Indholdsfortegnelse for June 2017 i Go! Drive & Camp

In this month’s magazine we have two extremes: five great 4x4 routes a stone’s throw from the Cape, and a long tour through Angola (with a story about the Kalahari back in the day as a bonus). And that about sums up our situation perfectly. You know the old saying: “Too far to walk, but too close to drive”? That’s almost how travel is in most instances. We often feel it’s not a proper break if you load your 4x4 and travel only for an hour or two from home. My question is: why? We live in Africa! The other day a guesthouse owner from Stellenbosch posted a photo on Facebook in which he shows his overseas guests’ a completely kitted-out Cruiser 76 station wagon. Were they on their way…

Imagine yourself sitting in Italy for the launch of a Jeep. It doesn’t make much sense, right? You should rather experience this in America. Maybe in Moab, Utah. Or on the Rubicon Trail in the Sierra Nevada mountains. But the Renegade isn’t your average Jeep – it’s the result of a joint project between Fiat and Jeep. Now, before you choke on your muesli or pork crackling, you need a short history lesson. When Chrysler, Jeep’s owner, threw in the towel in 2009 when the world economy took a nosedive, Fiat, a pension fund, and the American and Canadian governments bought the company together. As the new company’s financial situation improved, Fiat continued buying out the other shareholders until it gained full ownership in 2014 and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, or…

You won’t usually hear us Capetonians say something bad about our neck of the woods. In fact, talking to any one of us will probably lead to a lengthy explanation on why we are, in fact, living in the best place on earth. But there’s one thing you can’t deny if you live in the Mother City: Our neighbouring countries are pretty far away. Namibia is almost 700 km and Botswana is a few more hours further than that. And if you want to go to a popular Mozambican destination like Inhambane, you have to drive more than 2000 km before you can deflate your tyres and enjoy the sand. That doesn’t only put a big dent in your fuel budget, but also in your precious annual leave. So this…

I want people with normal vehicles to be able to come here and drive through nature, enjoying the environment.” Johan Roux is the owner of Leeuwenboschfontein guest farm. This guest farm between De Doorns and Montagu is a popular getaway and 4x4 destination about two hours’ drive from Cape Town. When you turn right onto the R318 about 22 km after De Doorns and head south in the direction of the farm, it’s pure Little Karoo around you. About 27 km further you turn left on a long, straight dirt road to the farm entrance, where the renosterbos stands thick everywhere. Leeuwenboschfontein looks like an oasis when you drive through the gate. A bright green lucerne field stretches across the property and the gardens and lawns around the chalets and…

1 The D707 from Aus to Betta, Namibia Namibia is synonymous with dirt roads, but one of the jewels in its crown is surely the D707. To get there you have to head for Aus, in the south, more or less two thirds of the way towards Lüderitz if you’re travelling from Keetmanshoop. After having filled up in Aus and made sure everything is in order, head north along the C13 towards Helmeringhausen. Here already your heart ought to start picking up speed. But you won’t reach Helmeringhausen, because after exactly 55 km you’ll turn right towards the D707. From here on the D707 arches towards the west, before turning back north. This 123 km of road will take just under an hour to drive, but please stop now and…

BACKGROUND Most bakkies and 4x4s are not equipped with tyres that are aimed at off-road driving. If you had a look at the tyres’ sidewalls you’d see they are equipped mostly with “HT”, or highway terrain, tyres. There are numerous reasons for this. The first one is that HT tyres are aimed at tar road driving – there where more than 99% of vehicles spend most of their life. These types of tyres are, therefore, aimed at good roadholding, little road noise, and low rolling resistance for better fuel consumption. The big disadvantage of these tyres is that they are very prone to damage, especially if you start driving on dirt roads. For this reason the replacement of your vehicle’s HT tyres with AT, or all-terrain tyres, is probably the…

Charl Carstensen from Durbanville almost single-handedly transformed his Mitsubishi Triton into a very neat tour and play vehicle. He is, after all, a mechanical engineer and he wasn’t put off by the Triton’s angles and curves. He even created computer models of his canopy so he was sure it would fit perfectly. “It’s our weekend play and tour vehicle,” Charl says. It’s reassuring to know that he can now easily drive on rough terrain without worrying about damaging his bakkie. “Now it’s possible to get to camp terrains that are off the beaten track,” he says. “And I can also camp in proper style!” It’s especially his neat canopy on the Triton’s unique load bin that draws attention. We found out from Charl how he did it. Have you owned…

The thing that stands out the most for us is the natural beauty you encounter on the trail. And the great challenges for drivers!” Christi Mouton and his son Chrisjan own and manage the farm Marcuskraal and its 4x4 trail. Don’t arrive at Marcuskraal 4x4 with highway-terrain tyres or low running boards. You’ll soon end up damaging something, because this rocky mountain trail can get rough. We did make it all the way in a standard Ford Ranger with all-terrain tyres, but good ground clearance and low range are a must, and a rear diff-lock will save you a lot of trouble. The trail on this farm near Citrusdal is about 24 km long and will keep you busy for four hours of technical challenges. Prepare to have your…

My first encounter with the Three-Lane Highway to Kang in Botswana was in the dark. We left Zeerust late and it was almost 11 that night when we arrived at George and Tarina Joubert, at whose place we slept over. The Three-Lane Highway got its name because there were three twin-track roads next to each other. The left-hand track was for the old eighties’ Landies with their narrow wheel alignment. The middle track, which was slightly wider, was for the Chev C20 and Ford F250 bakkies. Then there was a third row, which was very wide. It had gravel patches but it was more ditches than anything else. This was where the cattle trucks, that transported cattle from the Ghanzi farms to the BMC (Botswana Meat Commission) on Lobatse, drove.…

