CAMPING THE KIWI WAY

Our caravanning days started 12 years ago to take over from going tenting which we did for a number of years when our two boys were younger. At that time we lived in a small granny flat and I said to my husband if we are going to buy a tent I want to be able to stand up in it. So we ended up getting a 2-roomed one. Our boys were 8 and 6 years old, the younger one, Rueben, having severe autism. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy and that we would learn to deal with things as they happened and some we could prepare for beforehand.

Two of the constant issues was the loud nursery rhyme music and the screaming. And when you only have canvas between you and your fellow tenters, and the night seems to make noise a lot louder, you do lots of things to keep the decibel sounds down including bribery. While our older son helped out a lot, eventually there came a time when he didn’t want to go camping with mum and dad. 

So we started looking at getting a caravan as we really needed to have three people to put up the tent, and my husband didn’t have the best of health either. Being on a low income we couldn’t afford to buy the caravan so we remortgaged and made it manageable for Reuben to be able to pay one off. Our options were limited but eventually we found a big clunky one and even though Reuben has never understood that he owns it he calls it Reuben’s caravan. 

From then on we could continue our camping holidays with our very best friends Marty and Diana. Although Reuben was getting older there were always going to be challenges taking a special-needs child away and sometimes we didn’t know what they would be until we got to the camp ground. Sometimes we went to the same place more than once, sometimes a different place.

One of the things that could have been a bigger issue but, thankfully, hasn’t turned out to be, (well so far), is that even as Reuben’s got older he still needs help with his toileting and showering. Me being his mum and doing it a lot of the time, I couldn’t go with him into the men’s toilets. So I would take him into the female ones. Sometimes there’s a few raised eyebrows but no one has ever queried it. As the years have gone by it has been made easier as though Reuben still needs the help with his personal care, more and more campgrounds have the provision of a disability toilet and shower.

Another issue we had was that Reuben was a runner. One minute he was there then blink and he was gone. So we were constantly on high alert to watch him, because when he did disappear he would go straight to the beach or lake. He loved water. As the years went by he took off less and less. Because he has bonded with a portable dvd player (it became like a second skin to him), he was very happy to watch that rather than run, and we were very happy to start getting more rest. After years the screaming starting to lessen and the caravan walls were slightly thicker than the tent ones so the noise was a bit more muffled. We only have to listen to the nursery rhymes now and sometimes they even put us to sleep.

The one thing we must have, when booking our camping trip, is a powered site. That is non-negotiable as Reuben must have power for his electrical equipment that has to go with him when we go camping. Many of the owner-caretakers of the campgrounds have been very accomodating in putting us on a powered site as close as they can to the toilet block in case Reuben did wander off and go to the toilet without us noticing. We never had far to walk. 

It was easier, having the caravan, knowing that at the end of the holiday most things had their place inside. Only a few things had to be brought inside before you could shut the caravan door and leave. It didn’t matter if you got home and couldn’t unpack everything straight away, it was all under cover. 

Sadly, our caravanning days are slowly coming to an end. In all the years of driving with it I never learnt to reverse it. Charlie or Marty did that. A small house bus/motor home (all-in-one) would be a lot better but that isn’t financially possible. But I’m not looking at giving up camping. We still want to be able to take Reuben away even as we are getting older. So the next option will be going to campgrounds with cabins. We can still keep making new memories and holidaying with our best friends, it just wont be on 2 wheels. ◊

Dannevirke campground goes accessible | Read Alice’s journey