Adventure Before Dementia ZA

12/06/2026

When people assume you don't have a home

After a few days in a city, we head to the bush tomorrow. I am beyond excited! I can't wait to be back in my own home after a few days of luxury in the beautiful guesthouse. But the bush is calling loudly!

It amazes me how many people think that a caravan is not a home, and many of those people spend several months a year living in their caravan.

Besides being asked what we eat, and what a typical day looks like, we frequently get asked if we want to buy a home again.

For those of us who live in our caravans permanently, it seems like a strange question.

We've owned 2 houses. The last one, we lived in for 29 years. But as we took pictures down, and sold off the furniture, it was tranformed from being a home to a house again, just like when we moved in, all those years ago.

Whenever we go anywhere, and we've had enough, we talk about going home. And home is where we park it. Every place we stay at, becomes our home. By the time we leave after a month or more, we have a favourite grocery shop, we have a favourite home industry or farm stall, a favourite walking or cycling route, memories, a favourite view, and of 'cos, favourite people we have met there.

We are often asked what our favourite place is, and that is impossible to say. We have stayed at over 20 different camps sites since April 2025, and each offers something different. And the people at the sites are so different! Sometimes it's the nature that makes a place wonderful. Sometimes it's the people. In many places, it's both!

So yes, we do have a home! But it's like living in a virtual reality game. Instead of just pushing a button for the next scene, we have to pack up and drive, but that's ok. It not virtual reality, it is reality, warts and all! Just like someone living in a house at a fixed address.

Just with less housework, and no municipal account!

10/06/2026

Living our dream!

Sometimes I have to pinch myself to check this is not all some fantastic dream!

We're in our 14th month of traveling around South Africa, living in a caravan this is 1.5 times the size of the en-suite bathroom in the house we sold. We also got rid of all our possessions, and have embraced life as Trailer Park Trash, as we would have called someone living like this in the 1980s. Or nomads. I suppose that sounds better.

During the first year, we left Port Elizabeth for Storm's River. After 5 days, we needed to head back to finalise some business. And then we were truly on our Adventue Before Dementia ZA trip!

Adventure Before Dementia is a global movement, and for a very personal reason, we choose to use the name for our trip.

We've travelled to the Northern Cape, down the West Coast, and back to Port Elizabeth for our daughter's wedding.

Then we headed back to Springbok and down to Cape Town to enjoy the magic of the spring flowers.

Christmas was in Capetown, then back to PE via the Garden Route for a 90th birthday.

Summing up one year of holiday in one post, is no mean feat! But I've given it my best shot.

I haven't labeled the images on purpose. I'd like you to please comment on them, where you think they are from, either from your experience, or photos you have seen.

I'll come back in a couple of days to label them, so check back and see if you were right!

I hope you enjoy them as much a I enjoyed putting them together for you!

10/06/2026

Very true

'n Wyse man het by ’n hoërskool opgetree en 11 reëls genoem wat ’n kind nooit ooit in ’n skool sal leer nie:

1. Die lewe is nie regverdig nie, so raak gewoond daaraan.

2. Die wêreld gee nie ’n duit om vir jou selfrespek nie.

3. Jy sal nie R240 000 ’n jaar verdien net nadat jy skool verlaat het nie. Jy sal nie as ’n ondervoorsitter aangestel word met ’n maatskappymotor totdat jy dit verdien nie.

4. As jy d**k jou onderwyser was moeilik, wag totdat jy ’n baas het.

5. Om hamburgers by Spur te maak, is nie benede jou waardigheid nie. Jou oupa-hulle het ’n ander woord gehad vir “hamburgers maak.” ’n Mens noem dit ’n geleentheid.

6. Wanneer jy ’n gemors maak, is dit nie jou ouers se skuld nie. Moenie daaroor tjank nie. Leer daaruit.

7. Voor jou geboorte was jou ouers nie so “boring” soos nou nie. Hulle moes hulle afsloof vir jou. Voordat jy d**k jy is “cool”, pak liewer jou “hool” reg.

