Table of contents for November 2015 in SA4x4

When we are told by seasoned traveller Peter Baker that fellow south Africans were notably absent on his recent trip north to Kenya, it raises some issues. Have we lowered our horizons because we are concerned about roads, fuel supplies, rip-off prices and petty officials on the lookout for extra cash? Have our pockets shrunk to the extent that we simply cannot afford great safaris? Or is it because there is still enough richness all around us to fill many years of exploring? I’d like to think it’s the latter; but, as Dr Baker explains in his synopsis of current conditions in Africa, it is now easier than ever to see some of the great wonders this continent has to offer. That said, there is no argument about the richness…

PRICING Single Cab KB 250 D-TEQ LE 4x4R357 400KB 300 D-TEQ LX 4x4R410 000Extended CabKB 300 D-TEQ LX 4x4R451 800 Double Cab KB 250 D-TEQ LE 4x4R429 100KB 300 D-TEQ LX 4x4R523 600KB 300 D-TEQ LX 4x4 AutoR529 700 Isuzu’s KB line-up gets with the times and introduces three new models, an upgraded 250 D-TEQ engine, and a host of updates across the range. At the top end of the range, Isuzu now offers a five-speed automatic version of its KB 300 LX double cab 4x4. Other additions to the KB range come in further down the pecking order with two new Fleetside models offered in extended-cab and double-cab form. All-new extended-cab and double-cab ‘LX’ model Isuzu KBs get a new infotainment system which includes a 6.5-inch touch screen with…

BUMP IT UP If you love your Jeep Wrangler but suffer from range anxiety and limited storage space, Smittybilt has a cure for you. The new Atlas Rear Bumper from Smittybilt, designed and tested in the USA, is ideal for your storage needs. Capable of carrying a 40-inch spare tyre and two 20-litre jerry cans, while still allowing ease of access to the Jeep’s rear door, this bumper is perfect for those trips where one must expect the unexpected. R18 865 Contact Gideon on 072 227 8218 on sales@american4wd.co.za, or visit www.american4wd.co.za. STAY IN CHARGE You realise that you need your iPhone, GPS system, 2-way radio and laptop going all the time – this is the 21st century, after all – but with only one charge point in your car,…

The long-distance ox wagon haul made its dubious debut nearly 10 years after the first Cape ossewa was produced in 1653. Pieter Cruijtoff’s expedition took the first-ever ox wagon over Piekenierskloof – without turning a wheel. The wagons were disassembled and loaded onto the oxen, to be unloaded and reassembled on the other side. When the going then became extremely tough in the river valley, the wagons were again taken apart, before being reassembled at Elandskloof on the opposite side of the river. Wagon travel had many advantages, but comfort was not one of them. It was very hard on everything, and everyone. When he got to the Olifants River in 1685, Simon van der Stel wrote in his diary: “…[there were] many difficulties due to deep morass and sandy…

Travel magazines offer a massive range of possible trip destinations: some quite local, but others, such as Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and southern Mozambique, which are considered regional; and yet more, further afield: Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and Ethiopia. These countries are chock-a-block full of waypoints and end points, and are really good value, even after the miles and time have been built into the equation. However, on a recent trip that my wife and I did to Northern Kenya and back by two different routes, we noted a massive lack of South African travellers over just about the entire 15 000km trip. In the past, we would be waving often to fellow 4x4 drivers fully kitted with all the katunda we South Africans require on safari; but, on this…

The Spirit of Africa Trophy – Volkswagen’s answer to speed freaks and 4x4 lovers alike – pits man and machine against the clock in Africa’s toughest off-road challenge. Entries have now opened for the event’s sixth year under the Amarok banner. Selections take place from mid-April 2016 at a venue in Zeerust under the watchful eye of South Africa’s most colourful racing personality, Sarel van der Merwe – Supervan to most. Up to 600 teams of two will have to prove themselves under his watchful eye, with only 20 teams qualifying for the finals in August. Over the course of three days, contestants are pushed up to and beyond their limits using Amarok double cabs. Timed stages where flat-out speed is on the menu will be interjected with reversing tests…

The Bivane 4x4 route is a 17km trail found within the Ithala Game Reserve in northern KwaZulu-Natal. We had made plans to review this route many times before, but (because we’d heard so little about this Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife-run game park,) we’d thought nothing of pushing it aside for more “favourable” trails each month. Surely, if no one ever talks about a place, the chances are good that it has nothing worth writing about. Right? WRONG! Our first surprise was at Ithala’s entrance gate; they’ve got their very own petrol/diesel pump, which looks new. The second surprise was the area itself. One often thinks of northern KZN as a lush green place, but this part of the province (about 69km from Vryheid) looked incredibly bushveldlike. The third surprise was the…

