Roxanne Reid - Africa Addict
  • Home
  • Book author
    • Travels in the Kalahari >
      • Photo gallery: Travels in the Kalahari
      • Book reviews: Travels in the Kalahari
    • A Walk in the Park >
      • Photo gallery: A Walk in the Park
      • Book reviews: A Walk in the Park
    • The Essential Guide to Self-Editing >
      • Book reviews: Essential Guide to Self-Editing
    • Betrayed
    • Book reviews online
  • Editing & proofreading
  • In the media
    • Travel features
    • Health features
    • Online media
  • Blog
  • Testimonials
  • Links
  • Contact

Hit the gravel road in the Kgalagadi

22/6/2011

0 Comments

 
Caravans, Nossob campsite, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
By Roxanne Reid
We had an interesting sighting as we came into Nossob in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park recently. For once it had nothing to do with animals.

Lined up along the perimeter of the camp near the airstrip and hangar where we sometimes see a barn owl were three caravans – a fancy 4x4 Xplorer XCELL and two we’ve never seen before. Given that a film crew was setting up a sunset shot with people chatting around the campfire, we knew something was definitely up.

Indeed, confirmed Jurgens-Ci development manager Clive Cox as proudly as a new father, they were launching two brand new caravans in mid-June and this was a road-test cum promotional/film tour. 

Meet the Jurgens Tourer SC and Tourer SP, a new concept in caravans. As  Clive explained, these new kids on the block were developed to fill the gap between road caravans and the fully fledged, heavy-duty macho-man 4x4 caravan that comes with a price tag of around R230 000, which may be more than your car is worth and certainly beyond your requirements unless you’re planning to take on the real bundu of Botswana, Zambia or Tanzania.

‘You use a road caravan to camp at the same place for a long weekend or a week at the coast,’ said Clive. ‘They run off 220V power and you just plug them into the camp site’s power grid.’

Of course, there’s nothing to stop you from using the touring caravan in just the same way, but it gives you added flexibility because it will work in places where there’s no 220V power source – like Tsendze or Balule camps in the Kruger National Park, for instance. The lights run off a deep-cycle battery and the fridge/freezer can be run either off 220V power or the battery. An external kitchen and easy-to-set-up awning let you make the most of the outdoors without cluttering up the inside space.

It’s stronger than a road caravan too. Fifteen-inch wheels make semi off-road conditions a breeze and there are side skid bars and other strengthening devices to protect the body in gravel conditions. Although the Tourers aren’t intended to be Full Monty 4x4 caravans – and at around R136 000 to R140 000 their price happily reflects that – the mere fact that we came across them in the Kgalagadi looking none the worse for wear could be taken as proof of their ruggedness. The sandy and corrugated roads here are not for sissies; over the years we’ve seen them claim more than a few road caravans and trailers, not to mention victims of the Jeep and Land Rover variety too.

So let’s get technical for a minute, to answer questions that boys who love toys might want to ask. Apart from the 15-inch rims I’ve already mentioned, the new Tourers have a gross vehicle mass of 1370kg, payload of 289-330kg, 3-4 berths, outside kitchens with 2-plate gas burner and 60-litre fridge, overhead lockers, cupboards, 220V power pack and battery charger and a leisure awning.

What more do most happy campers need?   
 
Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without permission from roxannereid.co.za
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Get email links to the latest posts

    Buy my books
    Travels in the Kalahari, amazon.com e-book
    E-book 2012​

    A Walk in the Park, amazon.com e-book
    2nd ed e-book 2015
    The Essential Guide to Self-Editing, amazon.com e-book
    E-book 2017

    About 

    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.
    My travel buddy and husband Keith is the primary photographer for this blog.
    We're happiest in the middle of nowhere, meeting the locals, trying something new, or simply watching the grass grow.
    Use this website to discover new places to go, revisit places you've loved, or take a virtual tour of destinations you only dream about.

    Categories

    All
    Baviaanskloof
    Books
    Botswana
    Camping
    Cape Town
    Chobe
    Conservation
    Drc
    Eastern Cape
    Etosha Namibia
    Food
    Free State
    Garden Route
    Gauteng
    Issues
    Kalahari
    Karoo
    Kenya
    Kruger National Park
    Kwazulu Natal
    Lesotho
    Limpopo
    Linyanti
    Madagascar
    Malawi
    Mozambique
    Mpumalanga
    Namaqualand
    Namibia
    Nature Parks
    Northern Cape
    Okavango
    Overberg
    People
    Photography
    Richtersveld
    Tanzania
    West Coast
    Western Cape
    Wild Creatures
    Zambia
    Zimbabwe

    Archives

    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    January 2010
    November 2009


Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without written permission from roxannereid.co.za

Privacy Policy, GDPR and POPIA compliance
​* We promise that we take data safety seriously and use your private data only to offer a personalised experience
* If you subscribed to our newsletter, you will receive our newsletters. You can always unsubscribe by following the link in email or by emailing us
* If you gave us your name, it will only be used to personalise the newsletters
* We have never sold, we are not selling, and we will not sell any of your personal data provided to us
* The blog uses cookies to track activity. It is anonymous except for telling us your location and what you did on our blog
​
Photos from berniedup, Lucy_Hill