What's inside?
* Paying the bills
* Garden Route Tour (Report back)
* Swartberg Tour (Day 4A)
* Podcast
* Pass of the week
Trips & Tours
- 15/16 October 2022 - Seven Sisters Tour (Fully Booked)
- 30 October 2022 - Grabouw Novice 4x4 Training (Fully Booked)
- 15 - 19 November, 2022 - Kouga-Baviaans Tour (Fully Booked)
- 10 - 15 December 2022 - Ben 10 Eco Challenge (3 places left)
- 12 - 18 March 2023 - Lesotho / Sani Tour (to be launched next week)
- 9 - 20 May, 2023 - Wild Coast Tour (Fully Booked)
Lesotho/Sani Tour
We have engaged the services of an expert on Lesotho, Philip Rawlins, in a joint venture effort to put on a world class tour in the Mountain Kingdom. We have now finalised all the accommodation and routing details. These will be published next week on our Shop/Tours page. Demand has exceeded supply for this tour (based on pre-bookings). We can only take 12 vehicles. All those names on the priority list (28 at this stage) will be given advance notice to book and an exact time when bookings will open. Please note our booking system is fully automated, so be ready to book when we notify you. Bookings will be on a first come, first served basis.
Ben 10 Eco Challenge - a great way to end the year.
If you have some spare time in early December, why not join us on the ultimate adventure tour. We'll guide you through the 10 challenge passes and several more as we take in the grand spectacle of the Drakensberg with its majestic scenery, amazing sandstone formations, tranquil farms and sparkling rivers. We'll take you to mountain tops you can't get access to on your own ; to watch the vultures soaring - and in between all that you'll enjoy country style food, good wine and revel in the camaraderie of like-minded travellers. You will need some experience to do this tour as well as a high clearance vehicle with low range.
Garden Route Tour - Another winner!
The Garden Route Tour which took place last week was another success. As is the case with all inaugural tours, we iron out any weak spots to ensure future tours become ever more successful. We kicked things off at the Rooiberg Lodge near Vanwyksdorp as our rendezvous point. Everyone loved Rooiberg, to the point that our next Garden Route Tour (GRT) will include two nights at the lodge to allow those that have travelled big distances to relax, soak up the tranquillity, have a swim, go game watching or tackle the 4x4 route.
What makes this venue so enjoyable? The fact that is in the middle of nowhere is a good starting point, lending to it's universal appeal. It's about 10 km from Vanwyksdorp, which itself is many kilometres from anywhere. The green lawns and neat thatched buildings centre-pointed by a sparkling blue pool - all perfectly located at the foot of the Rooiberg Mountains. It really is an oasis. Kudos to the staff, who have really upped their game in the food department. Meals were attractively presented and very tasty.
Day Zero: 10th September. Our group arrived in dribs and drabs from about 14h00 and soon settled in. By 18h00 we had everyone's radios installed except for our youngest member of the tour, Michael Salzwedel (of blue Subaru fame), who pitched an hour late, but he has been on other tours and quickly settled in. Happy hour was followed by the drivers briefing and a most enjoyable dinner. Load shedding was in full swing, but it didn't dampen our spirits as we discussed the details of the next day.
Day 1: 11th September. Our group's vehicles were made up as follows: 1 x Ford Ranger Wildtrack, 2 x Toyota Land Cruisers, 1 x Toyota Prado, 1 x Range Rover Sport, 2 x Suzuki Jimnys, 1 x Suzuki Grand Vitara, 1 x Subaru Forester, 1 x Honda CRV, 1 x VW Touareg, 1 x VW Amarok.
Rooiberg Lodge - a popular venue with our guests
All neatly lined up in convoy order we managed to depart Rooiberg Lodge by 09.00 heading in the direction of Vanwyksdorp.
The town was founded in 1838, on the farm Buffelsfontein, which was owned by Gerrit van Wyk. Today the population of the village is about 700, of which a few direct descendants of Van Wyk can still be found. Throughout history, the inhabitants of the town dependant on the farming of fruit, sheep, cattle and ostriches, enjoying the constant water output of water in winter and summer, thanks to the mountain spring known as "The Eye".
Once, during the years of the ostrich boom, it was the centre of education in the Little Karoo. The school, built in 1912, had at one time, well over 200 pupils, who came in from all the surrounding towns. The railway links which were made to Ladismith and Riversdale caused these towns to grow, whilst Vanwyksdorp slowly shrunk to its present state.
Vanwyksdorp Mall - Unique and different
It has character aplenty and a visit to the euphemistically named Vanwyksdorp Mall (all tongue in cheek), is a must. Here you can meet salt of the earth locals; buy some proper Klein Karoo farm produce or just linger a while to enjoy the country vibe.