WINNER GORDON STEWART A regular contributor, Gordon sent us this pic of his 2000 model Hilux 3000D at an overnight stop at Crocodile Camp, located in Baobab Valley about 125km north of Iringa in Tanzania. He says that, on this trip, he and his wife covered 22 175km through Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. GRANT VAN DER WALT Calling it one of the “most awesome” 4x4 trips he has done, Grant just had to share these images of his Toyota Hilux SRX 2.5 D4-D in Botswana’s Tuli block. DEON VENTER Just before Deon and his son drove the Namaqua Eco route from Pella to Alexander Bay, there were heavy rains, and sections of the route were completely washed away; with two-metre drops in places. This image was…

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…

With the likes of Range Rover, BMW and Mercedes constantly upping their game, Audi’s largest offering had been left far behind. Since 2006, the Q7 had remained largely unchanged, clogging up the school run and scaring small children with its gaping mouth. However, for 2015, Audi’s big girl has gone on a serious diet and has been completely redesigned from the ground up. Weight Watchers Previously sharing a chassis with the VW Touareg and Porsche Cayenne, this year’s Q7 gets a lengthened, widened and strengthened version of the modular MQB platform, making it the most modern and lightweight full-size SUV in the Volkswagen group. Alloy in the doors, body panels and suspension, as well as reduced drive-train mass and ultra-high-strength steels have all contributed to its massive weight reduction. The…

On day four of a long overdue commemorative journey, our luck finally ran out: farm gate number 62 was locked... knocking us completely off our stride. But, compared to the misfortunes of the guys we were trying to follow, this was clearly nothing to cry about. Page back a couple of years before this mishap, to a sweltering Northern Cape afternoon near Goodhouse on the banks of the Orange River. This was when a big gun at the National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) had said, with a knowing smile, that if a South African aspires to become a botanist, then he or she has hit the jackpot. “Because,” said Dr Anthony Magee, Senior Scientist at Kirstenbosch’s Compton Herbarium, “there is no better place on the planet to study flora. Our country…

It is easy to see why Alu-Cab named their newest flagship ‘The Ossewa. After all, it relates to the tough (but still romantic) overland character of the real thing. However, we should not draw quixotic comparisons beyond this romantic notion, even though the sentimentality of it all makes sense. Having made full use of a variety of unpaved roads between the Cape and the most north-westerly corner of the country, I cannot help but feel like a real softy when I cast my mind back to the old days. From somewhere just west of Piekenierskloof, our route became a definitive gravel affair; we spent 90% of the total driving on dirt to get to the mouth of the Orange River – a good 1150km. Considering the fact that the main…

FANCY NAME Aegypius tracheliotos AFRIKAANS Swartaasvoel There is something about large birds of prey that commands most people’s attention. It could be that we are captivated by the sheer size of these enormous birds, or it could be the image and attitude which they project that earns them respect from the onlooker. Their hooked bills and powerful claws hide nothing about their main mission in life – to satisfy their carnivore killer instinct. Take the Martial Eagle, for instance. It is Africa’s largest eagle, with a wingspan of up to 2.6 metres; and it weighs as much as 6kg. It is a very aggressive predator and feeds on anything that it can catch, from large birds such as guinea fowl and francolin, to baboons, lion cubs, and even small antelope.…

Women keep us chaps on the run; they’re not only behind all the disastrous ‘watch this!’ moments, but also the architects of our success… Meet Freddie, and hear his story of how a girlfriend’s complaint made him build a dream machine. Though certainly not lacking a fine sense of humour, Freddie is perhaps a man who takes remarks very seriously. One day, Freddie’s girlfriend noted, as a passing comment, that his Landy had a cramped interior. She could never have guessed the extent to which Freddie would try to please her. Three years down the line, and plenty of spilt oil, blood and Rands later, what we have here is a ‘club cab’ Defender. The project started off with a perfectly serviceable Defender 110 - a TD5 single cab pickup…

