* Tours updates
* The Dusty Dashboard
* Ben 10 Day of Drama
* Wild Coast Shenanigans
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9th February: Zevenwacht 4x4 Training. Bookings have closed
10th to 15th March: Katberg Tour (Fully Booked)
5th to 13th April: Mountain Kingdom Tour (Fully Booked)
13th to 24th May: Wild Coast Tour (Fully booked)
Over the next two weeks we will be releasing tours from June through to September. More details will appear in the next newsletter in two weeks time.
From our archives | July, 2015
There was enough dust on the dashboard to keep a 5 year old busy for hours drawing stick figures, but after 3000 fairly boring kilometres from Cape Town via, Calvinia, Kenhardt, Keimoes, Upington, Kathu (where a passing bakkie hurled a fair sized stone up which smashed our windscreen), Tshabong, Khakea, Kang, and Ghanzi we finally reached Maun at midday on the third day of travelling through the most featurelessly boring and flat terrained country known to man. There is good reason for this – it’s to prepare you for some wildly exciting, adrenaline charged camping once you reach northern Botswana.
We were first time visitors to Botswana and despite some serious internet research; we were woefully over catered in some departments and as conversely unprepared in others. We had checked the weather histology for Botswana as 24C/2C max/min for July, so we packed loads of warm clothes, of which about 90% went unused. What we were short of was shorts and T-Shirts!
The grandeur and splendour of the African bush has been adequately described by hundreds of erudite travellers before me, so in this little story I will relate the funnier side of life in the Botswana bush and how inadequate a city slicker is in that environment, regardless of the frequency of visits to Outdoor Warehouse and Cape Union Mart.
Our first newsletter of 2025 brings with it our wishes to you and your family for a safe, healthy and prosperous New Year.
The festive season is mainly done and dusted. Schools have reopened and parents have gone back to work. As usual our roads were the scene of many terrible accidents in the annual human version of the sardine run, where sensibilities fly out the back door in the wild rush to get to the coast. Massive traffic jams were experienced on the N1, N3 and in Limpopo Province. Well done to everyone that made it back home in one piece. Christmas is not known as the silly season without justfication.
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WILD COAST V10 TOUR. - Our longest tour we offer is our ever popular Wild Coast Tour which offers all the very best on offer in this beautiful region of South Africa. We have 3 spots left. BOOK ONLINE HERE.
The Katberg and Lesotho tours remain fully booked.
We still have capacity for our Zevenwacht 4x4 training day in February. It's a good time to brush up on your off-road skills, especially if you have booked on an upcoming tour.
We will be adding the next series of tours by the end of January, which will include the all new Karoo Tour, Baviaanskloof and Swartberg tours.
On the 31st December at 18.32 our FaceBook followers topped the 200,000 mark with the current figure (today) logging in at 203,500). The festive season always sees a boost in these numbers. Next goal is to reach 300,000 by the end of December, 2025. We have managed to attract a wide variety of followers across all races and 18 international countries (many of whom are expats - it seems our page feeds their longing for home.)
How to traverse steep, rocky terrain.
1. Before navigating uneven ground, secure anything inside the vehicle that could fall around and possibly injure a passenger.
2. If possible, remove any roof-rack items. Roof top tents negatively affect the rollover angle. Use the lowest gear possible and approach at a crawl. Avoid the temptation to steer up the slope.
4. If you slide, steer downhill and gently apply the throttle.
5. If you lose traction on your uphill wheels, stop immediately, reverse away and choose a more suitable route.
6. Keep an eye out for anything that could unbalance the vehicle, like rocks or potholes.
7. Approach logs, rocky steps or ditches diagonally: you want three wheels on the ground at all times.
> Greetings from the MPSA Team
> Upcoming Tours
> Ben 10 Eco Challenge V9 Tour
> Wild Coast Tour
> Technical Corner
> Giving
> Kouga Baviaans Tour
2024 flew by in a blur of adventure and wonderful tours. To all those that toured with us, we hope we impacted your lives in a meaningful way. Every tour generates a new group of guests that become life long friends. To those who have not toured with us, we are waiting with open arms to show you the best of SA's mountain passes.
To those unable to tour with us, we trust that you at least get to enjoy our adventures and research via the website and social media pages - and of course, this newsletter.
We constantly strive to improve the quality of our website and social media pages and it shows in strong, steady growth. Our Facebook follower tally currently stands at 198,600 and Instagram at 29,000.
