camp. Packed most of our things into the car, had
the curry mince for dinner and went to bed early to finish our books.
Around 8:30pm, we heard some commotions
outside. A tour bus arrived with some overseas
people. They chatted & laughed till
11 o’ clock.
Saturday, 21 June 2008
After a quick bath, we loaded the final bags
and drove to the dam for the last time - and took some photos of the new dawn.
On our way to the gate, we saw the giraffes for
the last time. This little one posed
nicely for me.
When we drove through the gate, raindrops
started to plop down.
We left the camp with a heavy heart.
It was truly a most relaxing holiday.
In future, we will book into the Phudufudu
Camp. Although it’s not on the
riverbank, the added luxury of an en-suite bathroom makes it worthwhile.
With recharged batteries, we headed home.
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