What's inside?
* Mother Nature Unleashed
* Trips & Tours
* Lesotho V5 Tour (Overview)
* Kouga-Baviaans Tour (Day 2)
* Featured Pass
Listen to an AI-generated discusion of this week's newsletter:
THE STORMS OF THE CENTURY
The weeks that whizzed by in a frenzy of media reporting have left me in a state of sensory overload.
Politics, for once took a back seat, as Mother Nature took all the limelight in all her ferocious, untrammelled glory. She can be very cruel sometimes.
On Monday this week the Cape of Storms really lived up to its reputation with a low pressure system at 987 hPa generating wind gusts in excess of 140 kph coupled with close to 300mm of rain. High sided trucks toppled over like toys in various places. Many major roads, including the N1, R46 and R43, Clarence Drive, Chapman's Peak, Franschhoek Pass and others have been closed.
On our return from the Mountain Kingdom Tour, a particularly nasty weather system (the first of two systems) hit South Africa, with the Garden Route, Klein Karoo, Baviaanskloof and Great Karoo being at the epicentre of all the drama. Floods, gale force winds and snow came roaring in from the South Atlantic with a cut-off low fuelling the system.
A very long list of road closures ensued with bridges washed away and the R62 suffering a full width collapse near Kareedouw. Dams filled overnight. The Kouga Dam was just 34% full before the system arrived. Forty eight hours later the dam recorded its highest level in history at 120%. That translates into an inflow of 90 million cubic metres of water in 48 hours.
The result was the Kouga River came down in full flood. The real drama came when the Grootrivier also came down in flood. These two rivers join forces close to the eastern side of the Baviaanskloof near Patensie, where the name changes to the Gamtoos River. It burst its banks causing rapid evacuation of low lying properties. Thousands of acres of citrus orchards have been inundated. The potential losses will be massive.
A scene in George - Blue gum 1 / Nissan Hardbody (not so hard) / Photo: Joe de Beer/George Herald
George, Mossel Bay and Knysna took a pounding. The list of road closures in that area is so long, we can't publish it here in the interests of brevity, but we do know that the R328 and R62 are closed, as is the road to the Cango Caves where a massive landlslip has sent tons of rock sliding over the road. The Cango Caves are closed until further notice. The 7 Passes Road has also been closed - again.
Amongst all the devastation, damage to infrastructure, loss of human life, crops and livestock, there is one good thing that has come out of it - the drought is broken. The Mpofu Dam overflowed for the first time in 11 years. There is at least that sobering perspective.
Seweweekspoort, Swartberg Pass and Meiringspoort remain closed. The damage to Meiringspoort is severe. It's going to take a lot of effort to get that road (N9) reopened. The government has declared this a national disaster, so hopefully funds will flow efficiently to give repairs a headstart.
Severe damage to the road in Meiringspoort has resulted in a total shutdown / Photo: Xinhua News
We will be keeping a close eye on progress as we have our Great Karoo Tour starting in June and the Swartberg Tour in July, the latter which traverses all of the aforementioned routes. Fortunately most of the roads fall within the Western Cape who are quite jacked up in terms of disaster management. At this stage there is no need for panic. We are already working on a Plan B option, just in case.
Die Hel and the road to Gamkaskloof is also closed and been damaged in many places. Piet and Marinette Joubert, owners of the guest farm Fonteinplaas, are stuck at their farm with no way of getting out. Visitors there at the time the storm hit, were airlifted out by helicopter a few days ago. Their very very means of sustaining a livelihood is now threatened as they don't have the right equipment (they need a front end digger/loader) to reinstate the 37 km long road to their farm and Die Hel.
An appeal (crowd funding) has been launched. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
This is what is needed to fix the road
If you have some expertise (like renting out a front end loader) or are willing to make a donation, use the link below to support Piet and Marinette Joubert. There lives have been absolutely hammered since 2000 by fires, floods, Covid and a government very reluctant to assist in rebuilding the road. If the road is closed, there income stream is as well.
The offroad community is large. If we all stand together, we can make a difference. In this case, the money goes directly to those most affected and the campaign carries our support and endorsement.
UPCOMING 4x4 TOURS
Wild Coast Tour (May) - Bookings have closed. We leave on our 12th Wild Coast Tour next week. Another adventure awaits. We will report back on progress at the Msikaba Bridge construction site, which has been bedevilled with problems for the past year. Funds not coming through for subcontractors and an issue in the production of the steel bridge deck girders in Mpumalanga.
