What's Inside?
* Tours & Bookings
* Wild Coast - Simply Sensational
* Technical
* Kouga Baviaans Tour (Day 3)
* Featured Pass
TOURS & BOOKINGS
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.
WILD COAST V9 - A WINNER
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.
Food was excellent throughout, with Umgazi River Bungalows and Kob Inn vying for the top spot. Beware of this tour, you will get home a few kilos heavier!
Wall map of our travel zone in the reception at Mbotyi River Lodge
Personal safety was on everyone's lips after a kidnapping in Mthatha of a lady driving solo, several weeks prior to the tour; an attempted hijacking near Mdumbi and a family tribal feud in Lusikisiki which claimed the lives of 18 victims. Social media and all the news pages went into top gear as they spewed negativity across the internet. Some tour operators cancelled their Wild Coast tours as the public went into panic mode. But they dont know what we know!
We received a couple of concerned calls from our guests ahead of the tour.
So first things first. Crime has to be seen in context. There's more crime in Langa (Cape Town) in a week than the entire Wild Coast in a year. Three incidents occured in a short space of time, resulting in all the media frenzy. The Wild Coast is often the scapegoat of media sensationalism, which is really bad news for the hotels, lodges, home stays, and B&B's trying to make a living. Some of the hotels closed after Covid stuck its ugly face into South Africa - Mazeppa Bay and Ocean View being two examples - whilst others have battled to eke out an existence, let alone a profit and just managed to keep their doors open.
A young boy posing for the camera at Collywobbles. In isiXhosa he is known as an 'inkwenkwe' ~ Photo: Martin Pullinger
We've done this tour each year for the past 8 years and never had any issues with serious crime. Those that were nervous about coming along, we offered a 100% refund, but all chose to remain on the tour. It added some spice to the trip!
With almost 1000 kilometres traveled from Matatiele in the north to Chintsa in the south, we only had one minor incident where a youngster threw a stone at one of the guest's vehicles. It was nothing more than a childish prank.
We were universally welcomed wherever we went. Some of the hotels laid on traditional dancing for us. The locals smiled and waved at us in a genuine heart warming way throughout the tour. We felt safer there than almost anywhere in Cape Town, Jhb, PE or East London..
We hiked, drove muddy roads, saw waterfalls, explored new paths, visited the Msikaba mega bridge, partied, rested, fished, swam, slept and above all feasted like kings. The Wild Coast worked its magic. By the final day everyone was friends; any stresses and tensions had evaporated and a much clearer understanding of the Xhosa people went back to Australia and all over South Africa. This tour was an outright winner and arguably our best Wild Coast Tour to date.
Our next tour will be in May 2025. If you want to pre-book a spot, drop us an email:
TECHNICAL
In this week's edition we take a look at managing side slopes.
First make sure there is a recognizable track across the slope, to prove others have crossed it successfully. A well-used track also helps ensure there are no surprises in the substrate.
Follow the golden rule of handling any challenging situation in a four-wheel-drive vehicle: "As fast as necessary; as slow as possible."
Watch the placement of your tyres to avoid low spots on the low side and high spots on the high side—especially rocks in the latter case, which due to suspension bounce, can bump the vehicle farther over than the actual height of the rock.
Testing the point of no return under controlled conditions / Photo: ovrmag.com
Prep the vehicle in advance to keep the center of gravity as low as possible, especially if you're carrying gear on a roof rack. Pack all your heavy gear in the middle as low as possible. If I were forced to traverse a slope I felt was on the edge of safety, I wouldn't hesitate to add some air to the downhill tyres and take some out of the uphill pair.
If you're on a side slope and the vehicle begins to slide sideways out of control, or heaven forbid, tip, the escape clause is to immediately turn downhill. Whatever danger you might face driving straight down that slope is nothing compared to barrel-rolling down it.
Just before you do that, though, check the tilt-o-meter so you'll know when to back off next time.