8. Skole wil wegdoen met prestasies, maar die lewe het nie en gaan ook nie. Jy kry genoeg tyd om met 30% in ’n vak te slaag. In die lewe is daar niks wat hiermee ooreenstem nie.

9. Die lewe is nie verdeel in skoolkwartale nie. Daar is nie so iets soos lekker lang vakansies by die see nie. Werkgewers stel nie daarin belang om jou te help om jouself te vind nie. Doen dit in jou eie tyd.

10. Wat jy op TV sien, is nie werklik nie. Dit is egter werklik om op te staan voor daardie TV, die afstandbeheer, die foontjie en die speletjie neer te sit en te gaan werk vir jou voortbestaan.

11. “Be nice to nerds,” die kanse is goed dat jy dalk vir een gaan werk.

08/06/2026

Moving on again. The story of our lives!

It will never cease to amaze me how quickly a month passes! And here we are again, on the next leg of our amazing journey.

Yesterday was pack up day, and then fish and chips for dinner.

But this stop is slightly different. For this stop, a whole 5 days of it, we have indoor plumbing. No walking to the ablutions at 2am. It's actually quite stage knowing that I'll not have to go wandering under the stars in the middle of the night.

Today was a wonderful day though. I got to spend the day with my sister and her husband. Hubby had been asked to help out at his old work, so for the next 5 days, he can't wear his favourite shirt that says "I'm retired. You're not. Have fun at work tomorrow." I think I should have borrowed it and sent him a picture of me wearing it🤣

My sister and I went for a leisurely 7km stroll on the beach, always a winner with me. We walked along the Umhlanga beach, and then back on the promenade. It was a perfect day to be outside, so we really enjoyed it! It was lovely to see the mosaicing and paintings around the pier. And seeing the duiker in the forest was very special.

My sister made a delicious dinner, and it was lovely to sit and catch up with her and her husband. They have just retired, and are going through that crazy period that I remember so well. Getting the medical aid sorted out, UIF, pension. It is crazy busy when you first retire!

It is hard to believe that is is only a year since we went through it, but hard to believe is is already a year since we went through it! We are in our 14th month of living like nomads. And still, every day is a blessing!

Tomorrow I'll be seeing a neighbour and classmate from primary school, so another great day to look forward to.

But for now, I'm ready to turn on. So sleep tight too, all of you!

And thank you for joini g us on this beautiful, crazy journey!

03/06/2026

The moon rises and sets.
The sun rises and sets.
The tide washes the sea over the beach.
The sea retreats, leaving treasures on the sand for me every day.
I find beauty in so many places.
In the words of someone singing in the shower yesterday "What a wonderful world!"

03/06/2026

Our time at Rocky Bay is quickly drawing to an end. And we haven't done nearly enough exploring! So today we invited another couple to join us, and we went for a walk on one of the trails. There is a small fee of R20pp, but the trails are well maintained.

They are through a working sugarcane farm, but there are pockets of indigenous forest which are full of bird calls, even though you don't see them all.

Back at camp, the weather is changing. Some cooler weather is coming in, but it was a great morning out, so we are very content to relax.

31/05/2026

While Hubby is recovering, we have been taking it quite easy. But today we decided a stroll along Pennington beach was in order. It corresponded with Spring Low, so I spent some time investigating the rock pools. It brought back lots of memories of many hours spent exploring the rock pools in my youth.

30/05/2026

I got up far too early this morning, hoping for a beautiful sunrise. That didn't work out.

But the clouds today are unbelievably beautiful. And changing by the minute. There is definitely a weather change coming. But the transition is stunning!

And I could not resist the patterns created by the water.

29/05/2026

Gaudy Commodore
Golden Piper
African Monarch

Please correct me if I have any IDs wrong.