Innehållsförteckning för Dec/Jan 2023 från Go! Drive & Camp

At a recent camp, in a conversation around the campfire, I heard about a new trick: miscreants move between vehicles in the streets as people towing stop at stop streets and traffic lights and even when you're refuelling. They then apply the caravan's handbrake without your knowledge, and when you try to get out to Investigate, they pounce on you to rob you. I decided to make something to prevent this from happening. You can do it yourself for less than R15. I bolted a short chain under the coupler without drilling any holes, also with a padlock on. Then I took a second short chain and welded it to a short pipe – this pipe must be big enough to fit over the lever of the brake. Slide it…

I have just returned from a three-week holiday in the Kruger National Park where we camped at Letaba and Crocodile Bridge. We are regular visitors to the Kruger and this was our second visit this year, our Bush Lapa Miskruier in tow. Over the past two years, I've noticed how the number of overseas tourists has increased, something that the local tourism industry is in dire need of right now. In the news, I saw a 67-year-old German tourist was fatally wounded Just outside the park, near the Numbi Gate. This is not the first shooting incident in the area. On 3 January 2022, a 14-year-old girl was shot in the leg after armed robbers opened fire on their vehicle. The family camped in Pretoriuskop and returned home through the…

The Hayward's Caravan Park in the Dinokeng reserve is getting more new facilities after the last stands were completed shortly before the Easter weekend. Hayward's is 8 km from the Tau gate and up the tar road in the direction of Rust de Winter. The 4 ha of the caravan park is fenced and a short dirt road takes you to the gate. The office is in the first buildings on the left just past the gate. There is also a large place with an indoor braai where up to 80 people can socialise, says the owner, Paul Hayward. The swimming pool is behind the buildings – they're establishing a new jungle gym, trampoline, bouncy castle, jukskei and volleyball court. Current entertainment includes foosball, air hockey and pool – all…

NEW CARAVAN The Traveler is Awnings Galore Vaai's first camping trailer. The business belongs to Barney and Nikki van der Merwe and they focus, among other things, on camping and 4x4 canvans awnings. Their expertise also includes rooftop tents, which means manufacturing a camping trailer is a natural next step. From the side The rooftop tent is 1,3 x 2,2 m in size and has a door on the right as you stand behind the Traveler. You climb up to the bed using a 1,7 m ladder. Inside is a USB port in case you add a power hub in the future. On the same side, a jerrycan container is mounted on top of the mudguard. The nose cone has room for a battery, and at the backa large doorfolds…

The holiday season is upon us and you know chances are good you won't get a booking at a campsite in the Kruger anymore. But maybe there is still a spot for you somewhere… so you search the southern camps not too far from home. The farthest one of these camps is the modest Maroela Satellite Camp near the Orpen gate, but it's also fully booked. We didn't bother to look at Satara or Skukuza as we were there just the other day. But we don't get lucky elsewhere though. Lower Sabie is full, as are Berg-en-Dal and Pretoriuskop. Also the popular Crocodile Bridge Rest Camp… But then we strike it lucky: we manage to get a booking in the Malelane Satellite Camp, the southernmost one in the Kruger and…

JOURNEY Ancient world maps, such as the 1502 Cantino planisphere, not only depicted mythological creatures like mermaids, but also fictitious geographical features. Europeans, for example, once believed that a great river flowed down the western side of Southern Africa. This imaginary river was called the Vigiti Magna – Latin for ‘Great Force’ – and it was given this name long before any white man laid eyes on the true great riser. It was believed that a magnificent city of gold of the same name stood on the shore of the Vigiti Magna. The assumption was partially based on stories told to Europeans by Arab traders who had been dealing with the continent since the eighth century. Grab your fishing rod because we're about to trace the Orange River as closely…

Two million years ago, a meteorite struck the area between Koppies and Vredefort in the Free State, causing a 301 km2 crater. According to Unesco, the Vredefort dome is the oldest, largest and deepest complex meteorite impact structure in the world and of exceptional scientific value. When in the area, it's a beautiful place to explore. From Parys, dirt roads wind south through the crater's western hills on both sides of the Vaal River. We pitched camp at the Tava Lingwe Lodge, 27 km outside Vredefort on the R95. Our route took us through the village of Venterskroon to Parys, and then back along tarred road to Tava Lingwe. YOUR FIRST TURN-OFF is between Tava Lingwe and Vredefort on the S713 (S27.069091 E27.235926). The world is still flat here –…

