Ballito’s Barry Bowditch and a VW Beetle named Myrtle

Celebrities pose with her and newly weds smooch her, but she will only go home with one man – Barry Bowditch.

The Ballito photographer and his VW Beetle aptly named Myrtle have been hitting it off for nearly three years now.

Bowditch said his love for Beetles goes back to the 50’s after spending many childhood years in their family bug.

“My late dad bought a 1100 cc beetle in 1956. It had a tiny back window and roof racks.

Every year, the five of us (his two sisters and parents) went on a pilgrimage from Johannesburg to Cape Town for the holidays,” said Bowditch, who has been living in Ballito for more than 20 years.

“The Beetle never faulted, except the once when we ran out of petrol three miles outside Beaufort West.

“It did not have a fuel gauge, so you had to guess.

“With nothing and no one in sight, my dad poured some brandy into the tank. It spluttered and coughed and took us to the next petrol station!”

Barry’s life in the iconic bug continued when he bought his first car – a second-hand 1964 Beetle.

“I paid R620 for her which I paid off over two years. Filling the tank cost a whole R3.”

As time ticked on, Barry moved on to other cars, but he always had a soft spot for the cute little bug and decided he needed one again about two and a half years ago.

He found his beloved Myrtle – a 1977 model, 1600 twin port – in Johannesburg where she stood in a shed for almost 20 years. She spent about three months being revamped before he picked her up. It was love at first sight!

“She is so beautiful and I just thought she has to have a special name – not a name you hear everywhere, one you will remember. Myrtle popped into my head and it stuck.”

Since their first trip home from Joburg, Barry and Myrtle have been inseparable and have trecked down the South Coast, up to berg and everywhere in between.

She has become his daily driver, leaving the fancy Merc in the garage at home.

“Myrtle often accompanies me to wedding shoots as brides love using her as a prop in their photos.

“She can do anything and is great off-road. I just love the feel of driving her – she talks to me the whole way and it takes you back to a bygone era where you really had to drive a car.

“No power steering and zero air-conditioning, but pure fun.

“And should she tell me that something is wrong, I can generally get her going again with a pocket knife.”

The only time Myrtle did not want to go any further was on the way to a wedding at Cathedral Peak, Drakensberg.

“This is embarrassing. We went down this steep ravine and as we got into the dip, Merle cut out and stopped.

“We had no cellphone reception and there was not a car in sight.

“People started coming out of the bushes to see what is going on. I tried everything in the book but I could not get her going.”

Luckily a car eventually came past and Barry asked them to go to the wedding venue and tell the bride’s dad that they were stuck.

“The father came along with a big Land Rover and towed us to the wedding. My nerves were shattered – Myrtle’s probably too.”

If you see Barry and Myrtle in town next, hoot and wave and if you are lucky, you might even be allowed to have a photo taken with the old girl.