We immediately knew we were in for a dusty drive. Convoy driving on gravel roads produces dust. Sometimes there's a cross-wind blowing, which clears the dust away quickly, but more often the Karoo air is as still as air can get. It's part of the Karoo - that eerie silence, punctuated by a cricket, bird or frog. For convoy driving that dust hangs in the air for several minutes and that causes the gaps between vehicles to stretch, sometimes up to a kilometre. We solve this problem by regrouping the convoy every 30 minutes or so. The dust on Day 1 was about as bad as we have ever experienced, but no-one complained. It's all part of the experience.
We followed a scenic gravel road all along the northern side of the Langeberge arriving at the Gouritz River after about an hour. There was some water flowing (unusually). This river is either bone dry or a raging torrent. A place of extremes. We crossed it in near perfect conditions via the Jan Muller Pass and bridge - a very short, steep pass with some concrete on the steeper western slopes to aid traction.
Jan Muller Pass traverses the Gouritz River Gorge / Photo: MPSA
The Jan Muller Pass crosses the Gouritz River via a low level concrete bridge, which is also named after Jan Muller. It's located on the R327 connecting Van Wyksdorp with Herbertsdale. This rugged gravel road pass is fairly short at 3,6 km and descends very steeply down the western side, then ascends in a series of tight switchbacks after crossing the Gouritz River at an altitude of just 68m ASL.
Soon we were on our way to the next pass - Cloete's Pass near Herbertsdale. Clouds were banking up on the seaward side of the mountains which delivered a steady drizzle once we were over the summit of the pass. That also marked the end of the dust for a while, as we descended down to Herbertsdale in steady rain.
This thoroughly enjoyable and fairly long pass of 19 km straddles the Vreysrant Mountains between Herbertsdale and Vanwyksdorp. The road is generally well maintained to a high standard, despite the gravel surface. The northern section can get quite narrow at times, but should present no problems providing speed limits are adhered to. The road was realigned to improved geometric standards in 1920.
Just before Herberstdale we turned left on a gravel road heading for Gondwana Game Reserve. Amongst our guests were Abie and Yvette Spies, who had made special arrangements for our convoy to enter the game reserve and enjoy coffee and muffins in the grand thatched clubhouse overlooking one of the ravines of the reserve.
One of the rooms at the Kwena Lodge / Photo: Gondwana Game Reserve
The rain meant the animals were hiding, so not that much game was observed, but none the less, a real treat to be able to visit Gondwana and a big thankyou to Abie and Yvette!
Next week: More on Gondwana and a wet and cloudy drive up the Robinson Pass.
Swartberg Tour - Day 4
We allowed ourselves the luxury of a later start on the final day of the tour, heading west on the same road we had started on two days earlier, except we turned left at Kruisfontein and drove the lovely Coetzeespoort with its amazing geology of red mountains composed of enon conglomerate. There was plenty of dust but we all manged to get some decent photos along the way before we intersected with the R62, briefly heading east, then south again as we navigated our way through minor farm roads and over railway tracks, with curious ostriches watching us, before arriving at the Gamkaberg Nature Reserve.
Normally the reserve limits the number of vehicles per day, but a phone call to Cape Nature delivered a smart and intelligent response, allowing our full group to cross the mountain via Lawsons Pass. This reserve deserves a visit.
Gamkaberg Nature Reserve reception - First Class Service!
Everything about the staff was excellent. They were expecting us and quickly had our whole group registered and ready to go.
A short drive past the various glamping spots in the reserve got us to the start of Lawson's Pass. One of the vehicles in our convoy was a 4x2 Renault Duster, which we moved up to the front of the convoy just behind the lead vehicle with instructions to use momentum and not to follow the lead vehicle too closely, the latter which would be driving much slower in low range.
Next week: Conquering Lawsons Pass (with a little help from my friends) and the final drive through to Rooiberg Lodge.
PODCAST:
We chat about day one of the Garden Route Tour. Click here to listen.
We talk (live) on Wild Coast FM every Monday at 3.30 pm. You can listen on your phone, PC or device using the Simple Radio App (it's a free download).
PASS OF THE WEEK
Lawson's Pass is a 16, 2 km long 4x4 route over the Gamkaberg and is located about 35 km south-east of Calitzdorp in the Little Karoo. It lies within the boundaries of the Gamkaberg Nature Reserve and offers exceptional mountain and valley views, coupled with a true eco-experience and a good chance of spotting game. The route is only open to 4x4 vehicles with adequate ground clearance and it is rated Grade 2.
* * L A W S O N S P A S S * *
Trygve Roberts
Editor
"If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal; not to people or things" ~ (Albert Einstein)