Source: ExploringOverland.com
KOUGA-BAVIAANS TOUR (DAY 3)
Exploring the Western Conservancy.
Most of the farm owners in the Western Conservancy have signed up for the conservancy code of conduct. That includes protecting leopards and vultures as well as all flora and fauna.
When the road through to Patensie was finally completed in 1940, many farmers decided to offer farm stays and guest house options for tourists. Today there is a wide range of accoomodation options, ranging from open caves and tree houses, to luxurious chalets.
The open air bathroom at the Tree House, Speekhoutkloof / Photo: MPSA Guest Photo
Our convoy departed The Willow Guest House in Willowmore after a "lekker" breakfast and took the main gravel road down the twisty Nuwekloof Pass, taking in some key points of interest like Raaskrans and Baviaansleutel, before heading to Vero's Restaurant for fresh "roosterkoek".
Vero (Veronica) is a real life earthy Baviaansklower. Her family have made a quiet living selling trinkets, succulents and food served up from their wood fired stove in their humble home on the side of the main road. They have really made an effort to keep it authentic and these days a stop at Vero's is a must on every visitor's Baviaans bucket list.
Bellies filled, we headed off to the nearby Tree House at the Speekhoutkloof farm, where guests were taken into into the tree house in small groups. The weather was near perfect as we headed east to Sewefontein via Studtis Poort, to meet up with another of the special people of the Baviaanskloof - Patrick Ruiters.
Patrick Ruiters the shortest tour guide in the world, according to him / MPSA Archives
Patrick is a tiny man, well into his 60's and still brimming with vigour and enthusiasm, as he enjoys regaling guests with ghost stories and other trivia, as he lifts the corrugated iron roof over the Sewefontein well. It was dug in the 1930's and extends 110m underground, delivering 40,000 litres per day, of the purest water you have tasted. The water is used by the Sewenfointein community to irrigate their crops. Surplus water is sold to nearby farms to supplement their income. Patrick proudly asserts that it is not a borehole, but a well or fountain. It is actually an artesian well which delivers the water from an underground aquifer without the use of any mechanical pumps, relying solely of the positive pressure differential.
The walk through the old fig tree forest reveals water bubbling up from underground (hence the seven fountains) feeding the giant old Ficus trees year in and year out. Patrick's high pitched voice resonates around the trees, clear as a bell. In his spare time he is also the local pastor (no surprisies there!). The man is a gifted orator.
The day had passed in a whirl, having to drop the visit to Makedaat Caves in favour of fresh coffee and ice cream at the local farm stall.
That afternoon we headed to our next venue - Keurfontein Country Cottages, about 16 km south west of Willowmore on the N9, where the attentive staff awaited us with cold beer and great food. It was here that the regal and graceful Irish Wolfhound / Great Dane cross made his presence known as he sat down in the big leather chair next to the fire. His name is Dagga, and we still haven't found out why!
The king of Keurfontein: Dagga, the Irish Wolfhound/Great Dane cross / Photo: MPSA Guest Photo
After dinner, the singles group (5 of us) headed back to Lapidaria in Willowmore, in convoy to enjoy a good night's rest.
Next Episode: Willowmore to Cape St Francis via Antoniesberg Pass and Patensie.
FEATURED PASS
To get you into the spirit of the Wild Coast, we're featuring the Ghanja Pass (yes, that's really its name - check it on Google Earth). EC Roads Dept have concreted the main ascent down to the coastal plateau recenty, making it very much easier than what you will see in the videos we took a few years ago.
However the two spoor of about 6 km down to the cottages at Lupathana, is still an interesting drive loaded with obstacles, like deep ruts, long, muddy sections and enough hidden rocks to build a pyramid with. That drive always raises the adrenaline levels of our guests.
* * G H A N J A P A S S * *
Trygve Roberts / Editor
"The earth, that is sufficient,
I do not want the constellations any nearer,
I know they are very well where they are,
I know they suffice for those who belong to them"
Song for the Open Road
