Al-Qalam 
By Ismail Suder
With the summer school holidays not far off, the kids would be chomping at your feet for a costly holiday at a luxury resort. Save the expense and try camping – or even glamping at some of South Africa’s many superior class campsites.
In my experience as a camper, I’ve come across only a handful of Muslim families camping in the true sense of the word. Perhaps the concerns are security, wudu facilities, “Paak Saaf” or privacy concerns. This is understandable and justified in many cases, but today’s top campsites or glamping resorts are in a class of their own – they are operated professionally with all the creature comforts in mind. Some even have private bathrooms and enclosed kitchen areas tastefully built around riverfrontages, mountainsides or natural forests with emphasis on private space.
Some campsites even have tented accommodation ready to move in, so you don’t have the expense of purchasing or hiring camping gear.
Not long ago I did a solo camping trip in my kitted Suzuki Jimny across the Eastern and Western seaboards of South Africa – a distance of 5000km over 40 days (including a few days of Ramadaan) It was one of the most magical moments of my life – a joy of peace and freedom in nature that cannot be explained unless you experience for yourself. Yes, hard-core camping can be difficult, particularly when you have to get up in the middle of the night and trudge to the communal bathrooms, 100m away but those are what memories are made off.
But, if hard-core camping is not your thing, AfriCamps Boutique Glamping, for instance (located at many spots across the country) and offers all the creature comforts in the midst of nature; maybe your kind of holiday for your family.
Why a holiday in nature, you ask?
Camping with your children builds stronger family bonds, teaches valuable life skills, and costs much less than a luxury hotel. While a fancy hotel offers comfort and pampering, camping removes daily distractions like screens and schedules. This allows your family to connect deeply with nature and each other. It’s also a good opportunity for families to put down their cell phones and actually talk.
Teamwork creates stronger bonds when you get the kids involved in doing camping chores, braaing the meat, talking and playing games, going on forest trails, overcoming small challenges during a storm, or a campfire that won’t start creates stories you will tell for years. Best of all, reading salah with the family in the heart of nature, alongside a flowing river, at the foot of a mountain or amidst the sounds of a forest.
These memories will stick with your children right through adulthood.
For me, this summer, insha’Allah, I intend travelling solo and camping all the way to Hazyview, in Mpumalanga – to the Kruger National Park – one of the largest, most diverse wildlife sanctuaries on earth.
If you’d like to check out my camping journey, head out to my Instagram page and follow @jimny_go_afrika
