Table of contents for June 2018 in SA4x4

The tourism marketing people have lots of fancy terms for what they try to promote. When it comes to a destination, ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors rank among their key phrases. Turns out this issue of SA4x4 has lots of those. Who can argue with the amount of push and pull required to cycle from the Kunene River mouth to Swakopmund, which is the theme of Jacques Marais’ Isuzu-supported Beyond the Desert Edge adventure. Then Calum Buckmaster of the Barefoot Adventurers’ club touches on some of the highlights of his epic overland saga from Cape Town to Kenya – in a heavily overloaded diesel Tuk-Tuk with a top speed of 40km/h. And lots of hills where the little Beastie said ‘ayikhona’. So lots of push there. If you dig a little…

MERCEDES-BENZ SPRINTER MORE THAN A VAN We’ve driven the new Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, and we can confirm: it’s more than a van. Mercedes has followed through on its promise of a large van that has the feel of one of its luxury vehicles, especially on the top-end variants. The new MBUX infotainment system, recently debuted in the new A-Class, takes tech to a new level, with an intuitive voice-controlled interface that learns your mannerisms as you drive. It works exceptionally well, and allows you to keep your eyes on the road – essential when driving such a massive vehicle. In the camper-van variant, Mercedes says that the MBUX system will allow you to control all your mobile home’s functions from your touch screen, or even from the associated app on your…

This is one of those journeys that started quite some time ago. I’ve always been keen to get on board one of Peter Van Kets’ amazing adventures, but when we started chatting about a possible adventure collaboration earlier this year, I never expected that we’d launch the first in a series of ‘Beyond Expeditions’ less than six months later. Somehow it all came together over a good few beers, with Dunlop Tyres SA signing on as main sponsor for our first expedition, ‘Beyond The Desert Edge’. Additional support from Isuzu South Africa, Wilderness Safaris, SPAR (Eastern Cape), Giant Bicycles (SA) and Hi-Tec (SA) meant that we had a green light to tackle a one-of-a-kind desert MTB crank, all the way from the Cunene River bordering Angola, to Swakopmund in Namibia.…

Born out of a deep love for engineering and thousands of kilometres’ worth of off-road experience, RATAU Hard Canopies has emerged as one of Mpumalanga’s premier vehicle metalwork manufacturers. Operating out of Middelburg, the company is directed by Quereshini Naidoo, Gerhard Holtshauzen and Herman Brümmer. They manage a team of 10 multi-skilled workshop staff, as well as four administrators who handle everything from sales to marketing. Where did it all begin? Several years ago, says Naidoo, the company’s founders, mechanical engineers and avid 4x4 enthusiasts, decided to turn their hobby of designing and custom-making canopies for their own vehicles into a business. In 2015, RATAU was born, snapping up the talents and expertise of aluminium fabricator and Workshop Manager Colin Mokala, who has 25 years’ of experience. Today, the company…

Do you have a magic shot in your photo collection that captures the essence of overland travel? SA4x4 is keen to promote adventure travel the world over, and to share those amazing memories with all our readers.Trawl your image banks and share those moments in time on SA4x4’s Facebook or Instagram pages, along with your name and a short description of what you are seeing and where. Action, wildlife, landscapes – we want to see it all. HOW TO ENTER Tag @SA4x4 on Instagram, and use the hashtag #SA4x4OverlandImages If Instagram is too 21st Century, email your pic to editor@sa4x4.co.za  with the subject line Overland Images and we will post it to Instagram for you. The picture that gets the most votes on Instagram gets the monthly Readers’…

It’s not easy being the Pajero Sport in South Africa. The competition has the bakkie-based SUV market by the ball-bearings, and they’re not letting go anytime soon. But why? Since its launch, the revamped Pajero Sport has divided opinion with its bold, unconventional looks. It’s a clear challenger for the affections of Fortuner and Everest buyers – and, as we found out, Mitsubishi’s big boy is an exceptional package: refined and engineered to beat the best. Honestly, there’s no reason you shouldn’t pick it over the rest, and I’ll tell you exactly why. First impressions Let’s get straight to the oddly-shaped elephant in the room. The Pajero Sport is gorgeous in the front, but a bit dodgy in the back. The overall design has obviously taken cues from the Triton,…

