A Dream Come True!?
I’m sure you would have seen Van Life in some shape or form over the last few years whether it be on YouTube, Instagram, heck even just seeing more of them on the road wherever you may be. The van life boom over the last couple of years is undeniable. So, of course we along with a lot of others had wondered what it would be like to live in a van?
Would we like it? Would the lack of space get to us? Would it be as dreamy as the pictures make it out to be?
We certainly had our fair share of thoughts, dreams, and discussions on the matter. A few months ago, when the opportunity to try it came up, we grabbed it with both hands and couldn’t stop thinking about it until the day our trip began. We were going to be ‘VAN LIFERS’!? Granted it would only be for 10 days… baby steps, right? 😉
And van life was the DREAM! Driving around in a little home with a kitchen, bathroom and a bedroom is the ultimate level of luxury for us. Did I mention we had been backpacking around Europe for over a year before this experience? No longer were we having to pack up our bags and carry them around on our backs and find a bus/train to get us to our destination. For ten sweet days, all we did was wake up, disconnect the van from the electrical outlet and off we went, driving with no real plan and just following the road wherever it led us. It was the ultimate digital nomad lifestyle and one that we would strongly consider living one day. I was close to tears the day we returned her to the rental company.
Special thanks to CU Camper for making this dream trip a reality! You can find more of their rental options here https://www.cu-camper.com/en/
Our Experience of Van Life South Africa
The trip began when we made the 7-hour drive from Durban to Johannesburg to pick up the van (let’s call her Maui since that was what we dubbed her). Maui was beautiful! And she came fully equipped with everything we would need for our trip, cutlery, crockery, bedding, towels, you name it and she had it. Don’t even get me started on the aircon and microwave, we were living in luxury!
This trip reignited our love for our home country South Africa and the incredibly kind and friendly locals here. From impromptu tours to great advice, to giving us a place to park our van for the night. We experienced the best of the country because wow, the stops we visited were absolutely stunning too!
South Africa has so much to offer! Something that made this trip even more special for us was the fact that we were exploring two provinces, Mpumalanga and Limpopo, that neither of us had ever been to before so everything we saw was new and exciting, not to mention jaw droppingly beautiful.
After hearing all of this, are you curious? Perhaps you’re starting to dream up your own South African adventure?
Here are our best tips for your trip!
Tips for Van Life in South Africa
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Camping – Finding + Booking
I was blown away by the beautiful and well-equipped campsites available throughout Mpumalanga & Limpopo, however it’s good to keep in mind that you shouldn’t just assume campsites will be available wherever you are planning to spend the night. This website is very helpful for finding camping/caravan options throughout South Africa https://www.caravanparks.com/
We stayed at the following campsites and were very impressed:
– Dullstroom on the Dam https://dullstroomonthedam.co.za/
– Sabie River Camps https://sabierivercamp.wixsite.com/sabierivercamp
– Panorama Rest Camp https://www.panoramaviewchalets.co.za/
– Sondel Nature Reserve https://sondela.com/accommodation/caravan-park/
Depending on the time of year, it’s good to call ahead and secure a spot at whichever campsite you’re hoping to stay at rather than relying on an online booking.
Once at your campsite, here’s a handy checklist of things to double check
– location of taps for refilling your water tank
– whether you’ll need an adapter for the electrical plug points at the campsites
– advice on where to dump your wastewater
The camping spots we’ve experienced across the country have been well equipped and offer a great service.
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Wild Camping In South Africa
Is it safe to wild camp in South Africa? Wild camping is one of the most attractive aspects to van life. The idea that you can just drive anywhere and regardless of where you end up, you just park and sleep. However, I would not recommend wild camping in South Africa unless you know an area well and have really done your research.
Unfortunately, wild camping in South Africa is almost always illegal. The risks involve personal safety as well as the potential to trespass on private land or a public area under the control of a legal municipality.
We did wild camp for one night on our trip, but it was our last resort after trying to find a camping place and coming up short. The little town we wild camped in was called Haenertsburg. Before making our decision, we talked to some locals who directed us to a spot in town where we would likely not get in anyone’s way, and they were even kind enough to offer us their driveway as a parking spot if we encountered any problems in the night.
All in all, it’s noy an outright no-no but our advice is to be careful about it if you choose to wild camp.
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Keep Cash Handy
There are a couple of reasons carrying cash is a very good idea, the main reason being the toll gates, which are barriers across the road, requiring each vehicle passing through to pay a fee ranging from R13.00 to R99.00. This can become quite expensive when your route has several toll gates along it. If you are wondering about prices for the toll gates, you can check out websites such as this one https://aa.co.za/toll-tariffs/
Another reason to carry cash is to buy some produce or crafts from locals along the way. Locals often sell fresh fruit or veg on the side of the road, and you may find stalls with woodwork, leather, or paintings. These can make very nice souvenirs and buying these support the locals who will appreciate it more than you know.
Yet another reason, is a common practice of tipping in South Africa. Tips could range between R5.00 and R10.00 (sometimes more if you would like) when filling up with petrol, etc. The concept of petrol attendants could be a different for those traveling from Europe or the US. In South Africa, your fuel tank is filled for you and oftentimes the attendants will wash your windscreen as well.
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Lookout for Potholes
Potholes are holes or depressions in the road surface formed when traffic has removed broken pieces of the pavement. If you aren’t looking for them, these bad boys can catch you off guard and blow out a tire. You can generally tell by the state of the road whether you can expect to find some potholes along your way but its good idea to always be vigilant.
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Checklists
Each time we packed up and left a campsite, there were various thigs that needed to be taken care of before we could set off for the day. It’s helpful to have a checklist to run through making sure you don’t forget anything. We almost had a disaster the one day because Marek had forgotten to take an electrical adapter with us when leaving our campsite. Luckily the next campsite we arrived at some 80-100km away had a shop where we could buy and replace the adapter we’d left behind. These kinds of mishaps can really put a spanner in the works if you can’t find a solution quickly/easily. My point is, if we’d had a checklist perhaps, we wouldn’t have left anything behind.
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Researching routes & stops
Something you may not realise is just how large South Africa is. Standing at 1,221 million km² South Africa is twice the size of France and five times the size of the UK. It’s important to keep this in mind when planning your trip. To truly enjoy and appreciate the stunning destinations around the country, you should give yourself enough time to explore while keeping in mind how long it will take to travel from one stop to the next.
South Africa has 9 provinces in total (KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Free State, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West).
Because there are so many incredible places to see in South Africa, for a ten-day road we would recommend exploring one maybe two provinces. It also depends on your style of travel. This would be ideal for someone who enjoys driving each day. Would you prefer to drive a little each day or only drive every few days leaving the rest of your time to explore the area you stop in? This would all play a role in your route planning.
For ideas of where to visit in South Africa checkout some of these other blogposts
https://www.wanderlustmovement.org/south-africa-bucket-list/
https://fullsuitcase.com/south-africa-places-to-visit/
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/best-places-to-visit-in-south-africa
If you have any questions for us about traveling in South Africa or van life feel free to pop them in the comments section below!
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