Living Tiny in Southern Africa was created by film maker Don Morris who has produced over 600 films and TV programs that have been broadcast on television all over the world. He also created and produces a number of RU-vid channels including HOWit'sMADE, diymovies SA and Living Tiny in Southern Africa. Apart from being a very successful producer, Don Morris is also a musician and makes many of the music tracks that he uses for his productions. An adventurer at heart, he has lived in many parts of the world including 10 years in the United States, 14 periods of between a month and 4 months in England and a year in new Zealand. At present he is travelling around Southern Africa in his caravan, spending between one and six months in an area to discover the secrets of the this fascinating region. Don Morris may be contacted at gmtelevision@aol.com
Many happy travels for you two. You've got what it takes. Did you stay at Kromklip, outside Lydenburg, with the Pretorius family? Blessings to you, Corné - Limpopo, South Africa
I’m sorry to hear of your negative experiences in Mozambique but these are at odds with my own over the month of May. The only hint of corruption was with a policeman in Xai Xai who soon realised I was an experienced traveler. My Visa card worked as far up as Inhassoro ( but I always checked before buying).and rand was NOT useable anywhere away from Ponta du Ouro. When I bought my insurance and collected my TIP it clearly had an expiry date of 30 days. In SA if your licence expires they fine you, same in Moz. While I agree with you about the campsite, there are 4 others in Ponta and a further 7 within 20 km.
Thanks for your reply Mark. It's important to note that the other campsites in Ponta do Ouro are far from the beach, down some very bad roads and do not offer longer stay rates. Other campsites in the area can only be accessed by 4 x 4.
Hi. I’ve bounced through all sorts of borders in Southern Africa( as far as Kenya). My general rules are 1) I always cross in jeans, collared shirt & shoes. ( even if I take them off 5 km into the country) - shows a bit of respect. 2) all my documents are in a flip file and easily at hand. I have copies with details highlighted which I hand to the officials ( if I make their life easier they’ll make mine easy). 3) always smiling, respectful and pleasant to the officials( they have the power to make your life hell) 4) in known difficult crossings ( eg. Tunduma ) I use a runner - the cost is worth it.
I turned in there in May 2024. All looked well but didn’t “feel” right. I went for a drive and ended up at Ponta ( I have a 4x4) where i stayed for a week.
A Tiny House would suit me to the ground! I'm going to be living in SA again after being in Europe for the last 25 years, and a house like this would be just what I need. Will be getting in touch soon 👍 Also, I would like it to be off-grid, so solar and gas would be good. I hope that can be done.
Mozambique is no picnic. You have to shop around. You need advice. It can be the best and the worst place. And the locals will take advantage of you if you allow it. Mozambique is completely different to the other countries in SADC. And it's expensive. But it can be magic.
Unfortunately the Enkulu 4 caravan is no longer available. This was my choice, until they told me that they no longer manufacture it. I have now bought a Liberty Cruiser (manufactured in Port Elizabeth) and I'm extremely happy with it.
T'S NOT NICE to have hundreds of worms clinging to one's body, no matter how dangerous they are - or not. Campers should be warned or at least informed that these worms are in the dam - where people are encouraged to swim. Instead I got a "sure there's nothing dangerous in there, it's hot, have a dip" from the owners.
I'm surprised to get this response, is this from the owner?? Trying to dilute the seriousness of the matter? IT'S NOT NICE to have hundreds of worms clinging to one's body, no matter how dangerous they are - or not. Campers should be warned or at least informed that these worms are in the dam - where people are encouraged to swim. Instead I got a "sure there's nothing dangerous in there, it's hot, have a dip" from the owners. It's easy to put up a sign warning campers about the worms, there are plenty of signs up for all sorts of other things at Glennscheilling. But I've found that many owners will do their best to hide anything that may cause them to lose business, from dead bodies to filthy water containing fecal matter (they'll just let you drink it) to worms in the swimming place and on and on. This needs to be addressed in South Africa. Owners that hide anything like that from campers are crooks in my book. And there seem to be plenty of crooks around.
Hi Don Do you have a contact no from Foster? We are coming back to SA beginning next year. We also want to start caravaning. In the future, a mud house would be great. Regards Jurgen
I camped in Mozambique last year. I will never go back there again. Can’t stand border crossings with the corrupt pigs there. So I’m sorry Mozambique government. You lost out on my revenue.
You tell it all so comically I chuckled roundly. Now I know why EVERYBODY who I have heard about it simply says they've been there and say nothing more
Nice place to put on my bucket list. One question... how is your caravan on dirt roads? I am undecided as to what type of caravan to buy (second hand), one of these 4x4 types, or a standard caravan (which is my preference). I hope to travel provincial dirt roads, but no extreme tracks..
Hi Kevin, 4X4 caravans are very expensive. You can get great deals on used standard caravans. My caravan is a standard caravan and it handles reasonable dirt roads just fine. But there is a lot more shaking of the body on some of the rougher roads. The shaking causes body panels and caulking to loosen and eventually leak. Water will rot the interior wall framework wood. If you're able to, repair this yourself (and it's not too difficult - I have just done repairs to all the corners and windows of my caravan). The cost was less than R2,000 for all the repairs and my caravan is 30 years old. So, I bought the caravan for R50,000 including 2 outside tents in almost new condition and 2 add-a-rooms. I spent R20,000 renovating it - modernised interior, shower installed, plumbed it with hot water, new LED lighting etc. I've spent R2,000 on repairs (+ about 12 hours of my labour) Total spend less than R75,000 A used 4X4 caravan will cost you around R500,000 plus. My suggestion is buy an old standard caravan and do it up yourself. You can get to most places in it. Any repairs - learn to fix them yourself (the university of RU-vid) If you want to go to a place that has really bad roads, like Mozambique, load a tent in the car and use that for your trip. But if you want to travel around Southern Africa and spend a month or 2 in each place, take the caravan. It's much more comfortable and it's a nice home. In my opinion a 4X4 caravan is a HUGE waste of money. The R400,000 that you save will pay for a lot of chops and beers and will cover 4 or 5 years of caravan park monthly fees. If you worry about those people who will look down on you for not having an expensive, modern new 4X4 caravan, put a large 4X4 sticker on each side of your rig 🤣 Good luck.
My mom was quite an intrepid traveller. She sold everything bought a caravan and traversed South Africa all on her own! Until she couldn't anymore. Sadly she passed away exactly a year ago today. Not many widows in their late 50's / 60's would have the gutsiness to do what she did.
I have been drinking SA tap water from when I was born till 2018 I am 60 years old since 2020 some municipalities water quality has deteriorated and now I filter all my water
Hi guy's I recently retired - built a tiny house on wheels - been visiting some nice well run camping sites such as Warmbaths, Jongensfontein stillbaai just to name a few - there's lots of other good caravan parks to choose from - most charge just under R4K per month and you can stay for a maximum of 3 months on same site - my TH was built from a 3m x 2.3m second hand cargo trailer - it's got all the comforts of home - it's even got a TV and Air fryer with a skylight for the night stars - is totally off grid with eskom connectivity but like you and most like minded, I would love to be a homesteader - as much as possible grow my own food on my own 2 hectare plot with a lovely view that's to die for. Land in the Western Cape is just too expensive - I really wish and we should lobby government and municipalities to make this type of land available for sale - I just love this type of lifestyle - watsapp me 082 5741465 for more advice /information on TH building and videos etc
