Suitably layered with warm clothes, we started up our bikes (two LML/Vespa’s) and set off to Stellenbosch, where we’d be meeting Hein Gerber and his 9-year old son Daniel, before heading out to Wellington to meet the rest of the crew.

My bike, as yet unnamed and untested, had only 380km on the clock, while Chris’ had 1800. Our furthest trip so far had been the 40 km of tarred road from Somerset West to Muizenburg.

The route to Cederberg, some 240 km each way, of which 58 km was gravel, would be a test drive to prepare us for our expedition through South Africa, and the Cape Town to Dublin guys for their expedition in 2013.

Words can’t explain how cold it was on that bike with our inadequate helmets. Made for the city, the visors didn’t even cover our noses, so the freezing wind had easy access.

Chilled to the bone, we made some quick adjustments at Hein’s place, using balaclavas to cover up our nose and mouth.

Hein’s scooter had been in pieces the night before – the engine had seized when the oil pump stopped working.  Luckily, as the team’s scooter mechanic, Hein was able to fix it, but we took it extra slow on our drive to Wellington, giving the engine a chance to be driven in.

Driving on a scooter presents a whole different view of life. As cars shot past, we enjoyed the panoramic views of wine farms softly lit up in the weak morning sun. The sky was overcast, threatening, but never delivering, rain, and we arrived at Hein’s fathers place just minutes before our group.

As I made a slow U-turn to park the scooter, the weight of the bags unbalanced me, and my scooter gently, but insistently, toppled to its side, where it lay fatly like an upside-down beetle.

Unable to lift it on my own, I had to give out a loud yell for help. Fortunately, the saddle bags had prevented any damage, other than to my ego!

We’d met Chris Venter at the Getaway show and on an earlier visit to his home to pick his brain about expeditions and raising sponsorship. In fact, it was Chris’ bike at Scootdr that initially inspired us to buy LML’s, because surely they had to be tough, durable bikes if someone was intending to drive them through Africa!

Chris’ girlfriend Tamlyn Porter, decked out in orange rain gear, jumped off the back of his bike to say hi. We met the team’s emergency pilot and jokester, Ian Chamberlain, and his girlfriend Natasha Hollenbach, both wearing matching bright yellow rainsuits.

Peter, a fellow scooter lover, ex-Navy diver and businessman, joined our ranks on his 250cc Vepsa. With 5 white LMLs, my orange LML, and a Vespa, lined up, we looked ready to take on the world.

Standing outside talking, Chris (herewith called Chris Venter to prevent any confusion with Chris List), asked if we’d named our bikes. We told him they’d barely been driven, let alone christened. He wondered aloud what we could call them that would represent their colours and our personalities and off the top of his head, came up with the rather apt Butternut and Spud!

Hein’s dad joined us, on another white LML, for the awe-inspiring drive over Bain’s Kloof Pass, a scenic 30-km route over the mountain with serpentine-like twists and turns that was created by Scottish-born Andrew Geddes Bain (who had no formal engineering training) in 1853 to link Wellington to Ceres and Worcester.

Using convict labour, the narrow road was originally built for horse-drawn traffic, and overlooks the Witte River, which descends through a precipitous cleft in the mountains to a stretch of rapids, waterfalls and natural pools.

Interestingly, the pass is also the site of myth and lore. Many travellers claim to have seen ghosts along the pass, and it’s been the site of many accidents.

According to History Web, Bain himself described the landscape as “repulsive and savagely grand” and stated: “for the first three miles we had nothing but crossing and re-crossing the river and climbing up the mural banks at the risks of our necks, so gloomy was this place, there is a perfect absence of animal life.

Whether or not you believe in ghosts, the pass is known as one of the world’s most spectacular, and dangerous roads, and for good reason. Driving in front, I took it slow and easy, going around the bends with care, catching the orange lights of the LML’s in my rearview mirror.

I’d hate to drive that treacherous road in the rain, so count myself lucky that the weather held.

We stopped off to celebrate the completion of the death-defying drive though the pass at the rustic Calabash bush bar, a pub that was originally built in 1898 as a milking shed.

After lunch, we set out for the next phase of the journey, up into Ceres via Mitchell’s pass.

We passed incredible rock formations contrasted by azure skies, all seven scooters driving single file through Prince Alfred’s Hamlet, the gateway to Gydo Pass.

We followed the narrow road up through the mountains, replete with sweeping turns and no safety barriers, leading up to Op die Berg, a tiny town in the Koue Bokkeveld (cold goat country).

Indeed, the air in this pace became increasingly icy as we climbed up, our engines revving in unison.

We stopped to admire the views over Gydo Pass, the tiny village of Prince Alfred, colourful orchards, fields and dams set against the spectacular backdrop of the Ceres Mountains.

