GO SMALL, OR GO HOME
Last July, Cindy and Seth Alfino packed up their kids and comfortable lives to travel around SA in a vintage camper van – an adventure that forever changed how they live.
This family of five spent a year travelling across SA in a camper van
‘If you had told me five years ago that I would spend close to a year travelling around South Africa in a 5m x 2m vintage camper van with my husband and our three kids, I would have laughed,’ says Cindy Alfino. ‘I wouldn’t have believed you.’
For someone who had never considered herself ‘adventurous’, the idea was pretty extreme: not only would the couple and their kids – Riya (10), Kyla (9) and Knox (7) – have to make do with just the basics, in a confined space, they would also be far from family and friends for an extended period. ‘I’m very familyorientated,’ says Cindy. ‘Seeing my and Seth’s family is part of our weekly routine.’
Yet not only did Cindy enjoy the 10-month trip, it also shifted her perspective on how she wants to live and raise her family. ‘I’ve learnt that I can survive without creature comforts – in fact, I discovered that many of these only add clutter to your life.’
IN A RUT
The idea to travel in a camper van had come to Cindy and Seth long before they actually hit the road. ‘It was mid-2017 and we were feeling restless about the way we were living,’ says Cindy. ‘We seemed preoccupied with
all our “stuff”; we had become slaves to wanting more and more. We even noticed it in our kids. They would get gifts all the time, yet they’d constantly ask if they could have this or that. We hadn’t raised them to be ungrateful, but they just never seemed satisfied.’
To get out of their consumerist rut, Seth suggested they sell everything and move into a smaller home. ‘I wasn’t too keen on this. As a family of five, space is key for survival in the long run,’ says Cindy. Undeterred, Seth pitched an even more radical idea: living in a van for a year. ‘It took me a few weeks to wrap my head around what this could look like,’ says Cindy. ‘I just had one condition: we needed to find a van that could take us all around SA. It’s been my dream to travel with my kids, and to explore our beautiful country.’
Initially, their kids were incredulous, to say the least. ‘I struggled to understand why we needed to live in a van for a year,’ says Kyla. Riya says she was sad at first. ‘I was worried I’d miss my friends, and I cried a bit at the thought of leaving my grandparents.’
BEING OPTIMUS(TIC)
Fortunately, the kids had some time to get on board as Cindy and Seth had to find a suitable van first. Enter Optimus, a 1974 Volkswagen Jurgens Campervan. ‘It came with most of its original fittings and a dual-carb, air-cooled engine,’ says Cindy. ‘We decided on the name Optimus because we loved the Transformers reference and it was going to be upgraded into its prime (like Optimus Prime) – also the idea of taking the van on a year-long trip was nothing if not optimistic!’
Seth, who is an architect, redesigned the interior, then spent several months fixing up Optimus. Finally, on 1 July 2018, the Alfinos set out on their big yearlong adventure. ‘We knew Optimus wasn’t in the best condition, so we brought another vehicle along. Seth drove Optimus and the kids and I followed behind in our car.’
MAKING IT WORK
To fund their trip, the Alfinos put all their belongings in storage and rented out their home for the year. ‘When you have to pack up the home you’ve lived in for nearly a decade, you realise how much unnecessary stuff you have, and you start to question why you are holding on to all of it!’ says Cindy. ‘We nearly halved the contents of our home in the move.’
They also made arrangements to keep working while they were on the road. ‘I co-own an insurance brokerage; my partner was very supportive and allowed me to work remotely, and often outside of office hours,’ says Cindy. ‘Seth decided to cut down his office hours to three hours a day and focused much of his extra time and energy on home-schooling the kids.’
Cindy says that while she was aware that they would be cramped, she also knew that Seth was ‘a genius designer’.
‘He had incorporated some great designs to optimise our bedroom-meets-living-area-meetsdining-room-meets-kitchen-meets-transport. But it wasn’t until we were actually on the road that I realised just how much of a Tetris game it would be. For example, the dining table would transform into Seth and my bed; our kitchen counter could move to the middle of the van to make way for our son’s bed; and our two girls shared a bed in the space that is part of the camper van’s roof.’
It took the family a month to adjust to the smaller space. ‘We lost our minds a little in the early days – irritation levels ran high!’ says Cindy. ‘Going to bed at night was sometimes scary, because it would be dark and quiet,’ adds Knox. Kyla and Riya were also not too happy about having to share a bed. ‘But by the fourth week in the van, we had got into the swing of things,’ says Cindy.
THE SCHOOL OF LIFE
Cindy and Seth worked closely with their children’s school to bring the schoolwork on the road with them. ‘Their principal understands the value of travelling and encouraged us to take the school curriculum with us. This helped a lot in terms of providing structure and ensuring that our kids didn’t fall behind.
