Volkswagen Beetle

ME AND MY CAR

Cailin and I saw this Beetle on Facebook in February 2021. Someone in Kempton Park wanted to sell it, even though it wasn’t running at the time. We went to have a look and immediately knew it was the car for us! We had to use a towing service to get the Beetle to our house. I like working with my hands, so I repaired almost everything with the help of YouTube videos and Beetle experts I contacted on Facebook. Buying the car and fixing it up cost about R65 000 in total.

Finally, the Beetle was roadworthy and we could take it on some adventures. We’ve visited places close to home like Rietvlei Nature Reserve (pictured, top and bottom), and further afield like Koster, Sabie, Pilgrim’s Rest, Magoebaskloof, White River, Bela-Bela, Clarens and Fouriesburg. The Beetle has an air-cooled engine, so we try not to drive more than 300 km per day – less when it’s a hot day. Our ideal speed on the open road is 90 km/h.

We’ve been testing our camping set-up on our shorter trips and we know what we really need: a cooler box and a gas bottle with a braai skottel. We also know what we can go without: fewer cooking utensils and far fewer clothes! We tracked down a man who could make a roof rack similar to the ones that Beetles used to have back in the day. We use the rack to transport our tent, ammo boxes and water container, and we pack our clothes, bedding and ground sheet in the boot. My toolbox only has the essentials: spanners, wire, a bottle of oil, a spare petrol filter and a coil. We belong to the VW Beetle Club of South Africa group on Facebook – if you run into trouble on the road, there’s usually a Beetle enthusiast nearby who is willing to help.

I’m very proud that I fixed up the car myself. Anyone who has owned a Beetle knows these little cars have heaps of personality.

Home town: Boksburg Occupations: Quantity surveyor (Noli); project engineer (Nathi) Car: Suzuki Jimny, 2020 model Mileage: 16 520 km

Instagram: @roadtripwith_npholobas #178