We are growing our tour offerings in 2025 with some innovative ideas, some which we can't divulge yet. We have a brand new luxury Wild Coast tour taking shape in the projects room. A six day tour focusing on the Northern Wild Coast between Umngazi River Mouth and the Mkambati Nature Reserve in the north is on the cards. We have been in contact with a brand new lodge up north (5 star) which will be included in this new tour. The number of vehicles we will be able to take, will be reduced from our usual 12 to 8, which is due to the number of suites available.
Our new Great Karoo Tour is also coming along nicely and will likely be scheduled for July.
Here's wishing you a blessed Christmas and safe travels. Thank you for your support.
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ZEVENFONTEIN NOVICE/INTERMEDIATE TRAINING
WILD COAST V10 TOUR - This is the full monty from Matatiele in the north all the way through to Chintsa in the south. This is our longest tour of the year spanning 12 days of glorious Wild Coast scenery. Our formula of offering "bail out" days has worked exceptionally well. May is a great month weather wise, when the least amount of rainfall is expected.
Highlights include :
Mzintlava Pass
Mbotyi
Waterfall Bluff
Cathedral Rock
Msikaba mega bridge
Vulture viewing
Magwa Falls
Ntentule Falls (2nd highest waterfall in SA)
Umngazi River Bungalows
Execution Rock
Majola Tea Estates
Coffee Bay
Hole in the Wall
White Clay
Cwebe Nature Reserve
The Haven
Kob Inn
Collywobbles
Kei Ferry
Crawfords Beach Lodge
We guarantee you will get back home relaxed and rejuvenated (not to mention having made a whole bunch of new friends)
CLICK HERE TO BOOK
We have 8 places available.
KATBERG TOUR in March is fully booked as is the Mountain Kingdom Tour in April.
More tours will be loaded in the next few weeks.
* Tours & Bookings
* Wild Coast - Simply Sensational
* Technical
* Kouga Baviaans Tour (Day 3)
* Featured Pass
Based on how fast bookings came in for the first two tours of 2025, it would seem that adventure tourism is still very much on the rise.
We held back two spots on our Katberg Tour for our newsletter subscribers. These were opened on our booking page yesterday, so if you want to join this unique experience, use the link to secure your spot: KATBERG TOUR (March)
ULTIMATE LESOTHO TOUR
This tour is already fully booked. If you missed out, you can put your name down on our priority cancellation list, by sending us an email to
WILD COAST V10 TOUR (May)
Final touches are being added to this tour. Bookings will go live early next week.
ZEVENWACHT TRAINING DAY
Book here: ZEVENWACHT TRAINING DAY.
Fancy improving your offroad skills to the next level. Come and spend the day at the lovely Zevenwacht Wine Estate and take things to the next level. Be the better driver.
There is so much to discuss about this tour, but let's start with some group dynamics.
We had a contingent from Australia (my brother, sister in law and her sister), plus the Lebanese contingent from Cape Town, George and Kroonstad). Together they formed a solid family clique of happy travellers, who were enchanted and amazed at the wonders of the Wild Coast.
The rest of the guests hailed from Cape Town, Mpumalanga, Jo'burg, Hermanus and Plettenberg Bay. Ages ranged from the youngest (Liezel Fowler 52) to the oldest, Carlo Roberts, at 78.
In the vehicle park, no less than 5 Prado's were parked proudly side by side with two Subaru Foresters looking light and lean compared to the heavyweights. There were two Land Cruisers, one Land Rover Discovery Sport, a Range Rover, an Isuzu DC and an Ineos Grenadier, making up the 13 vehicle convoy.
All eyes were on the two Subaru's to see if they could handle the Wild Coast mud and rutted roads, but they aquitted themselves well with both completing the tour, despite a few hiccups along the way. We'll tell you more when we reach that stage of the tour report.
We had 8 days of intermittent rainfall, which was something of a blessing as it kept the dust damped down nicely. The last two days of the tour was concluded in perfect weather but with the wrist slap of dusty roads, as the price of the bus ticket.
* The first 2025 tours bookings are published
* Technical Tips
* Wild Coast Wanderings
* Kouga Baviaans Tour - Day 2
* Improvements in videography
* Featured Pass
Listen to an AI-generated discussion of this week's newsletter.
4x4 Training for Intermediates at Zevenwacht Wine Estate. 9TH FEBRUARY, 2025
Our usual venue at Grabouw suffered an enormous amount of water damage. In the process only about 30% of the tracks are usable for training. We will have to wait until the route management get things sorted out. In the meantime, we have found a new venue at the Zevenwacht 4x4 Training Centre, which has a mix of man made obstacles that will test your comfort zones and three natural routes through the fynbos to test your new found skills.