Taking on the impossible with rifling gear or restoring old cars is a passion for Willem, owner of a printing and courier company in Jacaranda City. This love began at the age of 13. His oilier sister owned a Renault 5 and tried to sell it, but gave up because the car had top many issues and gave it to Willem. He says that over time he ‘started scratching around’ to see if he could fix the Renault himself, especially the chassis that had severe rust problems. By the time the car was in decent shape, the bug had already bitten. In the years that followed, he took on various other projects and taught himself how to restore machinery. In addition, he ventured where others wouldn't, by putting two VR6…

Camouflaged reels aren't that common, but Adrenalin now has a camo model on the market specifically for carp anglers. It is a baitrunner reel, which means it has a primary and a secondary drag system. The main drag works on the spool where you control the casting action while trying to land the fish. The secondary drag – and this is where the name baitrunner comes from – is there to set the tension once you have casted. It's adjusted with a drag knob located at the rear of the reel. When a carp gets the hook in its mouth, it will usually try to swim some distance away. The secondary drag action creates a controlled free spool, so the drag is light enough to allow the fish to take…

At the end of August 2022, we had an opportunity to go on a Landy tour with our friends, the brothers Blasie and Pierre Franken – Pierre's son Paulus joined us. We drove three Series models from the seventies and two Defenders from the nineties – the Landies all belong to the Frankens. The Frankens have been participating in motorsport for years, but they also have a great love for old Land Rovers between them, they have more Landies than one can count. The trick, Uncle Pierre explains, is: “The more spares and Landies you have, the cheaper it gets!” Each Landy is unique and comes with a tale to tell. We were a bit sceptical before the tour, but with a good dose of enthusiasm – and extra oil…

The long-standing dream of two enthusiastic campers owning a caravan park has finally come true. For Hendrik and Hermi Groenewald, the seed was planted last year when they bought a 25 ha piece of land 13 km outside Modimolle in the Waterberg. They got working and decided to tackle the development in phases, with the stands, ablution and swimming pool taking priority. Sebenza Creek's swimming pool is at the foot of a hill, and its water can be heated when the days turn cold. A long ablution block is to the left of the pool. There are separate facilities for men and women – each side has a bath and showers. Campers can do dishes and laundry in the section between the two, and electric geysers provide hot water. The…

The first Lexus UX 300e was launched in 2019, but this facelifted 2023 model now boasts a more rigid unibody with 20 extra welding spots and a larger capacity battery (72,8 kWh against the previous 54,3 kWh) providing a 40% increase in range. The total range is now 450 km and you should therefore be able to drive from Cape Town to Beaufort West or from Pretoria to Bloemfontein before a recharge. A fast 50 kW charger will take about an hour to top up the battery, but if you plug it into a guest house's wall socket, it will take at least 16 hours before you can hit the road again. We sincerely hope Bloem doesn't have load shedding while you're overnighting there. Lexus, however, are betting on a…

Your journey begins in Rhodes, a beautiful town founded in 1894 in the Eastern Cape. Former mining magnate and prime minister Cecil John Rhodes was honoured with the town's name, obviously in the hope he would support the settlement and provide financial assistance. But flattery got them nowhere and Cecil couldn't have cared less. Rhodes is the perfect base for exploring the area's mountain passes, 4x4 trails, and flyfishing in the Bell Refer that winds through the town. Apart from the campsite, you can stay in one of several guesthouses or a historic hotel. Rhodes also hosts numerous events, such as the Oktoberfest (1 October 2023), the Rhodes Run (8 July 2023) and the Dirt Road Wild Trout Festival (16-20 March 2023). Leave Rhodes on the R396 dirt road in…

DRIVING IMPRESSION The Jeep Gladiator arrived on local shores in August 22 and the iconic American brand, headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, is doing quite well with it in South Africa. The Jeep bakkies that roll off the ships seem to find owners right away, and motoring journalists are lining up to drive them. It was therefore quite the compliment when Jeep's media fleet manager allowed us to test one for as long as we needed. We're going to say, right off the bat, that the Gladiator is a good bakkie that draws a lot of attention. If we had a cent for every head we turn whilst driving past, we might have enough money to fill the petrol tank, maybe.. We never had cause to hesitate about whether we should…

By the end of the previous millennium, I found myself in Mbombela. It was still called Nelspruit back then and was home to, among others, the Dangerous Darkies, who were then still playing in the national soccer league. It was also the headquarters of Eastern Transvaal Command where I was doing my national service. There were only a handful of army bases inside our national banders that were farther from my childhood home in the Boland – the same applies to the area's fauna and flora. Where I grew up, the only ‘wildlife’ we'd come across in our daily lives was possibly a squirrel on the main street or a dassie on a mountain footpath. Being on the Kruger National Park's doorstep was therefore an unprecedented adventure for me. Plus,…

