Who are the Cloetes?
Rut: Charma (8) is our little girl. Some of her favourite activities include swimming in the sea and discovering treats in the padkos basket. Our son Declan (12) is the comedian and always keeps us entertained. He doesn’t shy away from starting conversations with strangers – we owe most of the friendships we’ve made on the road to him. Pieter and I share the duty of adding structure to our“free” lifestyle. He inspires us to try new things. I’m the organiser who loves to tick items off the list. Together we’re the Cloetes!
What inspired you to pack up your life and go on a countrywide road trip?
Pieter: In November 2017, our neighbour in Pretoria told us about one of his retired clients who was planning to tour South Africa in a bakkie and caravan. We couldn’t stop talking about this man’s plan. I felt a twinge of envy for the massive adventure he was about to embark on; all that loomed ahead for us was monotonous routine and countless school obligations.
Rut:We have our own payroll processing business. We used to have offies in Braamfontein, but since 2010 we’ve both been working from home.We realised that we could station ourselves anywhere in South Africa – there was nothing physically tethering us to Pretoria, besides the kids’schooling.
Pieter: After some discussion we decided we could homeschool the children, splitting the load between the two of us. Now the question was:Why not?
This story is from the October/November 2020 edition of go! - South Africa.
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This story is from the October/November 2020 edition of go! - South Africa.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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