Quintus Wessels Not a bad angle to show off the Jimny’s ground clearance! Quintus’s little off-roader looks like it needs a good wash after a ramble around Weltevrede Lion Farm in the Free State. Johnny Bresler The Fish River Canyon is one of the wonders of the natural world, and Johnny took his Land Cruiser 4.2 100-Series VX right to the edge of it. He and his wife covered nearly 6000km in Namibia alone! Mel Henderson Mel is immensely proud of what she calls her dream vehicle. Nelly is a pristine, unmodified, 1977 Land Rover Series 3. This snapshot was taken somewhere in KwaZulu-Natal’s Valley of a Thousand Hills. Next stop? The Okavango Delta! Herman Erasmus Herman’s 2009 Hilux DC looks absolutely mystical basking in the African sunrise in Lephalale.…

This month’s updates haven’t been too significant so we’ll just wrap up the sponsor list. Remember that by buying a soft shackle or T-Shirt you can win this highly modified Jeep Cherokee XJ. And this month, just to rev things up a bit, the Bros are offering SA4x4 readers an exclusive deal – as the graphic on this page ably shows. In the past few weeks a couple of new sponsors have come on board, including Adendorff Machinery Mart who are supplying a farm jack, compressor and a mechanic’s tool set. Africa Offroad have also come on board to supply lighting. Other new sponsors include InDeflate with their convenient system for deflating and inflating 4x4 tyres, as well as Rock Crawler Gear who will be fabricating a custom roof rack…

There’s no point in driving around with your roofrack/ rooftop tent if you’re not on holiday. Save fuel (and wear & tear) by installing a Fredlin hoist. This proudly South African product solves the problem of where to store your roofrack/rooftop tent, canopy, or even a sports car hardtop: up and out of the way! The Fredlin hoist fastens securely to your garage roof or carport, is easily installed and can be operated by one person. TO ENTER One Fredlin hoist will be given away every month to the lucky reader featured in Me & My 4x4. Simply send a photograph – 1 MB or larger – and the answers to the categories shown above, to editor@sa4x4.co.za. Vehicle and driver must be featured together in an off-road setting. (No driveway…

BRAND LOGIC Why a Warn winch? This is the question I recently ran into when kitting out my new Hilux Revo. In the “good old days” you had a choice between Warn and Ramsey, and if you were lucky, one or two others. Now we have a regular smorgasbord of choices, with most of them leaning towards the eastern cuisine. While Warn is still available in several guises, these winches do command a premium price compared to other brands – sometimes to the tune of three or four times the price of a winch sourced from China. I finally decided to go with Warn for two reasons: known reliability and quality, and aftermarket support. My choice was the sleek new waterproof Warn Zeon winch. Once it was fitted, we went…

“Impala are amongst the most graceful and beautiful of antelope. Yet they are rarely given a second glance” This month, I would like to start a series of articles focusing on animals that are frequently overlooked because they are so often seen. Oxymoron? Indeed. True? In my opinion, definitely. Let me explain… With their shiny rust-coloured coats and long slender legs, Impala (Aepyceros melampus) are amongst the most graceful and beautiful of antelope - yet they are rarely given a second glance. The reason? Because they are ‘common’. Despite their obvious abundance, they are unique enough to be classified in a tribe of their own, the Aepycerotini; and are the only extant representative of the genus Aepyceros - from the Greek aipos ‘high’, ceros ‘horn’. Fossil evidence shows that modern…

As they do every year, Jeep and Mopar team up to surprise us with new concepts built on various models in their line-up, demonstrating adventurous design and improved capabilities. An assortment of prototype and Jeep Performance Parts are used to create the Moab Jeep Concepts. Incidentally, over 200 Mopar parts are already available for the 2018 Wrangler, with more on the way. JEEP 4SPEED The 4SPEED is a lightweight model featuring extensive use of carbon fibre, including in the load area, wheel arches and bonnet. It has a sleeker profile with a raked windscreen, elongated doors and a swept back custom cage. Dana 44 axles turn 35-inch BFG Muds, with power from a 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine. The Wrangler’s short wheelbase chassis is shortened by over half a metre. JEEP…

