Collecting Tiny (Part 3) - The Trip Home

The first thing was to get out of Johannesburg. This was something that I'd been a little concerned about, towing the new van through busy Johannesburg traffic. I had worried needless as the van towed so easily and before we knew it we were on the outskirts and heading towards to Grasmere toll plaza. Although the plan had been to stop at Aldam estate on the way back, the drive was going very well and although the place had seemed very nice when we stopped on the way up, it had been busy and I didn't feel like people so we decided to push on through to Bloemfontein. On the outskirts of Bloemfontein we stopped at the petrol station on the top of the hill where Vanessa asked about caravan sites in the vicinity, the closest one was apparently accross the road from a strip joint, so that was out and there was one on the other side of Bloem called Toms place. We decided that we would just drive and see what we found. The first one we stopped at was full and they referred us to Reyneke Park. We eventually arrived at about 7.00pm by which time I was quite grumpy and ready to stop. Once there we set up the caravan finishing just as the weather turned threatening, it seemed like a huge thunderstorm was on the way. So much for a braai on our first night in tiny! A trip to Spar followed where we bought some frozen meals. We got back to tiny just as it started raining. We set ourselves up inside and we quite cosy whilst the meals went into the microwave. After 3 minutes the food was still frozen ! Disaster no microwave. After having rolls for supper we went to bed exhausted.

Waking up the next morning things seemed much brighter and although we could have got home that day we decided to have an easy day and only travel as far as Middelburg (about a three hour drive) where we would stop, have a swim, have a braai and leave ourselves about a three and a half hour drive home. We eventually got away at about 10.00am. At first the road was quiet but before long it was a solid stream of traffic heading Johannesburg to the coast, and by the time we got to Colesburg we were happy to leave the N1.

Arriving in Middelburg at about one we headed straight for the caravan site where in no time we were set up. With it being another hot day we decided to take the opportunity for a quick swim. After that a trip into town to buy some bits and pieces for a christening braai for tiny. All in all a very pleasant overnight stop.

The following morning we again left at about 9.00am. We could smell home by now and the roads became more and more familiar. The trip wasn't over though, we decided to stop at the padstaal at Middelton. This padstaal has only been opened for 5 days and is run by recovering addicts from the drug rehabilitation centre in Noupoort. All of the items on sale are made by the residents (even the bread for the toasted sandwiches we ordered was baked on site). Here are some photos, some of which show the merchandise for sale inside the padstaal.
As you can see by the crosses on sale, this is clearly a Christian run operation. We also took a quick drive down to look at the Hotel and Pub, unfortunately I didn't take any photo's but it looked interesting and worth another visit. The pub (tavern) looked particularly interesting being an old solid stone building which I think adds atmosphere to a pub. Next time we pass that way we will definitely stop and have a better look. After leaving Middelton we headed home arriving at about 1.30pm.

The first real getaway is now being planned !!!

Collecting Tiny (Part 2) - The Collection

After breakfast we packed the car and headed off to the factory to collect tiny. The factory was only about 4km away. On arriving there were still some finishing touches to be made. The first thing we checked was the placement of additional handles to assist me to get in and out of tiny, however with the plastic step in place this was not necessary and so was taken off the list. Whilst we waited for the finishing touches we took a quick drive to buy a fitted sheet at the nearby Greenstone shopping mall. When we got back we asked them to show how the Eeziawn which we had requested as an optional extra worked. Whilst it was very nice when errected the process of putting it up was so complex as a result of the way it had to be fitted as well as the fact that apparently Eeziawn had changed the design. After much debate it was decided that it should come off which caused a further delay, however we were in no rush. Here are some pics of the finishing touches being made. Once all the finishing touches had been completed it was time to pay.Finally at about 1.00pm we were on our way !

Collecting Tiny (Part 1) - The Trip To Joburg

Tiny was ready for collection on the 18th December 2008, so the plan was to drive up to Johannesburg (1103km) on Wednesday the 17 th stay overnight, collect tiny on the morning of the 18th immediately leave Johannesburg and then overnight twice on the way home, arriving home on Saturday the 20th.

