Where It All Began: The Extended Version
"Let's do it!"
I think that’s what I said when Dale had this wild and wonderful idea one evening…
On New Year's Eve (Dec 2021), he walked into the kitchen while I was preparing supper, leant against the counter, and assumed his usual deep-thinking pose—head slightly slanted with his eyes a thousand miles away, as he softly stroked his beard, with one arm folded across his chest. I could hear his brain cogs ticking at full speed and waited a moment before asking him what he was thinking.
A big grin slowly grew on his face, and his eyes began to sparkle with a major epiphany—
“Love,” he said, “Let’s get rid of everything, get ourselves a caravan, and travel!”
It didn't take much convincing at all.
Without hesitation, with my spatula in hand, I left the frying pan, walked up to him, and gave him a big high five. “Let’s do it!" I said, and that was it; the decision was made.
With great excitement, we started planning our biggest adventure ever, brimming with all the wonder and mystery of the unknown. We talked for hours into the night, brainstorming and dreaming about all the wonderful possibilities ahead.
The future looked bright, but unfortunately, the immediate situation wasn’t so pretty. Planning our trip and packing up wasn’t a simple matter at all.
At the time, Dale and I were managing a Christian camp and conference centre just outside Underberg (KwaZulu-Natal). We hosted groups and provided accommodation, catering, programmes, and various activities. Our employers had very recently informed us that they would be selling the property and retrenching us in the process.
Mmm… not the easiest news to receive at the end of the year.
We had looked into other alternatives, such as finding a place to rent or even buying a property somewhere, while we found other forms of employment. However, no particular place or job was “jumping out” to us at the time, and we really didn’t have peace in pursuing these other types of alternatives. Strangely enough, the proposed caravan adventure had given us the greatest sense of peace.
So, why were we getting retrenched? Well…
COVID was the main culprit. The constant lockdowns and tourism restrictions had caused irreparable damage to the hospitality industry in South Africa, and our little conference centre was one of its many casualties.
Retrenchment wasn’t an easy pill to swallow, even when you saw it coming. While the prospect of our exciting travelling adventure looked bright and colourful ahead, our immediate future looked very grim and scary.
On top of packing, moving, and downsizing our 5-bedroom home, we also had to pack up and move the centre’s assets. It was a 115-sleeper, so there was a great deal to organise in one go. While I write this, it’s mind-boggling to think back to the amount of stress we were under at the time. When you hear people saying that moving one’s home and livelihood is similar to the stress levels of going through a death or divorce in the family, I can totally relate. And retrenchment was just the “cherry on top."
In late January, we were finally able to establish a moving day that suited ourselves, our employers, and the new owners of the property. This meant we had exactly two months (February and March 2022) to pack up, organise our travels, and move everything.
Wait…what!?
Yup, it’s totally crazy, I know!
And so, the great countdown began.
While our whole lives seemed to be turned upside down in an instant, the one thing we could look forward to was starting our travels soon.
It was so close, we could taste it.
Goodbyes and Packing Up Our Lives
As soon as we decided with certainty to live and travel in a caravan full-time, the next obvious step was to get ourselves a caravan.
At the time, we had Dale’s parents' caravan (pictured bottom right), which was really cool because it could fold up and down. However, it wasn't big enough for full-time travelling, so we had to return it to them.
Thankfully, my parents said we could use their slightly bigger caravan (pictured bottom left) to start our trip. That was a huge relief, as we really didn’t have the time or resources to find one suitable at such short notice.
We fetched the caravan from my parents in Pietermaritzburg, parked it outside the house, gave it a good clean, and slowly started packing it with what we’d need for our Big Adventure.
Those two months were quite the whirlwind…
Full of looking forward to the future but also reminiscing about the life we were leaving behind.
It was mixed with hope, excitement, sadness, and disappointment—quite a peculiar mix of emotions all at once.
One major sadness was having to rehome our sweet dogs, Chester and Willow. It wasn’t an option for them to travel with us as they were too big, and we didn’t want to place them or ourselves under the stress of putting them in a foster home to collect them after our travels. We also had no clue how long our travels would be, so finding permanent new homes was the best option for all of us.