Many people with a limited interest in birds probably know about three or four different species – like finches, doves, sparrows and falcons – and most of the birds that they come across probably fall into one of their known categories. My personal knowledge of birds was much the same for far too long, and I often wish that I’d shown greater awareness earlier in my life. So many opportunities were lost on earlier travels simply because I had no interest in the subject. But, despite this initial foolishness, there was one bird that I knew about, and liked, and respected for its bold character and aggressiveness. That was the common fiscal. When this active hunter flies into your garden, all the other birds go into defence mode, and they…

“He’s stalking you.” “No, he isn’t – he just wants that solid shade under the A-frame.” “Look how he’s staring at you.” “He’s just curious – he’s never seen a naked human before.” “No – he’s stalking you.” “What do you mean ‘No’? Who’s The Great Kalahari Safari Leader here?” I had picked Cousin Mike up at Oliver Tambo 11 days before, to embark on his first Kalahari Safari. We’d known of one another’s existence all our lives, but had met only three months before at a soirée in Harlow, England. My conversation – as always – had involved a rhapsodic description of the Kalahari. Mike, apparently, was sold. A week after my return to Africa, I received an e-mail from him in London: “Can you show me the Kalahari?”…

BASICS Date: 1-11 July 2018 Venue: Mana Pools National Park & Lake Kariba Cost: R11 500 per person sharing Includes: Camping & Park fees, Dinner & 2 breakfasts Excludes: Fuel, Lunch, Drinks, VHF radio hire TOUR DETAILS This unique park is a WORLD HERITAGE SITE, based on its wildness and beauty, together with the wide range of large mammals, over 350 bird species and aquatic wildlife. Mana Pools is one of Zimbabwe’s most popular parks, and it is easy to see why it falls into this profile. The name “Mana’’ means “four” in the local Shona language. This applies to the four large pools inland from the Zambezi River. These pools are the remnant ox-bow lakes that the Zambezi River carved out thousands of years ago as it changed its…

“This is the new ship of the desert,” exclaims the Omani driver, giving the door panel of his 4.0-litre V6 Land Cruiser 70 Series a solid thump. “We no longer have to rely on camels like we did 30 years ago,” he insists in perfect English, waving toward the load bed of the Cruiser, where a very contented camel is in repose, resting on cushions and surrounded by mounds of green feed. A cheery ma’a salama, another slap on the door, and he is off around a corner of the dune, having given our line-up of indigo, blue, red and dusty silver Amaroks a keen once-over. This was the third day of our adventure cruise in this fascinating Middle Eastern country, which is sandwiched between Yemen in the south, the…

THE VENUE Bass Lake is sited in an old Dolomite quarry filled with clean spring water. The venue, started 22 years ago and run by Alan and Karen Pepper, has twice been a venue for the Bridgestone 4x4 Club Challenge series. The waterfront has 16 grass lapas that are metres from the water. Large lapas have a table, chairs, electric lights and plug, and a braai. This area is ideal for pitching a tent, trailer or caravan. There is a restaurant/ coffee shop that serves breakfasts and light meals. It is fully licensed. 4x4 TRAIL The 4x4 trail is 14km long and meanders around the lake, climbing high up on the vegetated mine dumps. At its highest points, it overlooks the Klip River and the farmlands stretching to the Suikerbosrand…

This month’s Readers’ Rides prizewinner gets a set of Opposite Lock 100W halogen Long Range Driving Lights worth R3995, plus a recovery kit bag worth R395. The lights are 225mm in diameter with a steel body, black epoxy powder-coated finish and stainless steel rim. They feature a hardened shock resistant glass lens with a protective polycarbonate cover, and are backed by Opposite Lock’s 2-year national warranty. Opposite Lock’s range of 4x4 accessories includes Tough Dog suspensions, Lightforce Driving lights, OL bullbars, VRS winches, recovery gear, and more. Find them on www.oppositelock.co.za or contact 011 697 0001. TERMS & CONDITIONS: Email your Readers Rides entry to editor@sa4x4.co.za. Only hi-res images (1MB or larger) will be considered – no cellphone pics. Please provide a description of the vehicle and the place. Remember…

