GOOD TO KNOW

Rent a tent for your next trip

There’s a new company in Cape Town that’s hiring out camping gear and other outdoor equipment. Maybe you want to camp while you’re on holiday in the Mother City, but you don’t want to fly with all your gear. Or maybe you want to try rock climbing and you don’t want to shell out for expensive ropes and harnesses before you’ve actually decided if you like the sport. The company is called Scuttle ( scuttle.co.za) and MD Jacques de Villiers came up with the idea during a year spent travelling the world. He wanted to camp in Yosemite National Park in the US, but he couldn’t fly with all the necessary gear, so he found a rental company and hired what he needed. Scuttle is for two types of people: South Africans who don’t camp regularly and who don’t want to spend a fortune on their own gear, and tourists who can’t travel with all their equipment. Currently, the service is only available in Cape Town, but there are plans to expand to Joburg and Durban. How does it work? Visit the website ( scuttle.co.za), select the dates and the equipment you’ll need, and pay with your credit card or via EFT. If you’re within a 75 km radius of Cape Town, your gear can be delivered for a fee of up to R100. You also pay a deposit, which you get back if you return the gear in one piece. Cost: It depends on the gear. A four-man canvas tent, for example, costs R150 per day; a 25-litre daypack costs R70 per day and a camping chair costs R25 per day. More info: scuttle.co.za; “ScuttleZA” on Facebook