This course is better suited to those who have already mastered the basics of 4x4 driving. We have engaged the services of a full time, professional trainer, who will be with us to talk every driver through the obstacle course.
The grounds at the wine estate are easy on the eye with sparkling blue dams under tall trees, lending ambience to the stately Cape Dutch buildings and serried ranks of vineyards.
Book here: ZEVENWACHT TRAINING DAY.
KATBERG TOUR. 10-15 March, 2025
We have done some major amendments to this tour, containing the routes within the east-west zone of Bedford and Keiskammahoek. We have also booked two night's accommodation at Arminel in Hogsback and an entire day dedicated to gardens, waterfalls and labyrinths. This tour is all about forests, gnomes, rich scenery and mountain pass tracks. Lord of the Rings stuff!
Book here: KATBERG TOUR
ULTIMATE LESOTHO TOUR.
For this 4th Lesotho Tour, we have refined the old route, changed a few venues and added in 2 extra days in order to have shorter days behind the wheel and more time for sightseeing and relaxation. We've given the tour a name change too, as we firmly believe this is the ultimate tour of Lesotho offering the very best the Mountain Kingdom has to offer. Lesotho's number one gem, the Sethlabatebe National Park is also an integral part of the tour now.
Book here: ULTIMATE LESOTHO TOUR. 5-13 April, 2025.
More tours will be loaded mid November.
The first step in preparing your 4×4 to handle a long off-road trip is to make sure it’s in good working condition. This includes a thorough inspection of the vehicle’s fluids, brakes, suspension, tires, and battery. Make sure to check the owner’s manual for the manufacturer’s recommended maintenance schedule and adhere to it.
Here’s a general 4WD maintenance checklist for an off-road trip:
* I love my calendar girl
* Kouga Baviaans Tour (Day 1)
* Sand Driving Tips
* Chappies
* Sand Driving Tips
* Featured Pass
Listen to an AI-generated discussion of this week's newsletter.
We have good news and bad news. The 2025 tour planning is well underway, but the bad news is it's not ready for publication yet. To whet your appetite we have the following planned:
The Ben 10 Eco Challenge has been going for almost a decade. The time has come for us to close the chapter, but we will still be driving all the Ben 10 passes during the all-new 35 Passes Sky Tour - so it will be like a Ben 10 on steroids! We are exploring some new routes in the Tankwa with a view to reinstating our original Tankwa route, but adding in some extra points of interest. Also new is the Intermediate 4x4 training day at the Zevenwacht training facility where we will be teaching driving on side slopes, steep ascents and descents and how to choose good driving lines.
We are also planning a special pro-bono trip through the Baviaanskloof to clean up all the sticker plastered signs. This will be a very different type of outing which will involve some hard work, standing on ladders in the elements and applying some elbow grease. We are looking at a maximum of 4 to 5 vehicles. The project should be able to be completed in 3 to 4 days. Entry will be free from MPSA as this is how we give back to the community. Watch this space. We will supply all the cleaning materials, blades, scrapers, etc. If you're interested in being part of this project, send us an email:
The first day of this tour was an easy one, routing west on the R62 up the Langkloof from Kareedouw to Joubertina, with a coffee stop just outside Joubertina. As soon we were on gravel, we stopped and went through the tyre deflation ritual to ensure better traction, more comfort and reduced risk of punctures.
Before long we were meandering through the green hills and valleys of the Kouga Mountains, where the first pass of the tour was waiting. The Kouga-Kleinrivier Pass is a fairly short, but captivating gravel pass, which traverses the Kouga River and a short while later a tributary, the Kleinrivier. The drive alongside the river is in dense bush with lots of crystal-clear mountain streams criss-crossing under the road. This is followed by a steep climb out the eastern side of the valley, offering dreamy views and an almost complete perspective of the road you have just travelled.
* On the Eastern Front
* The winter of all winters
* Technical Corner
* Kouga-Baviaans Tour (Prologue)
* 2025 Calendar to be released soon
* Featured Pass
Listen to an AI-generated discussion of this week's newsletter.
There has been a lot of negative news coming out of the Eastern Cape and the Transkei in particular. One very unfortunate (preventable) kidnapping in Mthatha and a faction fight near Lusikisiki which left 18 dead. The predictable knee jerk reaction and sensationalist journalism on social media has resulted in a spate of holiday cancellations and property sales. Our commiserations to all the folk in the hospitality industry who have to take yet another knock after five tough years, pre-empted by the Covid pandemic.