The final phase of our journey would be the hardest. Into the Cederberg Conservance and 58 km of gravel roads. I won’t lie and say I wasn’t scared. It would be my first time driving my barely tried and tested scooter on gravel, and I was hardly an offroad expert.

We stopped off just before the gravel began for a final chat and some words of advice from the more experienced members of the crew. They told us to just take it slow and watch out for the steep hill near the end.

We took off together, the Cape Town to Dublin guys setting a brisk pace ahead, with myself, Chris and Peter heading up the rear. I took it slow and steady, setting my own pace and watching the road in front of me with intense focus to avoid the worst of it.

Occasionally we’d we unable to avoid badly corrugated sections, but at my pace I was able to balance my bike by steering straight onwards, not braking or changing speed and keeping upright, bouncing vigourously like a puppet shaken on a string.

Dramatic sandstone and shale formations cut out of the landscape like sculptures left by the gods, leaving fynbos and karoo vegetation vying for attention.

We wove between tight bends in the road, slowly making our way up to the steep mountainous hill at the end of the road as the sun began to slowly set.

Ian and Natasha now behind us, I was driving up the hill in third gear when my engine began to lose speed. I quickly changed down to second gear, but it was too late.

The bike cut out. On a steep incline, with loose gravel, cutting out was my worst nightmare! I struggled to keep the bike steady, pushing down on my foot brake as hard as I could, while trying to restart the bike and pull off in first gear.

I cut out. I tried again. I cut out. I tried again. I took off but again the bike didn’t have enough power to take me and my heavy load so I cut out. By this time, Ian was behind me to give me a push and I managed to pull off again, only to cut out. Clearly, I needed to practice this!

Chris then took over, managing to pull off with a bit of difficulty, driving my bike to a relatively straighter stretch so that I was able to take off again (with Ian giving me a supportive push from behind).

About 10 minutes later, still on the same perilous hill my bike cut out again. Clearly, I needed to open the throttle more! This time, after repeated tries to take off and continuous cutting out, I was, as they say in Afrikaans: “Gatvol” (thoroughly fed-up), exhausted and frustrated, so Hein kindly offered to drive my bike up to the top.

I then enjoyed a walk up, as by that time we were pretty close to the top, meeting up with the rest of the guys while Hein walked down to fetch his bike parked on the side.

Coincidentally, the very same guy we’d bought Chris’ bike from roughly a week ago was there for a chat – he’d seen Chris on his way up the mountain!

Cruising down the hill at slow speed, using my foot brake to slow down, we finally arrived at the Cederburg Oasis, our home for the next two nights!

We met Gerrit, the owner of the backpackers, and he showed us where to camp. We drove our bikes down and then started unpacking, anxious to get settled before the sun went down and to relax and ease our aching backs.

Imagine our shock and horror when we unpack our tent, borrowed from my sister and her boyfriend, only to find out that it was missing its tent poles! We couldn’t believe our eyes – surely this must be some mistake! Lugging a tent for 240 km on a tiny scooter, only to find out it was useless? Luckily,

Gerrit came to the rescue, and we were able to upgrade into one of the tented accommodations – a large standing tent with bed and mattress!

After a warm shower, we went to the dining area to relax around the fire, braaiing (barbequing) our potatoes and eating them with salad, raw macadamia nut cheese and baked beans, before heading off to get a good night’s sleep under a sky scattered with stars.

I woke up feeling refreshed the next morning, ready for the next adventure. We planned to visit Stadsaal caves, renowned for the rock art paintings left by the San and Khoi who’d inhabited the area for centuries.

Gerrit was kind enough to draw us a map, and we headed out on our scooters to visit the caves. Chris Venter downplayed the difficulty of the drive, saying it was “easy peasy”, but in actual fact it was quite challenging. Gravel roads, thick sand, somehow we managed to arrive without incident, loudly berating Chris for deceiving us!

A dramatic outcrop of orange rocks eroded over time into spectacular shapes, the centrepiece of Stadsaal is the cavernous Stadsaal Cave.

Translated as ‘Town Hall Cave’, Stadsaal was a gathering place for farmers and it is believed that Nationalist Party members met here to plan their 1948 victory which heralded the start of the apartheid era.

The graffiti seems to lend credence to this theory, with the names of Nationalist Party members inscribed on the wall, including that of Dr. D. F. Malan, the leader of the party at the time and the first Nationalist Prime Minister of South Africa. Others, such as PW Botha’s name, have become pockmarked, allegedly by thrown rocks.

We clambered from rock to rock, discovering a labyrinthine  network of caves, imaging living within them in many, many years ago.

We arrived at a viewpoint, taking some time to admire the  views from above, including that of our scooters parked below.

Of course, the opportunity to pose with the dramatic scenery behind us couldn’t be missed.

