Bush Lapa arrives down under

Another tough South African camper brand has hit the Australian market, with long-standing Adelaide dealer Dario Caravans & Repairs, recently introducing a range of imported Bush Lapa compact off-road camper trailers and hybrid caravans.

Offering similar bullet-proof mix of tough metal and canvas construction as fellow South African off-road brand Conqueror, which has been available in Australia for several years, Dario is currently offering seven models from the Bush Lapa range, from the compact, lightweight two-berth Hopper 2, priced at $46,994, to the biggest Badger 6, which is priced at $61,995 and has a pop-top roof and two canvas wall slide-outs to deliver sleeping for up to six people.

Dario had the ultra-light, four-berth Bush Lapa Hopper 4 model on display at the Melbourne 4x4 Expo this week. Designed for outdoor living, with external kitchen and cupboards, the rugged camper features two internal double beds so all the family can sleep inside.

Even better, Tare weight is just 840kg (with a 1500kg ATM) and with a stumpy 1850mm wide body, 350mm ground clearance, and 44 degree departure, it should easily drag down the roughest off-road tracks behind a 4WD tow vehicle.

The Hopper 4 camper is priced at $49,995, and comes standard with a Bush Wing wrap-around awning, external kitchen with two gas burner cooker and crockery set, front toolbox, side cupboards, jerry can holders, two deep cycle batteries and charger, LED lights, 12V/USB/240V/Hella points, and a 105 litre stainless water tank.

Dario has been offering a ‘show special’ where a number of options including 140W solar panel, 90L fridge, gas bottles, ‘shower’ wing, and gas hot water system, are included for the base price.

All Bush Lapa campers have a body and chassis made from stainless steel, while interior fixtures and doors are of aluminium construction. They ride on solid beam axles with leaf springs and shocks.

The range-topping and better-equipped Badger 6 has a Tare weight of 1140kg and 1800kg ATM, but is slightly less manoevrable off-road with a body that measures 5100m long overall and 1970mm wide.

Dario says it takes around 10 minutes to set up the smaller Hopper 4, and around 15 minutes for the Badger 6.

Dario has been selling Chinese-built Oz Tuff tent trailers for a few years, and is also a retail outlet for Chinese-built Snowy River caravans and Victoria-built Olympic caravans. The Adelaide distributor is seeking agents in other states to help set up a nationwide sales network for the South African-built Bush Lapa campers.