Travelling through South Africa - some things we've learnt about self-catering accommodation

simple things make us happy - like having a "braai" 

When we set off on our adventure, we had already decided (after some investigations) that the camping options in South Africa are simply too expensive to consider for a year long roadtrip.

So we have been staying in self catering units these past few months, except for when we actually did camp at St lucia.

We are currently in our fourth month and we have learnt some things along the way regarding self catering units in South Africa.

1. Everyone's standard of cleanliness is not the same.
To overcome this, we have formed a habit of travelling with cloths and handy andy to clean where necessary.
The funny thing is that most places do not place a broom or a mop in the unit so cleaning remains a challenge. We have stayed in a few places where the cupboards were puke-invokingly dirty... not sure how that works.. but anyway.

2. The basics are not always provided.
You'd think that any place that labels itself as "self-catering" would provide essentials. Not so.
We arrived one Sunday in a small town where all the shops were closed at 14h00, and guess what...
There was no toilet paper in our unit.

At another place we stayed only 2 towels were provided in a 4 sleeper unit.
We stayed at another place (also a 4 sleeper) where only 2 of each cutlery was provided - knives and forks, cups and plates, glasses and spoons.. that however was still better than the place where the only cutlery provided were spoons!

3. Every place has its own smell
And it is not always pleasant.
One place we stayed at smelled like wet dirt and old cigarettes. Another smelled like polish, hectic polish... as if it was used as a room freshner and not to polish furniture with. Some places smelled like my mom in law's house which was nice.
If we stay long enough, the smell goes away, and it starts smelling like us.

4. Hosts seem to forget to provide a place to sit and eat at
Very few places provide a table and chairs so that you can sit and eat there. This means we have to sit on the sofas, or worse - the beds - to eat. This also means that if we want to work, or let the kids do schoolwork, we cannot sit at a table.
This is unfortunately because self catering units are extremely small.
Which brings me to the last point.

5. People seem to want to squeeze bathrooms into unimaginably small spaces

This makes showering, washing, toileting etc. very difficult.
We stayed in one place where you literally had to turn sideways to move past the bath to the toilet. In another you easily got stuck in the shower if you closed the bathroom door because the door couldn't shut properly and moved in from of the shower door centimeters from it.

Aside from all these challenges we still thoroughly enjoy our travels. It is such a privilege to be able to do this as a family and to see our beautiful country.

(Some of our favourite places to have booked into were:

Shangri-la holiday flats in Kingsburgh (we booked them through airbnb)
Klip kloof close to the White Umfolozi river
Mtunzini forest lodge in Mtunzini