* Winter of 2025
* Swartberg Classic Tour
* Year End Tour (Eastern Cape Highlands)
* Wild Coast Tour (Mbotyi to Umngazi)
* Lesotho
* Johann Meyer - A tribute
* Featured new pass - Bloumans Pass
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Arriving on time in early June, the entire country saw plummeting temperatures, gale force winds, high rainfall and heavy snow. We saw a photo taken by the weather camera at Mountain Shadows Hotel showing the snow almost at car roof levels in the parking area. It's a time to be snugly indoors in front of a fire watching tennis or rugby. Or is it?
We have always regarded winter as the best time to go on a tour and it seems many of our readers do too, as can be seen by the bookings for our winter tours flying off the shelves. Forsake those home comforts and grab yourself some first class adventure travel.
Our Great Karoo Tour and Cederberg Tours are fully booked, but we still have a few places on our Swartberg Tour. We moved the tour one month ahead from July to August in order to be able to enjoy the wildflowers along the route. We regard this as our most balanced tour in our portfolio taking in an amazing amount of exquisite mountain scenery, the very best in quality lodges, and of course a full traverse of South Africa's top gravel pass, the Swartberg Pass, as well as a drive to Die Hel and a chat with Rooi Piet Joubert.
Other classic passes include the Rooiberg Pass, Gysmanshoek, Bosluiskloof, Seweweekspoort and Meiringspoort. We leave the best till last with a visit to the little known Gamkaberg Nature Reserve, where we cross the mountain range via the 4x4 only Lawson's Pass. Last year the mountains there were smothered in the most beautiful array of wild-flowers.
* Wild Coast V10 Tour
* Ntentule Waterfall
* Msikaba Bridge Update
* Fishing for Kob
* Lesotho Day 2
* Muela Hydro
* Tours Availability
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The Wild Coast continues to attract guests as can be attested by yet another fully booked tour. Things got going at Resthaven on Tuesday 13th May, with everyone arriving on time in perfect weather. Radios fitted, tyres deflated and drivers briefing completed, guests settled in to a delcious dinner (lamb shanks) and an early night after a long day's travelling.
In the convoy we had Land Cruisers, Prados and Fortuners, Land Rovers, a Ford Everest, a Nissan X-Trail and an Ineos Grenadier. There were no punctures or mechanical breakdowns, not to mention 10 days of brilliant weather, with clear blue skies and temperatures mainly above 25C. Considering it's already late autumn, guests were been swimming daily, whether in the Indian Ocean (24C), lagoons or pools.
Many guests ask us why we start this tour in Matatiele. The reason is that we take guests down to the coast via a set of maginificent passes (all on gravel) through some of the most beautiful landscapes imaginable, from towering mountains with steep cliffs, peaceful villages in the the valleys, fast flowing rivers and indigenous forests. There's an incredible amount of variety on that first day. The roads were generally in reasonable condition, until we arrived in crazy, chaotic Lusikisiki, where patience was the watch word negotiating a 13 vehicle convoy through the throngs of people, taxis, animals and double parked vehicles. It's quite a "when in Africa" experience!
Once we were on the road to Mbotyi we noted lots of major new road works, presumably part of the new N2 Toll road that will take traffic over the Msikaba Mega bridge and the Mtentu bridge. Once we reached the entry gates to the Magwa Tea Estates, the road conditions worsened dramatically, necessitating a speed below 20 kph and it remained like that all the way to Mbotyi River Lodge. In effect it is no longer possible to drive down to the lodge in a normal passenger vehicle. Let's hope they can at least send a grader down there to do some basic repairs. At the moment it's a shocker. To add to the drama, we would have to traverse the pass 5 more times over the next two days.
* Too many public holidays?
* Great Karoo Tour (New)
* Swartberg Classic Tour
* Cederberg Tour (New)
* META Muckup
* Lesotho 2025 Trip (Day 1)
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With a barrage of public holidays creating a perfect storm of people taking long leave and many businesses closing for almost three weeks, makes me rethink the state of the economy. Things must be going well for businesses to afford to close down twice a year, in the process losing almost 17% of their annual turnover. Perhaps I'm too old school to understand the rationale.
However, the latest statistics show a remarkable decrease in the road death toll. It is 45.6% lower than in 2024. We heard one theory that the Easter weekend's timing was just before payday, suggesting that many people stayed at home. That's a more likely explanation than SA drivers suddenly deciding to drive more safely. The topic is open for debate.
The avalanche of public holidays also made us rethink the release of this newsletter as we have found that far less subscribers read the newsletters over long weekends, hence the delay in publishing this one, which will coincide with the first 5 day working week in a while.
Parts of the country (especially up north) have experienced very wet weather, with large scale flooding taking place. The Vaal Dam filled up and overflowed in a short time frame, sending huge volumes of water downstream. With water from the Katse Dam being on hold due to scheduled tunnel maintenance, the extra water comes as a relief.
Meanwhile in the Western Cape idyllic autumn weather is currently being enjoyed, before the winter rains arrive.
