The two girls side by side. Spot the difference? (hint: Betty is on the right).
Now the Cruiser bakkie was certainly a very capable thing, renowned for its feats of strength, endurance and reliability. Though not strictly comfort. Adriaan Smuts Snr, a keen camper and adventurer was well aware of this, so got a custom built canopy made up in order to house all the little luxuries of life a middle aged man may expect to follow him around wherever he may roam on holidays. The canopy however was on the family farm near Belfast, a cool 150km away.
The beautiful Smuts beef farm between Belfast and Dullstroom. Altitude 2000m.
So off to the farm we went - a beautiful holding right at the top of the Highveld - and promptly began to assemble the canopy above the bakkie's bed. A tricky operation. The thing was hung inside an old tractor shed, suspended from some sort of block and tackle device, and had to be lowered in a vertical manner onto the 4 corner posts of the bakkie bed - milimetre perfect. The trickiest part was reversing the vehicle under the frame into the exact location. She was hard up against the wall and even the slightest scratch was not an option. Anyway, much cursing, broken nails, trapped and bloody fingers and tyre marks later we got it mounted. With a 75L water tank and 2 x 75L petrol tanks inside. Oh and an enormous battery pack that weighed half a ton.
Canopy on - finally. Only 3 knuckles left unskinned after the operation.
After a quick drive around the farmlands and handrolling the heavy old Massey back into the shed we got back on track to Whiteriver. We were in the mood for work and loving it so we powered on through lunch and kept on going with the packing. Next into her was the most essential and valuable item in our possession: two Engel 40L freezers. These freezers, which would reliably keep our rumpsteaks and G&T ice at a steady -18C for the next week, were an absolute godsend and a miracle of engineering. And I didn't even know such a thing existed. Talk about posh! After filling the water tank and stocking the kitchenette (the rear left hand panel, above) with plastic cutlery and crockery, steak knives, a tin opener, red wine glasses and champagne flutes we began filling the aluminium racks inside with ammo boxes full of essentials. One full of 4x4 tools and spares, one full of clothes each, one of snorkelling gear and around 6 others which we'd fill with food and drink the next day. By dusk we were done with all the hardware aspects of the packing, leaving only the consumables for the next day. We had surely earned our bit of supper out in that heat so upon nightfall we lit up the braai and seared some dandy sirloins that were lying in the fridge. The one or two Windhoeks that accompanied the steaks more or less evaporated once they hit the tongue. There's really no other pleasure in the world like it.
After some digestion, and a little hesitation, we went down to the Mango Lounge in town. Perhaps one of White River's two to four pubs, and with 6 customers inside, the busiest in town this night. We took a drink and that was it. Company wasn't great (loudmouth 1st year college students) and to be honest we weren't the most talkative either what with the fatigue of the day. My God was I glad to haul my little legs into leaba that night.
Packing the Cruiser - see if you can spot the following: LandCruiser, 2 spare wheels, awning, roof tent, camping chairs, cooler box, several ammo boxes, fold-out kitchenette, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Jack Russell, some Hairy Thing, Cadac gas tank and skottel, binoculars, socket set, snorkel gear, camping mat, Engel freezer, Christiaan.