All over South Africa, and especially in Namibia, sand is a vital part of any 4x4 adventure. Once the skills to conquer it have been mastered, sand driving is possibly the most fun you can have in a 4x4. In this chapter, we delve into some of the tips and tricks to keep you on top. Drop the pressure Arguably the most important aspect of sand driving is tyre pressure. If you try driving on sand with hard tyres, you’ll soon find yourself struggling. When you reduce pressure by as much as 50% below standard, the footprint of your tyres is lengthened, thus spreading the load over a bigger area. A common misconception is that a softer tyre widens the footprint of the tyre, and although this is not technically…

Whether you are banging about in the bush over rough terrain, clambering over rocks up a mountain pass, fording through a rocky water crossing, or travelling on a rural road at night with your eyes peeled for that Kudu that suddenly appears next to the road, it is always good to have the extra peace of mind that comes with having your vehicle protected against rough terrain, ground and animal strikes. In this second phase of our Ironman 4x4 Bush Truck build, we look at some of the Vehicle Protection Gear that we think is essential for any serious off-road truck that will be going off the beaten track. Damage sustained when off-roading is often mostly cosmetic, even if it is heart wrenching. However, if it is mechanical, such damage…

Having installed Pedders TrakRyder suspension (SA4x4 May edition), we return to the Avis Safari Rental factory. The next step is finicky, and many small tasks (like installing brackets or drilling holes) must be completed, which takes up valuable time. The larger items installed are listed in the steps below, which took Cuan Elsey and his assistant Wisdom Dhliwayo the better part of a day to complete. This team has completed more than 40 of these “Class O” builds, but there are no short-cuts when it comes to producing a quality end-product. Unlike the Avis “Class A” camper conversion, which uses a one-piece pre-assembled Alu-Cab unit which fits onto the bakkie where the load bin would be, the “Class O” uses the existing load bin with an Alu-Cab canopy as a…

While sitting round the fire one Saturday evening with two mates that I know from varsity days, it came to light that although both are outdoorsy type of guys, neither one has ever done any 4x4 driving. So, when Suzuki offered us a chance to test their training facilities at Bass Lake near Henley-on-Klip, I thought it would be a great idea to get my mates on board. We arrived just after 8am on a cloudy autumn day at Bass Lake, which is on the R59 between Johannesburg and Vereeniging. It had been raining the night before and I was eager to jump onto the wet track. We were met by owner Alan Pepper, who would also be our 4x4 instructor for the day. Training started with a brief discussion…

Water is the elixir of life and a priority on any overland journey. We need at least two litres per day just for drinking, before we can even consider washing grime off our skin, brushing our teeth or tackling the dirty dishes. Although some tannins in water have a nasty taste, and some may discolour surfaces, water is also the perfect breeding ground for a wide variety of bacteria, parasites and viruses that can ruin a trip - or even end your life. But, for the well-equipped overlander, there are many filtration options, each with its own pros, cons and limits. In this article, we explore some of the most common and effective water filtration methods and systems. Boiling/distilling This is perhaps the most effective method of killing any living…

ROSSLYN KICKS OFF X3 PRODUCTION BMW Group South Africa has finally started production of the new X3 at its Rosslyn plant in Gauteng. The cars will supplement those being built in Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA, creating and maintaining the livelihoods of thousands of workers. Back in 2015, the company made clear its intentions to pump R6-billion into SA, and the new facilities at Rosslyn are evidence of the progress made since then. X3 production has started on schedule, with a planned capacity of 76 000 units. CEO Tim Abbott says the investment is evidence of the company’s commitment to SA. “The allocation of production of such a crucial model to our plant is about as big a vote of confidence as it gets,” he says. “I have full confidence in…

PETER HUPSTON 2002 DEFENDER 130 Age: 54 Occupation: IT security consultant at Legalwise Modifications: Home-made canopy and drawer system. Dual-battery system. Future modifications: Change my home-made canopy and drawers for a professionally-made system. Most of my mods up until now are “do it yourself”. Dream vehicle: Defender 110 with an Icarus Rooftop Conversion and all the professionally fitted extras. I have another Landy, a 110 – I just need the conversion… Most memorable trip/s: Through Botswana, into Namibia as far as the Angolan border, then down Van Zyl’s pass. Through the Lesotho Highlands in the middle of winter. Heck that was cold! Up into Zambia as far as Lake Mweru. Shall I go on? Planned trip: Although I often go into Botswana, I have never been into the Central Kalahari…