NEWS This holiday spot just beyond Magaliesburg in the North West has an unusual name for its location: Kruger Ranch. The piece of land belongs to Clint Kruger and he developed it with a view to relax in nature. But the COVID pandemic put his plans in jeopardy: after he bought the 55 ha in 2019, the caravan stands were just about finished when the pandemic brought the country to a standstill. Eventually Clint was able to carry on, and after setting up two safari tents earlier this year, Kruger Ranch was ready to welcome campers. By then, the lodge and another 10 rooms and three chalets were completed. There are 38 level stands on wild grass, with six paved. You get a power point – the regular three-prong –…

NEW CARAVAN Unipod's AdventurePod model is based on a regular off-road caravan, especially when you consider its shape and the pop-up roof. The new AdventurePod XL gets an inside bathroom and the front slopes more. The XL gets the same pop-up roof as the regular model, with a hinge at the nose that lifts at the back. Cupboard choices The entry door is on the far right, with the outdoor kitchen cupboards to its left. The sliding frame for the fridge/freezer is behind the cupboard closest to the A-frame. This cupboard and sliding frame can fit any fridge/freezer on the market – the sliding frame is even long enough for an extra cupboard at the end. Depending on which layout you choose for the cupboards next to it, there is,…

NEW WHEELS Nissan has been developing electric vehicles for some time – think of the Leaf – but the fourth generation of its popular X-Trail represents a huge recommitment to electrified vehicles. Since its launch in 2001, the X-Trail has sold more than seven million units worldwide, making it one of the world's most popular family adventure vehicles. The new X-Trail is an electric vehicle that uses petrol, but it is not your typical hybrid vehicle. More on this later. Inside and out The latest X-Trail is based on the CMF-C platform shared by the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance. This means that under its shell it's essentially the same vehicles such as the Renault Kadjarand Mitsubishi Outlander, to name but two. To reduce weight, all four doors, the front quarter panels, and…

Thanks to Nissan and Leefek for the use of the Navara PRO-2X and Tourer SX Enduro. We already had the opportunity to get behind the wheel of the new Navara in February 2022. During that test, the PR0-2X delivered fuel consumption of 14,9 ℓ/100 km over a distance of 146 km. It was mostly at the coast, towing a Bush Lapa Baobab (GVM of 1 800 kg). For this trip, we started in the thin air of Johannesburg and covered 1 043 km, turning around just this side of Komatipoort. A total of 850 kilometres were covered with the caravan and mostly on highways. The rest of the kilometres were done without the caravan – which then gives us the combined consumption below. The Tourer's GVM (1 450 kg) is…

Even before the first European voyage around Africa in 1488, stories abounded about the Vigiti Magna. Jan van Riebeeck was given two objectives when he reached the Cape of Good Hope; the first, as we know, was to found an outpost to supply passing VOC ships. The second, never taught to us in school, was to find the city of gold. The initial fort was barely complete when the board of directors of the VOC (the world's first multinational company) instructed that the first expeditions be sent out. Van Riebeeck's foremost source of information was a report by the company's trade route pioneer, Jan Huygen van Linschoten, penned in 1583, and also a testimony by the Spanish priest, Father Martini, who visited Van Riebeeck's outpost in 1653. Both sources insisted…

DRIVING IMPRESSION We took another long test drive, this time 2 000 km to Namaqualand and back. A large percentage of that distance was along gravel roads and so we were glad that we could carry our mattresses, clothing and sleeping bags inside the Isuzu D-Max's cab. The dusty load bed was fine for stuff like our tent, jerrycans and camping furniture. Although our test vehicle only had twowheel drive, we managed to do relatively easy 4x4 trails by engaging the diff lock and relying on the good ground clearance. How does it drive? Isuzu is known for producing comfortable bakkies although other manufacturers have caught up. A Toyota Hilux, for instance, is no longer the bone shaker it used to be. The only negative is Isuzu's reputation for being…

Johan came across a Land Rover Defender – the double-cab bakkie version – on Gumtree and went to pick it up in George. There had already been some light modifications done to the Landy, but Johan would eventually turn it into a next level rig. Johan was specifically looking for the double-cab bakkie, because according to him, he didn't want to look like an old fart driving an ordinary Landy station wagon. He wanted something that could compete with the looks of a custom Jeep Wrangler and perform just as well offroad. His Defender has travelled more than 60 000 km in countries including Namibia (and the Van Zyls Pass), Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia. Johan spray painted his Landy orange because he is an avid off-road biker and…