ADVENTUROUS DUO
Simba and Cleo like nothing more than a weekend away in the motorhome — and the chance to explore a new place and make new friends.
The pair are truly well travelled. Black and white Simba was born in Equatorial Guinea, West Africa, before her owner Wendy Darby and her husband, Steve, moved to Camberley, Surrey, in 2016. Since then, tabby Cleo has joined the family and they’ve been on trips across Spain, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, all over England, and spent three months exploring France.
“Pre Covid-19, we would normally travel every month in our Autotrail
Commanche even if it’s just to a weekend rally,” said Wendy. “We are members of the Camping and Caravan Club and will attend rallies and temporary sites around the country.We motorhome all year with the cats and this is the first year we have not been away at New Year. We do have lots of trips booked for later this year though, which we hope will go ahead.”
Wendy, an administrator in an NHS GP practice, said that the couple looked for quiet sites because the cats like to explore once they get there. Once during a three-week trip around Wales, they noticed that at one site Simba disappeared during the day but came back at night, which was unusual as she usually liked to stay in for most of the day and go exploring at night. Wendy said: “While we were talking to the farmer whose land we were on, we mentioned that Simba was going out during the day and he told us not to worry — she was earning her keep by clearing up all the mice in his barn!”
Cleo particularly loves to be able to go and sit with Steve while he is fishing. She sits between his legs and watches for the fish that he catches. “We do have to be aware of people with dogs though as she has been chased a few times,” added Wendy.
The 54-year-old said that they took the cats everywhere with them, wherever they went: “They are a huge part of our life and family, and taking them with us is easier than having to find someone to look after them in our house and cheaper than putting them in a cattery.
“They don’t like it if we are on a busy site where we can’t let them out, but mostly we stay away from these sites for this reason. Usually though they are both happy to do a little exploring after dusk and into the evening, but they do come back about 11pm so they can sleep on the bed with us.”
She added: “They both love exploring new places and meeting new people so motorhoming is perfect for them.”