Are you saying that the thread shouldn’t have been separated…..
Tent - Info for trip around Southen africa
- Thread starter Carts
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Thanks all, some great advice here, yep I've now dropped the idea of a tent.
My thought on tent is in the UK i have a good tent i put up in one. and yes i prefer one that outer goes up1st . The idea of inner is as a Mosquito net in a hotel
My thought on tent is in the UK i have a good tent i put up in one. and yes i prefer one that outer goes up1st . The idea of inner is as a Mosquito net in a hotel
Are you saying that the thread shouldn’t have been separated…..
Not in the slightest.
This way, another bod looking for ideas about what tent to maybe take to South Africa (or somewhere similar) might well find what they want, including your excellent suggestion. Burying it inside “What roads to ride in South Africa” makes the information not so easy to find.
Sorry, just one of my (lame) attempts at humour.Not in the slightest.
This way, another bod looking for ideas about what tent to maybe take to South Africa (or somewhere similar) might well find what they want, including your excellent suggestion. Burying it inside “What roads to ride in South Africa” makes the information not so easy to find.
Je pose ma valise...
The important part is knowing that if you want to ride through the more barren parts of the region hotels are a bit harder to find and you might be left with a choice of riding after dark or putting up a tent.
I’m still trying to work out how often it rained in the evening when I might be thinking of putting up a tent when I lived there and the answer is not many times.
Only you know what you want to do and where you’re going to want to ride. I’d open a map, have a look at what takes my fancy, use Google maps to get a satellite view of the roads so you can have a rough guess at how far you can get in a day then use booking.com to see where the nearest hotels are.
I’d take a tent because you can cover more distance and be more flexible regarding where you go but I wouldn’t spend a lot of money buying a good one, just treat it as a throw away costing about the same as 2 nights in a hotel because I think you’ll find it useful.
As for the risk of bad people trying to steal everything you own before stabbing you and setting fire to your tent with you in it. Well you’re not going to be camping in the middle of a town are you?
Thanks Andy
agreed, my way of planning is having a rough idea of where i want to go ( very rough) then in the evenings use map Electronic and paper and plan the next couple of days. i don't plan 2 far ahead in detail
When i did Aus, NZ and USA i have a cheep tent as a fall back. i did use it a few time, but if tent need other bits to camp so weight of bike goes up.
The part of the adventures is the unknown ( at least to me) and it is tricky trying to plan for it, or may be over planning
agreed, my way of planning is having a rough idea of where i want to go ( very rough) then in the evenings use map Electronic and paper and plan the next couple of days. i don't plan 2 far ahead in detail
When i did Aus, NZ and USA i have a cheep tent as a fall back. i did use it a few time, but if tent need other bits to camp so weight of bike goes up.
The part of the adventures is the unknown ( at least to me) and it is tricky trying to plan for it, or may be over planning
You’re right when you say it’s the other bits you need to be able to camp but in Southern Africa that equates to a sleeping bag liner and a lightweight inflatable or closed cell mattress, a petrol stove and a small pan set then pick up food during the day.
You could gamble by taking a hammock and use it as a kind of swag bag if you couldn’t hang it properly then you lose the requirement for a mattress of some kind but again, that depends on where you’re riding. My very simplistic way of viewing it is that where there’s water (or a dry water course) there’ll be trees but where there’s water there’ll be more wildlife so that idea has its pros and cons
You could gamble by taking a hammock and use it as a kind of swag bag if you couldn’t hang it properly then you lose the requirement for a mattress of some kind but again, that depends on where you’re riding. My very simplistic way of viewing it is that where there’s water (or a dry water course) there’ll be trees but where there’s water there’ll be more wildlife so that idea has its pros and cons
Google: Where to buy a tent in South Africa
Might it not be easier to buy a cheap tent here. Then, when you don’t use the damned thing or get bored carting it around, DHL it back to the UK or throw it in a bin or give it to the local kids to muck about with? I doubt if they will be fussy about the colour.