Thankfully, we were able to find wonderful homes for them in good time, so they didn’t have to go through the stress of watching us do any packing or moving.
Saying our final goodbyes to our dearest “fluff-bags” was difficult, but I can now look back fondly at the beautiful time we spent with these fun, loving, mischievous four-legged friends and have a good giggle!
Here are some of my favourite memories:
From the top: My golden dog, Chester, greeting me one beautiful weekend morning after a long work week; him overlooking the water on one of our many walks along the river.
Middle: Willow and me lying on the grass together while I was reading my book; Dale on the couch watching TV with our fluffy children.
At the bottom: Willow looking all inquisitive; Chester lathering Dale in endless hugs (he loved taking chances when I wasn't watching and jumping on the couch!)
We took each day in our stride—one day, one moment at a time.
One big disappointment was not seeing our plans and dreams fulfilled for the establishment we had been running, including our own hopes of laying down our roots there as a couple. Prior to COVID, the centre had been doing really well, gaining some momentum as a venue and ministry, so to see it all come to an abrupt end was very sad.
But, then again, as God would have it, while one adventure was coming to an end, another was brewing in the distance.
Amazingly, our time of sorting and packing turned into a time of cherishing the memories already made while looking forward to the new memories awaiting us.
Here are a few snippets from the home we were leaving behind, situated in the countryside along the beautiful Umzimkhulu River…
Top Right: My dog Chester and Dale's beloved dog (Oscar) overlooking the river below our verandah. Dale had Oscar from a puppy, and sadly he died at the campsite at age 10, after being bitten by a puff adder.
We made many memories in this tiny green pocket tucked along a river.
We even experienced our very first caravan trip together at the centre back in April 2018—just 8 months before we knew we'd be running the whole place! How bizarre, right?
You’ll see our super low-key setup below in Dale’s parents' caravan, which he used to holiday in with his family as a kid. I think that 'Good Old Gal' from the 1970s could teach us a thing or two about caravanning if we sat down and asked it!
That weekend caravan trip was a keeper. I remember...
blasting our little heater at full force as we endured the bitterly cold nights; during an early morning fishing excursion, I fell into the icy-cold water at a river crossing—no, I did not think to bring any extra clothes along with me, so I spent the morning trying to dry off (grumpy, I might add!); and then we cooked up the most delicious fry-up breakfast around our little campfire.
As caravan newbies, we had very little equipment and felt highly unprepared, but we absolutely loved every minute of it—yes, I must admit, even the 'falling in the river day' turned out wonderful!
As life went on, we had very little time for these types of adventures again. Life kind of had a way of running away with itself, if you know what I mean.
Anyway… enough reminiscing, and back to business!
Fast Forward to February 2022
The crazy packing and sorting frenzy continued.
Our two-month timeline was super short, but we knew we could pull it off if we remained focused. We assigned ourselves set daily tasks: I was responsible for going through most of our belongings and the home side of things, while Dale focused on the centre and its assets.
We had also decided to keep some key household items aside for storage, which would comfortably help us set up a home when we decided to stop the travels. So Dale organised a 3 x 4-metre storage unit for us with our family.
At home, I worked my way through each room and organised everything into four piles, with items either set aside for our caravan travels, going into storage, or being sold and given away. I can tell you with certainty that our house looked like a bomb hit it with the multitude of piles, but it was organised chaos at its best… I promise!
I also became a ninja at keeping daily checklists. This definitely kept me level-headed and from being shipped off to a mental institute… haha! Although at times, I thought I would eventually end up in one.
Dale was incredible at organising all the major logistics and making the arrangements for our personal moving, as well as the centre’s assets. In between organising our home stuff, I also sorted through and boxed all the catering equipment, all housekeeping items such as linen, and all the office equipment. It was a lot!
[From Left: Dale oversaw many truckloads of the centre's assets being moved; the endless piles of sorting and boxing I had to do; and piles of mattresses about to be transported to another centre.]
The Big Move Day
Our big move day finally arrived on a sunny and clear 23rd of March 2022.
