Just cruisin’

Lois Kuhle chatted to Keith Booysen and Bev Jenkins who made their dream come true – cruising canals.

Keith Booysen and Bev Jenkins decided they wanted to ski. They built a boat, went to England and spent their kid’s inheritance.  And so “Little P” – the name of a wonderful, colourful canal boat that brought Keith and Bev months of fun and adventure earlier this year – learnt to ski.

See our picture gallery below.

“Penny is my daughter,” says Keith – mentioning that she was the one who encouraged him to build the boat – “hence the name”.  The story gets stranger.  “Little P” was built in Botswana, finished off in South Africa and shipped to Oxford in the UK.

“I do safaris for Explore Africa, and through our travel, met Rob Bateman of Ali Boat in Maun, who builds houseboats for the Okavango.  The interior was finished in our front garden in Glenashley, and the final touches, like tanks and solar panels, were added in the UK.”

The pièce de résistance was Bev’s handiwork at painting Little P – by adding her touch of authentic Africa.

“Rumours spread from one lock-keeper to the next that we had shot seven giraffes to get enough skins to cover the boat,” chuckles Keith.

Clearly Little P drew a lot of attention, brightened up many a person’s day, and particularly attracted homesick South Africans.  Keith and Bev proudly flew the flag during the World Cup, when South Africa was the flavour of the month, and they were, no doubt, great ambassadors for our country.

“We met so many wonderful new friends. There is definitely a sense of brotherhood among canal boat travellers.”

Herb gardens

Apparently there are 30 000 registered canal boats in the UK. “Some people sell up everything to live on board,” says Keith. “You can spot them a mile away, complete with Labrador and herb gardens.”

There is a definite clique among canal dwellers, and lock-keepers try to out-do each other with their garden displays.

“There was a South African, Jan, who used to be a lighthouse keeper here before immigrating. Then there are the squonky-bonky ladies (the mind boggles!) who work the locks. They got their name from days gone by when they used to load coal into the boats from wheelbarrows and it’s stuck since then,” says Keith.

The couple travelled nearly 450km, enjoying the stress-free, lazy days of summer. “We didn’t take it too seriously,” admits Keith. “We made mistakes along the way, but it really didn’t matter.  Life isn’t a dress rehearsal. If you don’t make the most of it while you’re here, there’s no second chance!”

They followed their dream, built their boat, are spending their kid’s inheritance – and loving every minute.

Next summer? Little P is contemplating the canals of France.  C’est la vie – and bon voyage!   R