We are preparing for our next tour, which is our 10th Wild Coast Tour - as popular as ever and fully booked. It kicks off in Matatiele on Monday 13th May. If you want to follow the tour in real time, it's best to follow our Facebook page.
GREAT KAROO TOUR (JULY) (NEW)
This brand new tour is cheduled to take place smack bang in the middle of winter and with good reason too. Clarity of vision makes for much more enjoyable driving, photography and videography. With moderate day time temperatures it's pleasant inside the vehicle and the crisp, cold Karoo nights ensure a convival atmosphere around the fire in the evenings.
Karoo magic at Nieu Bethesda / Photo: SAOnline
On this tour you will drive the Bedrogfontein 4x4 Route - an historical route that was once used by Jan Smuts and his men to ambush the English garrison of Sir Harry Smith. We will visit the Darlington Dam, spend a full day in the Addo Elephant National Park, drive the Zuurberg and Swaershoek passes and spend two days at the Mountain Zebra National Park driving some 4x4 routes and enjoying the plentiful game and birdlife.
Our schedule will take us over the Wapadsberg Pass (there is a possibility of snow ) to Nieu Bethesda (the very essence of a remote Karoo village) to enjoy the old church, the Owl House, graceful Karoo cottages with wrap-around stoeps and watch life dawdle by in the timeless Karoo way.
The tour finishes up with a full exploration of the Valley of Desolation and Cambeboo Nature Reserve near Graaff Reinet and a bumper final night at the 4 star Drostdy Hotel.
CLICK HERE TO BOOK
* Heads up on tours & bookings
* Katberg Tour - Day 1
* Dusty Dashboard - Episode 5
* Ben 10 - It's a wrap!
* Wild Coast Tour Day 7
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APRIL:
At the time that you are reading this newsletter, we will be slumming it in the Mountain Kingdom on our 4th Lesotho Tour, somewhere between Thaba Bosiu and Malealea. You can look forward to a full report back on this tour with lots of photos and videos.
MAY:
Wild Coast Tour V10 is fully booked. (Email us if you would like to be added to the cancellation list)
JULY:
Great Karoo Tour. There is one ticket remaining.
CLICK HERE TO BOOK AND GET ITINERARY.
AUGUST:
Swartberg Classic Tour. Our most popular tour. If you haven't done this one yet, climb aboard and book.
CLICK HERE TO BOOK AND GET ITINERARY.
SEPTEMBER:
Cederberg Spring Tour. NEW ! 15th to 19th . We are running this tour from Mon to Fri so as to avoid all the weekend flower warriors. After many requests to orgnise a spring tour in the Cederberg, we have created a well balanced 5 night/4 day tour of off road driving, spring wildflower viewing, wine estates, rockart, fantastic geological sites, good food, unique remote villages, waterfalls and first class accommodation. Bookiongs will go live aound the 20th April. If you want to reserve an prefential place, pop us an email to
Our rendezvous point was at the Arminel Hotel in Hogsback - a fairy tale setting amongst giant trees and beautiful gardens, the graceful thatched hotel and cottages suited us perfectly with a blend of privacy and comfort. Whilst the hotel is quite old, they are doing their best to provide value for money accommodation, despite having taken a massive financial knock post Covid.
Many of the cottages had a musty odour, more than likely caused by old thatch that never dries out in the very wet climate of Hogsback. Maintenance costs money and I'm sure the hotel will be back to it's former glory within a year or two. The food was great, with a fire in the lounge and dining area in the morning and evenings creating a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere.
The vibe in the spacious pub was so enjoyable, we decided to have our drivers briefing on the spot, where we explained the programme of events and offroad etiquette, before heading off to the dining room for a slap-up dinner.
* Tours & Trips
* Montagu Pass to be repaired.
* Outeniqua Choo Choo line up for tender/reinstatement
* Katberg Tour - Plenty of action and drama
* Hogsback - A community taking strain
* The Dusty Dashboard - Episode 4
* Ben 10 Eco Challenge - Day 5
* Wild Coast Tour - Day 6
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APRIL 2025:
Next week we leave on our 4th Mountain Kingdom Tour (fully booked). The cosmos should be in full bloom making for good photography. We plan this trip for the month of April, so as to avoid the summer thunderstorms and the icy roads of winter. The weather in Lesotho is always something of a lottery, thanks to the high altitude and huge mountain ranges. If you want to follow the trip, please follow us on Facebook, where we will post daily updates.
JULY 2025:
The Great Karoo Tour was launched two weeks ago and is almost sold out. There is only one spot left. If you want to experience the rugged vastness of the Great Karoo, this tour will leave you enraptured.
AUGUST 2025:
Swartberg Tour
This tour has been perfected into a perfect blend of amazing scenery, rugged mountain passes, bundles of local history, good food, fine accommodation and all the enjoyment that being part of a group of like minded travellers could possibly want. There are no changes to the itinerary. We will be staying at Rooiberg Lodge, Bosch Luys Kloof Lodge, Swartberg Hotel, and Swartberg Country Manor. The tour will include a lunch down in Die Hel and a traverse of Lawsons Pass in the Gamkaberg Nature Reserve, finishing back at the Rooiberg Lodge.