We managed to get away by 6.00am on the Wednesday morning only half an hour later than the intended start (this is par for the course) with the route taking us through Craddock, Middelburg and Colesburg before we hit the N1 north to Bloemfontein, Kroonstad and Johannesburg. It soon became apparent that the day we had chosen to travel was going to be extremely hot as by the time we got to Craddock at about 9.00am the temperature was already above 30 deg C (and only dropped below thirty at about 7.00pm !).

Whilst travelling past Middelburg we decided to stop and have a look at the Carochalet resort as a possible place to stop on the way back. The resort which is in the middle of town was green and shady and looked perfect as an overnight stop. We then continued on to Colesburg where we stopped at the Ultracity for breakfast/lunch. After lunch we headed north. Somewhere on the other side of Bloemfontein an unknown warning light suddenly came on accompanied by an audible BEEEEEP. Vanessa frantically searched through the manual to find out the meaning of the warning light, eventually finding that it was a tyre pressure warning ! We carried on slowly to the next service station where we found that the pressure on all four tyres was about 3.6 bars, despite the fact that they had only been inflated to about 2.2 bars amazing what the heat can do.

Another stop before hitting the final stretch to Johannesburg was at Aldam Estate which was a potential stopover on the way home. The scenery was magnificent and the place was mentally filed as a possible stop on the return trip.

From there is was back onto the N1 and in to Johannesburg. We had decided we would stay at the Formula One (which we had never used before) in Edenvale (to simplify collecting tiny from the factory in the morning). The hotel room was interesting with a double bed, a single bunk above it, rails under the bunk for hanging clothes, one chair (possibly the most uncomfortable chair ever made, a basin and a small toilet/shower. However the price was right and as we only arrived at 7.00pm after a 13 hour drive, all we wanted was a place to sleep.

After a brief rest we popped out for something to eat at a nearby O'Hagans (about a km away). It was still warm so we sat outside for a very pleasant couple of hours before we both very nearly fell asleep at the pub and decided it was time to hit the sack !

Here you can see Vanessa trying to decide what to have. She eventually chose bangers and mash and was very disappointed when the sausages turned out to be beef ! The food wasn't great but after the long drive we really wanted somewhere close. After supper it was home and straight to bed. The next morning I woke up at 5.00 am much to Vanessa's disgust. She maintains that I made enough noise to wake up the entire hotel (personally I can't see it !). We had breakfast in the hotel which at R24 a head wasn't bad although it was only tea/coffee, cereals and toast with jam. Breakfast is served in what is the effectively the reception area, so a very simple affair.

First Look

Vanessa flew up to Johannesburg armed with a chequebook. Her first reaction on seeing a tiny in progess was that it was to small. However seeing she was there she had to spend the time anyway and went to sit in a tiny with a dinette layout (option 2).

which was just about ready for collection. After sitting in the tiny with a cup of coffee she soon realised that although it was small, it actually had in it everything we needed. Having decided we were going to buy a tiny, it was then time to discuss some options. This is what was decided on :-

Dinette Layout

Extra Table accross from the fridge

Hatch for porta potti

Additional plug under table

Reading light above table.

Whilst there she had a good look at tinys in progress

A deposit was paid and Vanessa flew back in the afternoon. The waiting began with the hope that we would have our tiny by Xmas !!

Deciding on Tiny

We had made the decision to sell our existing caravan, a 1996 Sprite Super Sport some time ago, as it had got to heavy for me to deal with, due to a back problem and our teenage kids didn't often want to come with any more. We hadn't done anything about it, until we saw the Tiny advertised in the August issue of Caravan and Outdoor Life. We immediately decided that this was what we needed, something small enough for us to handle and easy to tow and therefore to tour with.

Our caravan was advertised for sale that weekend and was sold on the first day of being advertised. Here it is on its last day with us. We had bought the Sprite new in 1996 and were sorry to see it go as it held many happy memories for us.

This blog is not about the old but about the new, our Tiny, so here goes. Once the Sprite had been sold, we arranged for Vanessa to fly up Johannesburg to look at the Tiny to decide if it really was what we wanted (there were none in the Eastern Cape for us to look at).