Great Karoo Tour (June) - 3 spots available. Think cold nights, starry skies, warm fireside chats, with pleasant days spent in your vehicle enjoying the Karoo scenery in crystal clear air. This tour includes 4 national parks > Addo, Mountain Zebra > Camdeboo and Karoo NP. It's a winner!
Swartberg Tour (July) - Fully booked
Cederberg Spring Tour (Sep) - Fully booked
Mountain Kingdom Tour (Oct) - 2 spots available. If you have never been to Lesotho, this is the tour to do. We cover all the best parts of the country with lots of fascinating side excursions from hydro power plants to cultural experiences which will uplift and enlighten. The passes will take your breath away. Literally and figuratively.
Ben 10 Official (Nov) - Bookings have just opened. 6 spots available. Come and drive the ultimate offroad challenge and earn the badge.
Mountain Kingdom Tour (V5) April, 2026
Metolong Bridge - the longest multi-span, pre-stressed concrete suspension footbridge in the world / Photo: MPSA
Overview:
Without doubt, this was the best Lesotho Tour we have run. It takes a few years to fine tune a tour. This was our 5th one and it included several new concepts. A drive over the brand new Senqu Bridge near Mokhotlong was a special occassion and the first MPSA group to experience that. We were there 3 days before Uncle Cyril attended the official opening.
For this tour we added in an extra day which allowed us the time to complete the official tour of the Mohale Dam. As things turned out our visit coincided with a large amount of water dropping down the spillway from a greater than 100% full Mohale Dam. The tour allowed us to descend the switchbacks down the dam wall (some of them requiring 3 point turns) and a drive under the spillway tunnel to the sight & sound of a huge amount of water thundering directly overhead. It was thrilling!
We also included a visit to the Metolong Dam (also overflowing) and at Thaba Bosiu our group was treated to an African drumming session - a great interactive experience which went down a treat. It was so successful that we plan to include that in all our future tours.
We drove a new route along the northern side of the Tsoelike River Gorge which was absolutely out of this world (gravel all the way) and included no less than 5 unnamed passes. These will be processed in the next few months and added to the website.
Another first was that our group spent our second last night on this tour at the Tsoelike River Lodge. It's brand new (we were amongst the first guests to occupy this beautfully sited lodge). The main lodge building is not yet complete, but the rooms were close to perfect. The lodge runs entirely on solar, but there's no wifi, which is a blessing if you think about it.
It allowed us more time in the Sehlabathebe National Park, as the lodge is just a few minutes drive from the park entrance.
In the next newsletter we will take you through the tour day by day.
Bookings for the October event ( 28th Oct to 6th Nov, 2026) are moving along swiftly. There are only 2 spots left at the time of writing.
Here is the link to review the itinerary and do an online booking:
MOUNTAIN KINGDOM TOUR V6
KOUGA-BAVIAANS TOUR (DAY 2)
The new route via the honeybush tea farm is magnificent. / Photo: MPSA
After an interesting day in the Kouga Wilderness, where some of our guests had their first taste of proper off-roading and a few punctures, (swiftly repaird by the tyre agent in Kareedouw), it was time to tackle the most difficult part of the tour - the Rus & Vrede 4x4 Trail - a long, winding two spoor track across the Kouga Mountains from south to north, ending in the Baviaanskloof at the Doringkloof farm.
The trail is rated mostly Grade 1 to 2 with a few sections where it goes up to Grade 3, but those are few. For this tour, through the good offices of the Ragelsivier farm, we secured permission to take our group over a much more scenic access route via the honeybush tea farm, starting at the Nooitgedacht farm. This will be a permanant addition to this popular tour.
Assegaaibosch Lodge faded into the hazy distance as our convoy ascended the first pass of the day, the Suuranysberg Pass. The previous day a bush fire had burnt large tracts of bush and proteas. These were still smoldering as we climbed the pass, leaving a gaunt, blackened landscape as a reminder as to how fragile life can be.
Suuranysberg Pass - It burnt the day before. Good timing. Sobering. / Photo: MPSA
Once over that pass, we had a quick run through to the Kouga River Pass, which had very little water in the river at the midpoint crossing, then on to drive the Moordenaarskloof Pass, with its ghoulish murder story dating back more than 200 years.
On arrival at Ragelsrivier and Nooitgedacht farms, a container of spray with a pump and nozzle were waiting for us (with written instructions as to how to apply) at the farm gate, as we had to perform a self preventative spray operation against Foot & Mouth Disease. The process took about 25 minutes and we were on our way.
