Happy campers
Fikile Hlatshwayo charts new territory as a black caravanner, writes Clinton Moodley
WHEN Fikile Hlatshwayo told her loved ones she wanted to spend three months travelling with a caravan through some of the most beautiful parks in South Africa, they laughed at her.
It was uncommon for black families, even in a democratic country, to go camping or visit national parks.
But when Hlatshwayo ventured into the unknown in September 2014 with her husband Mathieu, and two children, Lesedi and Leo, she wanted to see the world outside of her comfort zone.
After visiting more than 60 caravan parks, covering 25 000km in all nine provinces, she started to pen
Blacks Do Caravan, a book aimed at encouraging black people to try travelling.
Hlatshwayo scooped the Minara Aziz Hassim Literary Award in the main category this year.
The award ceremony was hosted by the Minara Chamber of Commerce in Durban in honour of the late Aziz Hassim, author of The Lotus People, The Revenge of Kali and The Agony of Valliamma. “Blacks Do Caravan is about uniting South Africans through travelling. I went into a space that was known to be predominantly white and made lots of friends.
“There were also odd moments when I was mistaken for a toilet cleaner,” she says.
Since the release of the book she has used caravan and camping as a vehicle to break down stereotypes that certain things are “only for whites and others are for blacks”.
She asks: “Why can’t we all just travel together and enjoy the amazing holiday destinations our country has to offer?”
“Every time we were at a particular park, I would make time to write about our awesome experiences, the good and the bad. I wanted to capture South Africa’s rich wildlife, natural heritage and diverse cultures.”
She said the country offered many attractions, from oceans, mountains, and waterfalls to the bushveld – and camping was the most affordable way to see the country.
“South Africa has a diverse range of caravan and camping parks… every province has over 100 caravan and camping parks offering excellent facilities.”
When asked about her best and worst experiences, she says: “you can never go wrong with camping unless it rains heavily”.
She aims to write two more books, one on travel and the other on health tourism.
And if that’s not enough, she is working on a reality TV show. to leave my job. I became the opposite of superwoman and was lost in my own world of severe depression.
Enough was enough and I needed to escape by leaving home to seek fulfilment and healing elsewhere.
I come from a culture where camping is purely for white people. Even if black people were to camp, they would not enjoy it because it is reminiscent of how many of us used to live; in fact, a lot of black people still live like that today – cooking on a fire, using communal toilets, with access to little or no technology – I thought there was no way I would agree to this camping expedition.
I am, after all, a sophisticated and highly successful black woman, comfortable in my high heels and suits – I love my comfort. But, I had no choice – either I stayed miserable and severely depressed in my secure home or I joined my family to enjoy the beauty of our country in the most affordable way. I gave in, but it did take a lot of convincing!
What really interested me was that this trip unfolded so naturally. I needed comfort so my only condition was that I would not sleep in a tent. We decided to buy a caravan that came with a fridge, microwave, comfortable beds and a little outside kitchenette.
The journey began on September 15, 2014 and we kept on postponing our return date because we didn’t want it to end. We visited more than 25 caravan parks, covered over 10 000km, and traversed all nine provinces. Subsequent to this trip, we had several other trips partly sponsored. At the end, we had covered more than 60 camping/ caravan parks and more than 25 000km. We also travelled to Swaziland to see if they face similar challenges as South Africa.
I have travelled a lot within South Africa and beyond, for both leisure and work. But, these three months were something different: out of this world, incredible…