The CCSA has 30 regions and 550 rallies a year. Several Kampi staff are members. Here's what a caravan club rally actually looks like and how to join.
There's a specific kind of weekend that a lot of South Africans don't know exists. No hotel bookings, no Airbnb checkout stress, no R800 restaurant dinners. Just your caravan, a camp chair, a fire, and 30 or 40 other families who showed up to do the same thing. That's a CCSA rally. And once you've been to one, you'll wonder why nobody told you about it sooner.
The Caravan Club of Southern Africa (CCSA, or KSA in Afrikaans) has been running since 1947. Four couples met in a Joburg hotel lounge, decided they were tired of camping alone, and started something that now spans 30 regions across the country with roughly 550 rallies a year. That's a camping weekend available to you almost every month, already planned, with people who actually want to be there.
Several of us at Kampi are CCSA members. We camp with the Magalies Region in the North West, and we've seen firsthand what this club does for people who love the outdoors.
This article is for anyone who's been curious about caravan clubs, anyone whose mate keeps dragging them to "just one more rally," and especially for people who don't own a caravan but still want in.
A rally is a group camping weekend at a caravan park. Your region picks the park, one member volunteers as Marshal for that weekend (it rotates), and everyone pitches up on Friday afternoon. You park, set up, light the fire, crack a cold one.
Saturday is the main day. There's usually jukskei (the classic Afrikaner folk game that's been played since the 1700s), volleyball, tug-of-war, maybe a potjiekos competition or a braai-off. Some rallies have themes: fancy dress, fishing weekends, progressive dinners where you eat starters at one caravan, mains at another, and dessert at a third.
Nothing is compulsory. If you want to play jukskei until your arm falls off, go for it. If you want to sit in your camp chair, read a book, and only surface for the braai, nobody blinks. The CCSA has always been clear on this: "Nothing within the normal run of a rally is forced upon anyone."
Sunday is pack-up, coffee, last chats, and the drive home with that specific kind of relaxation that only comes from two days without screens and schedules.
The CCSA is organised into about 30 regions across South Africa. Each region has a small volunteer committee (chairman, secretary, treasurer) and runs up to 6 regional rallies a year. On top of that, there are 6 national rally weekends where every region in the country camps simultaneously at different parks. Every third year, a big event called Rally South Africa brings everyone together in one place.
You join your nearest region based on where you live. In our case, that's the Magalies Region, which covers the Magaliesberg corridor and falls under Northern Regions Area C alongside Pretoria, Jacaranda, Far Northerns, and Rustenburg.
Between nationals and regionals, you can camp once a month, every month of the year, with a group that handles all the planning.
That's R55 a month to have your camping calendar sorted for the year. To join, download the enquiry form (PDF), fill it in, and email it to [email protected] if you're in the Magalies area (or to [email protected] for other regions). No pressure, no obligations until you're ready.
Several Kampi staff members camp with the Magalies Region and we're not shy about it. The group rallies at parks across the Magaliesberg and North West: ATKV Buffelspoort, Klein Paradys, Kokoriba, Bosveld Oase, all within an hour or two of Pretoria and Joburg.
The Magalies Region has a competitive streak. At the Vyfster Weekend Rally, Magalies and Pretoria traditionally lead the scoreboard in jukskei, volleyball, and tug-of-war. There's a healthy rivalry that makes the games worth watching even if you're not playing.
But the competitive stuff is just the surface. What keeps people coming back is the community. New members get welcomed in properly. You'll have someone show you the ropes at your first rally, help you park, invite you to their fire. It's the kind of thing you can't manufacture.
Follow the CCSA Magalies Region on Facebook to see what upcoming rallies look like.
Plenty of people own caravans and never join a club. That's fine. But there are real things you're giving up.
For one, someone else does the planning. Every rally has a venue, dates, and activities sorted. You just show up. No "where should we go this weekend?" debates on a Tuesday night.
Rallies also get negotiated group rates at parks, so you typically pay less per night than booking on your own. And camping with 30 to 60 other caravans is just safer. There's always someone nearby if the bakkie won't start or one of the kids falls off something they shouldn't have been climbing.
Speaking of kids: rally weekends are the one time they run free between caravans, make friends they see every month, play outside until it's dark, and come back filthy and happy. It's the kind of childhood that's getting rare, and it happens naturally in a club setting.
Then there's the knowledge. Experienced members know the routes, the parks, the gear, and the shortcuts. That one uncle who's been caravanning since the 80s will save you thousands in mistakes you didn't know you were about to make.
Over time, the club becomes your social calendar. Birthday parties, anniversary celebrations, progressive dinners, jukskei championships, friendships that last decades. Some members have attended over 200 national rallies. Two hundred weekends. Think about that.
You don't need to own a caravan to join a CCSA rally. The club welcomes caravans, motorhomes, off-road trailers, and tents. If you've got a friend who keeps telling you about their rally weekends, the barrier to joining them is lower than you think.
Kampi has over 360 campers listed across South Africa, starting from R519 a day. That includes insurance. Pick one up from a local owner on Thursday or Friday, drive to the rally, camp for the weekend, and return it Sunday or Monday. Your total cost for a full rally weekend, including the camper rental, is probably less than a single night at a mid-range lodge.
If you're thinking about buying a caravan, a rally weekend in a rented camper is a proper test. You'll learn what size works for your family, whether you prefer a tent trailer or a hard-shell caravan, and whether the lifestyle actually suits you. All of that in a real camping environment with experienced people around to answer questions. We've written about this before: rent before you buy. It's the smartest move in caravanning.
Every rental includes R89/day insurance cover and 24/7 roadside assistance. If you don't have an EB license, there are trailers under 750 kg that you can tow on a Code B. Browse them at kampi.co.za/no-eb-license.
The CCSA was founded on 2 June 1947 when four caravan enthusiasts and their wives met in a Johannesburg hotel. They called it the Rand Caravan Club. By September that year, they'd renamed it the Caravan Club of Southern Africa. Their first rally was at Gillooly's Farm in Johannesburg on 12 October 1947, with Wools Brockhoven as the first Marshal.
Back then, South Africa had almost no caravan parks and no local caravan manufacturers. Caravans were either homemade or imported. Eddie Andries, one of the founding members, built some of the country's first caravans in Standerton and later pioneered the Gypsey range. He's still recognised through the Eddie Andries Trophy, the top award in Southern African caravanning.
Over those 78 years, the CCSA helped push South Africa from having almost no caravan parks to a country with world-class facilities. The club sits on committees of the SA Road Federation, SA Nature Union, and Bureau of Standards.
When you join the CCSA, you're joining something that's been running since your grandparents' time. That counts for something.
See you at the next rally. Bring the biltong.
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The Caravan Club of Southern Africa, a membership club for caravanners with branches across the country.
Contact CCSA directly through the CCSA website to apply. Membership is open to caravan owners and renters who camp regularly.
Access to private rallies, discounted stays at affiliated sites, technical advice, social events, and an established community of experienced caravanners.
Not necessarily, but regular participation is expected. Many members start as renters on Kampi and join the club as they commit to the hobby.