Chummy & Shar Rabilal spraying their Wildtrak. Craig Naude spectates / Photo: MPSA
As soon as we started climbing the foothills of the Kouga Mountains, the views started opening up, revealing long valleys and soft hills bedecked in fynbos and proteas. Things were going along rather pleasantly, when we saw an old white Isuzu bakkie parked on the top of a short, steep hill in front of us, completely blocking the road. It seemed that the steering rack had broken. It was open, keys in the ignition, windows rolled down.
It's always interesting getting guests' suggestions as how to solve these types of problems. These ranged from:
1. Push the bakkie over the edge. No-one will know (spoken tongue in cheek)
2. Let's push it up the hill to where the track is wider (with the wheels pointing towards the edge of the cliff, we scrapped that idea)
3. Lets rock it sideways, so the back is not protruding so much. (We tried, but barely made 4mm progress)
4. Why can't we winch it? (Nothing suitable to attach the cable to to get the correct angle of pull)
The solution was less obvious. There was enough space on the high side, but it was overgrown with proteas. One of our most useful tools we carry is a portable chainsaw. I set out cutting the bush back and gingerly squeezed the Cruiser past. Next came the rest of the convoy - one by one until we had everyone safely through.
Guiding a guest past the broken down Isuzu - it was rather tight! / Photo: MPSA Guest
We had intel 10 days later from someone else who drove the route after us, who reported that the Isuzu had been removed. It must have been quite a job, without being able to steer it. That was a first on any of our tours and another solution to file into our recovery box of tricks.
After about an hour and a half we connected with the actual Rus & Vrede Trail and used the grassy flat area near the mountain top as a good place to take our lunch break, amongst the cowpats.
It was about 14.30 that afternoon that the second puncture happened. It was another sidewall cut. This time on Craig Naude's new Land Rover 300 series. It happened on a slope, so the wheel swap was time inefficient and awkward, but with enough helping hands, the wheel was changed in 40 minutes. There would be another 4 waiting for us ahead on the trail. It was a good thing we didn't know that at the time.
First puncture of the day and 2nd of the tour. Craig Naude's Defender 300 copped a sidewall cut / Photo: MPSA Guest
Craig was justifiably a bit anxious about not having a serviceable spare wheel, but his good friend, Rob Stephenson in a Land Cruiser 300 GR was the next victim. A sort of "room on my horse for two" feeling - a shared cluster of anxiety. That happened on one the last switchbacks on the way down to the Baviaanskloof valley. By now we had a dedicated puncture team, ably led by Ugan Naidoo (who had the first puncture the previous day).
Ugan Naidoo doing his thing helping the older folk with their wheel changing, whilst the rest of the crew dispense sage advice and encouragement / Photo: MPSA Guest
Out came the spanners, the cover blanket, others chocked the wheels and soon we had two vehicles with no spare wheels. but we were very close to base, where we could get the tyre issues sorted out. That base turned out to be in Willowmore, some 40 km distant. Fortunately we had a spare day built into the tour, so the necessary arrangements could be made.
We were already at the Doringkloof farm gate, when the dreaded call of the puncture victim echoed through our vehicles over the two way radios. This time it was Bryan Penny in his Amarok - an unprecented 6th puncture. By that stage team Ugan's puncture boys were in like Flint and the wheel was changed in 12 minutes flat.
Spare wheels stored under vehicles are bad news. Ugan (left) and owner Bryan Penny getting down and dirty. / Photo: MPSA Guest
Ironically Craig, Rob and Bryan are all buddies and it seemed a cruel demolition of their sub-group morale, but as we always say on tour: "A problem aired is a problem shared" and "Mechanical problems seem much less demanding after a few glasses of wine!"
Three new tyres were ordered via the tyre shop in Willowmore which would be couriered up from PE and were scheduled to arrive at 16.00 the following day. We partied hard that night.
Sederkloof Lodge - A beautiful retreat in utter silence / Photo: MPSA Drone Worx
Due to lack of suitable accommodation, we had to split the group up into two - Alpha and Beta, with Group Alpha going to Sederkloof Lodge and group Beta booked in to Zandvlakte, some 16 km away. I put Mike Blignaut in charge of the Beta group which went swimmingly well. We had arranged to regroup at 0900 the following morning at Babes se Winkel neat Studtis.
Next episode: New tyres, revived morale, fountains, fig trees and roosterkoek.
FEATURED PASS
Since we are in the Baviaanskloof, let's cyber drive the Grasnek Pass. There are two parts which will require about 18 minutes to watch both. This is our favourite Baviaanskloof pass offering technical driving and magnificent scenery - a perfect balance.
Written with love, passion and a sense of adventure ~ Trygve Roberts
Believe in yourself
Never give up
Be grateful
Work hard
Stay humble
Be kind