LIGHTFORCE GENESIS LED SPOTLIGHT ANNIHILATE THE DARK! The progress in LED technology the last number of years has been truly impressive. Where their biggest virtue has always been their low power consumption, they now also compete on pure output as well. Like this 210 mm diameter Lightforce Genesis. Although it’s just 73 mm thick, it still develops 140 Watt (13 850 raw lumens), and the kit includes a clip-on spot filter that allows the Genesis to project light up to 1053 metres! PRICE: R10 900 CONTACT: www.oppositelock.co.za TENTCO BUNDU SELF-INFLATING MATTRESS COMFY, BUT COMPACT Many camping mattresses are quite bulky, and those slender self-inflating mattresses that hikers use feel like they’ve been designed with prison inmates in mind. This self-inflatable mattress from Tentco looks – and feels – great, making…

After only four days on our honeymoon, my husband and I discovered a new meaning to the phrase “Stuck on honeymoon”. We drove from Clanwilliam to Lambert’s Bay, clocked in at the place we were staying, and decided we wanted to drive to the beach. While en route on the tar road we notice a few paths running along the dunes and we decide to go have a look. My husband was driving and shortly after tackling the dunes our Land Rover Discovery 2 just refused to continue. Bear in mind our tyres were still 2.5 bar so we deflated to 1.2 and we were on our way again. Later we come across a notice saying “No trespassing” and we turn around. My husband tells me I must drive a…

The final word I would like to give my side of the story regarding Danie Pienaar’s letter “My farm boy heart is not happy” (Drive Out #111). I’m grateful for Jaco’s comments and I would like to add a few extra facts. I did not break the farmer’s gate. There was a locked farm gate with a vehicle gate next to it. The latter had a pole that was fastened with a bolt and nut. I removed the pole and then put it back. I didn’t damage anything. The road is indicated as a public road on my road map. That’s why we wanted to ask for permission to drive there, but we couldn’t find the farmer. The signs at the gate read: “Please close the gate” and “Gate locked”.…

HILUX TONKA CONCEPT A toy for groun-ups The Hilux Tonka Concept was created by Toyota Australia to help mark the high-riding off-roader’s breakthrough in becoming the country’s best-selling vehicle in 2016. The new concept was designed, assembled and tested by designers and engineers from Toyota Australia’s 150-strong product-planning and development division. Underneath the black-and-yellow livery is a top-of-the-range production Hilux – an SR5 (not available in South Africa) double cab with a 2.8-litre turbodiesel engine. The makeover starts with substantially higher ground clearance – an increase in ride height of 150 mm. This is complemented by a high-riding axle, heavy-duty suspension and 35-inch tyres. High-performance off-road LED lighting in the bar and roof pod provide extra night vision for off-road trails, while a rugged bash plate made from 6 mm-thick…

In front of me the mighty Cunene River flows from the east with a force strong enough to split the beach in two and thrust a ribbon of sand deep into the ocean. On the opposite side of the river mouth lies Namibia, and behind me is the whole of the Angolan coastline. And not far from here an infamous part of this very coastline lies in wait for us. It’s a place that has humbled many a hardcore off-roader. It’s a place where the ocean’s waves clash with the dunes. It’s a place that even the GPS describes as extremely dangerous. It’s terrifying, but it’s also one of the main reasons we came to Angola: to drive the Doodsakker (Death Acre). Borders, bush tracks and dragonflies It took us…

This is a ‘shiny car trail’. People who drive their standard 4x4s to work during the week can come and drive them here over the weekend.” Stephen Burger is the owner of Klein Tafelberg. Drive Out named Klein Tafelberg one of its top 10 trails a few years ago and not much has changed here since then.You can still drive this postcard-pretty trail every Saturday under the guidance of the farm owner, Stephen Burger. Stephen’s 4x4 trail is ideal for families and groups who want to spend a day driving in nature. He doesn’t allow things like pipe cars or highly modified vehicles, he says, since this is more of a nature trail than an obstacle course to play on. Therefore the 20 km-long route through the bush is mostly…

The guys love the fact that they can come and enjoy their 4x4s off-road so close to Cape Town. You finish the trail in two or three hours and then you’re ready for a laidback braai down in the campsite.” Jean Bonthuys manages the Welgelegen 4x4 trail. Welgelegen 4x4 is situated 10 km from the northern suburb of Brackenfell, on the Bottelary road in the direction of Stellenbosch. Make sure you get a sizeable bag of biltong from Die Vleiswinkel (31 Kruis Street, Brackenfell) on the way, because Welgelegen’s obstacles will burn your energy quickly. The trail is about 9 km long, with obstacles up and down the Bottelary hills.You start on a steep hill that could cause a rude axle twister or two if you choose the wrong line,…

A lot can be said about battery life and how it relates to recharge rates. In the interests of simplicity, here’s the gist of it: A deeply discharged battery must be given enough time to recuperate. There’s a popular misconception that a battery can rapidly recharge in a short space of time. This is simply not true for most batteries. Unfortunately, very few battery manufacturers and fitment shops convey this message, and overland travellers are paying the price. Using a popular 105 Ah (wet cell) deep-cycle battery as an example, the graphs highlight a few lessons about dual-battery ownership. This graph shows how much usable energy can be drawn from a 105 Ah deep-cycle battery. The highlighted area depicts the safe operating zone and equates to a 70 % depth…