CHAPTER ONE

ADVENTURE INTO AFRICA

It all started with an off-the-cuff remark. We had just sold our property in which we had lived for 18 years. Although I knew we were in the market to sell, I had always just replied to people who asked what my plans were, that I would cross that bridge when I came to it. Suddenly, the bridge appeared and of course, I had no plans. The remark was, “let’s buy a caravan and head off into the bush for two years or so”.

The reality, however, is that I am a working artist, and heading off into the bush in a standard on-road caravan is simply not a viable option. My expectations far exceeded the designer's imagination and the search was on. It took three months to track down someone willing to meet my expectations, and then another 9 months of waiting. When you find someone as special as Dawid Barnard of Liberty Caravans, you must expect that there will be a long waiting list. 

The first floorplan set the ball rolling.

Although I have been involved in vetting what should go into the caravan when it comes to aesthetics and some practicalities I have not been the one to do the research. My other half has spent most of this year tracking down the best options for off-grid living in Southern Africa. Although I am going to mention some of these things in this story, please don’t expect too much technical detail. Details like that are just a little too much for me. I have an ethic by which I live, as long as it works and does what it’s supposed to do, I don’t need to know how it works. I will however provide the supplier’s details for those who wish to know more (or like my other half, need to know more).

The first challenge started with three things. Firstly, I need a studio in which to work. The second is that I need a bathroom of my own as we are not sure of our destinations as yet and whether there will be ablutions that feel comfortable. And the third requirement is that I do not want a kitchen in my bedroom (going to sleep with the smell of cooked food in my bedroom is just too much to bear).

With all of that in mind, the practical part of planning the layout was the next step. The island bed was the first thing to go. What a waste of precious space just for a double bed. So, two single beds with one aisle in the middle afforded us the option of two standard-size single beds and the bonus was that we then could both have cupboards at the end of our beds for our clothes. Of course, packing space in a caravan is the biggest challenge but we came up with some original ideas that have given us tons of packing space without having to make the caravan top-heavy with cupboards.

The two-seater couch has two ottomans underneath the seats that can roll out and be footrests while offering packing space. The armrests have cavities so that we can put all sorts of bits and pieces inside them. And a bit of an unplanned bonus has been an extra packing space between the beds on the floor so that we could make getting into bed a bit easier.  Under each bed, we have a cavity. One will have the fridge and the washbasin. The other will carry tents and fold-up furniture. Then we also have a tunnel under the top end of the beds - all have access from the outside so can be used for easy storage while we are camping.

The bathroom has a linen basket under the basin (this is a first I think for a caravan as it caused quite some discussion when the request was made) and there are various other cupboards strategically placed to house the workings of the electrical system etc.

Below, you can see more detail of the floor plan. I must explain at this stage that this is not a small hitch-and-go caravan. It is a tad large and as such we even had to change our car. I have been regaled as to the tare and gross weight requirements, but they have largely gone over my head. Suffice it to say, I have been reliably informed, that when you load your caravan it must not put more than 150kg weight onto the tow bar of the car otherwise you may end up with broken axles on the car.

In the next chapter of this saga, I will go into more about the interior choices and maybe even a bit about the construction of the caravan. I even have pictures for you to see.

Till then, I hope you are going to join me on my adventure. Don’t forget to subscribe to this blog so you don’t miss the next episode.