You’ll have read in these annals that the Gees have acquired a camper van, specifically a 1995 Mazda Bongo. After tootling around in it locally, the time came for its first Sea Trial, as it were. So one Friday during ferocious heat we drove it across country, from Cromer, 319 miles westward to Carmarthenshire, for a long weekend. As well as giving the van a shakedown this allowed us to visit relatives we’d meant to visit in 2019 until you-know-what happened.
Although we arrived in a somewhat wilted state after eight hours on the road, as attested by the architecturally wayward state of the awning when I erected it (see picture) the Bongo scarcely broke a sweat during the journey.
On the first night Mrs Gee slept in the fold-out ‘rock’n’roll’ bed in the van, but I was keen to try the pop-up tent in the roof. This was OK, except whenever I turned over, the whole van shook. On the plus side it showed that the van has excellent suspension. For the remaining two nights I slept much more happily on the ground inside the awning.
We never worked out how to use the inbuilt gas burner, which was OK as we much preferred to brew outside on a camping gaz stove. I also couldn’t work out how to get the water pump to work — the one that pumps water from the jerry can stowed in a rear compartment into the tap in the sink next to the (unused) gas burner. I discovered why — a plug had come loose. I fixed it… neglecting to check that the tap inside was off, and pointing into the sink. Neither was true, and we had a minor flood in which one of the internal lights got fritzed. Oh well.
We also learned that despite its somewhat wilted appearance, the awning did actually stay up when we disconnected it and drove the Bongo to the pub… and was still erect, if not exactly tumid, on our return. Result!
We had a lovely break, during which we caught up with our relations and met some very friendly indigenes (see picture) but the time came to depart. By Monday the weather had broken somewhat, and keen to avoid the horrendous roadworks on the M5 motorway, we decided to try the scenic route, driving through mid-Wales until we popped out in the West Midlands in the general direction of Herefordshire. The charming and domesticated hills and valleys of Carmarthenshire slowly gave way to the altogether more wild and rugged terrain of Powys. The road between Llandovery and Builth Wells climbed up and up into the kind of landscape one usually only sees in TV commercials for performance cars. It was only here that the 2.5-litre diesel engine of the Bongo met a challenge, but mainly because I was unused to the gear-changing characteristics of the automatic gearbox.
We arrived safely home to find that the Offspring had minded the shop with quiet efficiency. Only later did we realise that this was the first break Mrs Gee and I had enjoyed together since the last millennium. The only thing amiss with the Bongo is a certain intermittency of the electrics that winds the windows up and down, so it’s now back in the garage for a tweak. More adventures await.