Many did not survive the financial losses and most have still not recovered fully. But there is always a positive side with the news that the Mazeppa Bay Hotel, which has long been a classic tourism destination, has been sold. The new owners plan on having it up and running by November.
Two years ago there was a similar set of incidents. Taxi violence in Port St Johns left 11 dead and 22 people died near Majola Tea Estates as a result of faction fighting. There was the same knee jerk reaction. We had a Wild Coast Tour starting a month after that first incident happened and decided to amend our routing (which normally traverses Majola) as a safety precaution. Six months later we reverted to our original route on the next tour and all was peaceful and quiet.
The saying goes that 'Man is a seven day wonder' and in a week or two all this bad news will be forgotten as we carry on with our lives. A young white woman alone in a Toyota Fortuner filling up in Mthatha is a singularly bad idea. She was a soft target. Now you all know.
Just when we thought spring had sprung, a particularly nasty weather system moved in over large parts of South Africa. Van Reenen's Pass saw dozens of vehicles stranded in the snow. Rescue and recovery operations went on for days. Many people were forced to spend up to 14 hours in their vehicles before rescue services were able to get to them. One person died.
Lesotho received another huge dollop of snow as did the Drakensberg and most mountain ranges all the way west to the Cederberg received good snowfall. It's been a very cold and wet winter. Long cold winters result in exceptional wildflower displays. Namaqualand delivered the goods and tourisrs from around the world have anjoyed the 'greatest floral show on earth'
Driving in soft sand
To descend, keep vertical to the sand hill/descent and avoid brakes. Accelerate gently if necessary, to aid descent.
Beach sand is totally different to the sand you find in the desert. Much of it tends to be much coarser in grain texture and therefore can at time be more forgiving that the desert sand that runs like water. Of course, being close to the sea it can also be damp, wet, extremely wet or waterlogged. It can also be dry, gravelly and have the odd rock thrown in for good measure.
Away from the water’s edge you will often find dunes, some with vegetation, some without and in certain areas around the world you will find larger dunes, similar to the ones you find in the desert. While those dunes look similar and do have some of the same features, they are very different. We’ll come to that later but only touch on them briefly as “real” desert driving needs lots of space for discussion on techniques.
In South Africa, driving on a beach is a rare event and illegal almost everywhere, but not so in Namibia and Mozambique.
* Late snowfalls
* Signs of the times
* 2025 calendar
* Alwyn Vincent - the tug that can.
* Featured Pass
Listen to an AI-generated discussion of this week's newsletter.
The winter of 2024 has been a humdinger with more snow that I can remember in decades, not to mention huge amounts of rain that fell over the Western Cape, Garden Route and Eastern Cape. Port Elizabeth's looming "Day Zero" water crises has been averted, but the cost of damage to infratructure has been heavy.
Many damaged roads and bridges have yet to be repaired. We refilmed the Franschhoek Pass a few weeks ago with our new GoPro 12 Black, supported by drone footage and were left gobsmacked at the level of damage to the pass. It's going to take time to get the damaged sections repaired. There are about nine self-policed stop-go's in place and authorities have put a 5 ton mass limit in place. This was completely ignored on the day we traversed the pass as the N2 was closed at Grabouw due to protest action, which meant all the normal trafiic on the N2 routed via the pass, which included large pantechnicons. No traffic officials were anywhere to be seen.
We have begun work on the task of producing our 2025 calendar. The office walls are adorned with huge spreadsheets as we study the jigsaw puzzle of school holidays, public holidays, Easter and special events that we need to take into consideration (eg the Sardine Run attracts thousands of visitors to the Wild Coast and KZN which makes it nigh impossible to find accommodation for our tour groups).
All tasks begin by taking the first step, so we are already making progress. We have some innovative ideas being introduced in 2025. All will be revealed in a few week's time when we publish it. On our most popular tours (Lesotho, Wild Coast, Swartberg and Ben 10) we will be offering two tours running back to back with a two day gap between them. We have some new guides joining the MPSA team who are currently receiving training and who knows, might even be better than the grand master?!
Included in 2025 is a planned tour of the Cederberg and we are reinventing our popular Seven Sisters Tour with fresh destinations to replace the tour of the Huguenot service tunnel which is no longer available to us.
The Katberg Tour was very successful and we have a lot of interest in the 2025 version, which will also be a double up tour (back to back) to meet the demand.
* Round up
* Silver River Pass - Good News!
