caravanning

81Family Holiday & Leisure Winter 2013www.familyholidayandleisure.com

Alison Budge explored the |Ai-|Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park in

style with the Jurgens Xplorer 4x4 caravan.

ricHtersveLdRugged

8382 Family Holiday & Leisure Winter 2013 Family Holiday & Leisure Winter 2013www.familyholidayandleisure.com www.familyholidayandleisure.com

caravanning

previous spread: Exploring this desert area

was great fun for the family, with the Xplorer

4x4 caravan.

above: The De Hoop camp site on the banks

of the Orange River is stunning against the

backdrop of the rugged mountains.

opposite: The Jurgen Xplorer caravan handled

very well on the steep rocky passes, much to our

relief and delight!

caravanning

Setting up at camp was quick and easy, crucial to keep the children involved and helping

down, the roof of the caravan wasn’t much above the roof of our car. When we did set up camp, there was plenty of headroom when the roof was lifted, even for me at 6’3’’.

The Xplorer had a protective, padded jacket on the front of caravan, preventing stone chips from damaging the paintwork on the rough roads. The handling on the steep rocky passes was great, it followed in the car tracks and the braking mechanism prevented it from pushing the car. The good handling didn’t make towing the caravan around some of the hairpin bends and steep descents any less nerve wracking, but that’s the fun part! We dropped the tyre pressure on both the car and the caravan whilst in the park, and fortunately had no issues with damaged tyres on the trip, although a spare tyre mounted on the back of the caravan is standard.

Setting up the caravan was quick and

easy, with the tents folded neatly into bags attached to the side of the caravan. As we moved around the park to a number of different sites, the quick setup was crucial to keep the kids involved and helping. The children each had their duties, and after a few practices, we were set up in less than half an hour. Just enough time to get thirsty for a cold one…

Because the caravan was heavy, we had to drive it into the final camping position rather than manoeuvre it by hand, this was done easily enough as the camp sites were big. My 13 year old son had the job of letting down the corner steadies, and making sure the caravan was level. This was a very simple mechanism, and worked well, until we bumped both front jacks on one of

W e’ve always wanted to explore the desert Richtersveld area in the

far Northern Cape, so when a friend invited us over the Easter holiday, we jumped at the opportunity. The Richtersveld is a harsh desert landscape, and is only accessible by a high clearance vehicle, and a 4x4 in some parts. The rugged kloofs, dramatic mountains and surreal rock formations are spectacular and the raw beauty of the harsh environment creeps into your soul, and makes you feel alive. There’s magic in this desert, where the world’s richest concentration of endemic desert flora is found, and succulents tiny against the cliff faces cling for life, drawing moisture from the fog that rolls in from the cold Atlantic Ocean. The Orange River cuts a swath of green through the barren landscape, and for us, this cooling oasis

provided hours and hours of family holiday fun.

As a family of four, with kids who have been camping since forever, we know how to rough it. So we were fine with exploring the remote Richtersveld area where you bring in everything you need, and take all your rubbish out with you. But what made this trip extra special for our family, was the luxury of staying in the Jurgens Xplorer 4x4 caravan. And because my husband and I look for different things in a caravan, we each decided to tell you what we experienced.

The question is, is it a good family off-road caravan? Yes! It’s been well thought out, and the space has been cleverly designed so that even a family with two young teens had enough space and comfort for ten days in the wilderness.

He says:The Xplorer towed very well, with no swaying at all. It pulled comfortably at high speeds behind our Toyota Fortuner, even though it is quite heavy, with a licensed GVM of 1650kg. The caravan is designed so that a large section of the roof is pop-up; so when towing with the roof latched

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left: Camping in the wilderness... in luxury!

One of the two double beds cantilevers over

the towbar and plenty of windows make this

sleeping area cool. You can even watch the

stars by rolling back the roof panel.

below: Six children enjoyed playing games

inside the spacious Xplorer during the sudden

downpour.

84 Family Holiday & Leisure Winter 2013

the rough passes. Nothing that a hammer and some muscle power couldn’t solve though! Setting up the tent was simply unzipping the bags, rolling out the awning, setting up the poles, and pegging in the guy ropes. Popping up the roof uses a hydraulic system, so that was manageable by my wife and 11 year old daughter. They could also fold out the front tent which cantilevered over the van’s tow-bar, also on hydraulic arms.

There’s no electricity in the Richtersveld camp sites, so we ran the fridge and lights off the caravan battery for the first three days, and then off our car’s dual battery system for the rest. On good advice from the team at CaraCamp in Somerset West, one of the stockiest of the Jurgen’s Xplorer, we had our 40L fridge in our car for drinks and fridge items, and used the caravan’s National Luna 80L fridge as a deepfreeze. This system worked so well that we still had ice and frozen meat in the caravan’s freezer after 10 days.

The Xplorer has a 100 litre water tank, which lasted us for three to four days, with regular hot showers. We weren’t saving water in any way as we could fill the tank with water pumped from the Orange River. We kept drinking water in separate water containers in the car, so we could access it quickly on our day trips around the park.

She said:I must admit to wondering how I was going to be able to fit enough food to feed the four of us, including two always-ravenous children, our clothes, and all the other bits and pieces in to the caravan. Ten days in the middle of nowhere is a long time! But

Jurgens have very cleverly thought out the design, and there were enough cupboards, nooks and crannies, pockets and pull-outs to keep everything off the floor and neatly packed away. We each had our own cupboard space for clothes, and shared another cupboard for towels, and another

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More informationFor more information on the Jurgen’s range, visit their website: www.jurgenssafari.co.za/We picked up the Jurgens Xplorer in Somerset West at Campworld Cara-Camp Caravan and Outdoor Centre Website: www.cara-camp.co.zaTel: +27 21 852 8215

caravanning

above: Dwarfed by the giant boulders in

Kokerboomskloof, the Xplorer is a wonderful

way to explore off-road adventures in stunning,

secret spots.

for shoes. Gadgets, games and books went in a cupboard, food in another two, and there was still space left under the bunks for more storage. And hiding Easter Eggs. Inside was spacious enough for six children to spend a rainy evening playing cards.

There’s a nifty dust pressure hatch that you open while travelling, creating positive air pressure inside the van, and keeping the dust out. And speaking of which, the hot water shower was an absolute winner after spending a few days in the desert. We swam in the Orange River a lot, but there’s nothing like a hot shower out in the open with stunning views to remind you why camping like this is so wonderful. Of course, the shower has a tent enclosure too for the more modest, and the body conscious teenagers!

Set up was quick and easy, as He said. Being a bit of a shorty, I couldn’t reach the top connectors for the tent poles, even with the handy stools provided. It happens a lot at home too, that’s why I married a tall

man and am raising tall kids… The kitchen unit is on an easy pull out rail, and having the freezer, two plate gas stove, washing up bowl and drying up rack, and crockery all in the same unit was a win. Cutlery was in a canvas bag, neatly zipped to the outside of the van, which simply rolled up and could be stored inside when travelling. The water tank and geyser provided hot running water on tap which was fantastic for doing the dishes, or preparing food. The tap system made quite a noise inside the caravan, so we made sure the kettle for my morning tea was filled the night before. Everyone knows not to wake Mom up with noise, or she gets rather grumpy.

So the bottom line: The Jurgens Xplorer is a fantastic van for off-road adventures, enabling us to take our family to see the forgotten (or very well kept secret) corners of our beautiful land. Did we love it? Definitely! Do we want one? Most definitely!