What's inside?
* Ben 10 is calling
* Lesotho-Sani Tour
* Swartberg Tour (Day 4)
* Podcast
* Pass of the week
Ben 10 Eco Challenge 10 - 15 December, 2022
We have 3 spots available for our annual Ben 10 Eco Challenge Official Tour. Be the one! Sign up for 5 days and 6 nights of camaraderie, fun, excitement, technical driving, probably plenty of mud and test yourself and your vehicle on some of the most beautiful and challenging passes in South Africa. Earn the badge! We supply comfortable hotel based accommodation with two hearty meals daily.
- Ben MacDhui Pass (3001m)
- Carlisleshoekspruit Pass (2563m)
- Volunteershoek Pass (2581m)
- Naudes Nek Pass (2590m)
- Lundin’s Nek Pass (2170m)
- Joubert’s Pass (2234m)
- Bastervoetpad Pass (2240m]
- TTT [Tiffindell-Tenahead Traverse] (2720m)
- Otto du Plessis Pass (2115m)
- Barkly Pass (2018m)
The Ben MacDhui Pass is still closed to the public (we will try and get special permission). The substitute pass is the Bottelnek Pass ( 2204m)
Lesotho-Sani Tour
This much anticipated tour is now very close to being published. Load shedding issues have prevented us from launching it this week, but it is happening. The tour will take place from the 12th to the 18th March, 2023. Watch this space. Those that have requested prioity bookings will be notified personally ahead of the tour being published.
Crowd Funding
Another new venture we are in the process of initiating is the replacement of some of our tourism boards. There are 4 in urgent need of replacement. Recently a (drunk) motorist missed the corner at Dolphin Point on the Kaaimans River Pass and trashed the MPSA sign there (plus his car) with the whole lot ending down below on the railway line. That sign needs to be replaced lock, stock and barrel.
On Burgers Pass near Montagu, a bluegum tree toppled over, badly damaging the sign there and the sign along the Hexrivier Pass has been blasted with a shotgun. These two need just the boards replaced as the poles are still intact. Another sign on the 7 Passes Road has been hit by a truck and the sign at the summit of Du Toits Kloof Pass has been so badly vandalised it is no longer a tourist attraction but an eyesore.
Maintenance is an ongoing problem. Our recent appeal for a new sign at the summit of the Swartberg Pass (Die Top) elicited a quick response from a Pretoria based businessman who paid for the new sign and had it erected. Maintaining the signs is one thing, but replacing them is beyond the financial abilities of MPSA. And that's where crowd funding comes into the picture.
We are planning on raising R100,000 to replace the signs mentioned above and will be offering both corporate and private sponsorship. Those will benefit directly from positive exposure on our social media platforms. The programme will soon be appearing on our website under a separate menu tab: PROJECTS.MPSA
If you want to get involved in the early stages, please send us an email:
Swartberg Tour - Day 4 (Final)
Our convoy started the climb up Lawson's Pass with a slight change in convoy order, by moving Des and Ann Price in their 4x2 Renault Duster Automatic behind the MPSA Land Cruiser, just in case they got stuck. It's actually quite awkward driving a 4x2 vehicle in a group where eveyone else is in low range. I asked Des to hang back and allow us to get well ahead before he commenced the climb. It wasn't long and he had caught up, requiring him to stop on a slightly flatter section to allow us to get ahead again. The Land Cruiser was working hard in low range trying to stay ahead of the Duster.
The climb was easy enough as the road is concreted but once the very steep parts were completed, the road surface changed to lots of uneven sized stones and gravel. The Duster just couldn't maintain traction, so we took it in tow along two of the trickier gravel sections until we reached the summit. (See photo below)
The mountains were beautiful with wildflowers blooming everywhere. The rangers have erected a sturdy viewing deck right on the lip of the canyon, which allows for good photography and magnificent views. Our fine weather was coming to an end as low clouds swept over the mountains, soaking us in a cold fog with some drizzle. That put a swift end to our mountain-top lunch break!
