Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2018 i Go! Drive & Camp

After eight months of go! Drive & Camp being on the shelf, the recent Beeld Holiday Show was my first opportunity to meet some of our readers. Thank you to each and every one who came over to say hello and have a chat. The feedback that we received from you regarding the magazine is invaluable to us. go! Drive & Camp exists for one reason only: to better prepare you, our reader, for your next outdoor adventure. This is why we find it extremely useful when you chat to us and tell us more about what you want. I said this to everyone I met at the show and I’ll say it again: My contact details are on this page. Write…

There’s been a fair amount of excitement and anticipation around the launch of Ford’s new Ranger Raptor. This is the official Ford Performance production version. With the official launch in Thailand now over, the facts and figures are out and there is quite a bit of backlash from many corners regarding the perceived lack of horses under the bonnet. I think I can safely say that most of us were expecting the big twin-turbo petrol V6 engine from the F-150 Raptor or something similar. This 336 kW and 691 Nm powerhouse would have gone down a treat in a light and agile Ford Ranger. Then there were rumours that it would get the 2.3 ℓ Ecoboost turbopetrol engine from the Mustang with 231 kW and 475 Nm. These are respectable…

Just north of Brits in the North West the Crocodile River cuts through a ravine that’s surrounded by three mountains: On the southern side, where the river flows into the ravine, Wagpos Mountain stands guard; a little bit further, on the western side of the river, lies the Langberg; and opposite this, on the eastern side of the ravine, lies Ouberg. It’s here, at the foot of Ouberg, between indigenous trees, that you’ll find the Drie Berge Caravan Park next to the river. The turn-off from the D1195 tar road to Drie Berge is 7 km outside of Brits, and you can be caught off-guard if you don’t keep your eyes peeled for the sign. The turn-off lies hidden behind bushes next to the road and you only see it…

FISHING RESORT RIVER DESTINY LODGE From the banks River Destiny Lodge is on the banks of the Orange River where the N1 runs over the water between the Free State and the Northern Cape. The resort is on the Cape side and the Gariep Dam is upstream with the Vanderkloof Dam further down in the direction of Hopetown. The stands start as you drive into the campground, about 100 m before the river, and are to the left of the road opposite a hall. The lawn has big shade trees and there are 16 standard three-prong sockets spread out around the hall. On the other side of the building are four more stands all along a fence, also on grass and with electricity. The bathrooms with laundry facilities are at…

POT-ROASTED LAMB Time is on your side A whole piece of lamb that is slowly cooked over the coals until the meat separates from the bone is rich in flavour. Place the pot in the embers of the evening’s campfire and when you rise tomorrow morning the meal will be ready. Just heat it up when it’s time to eat. Ingredients (enough for 8) 2–3 kg lamb shoulder or leg (bone inside) ¼ cup olive oil 1 cup white wine 1 cup lamb stock 3 sprigs rosemary 5 cloves garlic 1 tin chickpeas 2 fresh tomatoes, cubed salt and pepper, to taste Here’s how 1 Place the lamb with the fat facing up in a flat-bottom pot. Drizzle olive oil over the meat. Add the white wine, lamb stock, rosemary…

The water beckons Ten years ago he captured this special moment of his daughter at a campsite, says Ryno Taljaard from Uitenhage. “The photo was taken at the start of a camping long weekend at Forever Plettenberg Bay. Our daughter, Tegan, was six years old and we arrived a day early to secure a good stand. But that meant the campsite was quiet and there weren’t any friends for her to play with. We were busy pitching camp and we couldn’t go play with her on the sandbank near our stand. As she walked away on her own, I took a photo. I changed it to black and white on my computer and used it as my Facebook profile pic.” The success of some photos is measured by the exact…

THAT TIME OUR CARAVAN WENT UP IN FLAMES... A few years ago our Jurgens caravan caught fire and I learnt a good many lessons from the incident. In 1983 we did a tour with two other couples – each also with a caravan – through Namibia. We also had the same type of towing vehicle: a Toyota Land Cruiser 4.1. Our average fuel consumption was an “amazing” 4,1 ℓ/km! At the Hardap Dam the ground was rock hard and we couldn’t drive in our tent pegs, so we renamed the place “Hardekap Dam” (hit it hard dam). We drove to Sesriem via Maltahöhe where the road deteriorated significantly. The contents of our caravans got strewn all over the place as they shook about. At the Sossusvlei camp the incredulous receptionist…

The smartest people in South Africa don’t work for the WNNR or at UCT or Maties. No, they gather around the fire somewhere at a campsite where they spew words of wisdom about subjects like who should coach the Boks, how a caravan should be packed, which vehicle tows the best, and whether a stabiliser is really necessary. What often happens when you ask advice from these guys is that a simple question, like how to level your caravan, is met with snide remarks like “you park it on level ground” or “use the eyes in your head”. And if these guys are already three sheets to the wind they’ll tell you to put your camp chair underneath a tree and sit with drink in hand while you first check…

