We had so enjoyed motor-homing in New Zealand that when the opportunity came to take Cubby, our own motor home, to the Valentine Rally at Monateng, we jumped at the opportunity. Although we had only been home 3 weeks, we looked forward to getting out into nature again.
The New Zealand Holiday Parks (not called “Caravan Parks”) were lovely and we stayed mostly at Top 10 Holiday Parks which are probably top of the range. Besides the usual ablution block and laundry, they also had a kitchen which included one or more stoves, one or more toasters and a fridge and freezer where one could store food in a labelled container. Also there were a number of sinks for washing up, sometimes even supplying the dishwashing liquid. ‘There was usually a dining area as well and sometimes a barbeque. These were not as exciting as a South African might think. They were all gas fired and in 80% of the cases consisted of a metal plate with a hole in the middle, more like a skottel than a braai. There was no such thing as individual braai areas for each site and to be honest, meat was so expensive that not many people would think of having a braai for supper every night like we might regard as holiday fare.
Monateng gave us all the things we had missed. First of all the space. In New Zealand, motor home sites are tiny. Just enough space to park on and possibly one or two metres on the side with a bit of grass if you are lucky. Admittedly, however they are flat and there is never the need to put down the jacks.
Compare our site this weekend,
Something else I was so happy to see, was a bath. In New Zealand it is almost all showers and usually there is a button outside the cubicle that you push to get 5 minutes hot water. On one occasion we had to buy tokens to put into a slot in the shower cubicle for about three minutes of hot water. Sometimes there are “family bathrooms” where there might be a sort of half bath. In desperation I occasionally tried these and ended up with my chin on my bent knees. Imagine my delight when I saw not one, but three large baths in the ladies’ bathroom at Monateng
We had a lovely weekend. There is a large cool pool which was very necessary in the heat (about 35 degrees). On Saturday night a potjie dinner dance was organised in the lapa. There were 8 different potjies as well as starters and pudding.
So Monateng, you compare very well with the best of New Zealand Holiday Parks and have the added attraction of wild animals in the park. (We saw a large herd of buck as we drove along the entrance road.) We are looking forward to visiting some other nearby Caravan Parks.
