Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2016 i Go! Drive & Camp

I’m writing in response to the tribute article on the Land Rover Defender (“The Legend lives on” in Drive Out #98). My Landy, Bloubul, was born in 1992, although its birth certificate was first issued in early 1993. I adopted it in 2004 when it was 11 years old with 165 000 km on the clock. As is the case with most Landylovers, I’ve been obsessed with these vehicles – specifically the older Defender models – since I was only knee-high. I built up my first Landy, a1974 Series III diesel bakkie, from the proverbial bare bones to its current condition. Bloubul is my second Landy. In the interim I’ve also owned a 2004 Freelander Td4 (one of the best cars that I’ve ever driven!), as well as a Td5…

“Try to establish swiftly how many people are injured or will need assistance.” After reading the article “The right radio talk” in the March edition, hopefully you have a good idea of the best way to use a two-way radio on a 4x4 tour while you’re watching game and making those long stretches of road shorter over the airwaves. But how do you communicate when things go wrong? You hit an animal and your vehicle sustains serious damage; you cause an accident and someone gets badly hurt; someone in your convoy suffers a heart attack or other serious medical emergency. One of our readers, Dr Chris Viljoen, also pondered situations such as these when he read the March article. Chris was involved with emergency services for many years. “This experience…

Is it a Discovery? No. Is it a sports vehicle? Once again, no. What it is though, is an entry-level SUV bearing the Discovery name. And just to confuse you even more – it is bigger than the more expensive Evoque (with which it shares a platform), but the Evoque is a lower-priced vehicle in the Range Rover series. In our December 2015 issue we crowned the Land Rover Discovery Sport HSE Luxury as our Soft-Roader of the Year 2016 in our annual 4x4 of the Year Awards. But here we’re taking a closer look at the lower-spec SE model that may give you less bling, but at R673 700, it’s also a lot cheaper than the HSE Luxury’s R775 300. Under the bonnet The Discovery Sport range has two…

Right from the start it was clear that Madagascar would be anything but easy. The company that was transporting our vehicles for us warned me straight away: right-hand drive vehicles are not allowed on the island. Thus our problems began before we had even set foot on the coast. I got a lot of information about what it’s like visiting the island through several conversations and using social media. We were warned about the conditions of the road, we were told that corrupt officials and roadblocks were a serious problem. Then there were language barriers. In the bigger towns, some of the local people speak French, but in the countryside only Malagasy is spoken. We knew that a big challenge awaited us. I contacted the Malagasy government through an Ambassador,…

1. ORDER OF THE DAY Stack frozen food in the order that you’re going to eat it, and (if possible) open the freezer only once a day to take what you need. This will reduce the lid’s opening time, and overall power consumption. 2. TRANSFER Defrost meat by putting it in the fridge compartment the night before; this keeps the fridge cool, and saves battery power. 3. BASKET CASE Fitting baskets to your fridge/freezer will ensure better air circulation and consistent cooling; it will also prevent possible freezer burn caused by food making contact with the fridge’s walls. 4. LATCH ON Always keep your fridge/freezer’s locking latches closed to prevent heat penetration and poor seal performance. 5. AIRTIGHT Storing food in airtight containers reduces the chance of food or liquid…

When the Fortuner was launched locally ten years ago, it was hard to figure out who its competitors were, because there was nothing to compare it with. It was something that single-handedly created a new segment, that of the bakkie-based SUV, and subsequently went on to sell almost 100 000 here. The IMV, or Innovative International Multi-purpose Vehicle, on which both the new Hilux and Fortuner are based, has obviously been totally redesigned. One of the most significant changes is at the back, where the vehicle now has multi-link suspension. Remember the old Fortuner’s loose tail over corrugations? The new suspension layout should sort that out. APPEARANCE When I saw the first photos of the new Fortuner I had my doubts, especially about the grille and the glass of the…

I like to explore diverse places. But you need to tread lightly when you’re on the border between two different regions. Usually, there aren’t any signs that indicate when you’re entering Namaqualand, Bushmanland, the Koue Bokkeveld or the Kalahari. Before you know it, you’ve already traversed the Bo-Karoo, Hardeman’s Karoo and Moordenaars’ Karoo. You don’t necessarily see or cross over any border fences, mountains or rivers that separate the different regions. The border lines are almost imaginary curves that continue until the grasslands change into scrublands or the rocks stop and the sand begins. Discussions around these borders can get more heated than debates about which bakkie handles corrugation best. You can’t tell a Namaqualander that he lives in Bushmanland. The opposite also causes trouble – and you’ll earn yourself…

It’s late in the afternoon when I arrive in Port Nolloth. I stop by the quay to photograph some ships in the dying light. I get the feeling it is out of pure curiosity that the tiny woman comes and stands next to me. The fleeting light accentuates her features: a woolly hat on her head, wrinkles in a skin that has seen a lot of sun, porcelain white teeth, dark yet sparkling eyes. “She is a woman, this one,” she says with a raspy voice that reminds me of the sound of sandpaper on glass. She points to the ocean. “She is jealous, doesn’t allow a woman on the water.” She looks at me for a moment, and then substantiates her argument further. “And she has a monthly cycle…