Might it not be easier to buy a cheap tent here. Then, when you don’t use the damned thing or get bored carting it around, DHL it back to the UK or throw it in a bin or give it to the local kids to muck about with? I doubt if they will be fussy about the colour.
In my experience, big cities yes (or maybe, in some cases). Cape Town or Joburg for example have decent outdoor shops. Small towns and other countries less likely.
Hi Wapping
On 1st Gutbuster there was a large cue at post office in second week when everyone was sending there just in case stuff home. was hoping or hopping ? im dyslexic not to take the stuff in 1st place
On 1st Gutbuster there was a large cue at post office in second week when everyone was sending there just in case stuff home. was hoping or hopping ? im dyslexic not to take the stuff in 1st place
South Africa isn’t a 3rd World country no matter what the doom mongers would have you believe. Type the words camping equipment Cape Town into Google and you’ll find plenty, I looked and they even have a Decathlon there so it’s a one stop shopping trip
As I said, only you know what you want to do and what you’re comfortable with. Personally I’d be more comfortable with minimal camping gear just in case I needed it whereas others say no. I lived there and originally planned to ride a bike back to the UK but that was in the 1980s when a South African permanent residence stamp in your passport wasn’t a good thing to have. My wife and I went over in 2012 and drove a camper van from Jo’burg to Cape Town via Durban and there were plenty of small camp sites or you could stop on one of the quieter beaches where they advertise camping is permitted and you’ll see a lot of families camping.
Admittedly we stopped in hotels most nights but that was down to laziness rather than lack of places to camp but there’s something very pleasant about camping by a beach or a lake in Africa.
But you are not on Globebuster’s trip this time, are you? You are on your own. There’ll be less bods posting stuff home. I sometimes have to queue in the post office in Wapping (it’s not very big) but that’s life. You are apparently not on a schedule, so half an hour in a post office or DHL shop, probably won’t kill you. Who knows, you might meet and talk to someone in the queue who changes your holiday or, perhaps even, your life.
Give the cheap tent away or bin it, if time is really pressing and less weight / more space is becoming more important.
Here you go
www.decathlon.co.za
Plenty of choice and just to save you looking, ZAR1,000 is about £40 so not a bad exchange rate.
Camping Equipment | 10-30% LESS - Decathlon
Tackle your Sport with Confidence. Shop the Right Camping Equipment ✓ More than 65 Sports ✓ Free In-Store Pick-up ✓ Easy Returns ✓ Home Delivery ✓ Secure Payments
www.decathlon.co.za
Plenty of choice and just to save you looking, ZAR1,000 is about £40 so not a bad exchange rate.
As I said earlier, in my somewhat limited experience of Southern Africa in 2012 (6weeks/6,000 miles) decent to good accommodation was easy to find. Hostels, hotels, guest houses AirBnB all easy to find and plentiful. I’m sure it won’t be much different now. We planned for tomorrow the previous night against an itinerary of a big loop from CT up to Vic falls and back. We had Rough Guide and Bradt guidebooks as our main references although the most useful guide was the local travellers bus/hostel book from BazBus. Basically if one their buses stops somewhere there will be a travellers hostel and something else interesting not far away. Mainly covers SA but I think their reach is wider.
With a little forethought about your next day or two it was easy enough to plan somewhere to be for about 3pm. 3pm as it allows 2-3 hours contingency for the unexpected or the unplanned visit to something.
Ride report here will give you a flavour of our trip. https://www.xrv.org.uk/threads/south-africa-namibia-zambia-and-botswana.80930/
Just looked again and realised we camped twice: fish river canyon and near Joburg.
With a little forethought about your next day or two it was easy enough to plan somewhere to be for about 3pm. 3pm as it allows 2-3 hours contingency for the unexpected or the unplanned visit to something.
Ride report here will give you a flavour of our trip. https://www.xrv.org.uk/threads/south-africa-namibia-zambia-and-botswana.80930/
Just looked again and realised we camped twice: fish river canyon and near Joburg.
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