Ian however wasn’t content with being on the rocks. Defying gravity was more his thing.

We then headed to the main attraction which is, of course, the famous Bushman-Elephant paintings dating back to a time when elephants freely roamed the area. These paintings vary in age between 300 and 6 000 years.

What’s even more astonishing is that the Cederberg was completely underwater around 500 million years ago, and it was only with the massive upheavals of nature that the incredible rock formations of the Cederberg were revealed.

Today the area has World Heritage status as part of the Cape Floral Kingdom, and is collectively managed by the Cederberg Conservancy, a voluntary agreement between landowners to manage the environment in a sustainable manner.

On the way back, we encountered a stream of the side of the road that the guys wanted to practice driving through.Hein went first (without Daniel for safety’s sake), cruising across without incident. Chris took a turn, as well as Ian and Natasha, while I begged off, unsure how I’d handle muddy waters, and frankly not that keen to find out.

We headed back to our campsite for lunch, which we made in front our tents, and lolled in the grass chatting and enjoying the sunshine.

Keen for another adventure, I started eyeing the mountains above, and suggested a hike to the summit.

Five of us set off – Chris, Ian, Natasha, Peter and myself, climbing up a steep incline with its treacherously loose gravel. Some of the fynbos, which has evolved over millions of years, had been ravaged by fire, while new growth spurted everywhere the eye could see.

The Cederberg is home to the Rooibos tea plant, my favourite tea, succulent Karoo plants and other species I’m unable to name that were dazzling in their diversity.

We crested the mountain and stopped to admire the views before and behind us.

However, Ian was not satisfied. There simply hadn’t been enough adventure. Close behind us, another mountain proved a challenge too tempting to resist, and four of us decided to climb it before the sun set, while Peter headed back to camp.

Arriving at the top, we stood tall and proud, imagining ourselves conquerors. Chris took a picture of us attempting to look tough and fierce, but Ian kept looking like a pansy so we had to keep at it till we got it right.

The dying sun lit up the mountains, the valleys and the orchards below us in a splash of colour, a photographer’s heaven. We were mountain folk now.

As the light diminished, we made our way swiftly back down, seeing two tiny scooters carrying two miniature people off on an adventure of their own. We reached the base of the mountain, and headed back to camp feeling a bit wobbly now that we were on a level surface!

Chris Venter and Hein had been testing their scooters in the thick sand near Gerrit’s house. Still keen for more adventure, we decided to do the same.             Chris took Butternut for a spin with me on the back, while Ian and Natasha were on Lobola.

The thick sand proved no adversary, so we headed out to find more roads.

Nearly getting hit by a car on the way, we then drove up a gravel road into an orchard of naartjie (mandarin) trees.

As we walked through the orchard, Ian let out a yell.  Something had been following him, something that looked like a machine gun. We ducked and dived through the orchard, thinking we were about to get shot!

However, on close inspection, we realised that it was some kind of gas-powered system (turret) that had actually been disconnected, and the only reason it was moving was because of the wind. Still, the timing was uncanny.

Arriving back at camp, Hein told us that it actually makes a loud noise to scare off baboons. I dare say we’d have been pretty scared to hear it too.

Another great evening passed with good food and good conversation and we went to bed early, knowing we’d be setting out early the next morning.

Waking up at the crack of dawn with Chris and Tamlyn’s alarm, we got up and had breakfast before packing up. A last photo at the Oasis, then we set out to face the long road ahead.

Chris Venter, driving with Tamlyn at the back, kindly suggested that Chris and I go ahead, probably thinking it would be better if we set the pace so the rest of the group could keep up with us, and look out for us.This time I was prepared for the gravel hill, driving up at high revs and feeling all together quite confident.

Clearly Chris was   feeling quite capable,  as we set a brisk pace. But after we’d driven nearly ¾ of the way, I made my first big mistake. Driving fast around a gravel bend, suddenly the road ahead was littered with deeply corrugated holes.

Bouncing around uncontrollably, jerked from side to side, I struggled to hold on to Butternut, and unfortunately failed. She veered sharply to the right and I knew I was going to go over.I fell to the side and my bike smashed to the right. I leaped up to inspect the damage as Chris came running over to ask if I was allright. No doubt still in a state of shock, all I could think of was my scooter and the damage!

As the rest of the group came over to see what had happened, Hein reassured me that the bike would be ok, it’d just require a bit of panel beating.

I, on the other hand, was fine, just a bit bruised but certainly not broken. We took a few minutes to recover, even laughing about it, especially when Chris said my bike is no longer Butternut Squash, but Butternut Squashed!

Congratulating myself on buying the hardy LML, which despite it’s fall had no serious damage whatsoever, we set off again- at a distinctly slower pace!

The road back, despite the fall, remained amazingly beautiful, and somehow, I appreciated it all the more.

