TRY BEFORE YOU BUY
You already know the joys of camping, and we’d bet that most of your first experiences, like ours, were in that of a simple bow, lodge or dome tent. All you needed was to throw a bagged tent in the back of your vehicle, and you were all set.
Later, you might want to use an off-road trailer or roof-top tent, and when the family expands, you may even want to upgrade to something more substantial – like a big road caravan or off-road caravan if you’re especially fond of camping out in the bundus. Depending on your budget and tastes, these can cost you the price of a premium hatchback.
And then there are motorhomes, which offer you most of the luxuries you’re used to having at home or in a chalet once you get to your destination – with the major plus of you being able to pack up and take it all with you to your next destination. These will set you back the price of an apartment or small house, again depending on your tastes.
An option that’s a lot more attractive for most of us, however, is to rent said vehicle when the time is opportune. And once you’ve experienced one for yourself, you might purchase a new or used one when you’re able to afford one down the line.
We spoke to two companies in the rental industry, both of whom have a manufacturing arm – Bush Lapa who started a rental fleet in 2017 and Bobo Campers, a division of Motorhome-world.
Why have a rental industry at all?
Motorhome-world: South Africa competes with significant markets like Europe and North America, and countries like Australia and New Zealand in the global motorhome rental market. International tourists in groups that hire up to 20 units
a time for up to 50 days often choose this method of travelling and accommodation as the ideal way to explore a country. Locals find it ideal to use for long weekends, visiting our many parks and having the convenience of everything at hand. Sports and cultural events like the Cape Epic and Sani 2 Sea mountain bike stage races and the Afrikaburn festival are just some that are ideal to attend in a motorhome.
Bush Lapa: Most people would like to test something out before they decide to purchase especially when it’s a huge financial undertaking like buying a new caravan. And then there are also those who can’t really afford a new caravan or those who camp less than 10 times a year, in which case it’s not worth buying one. Motorhome-world: We require a 50% deposit one month before departure. The rest on collection. You also must provide us with a valid B or EB driver’s license, the credit card details of the hirer, and we also require that the hirer be over the age of 21 years, or 23 with our 4x4 models.
Bush Lapa: Contact us through the link on our website, and then we’ll sign a rental agreement and get a deposit from whoever is renting the vehicle from us. An EB license is non negotiable.
a camper, including the Swartberg Pass (SA), the Sani Pass (SA), the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, the road to the Sentech Towers in Marakele Park (SA), Baviaanskloof Pass (SA), all of Mozambique, all of Malawi, all of Angola, Zambia further than Livingstone, all 4x4 trails, the Skeleton Coast Park (Namibia), the short road from Hobas to the Viewpoint (Fish River Canyon), Van Zyl’s Pass (Namibia), any sand dune, Sandwich Harbour (Namibia), the entire Kaokoland (Namibia), the Okavango Delta (Botswana) the Makgadigadi Pans (Botswana), as well as D, G or F-marked roads in Namibia (for example D4130, etc).
Bush Lapa: There’s no limitation from our side, and we provide you with the relevant registration documentation and permission letters for when you want to venture across borders into neighbouring countries. Bush Lapa: We have four units that are currently rented out from our branch in Paarl but will soon add a fifth caravan. They’re the bigger models in our line-up because families get more value when camping in larger vehicles like a four-sleeper Baobab. Our dealers up in Gauteng also rent caravans out though, but that they do under their own auspices.