Nine dogs, two agility trainers and one remarkably well-suited caravan. For Jacqui and Flo Kirkland Purves, life on the road is anything but ordinary – yet their dual-door Ausflex Southern Alps has proved the perfect fit for their four-legged travelling crew.
The RV adventures of Jacqui and Flo almost sounds like the start of a classic joke. How many dogs can you fit in an Ausflex Southern Alps caravan? The answer, it turns out, is nine impeccably trained agility dogs – with two humans comfortably accommodated also.
Step inside the couple’s 23ft dual-door Ausflex Southern Alps and it quickly becomes clear this is no ordinary caravanning set-up. The rear triple-bunk area has effectively become canine HQ, cleverly adapted so every member of the Kirkwell dog family has a place to sleep, relax and recover after a hard day on the agility course.
The oldest dogs sleep at the bottom. The more athletic members of the family claim the middle level, while the youngsters sleep safely in crates up top, where there’s no risk of an overenthusiastic midnight leap.
“They know when it’s bedtime,” Jacqui laughs. “They just jump in, go to bed and they’re happy. Normally they’re absolutely knackered because they’ve worked their hearts out.”
Each bunk even has its own window.
“They’ve almost got more space than we have,” laughs Flo.
Despite the unorthodox set up; remarkably, very little of the caravan’s original layout needed changing to make it work.
“You literally couldn’t purpose-build it much better,” says Jacqui.
Brought together by dogs
It seems fitting that dogs sit at the heart of Jacqui and Flo’s travels. After all, they’re also the reason the couple met.
Flo arrived in New Zealand from England in 2016, bringing her young cockapoo Lola with her. Growing up in Yorkshire in a dog-loving family with roots in the Scottish Borders and gamekeeping, she had always been surrounded by working spaniels, lurchers and collies.
Agility came later, when Flo simply wanted something she and her dog could enjoy together.
Before arriving in New Zealand, she contacted North Shore Dog Training Club to make sure she could continue with the sport. It was there she met Kiwi-born Jacqui – who happened to be teaching one of Flo’s classes.
Jacqui’s own involvement in agility stretches back decades. Having grown up with family dogs, her first introduction to the sport came after watching agility and flyball at the World Dog Games in Australia. She returned home inspired and, together with her eldest daughter, decided to give it a go.
Her first agility dog, Jet, a lab-collie cross, may not have been the fastest competitor on course, but she was dependable.
“She was a slow lab-collie, but she was consistent,” Jacqui laughs.
A westie named Sparky followed and Jacqui became increasingly involved in the sport, serving on the North Shore club committee, managing shows and teaching other handlers. Today, she’s also on the senior judges panel for NZ Dog Agility.
Which brings us back to Flo arriving in one of her classes. Dogs, it seems, have a lot to answer for.
A growing canine family
Today, Jacqui and Flo share their lives with nine dogs, ranging from senior family members Cassidy and Tua through to the younger generation of working cocker spaniels. They run their team under the banner of Kirkwell Working Cocker Spaniels – specialising in everything from agility to field and scent work. Both Jacqui and Flo are well respected in the sport and frequently help train and coach other handlers and dogs.
The working Cockers are also part of the couple’s Kirkwell breeding line, developed using carefully selected UK and Scottish bloodlines. Spring arrived from England as a nine-month-old pup, while Shine was collected on one of the more memorable days in the couple’s history – the day New Zealand went into its first Covid lockdown.
By then, Jacqui and Flo had recently married and bought a property away from Auckland. Their move south had been planned for a later date, but lockdown rapidly changed those plans.
“As news of the Covid lockdown hit the airwaves, we looked each other and just said, ‘let’s go’,” Flo recalls.
They loaded a trailer with a mattress, television, chair, two-seater couch, a few plates and pans – and the dogs of course – collecting puppy Shine on the way.
Having left Auckland in a rush and with little time for extensive future-planning, they arrived in the Waikato to an almost empty house on the night of lockdown.
“We thought it wasn’t going to be for long,” Jacqui laughs.
Twelve weeks later, they were still there.
It is a story that sums the pair up rather well. Practical, adaptable and able to see the funny side of chaos – useful qualities when your life revolves around nine dogs and a sport that regularly takes you the length of New Zealand.
