Text: Leilani Basson
Photography: Jannie Herbst
“I just got fed-up with cold coffee on hunting trips,” says Martie, a shy, soft-spoken farmer’s wife and serious hunter from Thabazimbi. “You can only pack so many flasks, and at the end of the day, the coffee just tastes horrible.
“I said to André: ‘I want a built-in kettle and a tray with holes for the cups so I can make fresh coffee wherever and whenever I want it.’ ”
This is how the De Witt’s long and rather costly relationship with various 4×4 accessory suppliers started. A tray was created by Cellsound to fit snugly on top of the grab handle above the cubbyhole. An Outdoors Warehouse kettle was mounted onto the tray and the cord shortened, and holes were cut into the tray to hold the two aluminium cups.
“It was perfect,” says Martie. All the accompanying sachets of coffee, sugar, sweetener, Crémora and cappuccino were subsequently “Tuppered” (stored in Tupperware containers) and stashed in a mini cooler bag with a wet cloth, milk and some snacks. “Neat and tidy and nothing rolling around.”
After every hunting trip Martie returned with another request. “I wanted electricity with real plugs so I could make us real food in a real frying pan and still have free plugs for a toaster, smoothie maker and maybe even a hairdryer.”
The Land Cruiser was booked in at Cellsound again and came back with a dual battery system, an inverter and three three-point-plugs in a neat black lockable console underneath the bodywork, below and aft of Martie’s door.
The next modification was a step at the back of the vehicle, under the bumper. “I am a bit of a midget,” Martie laughs. “The children always joke and say they’re going to Velcro my head to the ceiling of the car so I can see over the dashboard. But really, being so short makes getting in and out of the bakkie, or reaching stuff, a pain. Now I can climb in and out with ease without even opening the tailgate.”