The Langkloof lies between the towns of Herold and Humansdorp, with the Kamanassie and Kouga mountains in the north and the Outeniqua mountain range in the south. If you were farming here in the 18th century you would have been able to smell the sea from across the mountains, that’s how close you were. But to reach it was another story all together. In 1776, two farmers, Jacobus van Beelen and Stephanus Terblanche, built an ox wagon track over Duiwelskop to connect the Langkloof with the coast. When the Montagu Pass and Seven Passes Route were completed in 1847 and 1869 respectively, the Duiwelskop Pass (also called the Old Voortrekker Pass) fell into disuse. Fortunately, Thomas Bain extended the pass with a full 11 km in 1864, and it’s this…

National Luna is a 30-year-old South African company that produces the world’s largest selection of commercially available 12 V fridges/freezers. They’re the preferred supplier to most major off-road trailer and caravan manufacturers, and a global distributor of more than 200 outdoor products and accessories. A recent survey revealed that most people with a dual-battery system in their vehicle believe that driving for a few hours will restore power to their auxiliary battery. It seems many people think that the long drive home will be more than enough to top up power. False! This is a common misconception and one that raises several other questions regarding dual-battery systems… HERE ARE THE FACTS • All batteries need time to recharge. There are no short cuts or special systems that can make the recharge…

“It’s the first time I’ve seen a Landwind, and I have to say that from the outside you can see it’s from the East. Still, the interior finishes are better than what you usually see on many Eastern vehicles. There are a few novelties like a slot between the two front seats where you can fit three bank cards. It’s quite neat and comes in handy when you need to reach for your card quickly, like at a toll gate. The leather seats feel hard, but they’re not uncomfortable. It’s cool that they can be electrically adjusted, even if it’s just forwards, backwards and changing the backrest angle. The height can’t be adjusted. The ride is a bit bumpy for an SUV, but it’s to be expected if you see…

If you want to talk to Will but Bill annoyingly keeps on answering, you can use Navo’s International Phonetic Alphabet. A – AlphaB – BravoC – CharlieD – DeltaE – EchoF – FoxtrotG – GolfH – HotelI – IndiaJ – JulietK – KiloL – LimaM – MikeN – NovemberO – OscarP – PapaQ – QuebecR – RomeoS – SierraT – TangoU – UniformW – WhiskeyX – X-rayY – YankeeZ – Zulu “Will, Will, come in.” “Bill here, over.” “Whiskey-India-Lima-Lima, come in.”…

Roland Straub We normally stop at a Wimpy or something along the way, but this year we’re doing proper padkos: frikkadelle, eggs and chicken with fresh rolls. We’re showing the kids how we used to do it. Ludwig Schnettler We stop and enjoy a hearty Wimpy breakfast. Cathrine Dixon We pack sliced leg of lamb, frikkadelle, eggs, pieces of sausage and buttered rolls. And don’t forget the coffee and cooldrinks. Melanie Vorster We like buns with cold meat and cheese, juice and water. Perhaps some droëwors and Jungle bars. We even eat in the car. Johan Terblanche To stop on the side of the road is a huge risk these days. We usually eat in the car and stretch our legs at a filling station. Lettie van Aarde We stop…

The north of the Kruger National Park is quieter than the south and also farther away from big cities like Pretoria and Johannesburg. It’s elephant and buffalo country, and the lush Bushveld that you find in the south makes way for fields of mopane trees. When you camp here the stands next to the fence are first prize – just like in the rest of the Kruger. At Satara you can be one of the lucky 20 or so who pitch camp right next to the 300 m fence, but at Shingwedzi things are a bit different: The 26 stands next to the fence are allocated beforehand and you pay extra for the privilege to camp closer to the animals. Far north in Punda Maria there’s a bird hide right…

He is one of the most famous faces on television and local stage, but he is also an adrenaline junkie who is always looking for his next adventure. Paul du Toit is also a camper to the core. There is, therefore, no better presenter for the Afrikaans camping programme, Kom ons Kamp , which launches on Via (channel 147 on DStv) this month. In this reality show three teams per episode take part in a range of challenges and battle it out to ultimately be crowned camping champions. We were on set during filming and asked Paul about his favourite camping destination. Without hesitation he said Mdumbi is top of his list. Tell us more about Mdumbi. It’s just one of those places that takes your breath…

Power Ranger FORD RANGER 3.2 XLS 4X4 After only a minor software remap that gave his Ranger a total of 165 kW and a massive 581 Nm, it’s now a force to be reckoned with, says Andre van Heerden from Cape Town. “For two years I drove a 2012 Mazda BT-50 with the same 3.2 ℓ engine as my Ranger, but I just wasn’t fond of its manual gearbox. So I started looking around for a suitable automatic bakkie. I needed something that could tow easily and offer a comfortable ride. After looking at options like the Toyota Hilux and Mitsubishi Triton, I settled on a brand new Ranger in 2015. I can’t find any fault with the Ranger – everything about it is fantastic. To make it unstoppable off-road…