Tent Travels: Cruising Kruger in a Kombi

LEAVING our modern, well-equipped, reliable and powerful 4×4 king cab bakkie parked in its garage and heading off into the bush in the not so youthful ‘Magic Bus’ – were we crazy? It was just a passing thought and any misgivings gave way to a sense of adventure as we purred along the highway, on our way to Kruger National Park. Perhaps it is because most people of a certain age – well our age, actually – have owned one in their more youthful years, but there is something about a Kombi that makes you feel young. Back in the 70s we acquired a left hand drive Kombi camper that its previous owners had driven from Sweden overland to Zimbabwe. It wasn’t the most reliable of vehicles and it even managed to blow up its engine, stranding Bill in Mokopane (Potgietersrus) days before our wedding.

We overcame that small pre-wedding glitch. Bill made it to the church on time and we are still happily married, 40 years later.

We travelled many southern African roads in that battered old camper before we grew up a bit and swapped it for a more practical and reliable vehicle, but our hearts were very sore when we eventually bade it farewell. I think, deep down, we have always hankered for another of those iconic four-wheeled symbols of freedom and adventure. Since then we’ve spent many years traipsing round southern Africa with a tent – a very comfortable and sturdy tent – and we love camping. Obtaining a camper hasn’t really been on our wish list. Then fate kind of nudged us in the camper direction. Bill had a small sports car for many years but was using it less and less and, about a year ago, decided to sell it. No sooner did he have the cash in his hands than a neighbour announced that he was selling his camper – for exactly the same amount of money Bill had just received for his sports car. Bill took one look at the camper and just had to have it.

At 27 years old, our recent acquisition, a Kombi Caravelle, is hardly a spring chicken but it has a reasonably low mileage on its clock and is in good condition. It has been kitted out as a camper but we have tweaked its interior layout a bit to suit our camping style. Last year, about the time we bought what friends and family have christened the Magic Bus, Bill and I had been putting together a trip to Kruger National Park for August this year. It would have to be a short trip as we were about to visit our son and his family in Australia, so would be using up most of our available leave. We would only manage to scrape together enough leave to spend 11 nights in the park.

Before we’d acquired the camper we were looking at spending these nights in two, maybe three of Kruger’s many lovely rest camps as setting up camp with a tent was time consuming.

Then the Kombi camper drove into our lives, offering us far more mobility and we decided to use it for our Kruger trip instead of our usual, more modern camping vehicle. That way we’d be able to see far more of the park. We drew up an itinerary of one- and two-night stopovers in eight of the rest camps and, as you need to book early for Kruger, booked and paid our camping fees before we even left on our Australian trip. Our Kruger trip was still far in the distance but was certainly something to look forward to after we returned from Australia. Before we knew it, though, it was looming excitedly on the horizon. Soon it was time to pack the vehicle and head off on our Kombi adventure.

There are a number of differences between driving a big, modern 4×4 bakkie and a not-quite-spring-chicken Kombi and these include the speed at which one travels. The Magic Bus was certainly slower than the bakkie but we’d factored that into our planning and rather enjoyed the more leisurely approach to travelling. Anyway, she wasn’t too slow, happily purring along at between 105 and 110 km/h on the open road, with small bursts of speed on the downhill when a tail wind gave her a push. She was far less of a petrol guzzler than we’d expected and she offered a very comfortable, pleasant ride. Best of all, she proved perfectly suited for the kind of Kruger trip we’d planned.

You’ve heard of slack-packing? Well travelling round Kruger in the Magic Bus proved to be a type of slack camping.

Usually, when we go to Kruger we travel there via Swaziland but, in line with our slower approach, we decided on a route through northern KwaZulu-Natal and the bottom end of Mpumalanga. It proved a wonderfully scenic route, winding over mountain ranges, wide river valleys and rolling, grassy plateaus. As we were able to sneak off work at lunchtime on the day before our leave officially started, we had plenty of time to take things slowly and enjoy the ride. The first stretch of our journey took us along the North Coast for a while then we turned off the N2 and headed inland towards Eshowe. We’d been planning to spend the night somewhere around Melmoth but it was still early when we reached that town.

Instead, we continued on our way past Vryheid to reach the Natal Spa Hot springs Resort, just south of Paulpietersburg, as it was getting dark. We spent a pleasant night in the attractive, boulder-filled camping area and woke up to an extremely chilly morning at about 5am, this giving us time to watch the sunrise from one of the resort’s steamy warm swimming pools. It was an invigorating way to start the day. As we set off from the spa, Bill was disconcerted to find the Magic Bus had developed a bit of a wobble. We stopped in eMkhondo (Piet Retief) to have the tyres checked and found that one had developed a disconcerting bulge. The problem was swiftly sorted out, however, and we were soon on our way.

Hats off to the Magic Bus – she proceeded to purr along perfectly for the rest of the trip, not giving us a single other problem.

After eMkhondo the Mpumalanga section of our route took a zigzag, scenic course through Badplaas, Barberton and Kaapmuiden where it joined the N4. It was a lovely road over magnificent mountain passes, hills and mountain ranges, eventually descending into the lowveld, an intriguing part of South Africa, so rich in history, romance and adventure. Here walk the ghosts of crooks and heroes and intrepid pioneers I think; of hunters, traders, transport riders, prospectors, diggers and bushveld belles – and even, perhaps, the doggy spirit of a certain Jock of the Bushveld fame.

We reached Malelane Gate at around lunchtime and marvelled at the speedy, efficient and friendly manner in which the Kruger staff members were able to process their customers’ admission into the park. In fact, throughout our stay in Kruger, the lovely rest camp attendants, reception staff, park officials and shop assistants would certainly add to our enjoyment of our visit. What wonderful ambassadors they all are for South Africa. It was heavenly being back in Kruger again. We found a comfortable corner in the small, rustic, attractive and I think rather under-appreciated Malelane Rest Camp where we would spend the first night in South Africa’s premier wildlife destination. Safely ensconced in our comfortable home on wheels, it was a peaceful, pleasant night.