‘Ordinarily, I wouldn’t have entertained the idea of homeschooling,’ admits Cindy. ‘I have such respect for parents who choose to do it; I just know I don’t have the discipline to make it work – that’s why Seth did all the teaching!’
Home-schooling gave them the freedom to fit schoolwork around their travel plans. ‘We didn’t do schoolwork every day, especially when we had to pack up and move to a new location. The one condition was that the kids needed to keep a journal of what they experienced every day. We hoped this would encourage them to learn something new and/or to recall something interesting about the places we visited.’
There was no TV to keep the children entertained. ‘They took turns every other night to plan our dinner menu, then cook it for the family (with our help, of course). We had some interesting meals – one night we had wraps with boerewors, carrots and baked potato – carb overload! Having no TV also encouraged my kids to read, and today they truly love reading as much as I do – that probably wouldn’t have been the case if it hadn’t been for the trip.’
CHARACTER-BUILDING BREAKDOWNS
The Alfinos began by working their way up the east coast. ‘We left in the middle of winter but we knew the weather would be less adverse up the east coast. We didn’t plan out our exact route; we just took each day as it came. There were places we wanted to see, but we were also open to recommendations from our online friends – we had several people following our adventure on Instagram and many made suggestions about where we should stay and what to see.’
Of course, there were challenges. On day
44, about 20 minutes outside Coffee Bay in the Eastern Cape, Optimus broke down. ‘We were stuck there for five days, waiting for a replacement for someor-other bolt. We really enjoyed it though – we got to experience a traditional village tour and learnt how to make umqombothi [beer made from maize meal]’.
Optimus broke down more than 30 times on their 300-day trip. ‘Boy, did he test our patience,’ says Cindy. ‘We were stuck in Piet Retief for nearly 10 days waiting for a part, and just a few weeks later had to leave a very sad, very broken Optimus in Barberton while we headed back to Cape Town for Christmas.’
While in Cape Town for the festive season, Cindy and Seth began thinking it might be better to stay home for good. ‘The new school year was about to start, and it just felt easier to settle back into the easy way of life we knew. We debated for days about what to do, and finally decided that we wanted to see this plan through for as long as we could.’
So they packed their bags again. This time, they headed inland towards Gauteng, staying over in backpackers or self-catering chalets along the way. They detoured through Mozambique and Swaziland and eventually got back to Barberton, where Seth and a friend gave Optimus a good overhaul.
Now reunited with the van, the Kruger National Park was next on their itinerary, then it was on to Sun City, Kimberley, Augrabies Falls and eventually Paternoster. ‘We ended up back in Cape Town on day 299 of our travels – just 65 days short of a full year,’ says Cindy. ‘The great thing about time is perspective. I’m so glad we didn’t give up; it showed me that we can overcome hardship, and I hope it’s inspired my kids to press on, no matter how difficult life can get.’
LIFE, SIMPLIFIED
After 300 days on the road, settling in back home has been challenging. ‘We were content with so little, and got used to seeing or experiencing new things every day, so it’s been difficult coming back after such a world-altering experience,’ admits Cindy. Which is why life has now taken on a new normal.
‘Seth used to work full days and I worked half days to be home with the kids in the afternoons,’ says Cindy. ‘Now, Seth works from the office in the mornings and is at home with the kids in the afternoon, and I work full days. He helps the kids with homework and cooks dinner. This trip certainly taught us what our strengths are – Seth is much better at maths problems and cooking wholesome meals than I am!’
They’ve also kept some of their van-life traditions going, such as opting for games and reading instead of watching TV. And while they purged a lot of their belongings before setting off on their trip, they’ve
done another clean-out since returning home. ‘I’ve halved the contents of the house since being back,’ says Cindy. ‘It feels great not to be focused on what I have or what I need.’ The Alfinos are also on a mission to live a more eco-conscious life by reducing plastic use and buying only what’s necessary.
‘I’m so impressed with my kids! They refused to get rid of any toys before our trip, but since being back they’ve given away boxes and boxes of stuff.’
Knox is ‘sad and happy’ to be back home – a sentiment echoed by his siblings. ‘I would have loved to stay in the Kruger Park forever,’ he says. ‘But I also really missed seeing my grandparents!’
‘I loved seeing new places and exploring new things,’ says Kyla. ‘The robbery [see The Highs and Lows, right] did scare me, but the many fun things on the trip outweigh it by far.’ Riya agrees. ‘The whole experience was so much fun – especially seeing the pack of lions in the Kruger Park, and the snow [in Lesotho],’ she says. ‘I also loved spending all the time with my family. I hope to do something like this with my kids one day too.’
So what will life look like a year from now? Cindy says they’re working on a big plan on how to use Optimus to inspire other families to live with less ‘stuff’. ‘We’re dreaming about turning Optimus into an Airbnb that people can rent so they can see how easy it is to make do with less.’ Watch this space!