SOMETIMES we need to remind ourselves that we don’t have to go very far to create happy holiday memories. Recently, Bill and I travelled a mere 30km away from home to spend a night under canvas – and we came back with one of those ‘granny moment’ memories that enrich grandparents’ lives. Much to our delight, Bill and I have recently acquired a new toy, a comfortably fitted out Volkswagen Kombi camper. It would be rude to call her elderly. A Kombi Caravelle, about 20 years of age, she has quite a modern look about her, so mature would be a more polite description. With a fairly low mileage registered on her odometer, she hasn’t been around the block too many times.
She won’t replace our sturdy 4×4 vehicle and canvas tent, which we will continue to use for most our holidays, but it will be fun use our new acquisition for gentle weekend breaks or short holidays involving one or two night hops and no off-road work. We’d done some fine tuning of the interior layout and Bill had had the mechanical parts checked so we were really looking forward to trying the vehicle out. When my son and his family joined friends for a camping trip to TO Strand Holiday Resort at Leisure Bay on the KwaZulu-Natal Lower South Coast during the July school holidays, we decided to try out the Kombi and to spend a night there with them.
What a treat the resort turned out to be. It was much bigger than we’d expected and offered a good selection of self-catering chalets as well as the large, roomy, beautifully maintained camping sites.
When we plan our camping trips Bill and I tend to avoid school holidays and we usually opt for staying in as many game reserves, national parks and out of the way places as possible. Generally, we seldom spend much time in family-orientated holiday parks like TO Strand but being there with our grandchildren during the busy holiday period made us realise what a perfect sort of holiday destination places like this would be for young families. From the resort, guests can walk straight onto a perfectly lovely swimming beach and there are plenty of other attractive beaches for swimming and walking in the area. The South Coast is a popular holiday destination so there are all sorts of interesting tourist attractions close to the resort.
Leisure Bay is part of a string of delightful little holiday villages along that section of the coastline so, although it is a peaceful, laid-back village, it doesn’t lack urban infrastructure. That area offers all the shopping, amenities and entertainment venues that a visiting family might require. Our family and their friends were in a particularly attractive corner of the large camping area, quite near the river but not close enough to have to be concerned about our one-year-old grandson falling into the water. Each site was nice and big and fairly private with lots of surrounding shade trees and a nearby communal grassy area where all the children could ride their bikes or play games.
Although being holidays it was pretty full the resort definitely didn’t feel overcrowded.
The resort was also so very geared up for family groups, with ample and beautifully maintained ablution blocks, a smart camp kitchen area, a huge laundry complete with washing machines, a swimming pool, a little shop and even a restaurant. Although camping is a great way to stretch the holiday budget, no campers at these sort of family holiday resorts could complain about having to rough it. With all the top quality amenities, staying under canvas at places like TO Strand would be comfort deluxe. An added bonus was that TO Strand was situated in a particularly pretty little spot on our sun drenched coastline.
South African campsites are such friendly places. By the time we arrived, our son and daughter-in-law and their companions had met most of their neighbours and our four-year-old granddaughter, Angelica, was part of a gang of happy children who had all made friends with each other. Our toddler grandson Callum was thoroughly enjoying his first camping experience, particularly the part where he could play in the sand and get as pretty well as dirty as he liked without anyone bothering him too much. We spent some time on the beach with our grandchildren then returned to our campsite to light our braai fire. By evening all the children in camp were pretty much played out and most were in bed and fast asleep soon after it got dark. We spent a relaxed evening around the campfire with our family then retired to our Kombi to for an extremely comfortable night’s sleep. Our new acquisition was proving to be a winner.
Winter on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast Coast is extremely mild with most days warm enough to spend on the beach.
However, a cold front had recently moved across South Africa and when we woke early the next morning, it was distinctly nippy. Bravely facing the freezing cold – well minor chill, really – Bill decided to go for an early morning cycle. By then, our grandson was wide awake and demanding his early morning bottle and while my son was up and sorting this out, our granddaughter woke up, too. She headed straight for the Kombi and climbed under the blankets for an early morning cuddle with her Nana.
My son smiled gleefully and quickly passed my grandson through the window to join us. Toddler’s bottle and a bribe – a cup of coffee for me – followed in quick succession and my son gratefully left us to it and returned to bed. And this is what making granny memories is all about. I handed our rusks and the three of us sat cuddled under the blankets, taking turns to dip our rusks into my coffee mug, singing nursery rhymes, telling stories, talking granny talk and putting the world to rights. Soon the sky turned from black to grey to lilac, pink and apricot. The avian camp resident ruffled their feathers and began to sing.
Isn’t dawn just the most wonderful time of the day? And it is even more special when shared with grandchildren.
Soon everyone was awake and busy. After breakfast we packed up camp and prepared for our short journey home. As I was having a last minute cup of coffee it occurred to me that the campsite might be a semi-tame sort of natural experience but there were plenty of birds, some lovely trees and all sorts of little creature living their secret lives in the reeds and alongside the river. TO Strand was doing more than just providing a safe and pleasant holiday environment for families. In its gentle way it was allowing young people to experience life under canvas and to learn to appreciate their natural world. Who knows, some of these youngsters playing around the campsite might well grow up to be conservationists of note.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram
For news straight to your phone, add us on BBM 58F3D7A7 or WhatsApp 082 421 6033