It was quite surreal, really.
The centre lay mostly empty, ready for its new owners, and our home echoed eerily with all its empty rooms, apart from the items set aside for our storage. Our caravan was also packed and ready with everything we needed for full-time travelling. It had literally taken us until the evening before to finish packing the final items.
The moving truck arrived early, ready to pack and transport our items straight to the storage unit.
The truck was much smaller than we’d requested from the movers, but we made it work, as there was no time to dilly-dally. Thankfully, we didn’t have to follow the movers to the storage unit, which was quite a drive away, so as soon as they were safely packed, they departed ahead of us.
We hitched the caravan to our vehicle, said our final goodbyes to our home, and carefully made our way onto the dirt road. We made a quick stop before exiting the camp grounds, capturing us officially setting off on our journey (see below).
We were exhausted, our bodies were aching, and our eyes just wanted rest, but we were finally on our way. We couldn't believe it...
One thing I can say is that I’ll never forget the feeling of trailing away for the very first time.
Well, to be more accurate, I actually drove behind Dale in another vehicle while he drove the caravan in front. So I had the fun and peculiar view of watching the caravan gently bounce along the dirt road, wondering with great anticipation as to where the road might take it (and us!).
I felt like I was in one of those slow-motion movie scenes, capturing a life-changing moment in the story, and here we were, straight in the middle of it.
"Goodbye home and hello BIG, unknown adventure," I remember thinking to myself as we drove away in convoy.
Our lives were simplified, it seemed. Everything we needed for living was packed into that tiny space right in front of me. We did it—we really did it, and it was mind-boggling to think that we'd achieved everything we'd planned in those short two months.
I was bubbling with excitement for the adventure that lay ahead, but also freaking out inside. We were leaving our home, yet trailing it behind us at the same time! It took a while for the reality of it all to sink in.
Did this little caravan in front of me have any idea where it was going or for how long it would keep going?
Where would this tiny thing take us?
Where would the road take us?
What did God have in store for us?
These types of thoughts and questions bounced around my mind as I watched it meander along the road, and no matter how long I pondered, no answers seemed to come my way.
As an avid planner and detail-oriented person, the whole experience thus far had been way outside my comfort zone. So, hitting the road and beginning this journey was a big step for me—one I knew I really needed.
As I watched the caravan move further along, I felt God gently remind me that He had it all figured out for us. He knew the road ahead and had planned every step, every stop, and every turn for us. My desire to plan and see ahead had to switch off while I learned to trust Him fully and completely. Wow, what a realisation. I didn’t need to know what was ahead because He knew, and that’s all that mattered. I could rest in that truth.
As we soon made our way onto the tar road and began edging slowly towards the city many miles away, I knew everything would be okay. Even if I was somewhat unsettled and unsure, I knew I’d learn a great deal along the road that lay ahead, and I was ready to embrace the adventure with everything it entailed.
So, where exactly was the first stop?
At this stage, we had arranged to stay two nights with my parents in Pietermaritzburg while we took a little much-needed breather. We had then booked to stay at Spioenkop Nature Reserve, just outside of Winterton in the Central Drakensberg.
After that, our plan was fuzzy.
Fast Forward to the Present
You may be wondering how that fuzzy road panned out as we bumbled along in our caravan.
Well, after about 52 months of travelling, we’re still going strong on this incredible travelling and mobile lifestyle we chose for ourselves.
Amazing, right?
The biggest journey isn't just the incredible things we’ve seen and done, but the journey that's taken place within. We’ve grown a great deal as individuals and as a couple—taking risks, stepping outside our comfort zones, laughing a whole lot more, finding joy in the simple things of life, shedding tears, facing challenges, and making a ton of precious memories along the way.
We wouldn’t change a thing.
If you're up for a real ride and a whole lot of fun, I’d love it if you joined Dale and me as we share our experiences travelling together through this beautiful country we call home.
You may even discover, like me, that life isn’t full of regrets but valuable lessons learned along the way. Choosing to take the road less travelled may be scary, but even if it's bumpy, it’s so worth it.
Let’s get travelling, my fellow travellers!
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