* Tech Corner
* Swartberg Tour - Day 3
* Featured Pass
It's been a relentless winter for the Capies with several frontal systems lashing the Cape week after week. The latest one has produced low level snow over large parts of South Africa and Table Mountain is white with snow. Damage to infrastructure has been piling up, with local government focusing on the more important routes. At the time of writing this newsletter reports are flooding in of widespread low-level snow from many areas around South Africa and Lesotho.
The Western Cape has been grappling with severe weather conditions recently, leading to widespread disruptions. Heavy rains and strong winds have caused flooding in several areas, impacting homes and infrastructure. Emergency services are on high alert, working tirelessly to assist those affected and mitigate further damage. Local authorities are urging residents to stay informed and heed safety warnings. As the region faces these challenges, community support remains crucial. Weather forecasts suggest more adverse conditions may be on the horizon, prompting ongoing vigilance.
That brings me to Montagu Pass and The Silver River Pass. The latter is finally receiving some attention with an on-site visit by a government official. Promises have been made that the landslide damage to the pass will take place at "some point in the future". This comes after lobbying by pressure groups from Wilderness, who use the road to commute to George. For the past year the authorities have turned a blind eye, stating simply that the pass will 'remain closed indefinitely'.
It's a small step forward getting a commitment of intent. I often wonder if government officials have any comprehension of the value of tourism. Both the Kaaimansgat and Silver River bridges are national monuments and form part of the Seven Passes Road, a perennial favourite amongst tourists and locals alike. We drove the route yesterday and found almost no traffic on the entire route.
The jury is still out on George's #1 tourist attraction - the Montagu Pass, which remains closed to all traffic, including motorcycles, cycles and walkers. Before Montagu Pass grabbed the #1 spot, it used to belong the Outeniqua Choo-Choo - a magnificent coastal rail trip that wowed visitors for many decades, until floods caused such severe damage to the track, that the government said it was no longer viable to keep the service running. That's a bit like Paris saying the Eiffel Tower costs too much to maintain.
One of the issues with the Montagu Pass is that three government agencies have to agree on the process of repairs. Municipal, Provincial and National Monuments Council. There is a lot of red tape involved, with the repair crews saying they don't have the skills to repair the pass to the standards demanded by the NMC. And so they all go round in circles.
* Swartberg Tour Day 2
* Quick recap
* Technical Corner
* Grabouw Novice Training Day
* History: Murder at Houdenbek
* Mountain Kingdom Tour - Day 7
* Featured Pass
We assembled the convoy after breakfast at Rooiberg Lodge after more overnight rain and another day of gale force winds from the west. We would be driving into the teeth of that storm for at least half the day. An interesting observation is that we arrived at Bosch Luys Kloof Lodge two hours ahead of schedule. This was due to the fact that being outside the vehicles was unpleasant and very cold, so our comfort breaks were very brief!
We departed Rooiberg Lodge at 0900 with our convoy back up to full strength with our oldest guest Shane Hewitt (83) and his wife, Welma, having arrived the previous afternoon after electrical problems with their beloved Land Discovery 1. Our route first went east, up the narrow and steep Assegaaibosch Pass and from there up the Rooiberg Pass where we paused for photos at the Gebedstapel (Prayer Cairn). It was chilly and exposed at the summit point, but the views were crystal clear.
The Rooiberg Pass was in good condition as we made good progress down the northern side and on to Calitzdorp, from where we turned west and into that gale force wind along the R62. The two single ladies in their Jimnys were having a lot of fun trying to keep their steeds on the road. We drove the Huisrivier Pass and refuelled in Ladismith, deciding to exclude the Hoekoe Valley loop due to excesive mud.
From there our route followed the southern side of the Swartberg range for some distance as we graced the Karoo gravel roads traversing a string of small passes and poorts, which included the Outol Pass, Klein Swartberg Pass, Volstruisnek, Wasbank Pass and Perdefonteinkloof Pass, before connecting with the R323 at the Witnekke Pass, where we finally could get some benefit from the strong wind, as we headed east through the beautiful farming valley of the Rietvlei and Moondance farms.
The brief stretch of smooth tar gave way to gravel once more as we cruised up the Koueveld Pass, where two waterfalls were putting on a nice show for us. Cameras clicked and we promptly arrived at the intersection of the R323 and R407, having climbed over the 1000m altitude level. We took the left hand fork and drove through huge fields of onions that were soggy and wet from the recent heavy rains.
We had not had any rain on that day, but there was heavy rain in the forecast. Bosluiskloof Pass is always a favourite amongst our guests as we slowly dropped down towards the lodge at the bottom of the valley. Evidence of recent roadworks indicated that the management of Bosch Luys Kloof Lodge had been hard at work, ensuring the road was in a driveable condition.
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