Camping gets some new fans
SA Camp Fest is a party but it also gives VW aftermarket artisans a place to showcase their skills.
What happens when you take a 5 000km trip around South Africa with three carnivores, two vegans and a halaal oke? You end up having one of the most challenging, yet rewarding experiences, where you get to see parts of the country that most SA locals don’t even get to see.
We spoke to motorsport expert Victor Pardal at the SA Camp Fest in Bela-Bela, where that crew’s journey ended after they successfully visited every province in the country.
Pardal said this was a journey he would never forget.
“Many South Africans pay for fancy vacations overseas, but what they don’t realise is that we have one of the most beautiful countries in the world and people should explore it,” he said.
Pardal and Volkswagen fan and creative car builder Jamie Orr managed to exceed the 5 000km target they set in planning to complete the trip in just two weeks, driving a VW Golf R-line and a Golf 8 GTI.
They had Wikus Dippenaar from Delarey Racing Developments offering them support in his VW Amarok, because they only had seven days to build the R-line and were expecting issues on their trip.
American Orr is the international judge at the SA Camp Fest, which is South Africa’s biggest VW aftermarket event.
This event has a cult-like following and tickets sell out in the blink of an eye.
This year we got the full Camp Fest experience, including the camp sites, where a diverse group of fans came together with one of two things on their mind: they were there for the VWs they love so much, or they were there to party.
Camp Fest is a huge party, with a car show on the side.
If we got four hours of sleep during the weekend, that would be a lot because as soon as you entered the Warmbaths Resort, it was a revving fest.
VWs and Audis reved their engines and Golf MK1 mudflaps scraped on the ground because their suspension is so low.
It’s an experience I will never forget, seeing Polos getting stuck trying to get over the speedbumps left me repeatedly asking myself why people would do this to their cars. The answer can only be passion.
It may not be something the average Joe likes, but for the guys and gals who modify their cars, it makes them happy.
Cum Laude, who hosted the event, have managed to crack the formula to unite VW lovers from different backgrounds, and I believe that’s why this event is so popular.
SA Camp Fest provides car enthusiasts and builders with a platform to showcase their rides, which ultimately markets their services to others, who want to build a similar project.
One of these businesses is Bo
dyline Auto, which pulled up to this year’s show with a Tiguan and a Taigo which had Audi RS3 engine swaps.
These two cars were popular with the crowd, but there were many other builds which came out of Durban and stole the show with their jaw-dropping builds.
This year’s Best of Show, the most prestigious award at SA Camp Fest, also went to a car which came out of Durban.
Kylan Naidoo’s R32-powered MK1 Rabbit called Escobar took the biggest prize at the 2024 edition of the show after narrowly missing out in 2023.
This car was built by South Side Car Styling in Durban, a company known for its super-clean builds.
Another car which stood out for us was a Golf 7 with a Porsche engine swap, while a Golf 2 had a supercharged engine and an extremely low Caddy Pickup had a chassis which was nearly lying on the ground.
Although a lot of these builds don’t make sense, there is a huge market for them in South Africa, and SA Camp Fest has been the premiere destination for these builds to be showcased.
Just like Orr, who travelIed all the way from the US for the show, I, too, have been bitten by the Camp Fest bug – and I can’t wait to be a part of next year’s event.