We’re Renee, Leonie, Jaap and Johnson. Add Renske and Dora, another baby on the way, and our dogs Puck and Vlekkie, and you’ve met the Karatugether crew.
Renee and Leonie are twin sisters, born in Groningen and raised in Drenthe. Both studied International Hospitality Management and have run Boscamping Zwanemeer since 2022. Renee loves photography and developing new ideas; Leonie enjoys bringing people together and the freedom of running a business.
Jaap comes from Friesland and studied history. He met Leonie through Tinder in autumn 2021. Their first date was a music performance in Groningen, where he waited with a small banner so she would recognise him. These days, he runs the campsite’s daily operations and asks the practical questions when another idea appears.
Johnson is from Tanzania and grew up in Karatu. He studied wildlife management and works as a safari guide. Renee met him in 2022, at the end of a trip guided by his father, Joseph. She returned in January 2023 to get to know him better. More visits followed, and their lives gradually became connected across two countries.
Leonie and Jaap welcomed Renske in August 2024; Renee and Johnson welcomed Dora that October. Renee and Johnson’s second baby is due in late November 2026.
And then there are the dogs
Renee and Leonie had always wanted a dog, and the prospect of taking over the campsite finally made that possible. Puck, born on 18 April 2020, joined the family first. Puck is the dignified one: serious, stubborn and quite sure of how things should be.
When Leonie and Jaap bought their own home in the village, they wanted a dog of their own. That’s when Vlekkie, born on 19 January 2023, joined the crew. Vlekkie is the goofy one, with a little more attitude — our very own dog “from the block”.
Two families, two dogs and plenty of ideas about what might come next. That’s Karatugether.