Spotlights, floodlights, driving lights, auxiliary lights. Call them what you will, few people will argue that they are invaluable at night. But can yours shine on a kudu 200 m away in the dark? We tested 14 different LED spotlights to find out. LED VS HALOGEN VS HID When Thomas Alva Edison invented the light bulb in 1879 it was basically just a ball of glass without any oxygen but with other gases, inside which a tungsten wire glowed when an electric current ran through it. Most halogen lamps work on a similar principle. HID (High Intensity Discharge) light bulbs also work on this principle, except that the chemicals that are in the glass bulb differ – and it doesn’t have a wire that glows, but an electric arc between…

HYUNDAI TUCSON Tucson tucks into the local market The Hyundai Tucson, launched late last year internationally, is now available in South Africa. The local Tucson, which replaces the IX35, is almost exactly the same as the model launched in Europe (see Drive Out #94). The only real differences, says Stanley Anderson, marketing director for Hyundai South Africa, is the absence of the electric tail gate and LED headlights. The SA models also get a different navigation and multimedia system (an optional extra at R15 000 across the range), and only petrol engines – the well-known 2.0 litre and a new 1.6 turbo – for now. Five models will be available locally, from the entry level 2.0 petrol with a 6-speed manual or automatic gearbox, to the flagship 1.6 TGDi Elite,…

If Tony Deleva from Cape Town drives past you in his slick black Jeep Rubicon and you don’t notice him, get your eyes tested. You’ll be forgiven if you mistake it for a truck, because this monster of a vehicle rolls on 38-inch tyres. “This is my toy,” a proud Tony says. “My general runner and for the dunes and 4x4 courses. That’s what the height is for!” he says. The Jeep may be Tony’s biggest 4x4, but it's not his first. “I’ve had an affinity for 4x4s for a long time and have owned plenty of vehicles, from Jeeps to Toyotas and everything between. But I chose a Jeep for this project as I believe it is the best 4x4.” In the past Tony has had a Toyota Fortuner…

Southern Africa is camping heaven. We have access to incredible national parks, resorts, guest farms and camp sites all over the region. You can choose to camp by the ocean or next to a river. You can head for the Drakensberg or choose the expanses of the Great Karoo. A long weekend in the Bushveld has its pull, but so too a winter holiday in the Kalahari. Whichever destination you choose will be made more enjoyable if you are well prepared. You don’t want to be that family that realises, after having unpacked the car boot, that you’ve left the camping chairs in the garage! With these great products from Camp Master you’ll be the best prepared family in the camp site. Set up your Instant Shade 300 Gazebo first…

Like most adventures, the decision to go hunting for the gravel roads of the historical Long Tom Pass was born one night around a fire with a glass of red wine in hand. The occasion was that my son, Chrisjan, had just bought himself a Land Rover Defender 90. Our family regularly travels in Namibia and Chrisjan has been going with us to the desert since his school days. He was very excited about his Landy and was naturally very enthusiastic about putting his dream vehicle to the test. But for working folk like us, it’s not always that easy to disappear into the bush for a couple of days. Then I and my friend Annas Botha, who has also done numerous trips to the desert with us, came up…

A BRIEF ITINERARY DAY 1: We meet on the Zimbabwe side of the Plumtree Border Post just north of Francistown, Botswana. Our team is on hand to assist with border crossings. We then travel for about 1 hour to our camp site for the next two nights, which overlooks the majestic Matobo Hills. Over dinner we chat about the tour itinerary and get to know one another. DAY 2: A Zimbabwean specialist tour operator and guide takes us into Matobo National Park. We spend the day game viewing, enjoying incredible scenery and visiting the final resting place of Cecil John Rhodes. DAY 3: We make our way via Bulawayo to Masvingo to restock and refuel. Then we spend the afternoon at Great Zimbabwe and camp in the tranquil setting of…

I’m not entirely sure when my rubber fetish began, but I suspect it was somewhere in northern Mozambique. We were a convoy of Toyota 4x4s thrashing through the bush. Our vehicles were heavily burdened and crossing some of the toughest terrain Africa could offer. My travelling companions (several motoring journalists) were impressed by how well the Toyotas were handing the journey, but, after tackling more than eight thousand off-road kilometres without a single puncture, I developed a profound admiration for the all-terrain tyre market – the true heroes in any off-road saga. I once read a survey that asked readers to rate various 4x4 accessories in their order of importance. I was surprised to see so many 4x4 enthusiasts rating aftermarket suspension and diff-locks ahead of tyres, as if these…

This “Oops” happened when I decided to take my 2001 Landy with its V8 petrol engine to an open day one afternoon. My wife and I left our little daughter with her grandmother at the club house so we could go for a “quick drive” through the obstacles. The first grade 3-4 obstacles were quite easy and I was brimming with confidence in my and my Landy’s capabilities. So when my wife suggested that I should first walk through a mud pit before driving it, I just thought to myself: “No way, how wet could it possibly be in this drought?” Besides, I was driving with mud terrains fitted to the vehicle. And so I went for it, with more courage than common sense. But when the tyres broke through…