Today, a lot of modern farming techniques are based on Precision Farming methods. Precision farming is farming where satellite navigation technologies (GPS) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are used to help improve the farmer’s yields. These technologies enable the farmer to address and manage the soils, plants and problems where and when necessary, enabling them to improve their yields. So, how can a Garmin recreational device help the farmers to improve yields? To start with, any Garmin recreational device will give a general accuracy of 3 to 5m anywhere in the world. Firstly, the device is able to measure area, with a general error of around 1% in the calculation. To do this set the device on Area Calculation, hit “Start” at an identifiable point, and travel the perimeter of…

The formula is simple: take a bakkie, stick a roof on with some gaffer tape, add coil springs and seven seats. Voila! An SUV. Well, that’s the theory, anyway; one adopted by Toyota, Mitsubishi, Chevrolet and Ford for years – until now. It’s no secret that Ford needed a fresh start, since its last attempt at a ‘bakkiebased SUV’ – the previous-generation Everest – was far from brilliant on the road. Sales tapered steeply from launch in 2009, and struggled along at 1000 units or so a year until run-out in August 2014, while Toyota’s Fortuner continued to rack up over 10 000 units a year. Clearly, a complete re-think of the design was needed, and that’s what Ford has done. Leaving rivals to fight amongst themselves, the 2015 Everest…

What started in 1968 as a humble Japanese pickup, has now become something of an icon for toughness and reliability. Initially an unlikely combination of “High” and “Luxury”, the Hilux has now reached a new threshold that justifies the name – after 46 years, seven previous generations and a world total of 16 million sales. Japan’s engineers are notoriously conservative, and Toyota’s Vernier-wielders are probably the worst of the bunch. Nothing flies past them; everything is extensively tested – and it shows in a product that often lasts well beyond the warranty date. But the 10-year gap (between the launch of the 6th generation Hilux Vigo in 2005 and the release, now, of an all-new version) was punctuated by all sorts of technically sophisticated pickups like the Amarok and Ford…

Insects play such an important part in our lives every day. We are fascinated and repulsed by them, but also totally dependent on them for our survival on this planet. It is mind-boggling to realise that there are over a million known species, with potentially millions more to be discovered. Their size often means that we don’t see them, yet their collective biomass is 300 times greater than that of humans. TSETSE FLIES Anyone who has travelled through Africa will know about tsetse flies. Historically, there have been massive programmes to eradicate them – many of them ill-advised - in order to be able to use the land for domestic livestock. Forms of wildlife that were seen as tsetse hosts were killed in their thousands; and extensive “bush clearing” in…

Most people get mud terrain tyres simply because they look good!” I had heard this comment from more than a few of my 4x4 friends while out on a trail, and I tended to agree. As 4x4 trails have become a hobby of mine in the past couple of years, I have slowly been kitting out my Pajero to be better suited to such an activity. First, I fitted underbody protection, rocksliders and a front bumper, and purchased all the recommended basic recovery gear. After having saved up a little more, I then fitted a suspension kit to add some clearance and to improve all-round performance off-road. Then I fitted a deep-cycle battery and a roofrack for the camping and overlanding I had planned. Needless to say, my car looks…

You might be fastidious about the servicing of your vehicle, but there is a good chance that you’ll never give the engine’s emission control system a second glance – until it starts acting up, that is... In truth, we see this system as a bit of a nuisance, something which will be expensive to repair should it go wrong, yet not bringing any obvious, tangible benefit. The fact that cleaner exhaust gas often comes with a performance penalty only makes it even more appealing to get rid of the planet-saving hardware altogether, while, in the process, simplifying the hardware and making your off-roader easier to maintain. Emission control systems are quite intricate, aren’t they? The hardware might look complicated, but their operation is actually surprisingly straightforward, especially in this era…

DERYCK SMITH 2006 FORTUNER V6 AUTO 4X4 Age: 68 Occupation: Semi-retired mechanical engineer. Modifications: EFS suspension, long-range fuel tank, dual-battery system, roof rack, roof-top tent (self-built), rear bumper hot water tank (heated by exhaust) and jerrycan holder (self-built), under-bonnet toolbox (the Fortuner is short on packing space) and protective seat covers. Future modifications: Haven’t found I need much more. Possibly a solar panel to assist the National Luna fridge, and some spot lights. Dream vehicle: Another Fortuner or maybe a Prado. Most memorable trips: Western touring route and Hoanib River, Namibia; Kgalagadi (Botswana side); Mana Pools and Chitake Springs, Zimbabwe. Planned trips: Richtersveld and the West Coast Flowers; Central Kalahari. I never leave home without: My camera, laptop and satellite phone (if there is no cell coverage).…