Life on the agility circuit
Right: Sleek design and ample storage simplifies keeping living spaces tidy
Dog agility is far more than a weekend hobby for Jacqui and Flo. Between competing, training, judging and running seminars, their calendar is invariably shaped around dogs.
Shows take place throughout the country, often on fields or at A&P grounds where powered sites are scarce.
“We’re never really on grid for shows,” Jacqui explains. “Most of the time you’re in the middle of a field somewhere.”
Over the years, agility has taken them from Whangārei to Invercargill and almost everywhere in between.
Their first dedicated show vehicle was a Mitsubishi Canter campervan Jacqui bought around 2010. Later, the couple moved into a Kia Breeze motorhome, adapting the interior to accommodate their growing canine crew.
Rails and internal platforms created individual travelling and sleeping spaces, wet sheets protected the rear bed and, at one stage, the Luton became a dedicated dog area.
It worked. Until it didn’t.
“I felt like I was living in a kennel,” Flo laughs. “It didn’t matter where you sat, there was either a dog bed or a dog.”
With nine dogs, the problem wasn’t going away.
“You’ve got to make room for everybody and make it a space that works for everyone,” says Jacqui.
Evidently, with no signs of a shrinking dog family and with a set up that was often frustrating, it was time to rethink their RV life.
The caravan that found them
Strangely enough, the couple’s Ausflex Southern Alps almost appeared by accident.
Flo had been looking at caravans online and talking with friends about rear-bunk layouts. The conversation turned to how ideal it would be if a caravan had a separate door into the bunk area.
“I said, ‘Do you know what? It would be so good if we could just cut a door in there’,” Flo recalls. “We could set the dog pen up outside and they could have their own entrance.”
The next day, her friend phoned.
“You’re not going to believe this. My phone’s just shown me a caravan with two doors and bunk beds.”
Better still, it was in Hamilton, not far from where Flo, Jacqui and their Kirkwell team were based.
The caravan was an ex-demo Ausflex Southern Alps at Rugged Kiwi Caravans. Jacqui and Flo went to see it – and bought it.
“It was just perfect for us,” Flo says. “And the fact Rugged Kiwi are local makes life even easier if we need servicing or ever want to add any accessories or extras.”
The exclusive authorised New Zealand dealer for Ausflex Caravans (with a legacy for quality builds dating back to 1972), Rugged Kiwi specialise in layouts that can be tailored to suit different travelling lifestyles. In Jacqui and Flo’s case, however, the standard Southern Alps layout already ticked an extraordinary number of boxes.
The dual doors were certainly a game changer.
“The dogs have their own door and we have our own door,” Flo says. “We can spend time with them, but they can come and go from their space. And we can come and go from ours.”
For two people who had spent years sharing every centimetre of a motorhome with a sizeable dog family, the luxury of a dedicated human zone was significant.
“We can shut the dogs off and this is pure human area,” Flo says, gesturing around the caravan’s living space.
A room of their own
Right: Triple bunks work perfectly for accommodating the well-trained crew
The rear triple bunks have been transformed into one of the smartest dog-friendly caravan set-ups imaginable.
Crates fit neatly into the upper bunks for the younger dogs, while the lower areas provide open sleeping spaces. A removable barrier helps create a secure pen within the bunk zone, and storage cupboards hold dog food, jackets, bedding and equipment.
The second exterior door opens directly into this canine area. On arrival at a show or site, Jacqui and Flo retrieve the portable dog fencing from the caravan’s generous front storage and create a secure outdoor run around the rear entrance.
“Once the pen is up, the dogs are secure, have space to run around outside, but can also choose whether they want to be inside or outside,” Jacqui explains.
A full-length awning provides shelter regardless of the weather over the exterior dog pen, while an additional canvas panel helps enclose the outdoor space. For a group of highly intelligent and athletic dogs, containment occasionally requires a little extra thought – particularly when one discovers that pushing hard enough on Velcro may result in freedom.
“Charlie worked that one out,” Flo laughs. “So we’re going to put zips in.”
As always with dog training and agility, it’s a work in progress.
