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Camping in an ancient caravan at Kruger National Park

25/6/2015

18 Comments

 
Camping in an ancient caravan at Kruger
By Roxanne Reid
‘He says he’ll never divorce me,’ said Katrina Bosman of her husband Jan, ‘but he might murder me!’ They’d been married for 60 years and were now both in their eighties. But they weren’t letting that get in the way of a full life. We met them when they were camping in an ancient caravan at Kruger National Park’s Pretoriuskop camp. 

When I saw their old Gypsey caravan, its fibreglass shell shining silver in the sunlight, I could suddenly smell the gas cooker turning out breakfast eggs at Malelane camp in Kruger, feel the bumps in the road towards what was then Lourenco Marques, taste the prawns and cashew nuts that we bought along the seafront when I was a child. Because when I was about eight, my dad borrowed this little caravan’s twin and we went on one of the most memorable holidays of my youth.

To see it still on the road, still being used, was thrilling. I told the Bosmans my story and they invited me inside. Everything came flooding back; the interior was almost exactly as I remembered. Apart from converting the stove from gas to electricity and putting storage shelves in the space where my brother and I slept in double bunk beds, they’d made no other changes.
Camping in an ancient caravan at Kruger
Clockwise from left: Kotie (standing) with Katrina and Jan; proof of the old van's heritage; Katrina's fist-moulded rusks
The Bosmans’ old trooper was a 1961 model, so 53 years old. That’s even older than the old van that Danie and Joy Mostert had in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, which was just 44 when we met them at Nossob in 2011. 

The Bosmans inherited the Gypsey from Jan’s brother 31 years ago and they have been coming to Kruger in it regularly since then. This time they brought Katrina’s kid sister Kotie (72) with them. ‘I wanted to keep an eye on them,’ said Kotie. Despite bad arthritis, she slept in a pup tent next to the caravan and most mornings she was up with the birds, ready for a game drive. She and Katrina (82) would make an early-morning foray, come back around 8 or 9am for Jan (88), and then go back out again. They felt he deserved a few extra hours of sleep.

‘We were nine brothers and sisters,’ Kotie told us of her and Katrina’s family, ‘but only four of us are still alive. Katrina and Jan met at Gravelotte where they both went to school. He was in Standard 8 and she was in Standard 2.’
Camping in an ancient caravan at Kruger
Gypsey caravan, 53 years old and still enjoying a visit to Pretoriuskop in the Kruger Park
Katrina told me she and Jan first came to Kruger way back in 1946, when ‘there were just pit loos with reeds’. He worked for the railways. ‘Back in those days,’ she said, ‘we didn’t get prefab houses, we lived in tents. We love the veld.’

I loved her stories of the old days. ‘We used to hollow out an anthill and use it to bake bread and rusks – the best rusks I’ve ever made,’ she told us.

She still makes rusks today, albeit in a normal oven. To prove it, she dived into the old tin she’d brought with her and gave us a few samples to try with our moer coffee. I prattled on about the amazing rusk pan and cutter I’d recently bought at a farmstall near Robertson, but she wasn’t impressed. ‘You don’t need these modern contraptions to cut the dough,’ she smiled, ‘I just squeeze a piece of dough in my fist – like this – to make the right shape.’
Camping in an ancient caravan at Kruger
Octogenarians Katrina and Jan, still self-driving and camping in the Kruger Park
Kotie said Jan and Katrina were both very active and still did all their own gardening back home in Belfast, Mpumalanga. Staying young and active, she insisted, is mostly about keeping your mind stimulated. ‘Jy moet jou brein prikkel,’ she told us. She was currently doing just that by learning to use a laptop to store and share her photographs.

Rusks one day, half a huge avo the next, a few really good chats; these were neighbours who believed in sharing and we looked forward each day to our interactions with them. The best share was when they told us exactly where they had discovered some wild dogs with four young pups a few kilometres from camp. On our last morning we found the dogs warming up and playing on the rocks, then again next to the road later in the afternoon as they went exploring, adults and pups together.
Wild dogs, Kruger National Park
Two of the adult wild dogs we found on a prompt from Kotie
It was Katrina’s 82nd birthday on the morning we were leaving, so we begged two balloons from the Wimpy that now serves as Pretoriuskop’s restaurant. We made a Happy Birthday banner by sticking some A4 pages together, and we bought a slab of chocolate as a gift after checking with Kotie what Katrina would really enjoy.

We exchanged goodbye hugs the night before, planning to leave as the gates opened. We were up at 4.30 to tie the banner to their tent poles, the brown paper parcel with her gift to one of the balloons. The little old caravan was looking suitably cheery and we were just about to leave when Katrina woke and saw what we’d done. 
Camping in an ancient caravan at KrugerEverything that Katrina and Jan Bosman have is simple but functional; no fancy camping gadgets

She came to hug us all over again. ‘Thank you, it’s been wonderful to meet such lovely people,’ she said, tears welling in her eyes. ‘Now drive safely and enjoy the rest of your trip.’ We considered ourselves the lucky ones because she was pretty special too.

Then, to a background honking of hippos, we had one last round of hugs and smiles and were on our way to the next adventure. We’ll carry the memory of Jan, Katrina, Kotie and the feisty little silver caravan for a long time.