Towing the Duster up Lawsons Pass / Photo: Ann Price
It took just over an hour and a half to complete the route, where we exited the reserve at the junction with the DR1649. All that was left was a very pleasant east-west traverse of this excellent country road with its many farm gates, via the Kleinpoort, Uitspan and Assegaaibosch passes, before we arrived at the Rooiberg Lodge, where their professional staff were on hand to sign us in, with some time for a walk, shower and a change of clothing, before gathering on the deck for our happy hour - and I can assure that final night happy hour was a very happy one. We celebrated no breakdowns or punctures with some of the Cape's finest, whilst Chappies were dispensed to all and sundry in good spirit.
Rooiberg spoilt us with great food and it was a tired, but satisfied group of guests that fell asleep that night under a blanket of Karoo stars.
This tour is very popular and is sold out year after year. For the 2023 edition we will extend it by one day by spending 2 nights at the Bosch Luys Kloof lodge.
GARDEN ROUTE TOUR - Day 3
We will be publishing this chapter next week as load shedding prevented us getting this chapter out in time. Apologies from MPSA and credit to Eskom.
Advertisement
SELF-DRIVE GUIDED ROAD TRIPS to NAMIBIA – Departing from Gauteng
NO 4x4 needed
One of our joint-venture partners, Platteland Tours (based in Gauteng) are putting on two self-drive Guided tours to Namibia during June & July 2023 to cater for the demand to visit our beautiful neighbouring country. (The July tour is during the school holidays).
Have you ever dreamed of visiting Namibia? Traveling in your own vehicle (no 4x4 needed) but not knowing where to go, where to find the best tourist spots, where to sleep, what else to do and what to experience en route? The trip will take you on good gravel back-roads, to places where tour groups normally not go, as well as to popular destinations like the Fish River Canyon, Kolmanskop ghost town, Luderitz, the wild horses of Aus, Sossusvlei, Swakopmund, Dune 7, the Namib Desert, Goanikontes, Hentie’s Bay, the Petrified Forest, Etosha Pans and much more.
There is an opportunity to travel with Platteland Tours on a 15-day Road Trip from Gauteng to Namibia. However, interested people from outside Gauteng can join en-route at a reduced price. In the past people from KZN, the Western Cape, Eastern Cape & Free State joined the tour at Upington.
There is space for maximum ten vehicles on the trip and all the vehicles are connected via good quality VHF two-way radios.
This is NOT a camping tour. Accommodation is in lodges, resort, hotels and on guest farms. Certain meals, 2-way VHF radios, an experienced tour leader and lots of informatrion and camaraderie is included.
People from all walks of life travel with us – many of them single ladies traveling together. There are no technical difficult-to-drive-roads on our routes.
3rd to 17th June 2022 Space for two vehicles
1st to 15th July 2023 Space for six vehicles
Special offer for our readers – Book before 31st October 2022 and save a lot.
Tour price: R25800 pp (R3000 per person discount if booked before 31st October 2022, with 25% deposit)
Click on this link for the full Information Document and here for the Booking Form.
Alternatively send an e-mail to
Now is the time to book!
PODCAST
We chat about Day 2 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
This is one of the biggest filming exercises we have undertaken, compressing almost two hours of footage into 2 x 10 minute videos. You are seeing it first. In the video narration we explore some aspects of Xhosa culture. The Mbashe River Pass is difficult to get to and is well worth the effort of seeking it out. It's a long pass at 14 km and offers high views of deeply incised and heavily wooded valleys, several Transkei villages and the crossing of the powerful Mbashe (Bashee) River. We had fun filming this one as there was plenty of mud - in one instance spinning the Land Cruiser into a ditch. It was filmed during our Wild Coast Tour in May 2022.
* * M B A S H E R I V E R P A S S * *
Trygve Roberts
Editor
"Do what you do, do well boy"