Mud, paws and practical thinking
Spend enough weekends on agility fields and wet weather is inevitable. It’s here that some of the Southern Alps’ less glamorous features have become firm favourites.
The external hot shower is invaluable.
“You can come back from the beach and desand the dogs before they go inside,” Flo says.
The same applies to muddy paws, shoes and humans after a particularly squelchy weekend. With warm water available when the caravan’s hot water system is running, it’s a simple feature that saves a considerable amount of cleaning.
Exterior lighting is another unexpected hero.
With lights at both the front and rear, Jacqui and Flo can safely take the dogs outside early in the morning or after dark.
“You can see the poop,” Jacqui says with absolute practicality.
These are the details you learn to appreciate when travelling with nine dogs.
The caravan’s large front storage also earns high praise. The portable dog pen lives there, along with outdoor equipment, while the couple’s Weber Baby Q sits on a pull-out barbecue slide ready for action.
Flo says they absolutely love the barbecue.
So much so, the caravan oven and grill remain virtually untouched.
“We rarely use them,” Jacqui admits.
Instead, meals tend to revolve around protein, salads and the barbecue. When travelling with friends from the agility community, the outdoor set-up often becomes a shared kitchen, with one friend bringing a portable smoker.
“It’s not exactly a hard life,” Flo grins.
Comfort off-grid
Life at dog shows demands a good degree of self-sufficiency, and the Ausflex has made that considerably easier.
The large fridge and full freezer are particularly appreciated on multi-day trips, while generous water capacity, solar and onboard battery systems help support off-grid stays. The caravan also has a direct mains water connection for campground stays, allowing Jacqui and Flo to connect straight into the caravan’s water system without drawing from the onboard tanks.
Inside, the full shower is a major step up from the wet bathroom in their previous motorhome.
“Having a proper shower really adds to the feel of comfort when travelling,” says Flo.
Diesel heating and air conditioning add year-round comfort, while USB-equipped lights and charging points are liberally spread throughout the caravan. The sound system has both internal and external speakers, and the couple particularly like the versatile table, which can be repositioned to create separate work or dining spaces.
“If we’re both doing agility stuff, we turn the table around and push it in,” Flo explains. “Then we’ve both got our own space.”
Not that they spend all their time inside. With the awning out, dogs settled in their pen and music playing through the outdoor speakers, the exterior living area is generally where everyone gravitates.
A different way to travel
Making the move from a motorhome to a caravan did require an adjustment – particularly when it came to towing.
Jacqui is currently the designated caravan driver, while Flo admits she is yet to take the wheel with the Southern Alps behind their Toyota Hilux.
“I need to get my act together,” she concedes.
But what they’ve lost in the hop-in-and-drive simplicity of a motorhome, they’ve gained in freedom once they arrive.
“You can actually leave the caravan somewhere and go into town,” Jacqui says. “You can jump in the truck, go to the supermarket or go and investigate somewhere.”
For a couple whose dog agility commitments have taken them across New Zealand, that’s opened up a new way of seeing the country.
Their first trip in the Ausflex was to Wellington – an eight-hour tow – and Napier remains a favourite agility destination. They have travelled extensively from the top of the North Island to the deep south, although the Southern Alps itself is yet to make its first Cook Strait crossing.
That’s firmly on the list for this year.
The couple are also NZMCA members, allowing them to extend a show weekend by shifting to a nearby camping site once competition finishes.
“We can decide we’re going to a show for the weekend, but then we can go somewhere else afterwards and the dogs can come with us,” Flo says.
Room for everyone
For Jacqui and Flo, the Ausflex Southern Alps has succeeded because it doesn’t force them to choose between their passion for dogs and the freedom of RV travel. It simply makes room for both.
The dogs have their own entrance, beds, windows, storage and secure outdoor space. Jacqui and Flo have a comfortable living area, a proper bathroom and somewhere to sit and sleep without first moving a dog bed.
The Ausflex Southern Alps may have been designed as a family caravan, but in the hands of Jacqui and Flo Kirkland Purves, it has found a rather different kind of family.
One with 36 paws, an impressive collection of agility titles and, thankfully, very good bedtime manners.