The tour will take place from the 17th to the 23rd of August. We have advanced the dates by one month to enjoy the start of the spring flowers.
CLICK HERE TO BOOK ONLINE
SEPTEMBER 2025:
New! Cederberg Spring Tour - What to expect.
Our promised tour to the Cederberg is taking shape fast with bookings opening within a week or two. The basic itinerary will start with a meet & greet at Val du Charonne wine estate in Wellington where we will enjoy a hearty winter dinner and sample some of the Boland's finest.
* Tours & Trips - New!
* The Dusty Dashboard (Part 3)
* Ben 10 Eco Challenge (Day 5 / Bastervoetpad)
* Wild Coast Tour (Day 5 / Thirsty Kirsty goes into limp mode)
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We promised the brand new inaugural Great Karoo Tour would open for bookings before this newsletter was published. We kept our promise.
Just so you know what the rest of the year will have on offer:
Our 2025 Inaugural Great Karoo V1 4×4 Tour has been planned to offer a complete experience of nature, relaxation, easy and technical driving and some of the best sights you will see in the Great Karoo.
You can expect excellent game viewing, with overnight stops in Addo, Mountain Zebra National Park, Nieu Bethesda and Graaff-Reinet. We’ll be driving several big gravel passes including the anchor attraction, the Bedrogfontein Pass. The tour includes visits to the Addo Elephant National Park, Mountain Zebra National Park and Camdeboo National Park. Being a mid-winter tour, you can expect crystal clear night skies and moderate blue-sky days, which allows a perfect touring experience without having to endure the heat of the summer.
Day Zero – Monday 7th July, 2025
Meet and greet at the Kronenhoff Guest Lodge in Kirkwood (Nqweba) any time after 14.00.
Day 1: - We start the tour off with some proper adventure as we head to the starting point of the Bedrogfontein 4×4 route just a few km north of Kirkwood, where we check in and get our permits paid. Pack sufficient food and drinks for the day.
The route is mainly Grade 1 for the first 10 km, until we reach the Mvubu turn off. Thereafter things become a little slower as we start the Grade 2 section, passing various historical points of interest and ultimately the Grade 3 section which climbs very steeply to the summit.
The Bedrogfontein 4×4 trail between the Kabouga and Darlington areas of the Addo Elephant National Park provides breathtaking views and is rich in history. Overnight back at Kronenhoff.
Day 2 - This day is reserved for a full exploration of the Addo Elephant National Park. You will drive through the reserve at your own pace, but everyone will be connected via the two way radios, so you can share the good sightings with your fellow guests. Overnight at Kronenhoff.
Day 3 - Our route takes us over the first big mountain range into the Karoo proper. We say farewell to Kirkwood as we head up the gravel Doringnek Pass and stop in at the delightful Zuurberg Mountain Inn for a comfort break.
* Tours Updates
* The Dusty Dashboard
* Ben 10 - Day 3
* Wild Coast - Day 4
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We've just had a cancellation come in for the Lesotho Tour in April. Book on the link below
MOUNTAIN KINGDOM TOUR 2025
We were hoping to have the next three tours ready for bookings by the time this newsletter was due for publishing, but numerous other important stumbling blocks cropped up over the past few weeks, including a recce trip to the Cederberg for a proposed new tour in September.
The new (3 month) calendar will receive our immediate attention next week. Promise!
Ed Note: Prices quoted in this article are relative to 2015. They would probably have at least doubled by now.
The next day we headed 50 km northwards to Moremi and the Maqwee camp. The ablutions were much better, but still far from being relative to the prices charged. And whilst on that panicky topic, my Pulas were running out faster than the fuel in my tank. At each reserve there are Reserve or Conservations fees, plus a fee per vehicle, plus a fee per person plus a camping fee. On average it costs around R1500 per day to camp for a couple including all the ancillary charges. Over the last two years, since the camp sites have been privatised, the cost of going to Botswana has more than doubled. If you’re going in a petrol Land Cruiser, allow R14, 000 for fuel (ex Cape Town) and a total budget of R30, 000 for a 9 day stint in the reserves – and there was nothing extravagant in that budget either.
Moremi South Gate offered probably the best game viewing of the entire trip, with the Black Pools loop looking like a National Geographic movie viewed at an IMAX Cinema – except much, much better. That Toto song kept on popping into my head.
The tracks were sandy and deflated tyres and 4WD was mandatory to make progress. Soon we found a 10-ton truck stuck in the sand ahead of us, in the process completely blocking the road. There were 76 school kids on the back, most of whom were standing on either side of the truck. Saplings and branches had been laid under the rear wheels, but they were stuck good and proper. The truck belonged to Botswana Parks and the outing was an educational one for local school kids. We stopped and went to see if we could help, only to discover it was not a 4WD truck. The driver sheepishly admitted he had underestimated how soft the sand was. I checked if he had deflated his tyres. Yes, he had.
* 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.
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