If you have a story of an old caravan or still-travelling octogenarians, please share it in the comments below.


Like it? Pin this image!
Two octogenarians camping in an ancient caravan at Pretoriuskop in the Kruger National Park #SouthAfrica #travel #camping
Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without permission from roxannereid.co.za
18 Comments
Kelly link
25/6/2015 11:49:12 am

What a special and lovely story, thanks for sharing it. I can only hope my partner and I are still camping in the Kruger if we are lucky enough to make it to that age.

Reply
Roxanne link
27/6/2015 09:47:02 am

Thanks, Kelly, I feel exactly the same!

Reply
heather thorne
28/6/2015 07:40:09 am

Oh my, talk about memories flooding back. My parents had this very same set up with their Gypsy caravan, way back in the '70s right until they died about 10 years ago. The same plastic buckets, gas fires with shiny mettle kettles and pans. the same canvas chairs, a little woven basket, green tarpaulin on the ground, and my mum and dad relaxing in their chairs, eating plain, simple fare and blissfully contented living in the bush with not much else but what they had in the caravan.
Thanks for this, Roxanne. These sort of people make the world a good place!

Reply
Roxanne link
28/6/2015 09:47:43 am

Ah, Heather, I feel as if I know your parents now! I'm so glad you enjoyed reading about these lovely people.

Reply
SavingWild link
28/6/2015 06:18:14 pm

Great and love that you got to see the wild dogs. I have not seen any since the late 1980's.

Reply
Roxanne link
29/6/2015 02:42:09 am

Indeed - we don't see them often either so it's always a special treat.

Reply
marinda drake
2/7/2015 06:05:39 am

An awesome feel good story. So inspiring.

Reply
Roxanne link
2/7/2015 06:16:09 am

Yes, aren't they wonderful, Marinda? I wanto to be like them when I grow up.

Reply
Amin (TravelBlogger) link
3/7/2015 07:23:34 am

Wow. You're never too old to still enjoy life. Thanks for such a lovely story.

Reply
Roxanne link
3/7/2015 07:46:19 am

So true, Amin. Thanks for taking time to read it.

Reply
Kevin
10/5/2017 06:03:35 pm

Hi Roxanne, I've just come across your article. Talk about bringing back memories. I've just hunted down my late fathers Gypsey caravan almost identical to the one in your post. My dad sold it in the early 80's after many, many memorable trips to Kruger. I'm currently restoring it and hope to take it on many more road trips. Thank you for sharing your wonderful experience with Jan & Katrina with us. Cheers Kevin.

Roxanne
11/5/2017 03:05:15 pm

Oh wow, Kevin, is it your dad's actual van? Or just a similar one? Given how nostalgic it was for me to see a memory from my past suddenly appear before me at Pretoriuskop, I can only imagine how excited you are about restoring and putting yours back on the road! Happy times.

Reply
Peter van der Linden
27/10/2017 02:46:24 pm

Absolutely amazing!!
I struggled for many years to convince an old farmer in the Overberg to sell me his old little caravan that they were using as a horse feed/tack store. The poor little caravan was very neglected, but finally last year he agreed that I could have the caravan if I was going to restore her. The AfriCaravan Gypsey (note spelling - not Gypsy) is the 2-Berth version and on the little Red chassis plate (same as in your pics) shows "Model No. 1 - Manufactured 1961" ....so this must be the big brother.
I would really appreciate any contact details for the owners ...I'm dying to get more info to assist with the restoration and perhaps the original Logo for the Cypsey!

Reply
Roxanne
27/10/2017 03:02:11 pm

It's good to know someone is going to restore that old van to its dignity, Peter. (I've corrected the spelling above - thanks.)
I'm afraid I don't have contact details for the Bosmans, but they live in Belfast in Mpumalanga so a Gypsey dealer in the area must surely service their van and should be able to help you track them down. I must warn you, though, that theirs isn't "restored" so much as original with additions.

Reply
Kevin
12/4/2020 12:38:06 am

Hi again Roxanne,
I last chatted with you in May 2017 after I had read your article on Camping in the Kruger Park in an Ancient caravan. I had then just found my late fathers Gypsey caravan that I have now restored. I have some old photos along with some before and after restoration photos. I'm not sure if you'd be interested in seeing them or the story behind my hunt, my find and the restoration. I am aware that time has flown by since but was just wondering...
Kind regards, Kevin

Reply
Roxanne
13/4/2020 09:09:32 am

What a cool project, Kevin! You're welcome to send the photos to me at rediwrite@mweb.co.za. I have many fond memories of trips in an old Gypsey as a child.

Reply
Hugo Wiese link
2/3/2021 03:11:54 pm

Hi Kevin

Could you send me photos of the caravan before and after?
I love these old caravans and I just bought one myself.

Reply
Roxanne
2/3/2021 03:39:22 pm

Hi Hugo, I've emailed Kevin directly with your request. I hope he gets in touch.


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    I'm an independent travel writer and book editor with a passion for Africa - anything from African travel, people, safari and wildlife to adventure, heritage, road-tripping and slow travel.
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