Lunch at Calabash, driving over Bainskloof Pass again, and back in Wellington, we parted ways with a group of people who’d become friends.Wiser, more experienced, we drove back home with a sense of accomplishment, of purpose. This was the first test. The next? A trip through the whole of South Africa.

Last, but certainly not least, I’d like to offer huge thanks to Chris Venter, Hein Gerber and Ian Chamberlain, for looking out for us rookies on this amazing adventure, for all the tips and tricks freely offered, and for your great sense of humour.

Join scooter addicts to find out about similar trips and to follow the Cape Town to Dublin by scooter expedition in 2013. They’re doing the trip to support the Red Cross War Memorial’s Children’s Hospital, so get involved and sponsor them or help them raise funds by donating to this life-saving organisation.

Imagine you are using your 4×4 off-road, outside of South Africa, and something like this happens:

You are involved in an accident and your 4×4 is badly damaged – you and your family are deserted in the middle of nowhere! Wouldn’t it be great if your 4×4 insurance policy covered emergency accommodation so that you, your family and your damaged 4×4 can be brought back to South Africa safely? We offer full cover in: Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Republic of South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe!

You get injured or pick up some strange disease… you are thousands of kilometers away from a decent hospital. You would surely hope that your 4×4 insurance policy includes airborne medical evacuation by qualified medical personnel and guarantees you will be admitted to a top clinic or hospital back in South Africa.

You get stuck in some remote part of Africa, and your winch is damaged while trying to recover your 4×4. Do you know if your 4×4 insurance policy covers mechanical and electrical damage to your winch?

Your 4×4 comes to a grinding halt – the computer has crashed, or the immobiliser system has left you stranded. What if you are 15 hours drive away from the closest workshop? How much peace of mind would it give you if you knew your 4×4 insurance policy would cover the cost of a technician to fly in and come to your rescue? We also offer up to R 50 000 repatriation costs following an accident or breakdown beyond the Republic of South Africa borders!

Your 4×4 is stolen or written off, and your finance company takes it’s time in de-registering the vehicle. Wouldn’t it be convenient if your 4×4 insurance policy automatically covered car hire for up to 75 days? And how about paying the difference between the market value and what you owe the bank?

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Nothing in Africa is impossible!! This video shows how we made a plan to cross the Rovuma River between Tanzania and Mozambique on our SA Adventure Northward Bound Tanzania 2011 Expedition! We would have never attempted it without the correct insurance cover!

Our insurance quotes will always detail and explain exactly what benefits are provided by the particular product or policy recommended by us.

We only recommend South Africa’s top 4×4 insurance companies, that offer cover to suit your individual needs and requirements.

www.4×4-insurance.co.za is a division of Absolutely Covered Brokers CC, an authorised Financial Services Provider.

Leave us a comment below and let us know what you think of the DC 100!

After arriving at Maliba Mountain Lodge that afternoon, we met with one of the volunteers from the community centre,  Maggie Day, who gave us the explanation of the community centre and what projects it is working on.  The community centre acts as a pre-school in the mornings as well as a place where the older children can go to after school, to read and do homework.  The centre works on sustainable developments, where children are encouraged to develop and grow their own vegetables and maize. On a Saturday they also host a fun day, where the community plays football and the children can do arts and crafts, etc.  The community centre along with the local support group help 35 double orphans and 85 single orphans, who all use the centre.

We visited the St Felix School on our way to the community centre. The children were on a break, thus we were able to interact with them and the teachers.  All of them welcomed our visit. The children were collecting their lunches from the 3rd grade classroom, which doubled up as the “canteen” for lunch time. The principle Michael insisted on giving us a tour of the school. It was interesting to see their method of counting using stones and moving them from one side of their desk to the other to add and subtract. They were also busy with a moulding lesson, where they were carving small animals out of clay. Very skilled, I must say. All learning is done in English and the children were quite fluent in the language.  After a cultural dance that was put on for us by the proud pupils, we made our way to the community centre so that we could offload and unpack all the items for the Hand Me Down redistribution.  No one had mentioned that the centre itself was up a steep mountain with no road to it, so we got the vehicles as far as we could and the rest of the distance was covered by a few of us and the local community with the Hand Me Downs on our backs and heads. Many hands make light work! After meeting with the Chief and the local support group, it was agreed that our volunteer group would not physically redistribute the items, but that we would be interacting with the children as they receive their items from the support group members, as well as with those children “waiting their turn” outside. The redistribution was very controlled and each child received a few items of much needed winter clothing. There was so much to go around, the support group called more of the local community to come and receive Hand Me Downs too! The children and adults were ecstatic! We feel very privileged to have been able to help and hope that we will see them all again soon!

The next day we bid our farewells and set off for Sani Pass. We had been driving on a wonderful tar road up the Mafika Lisiu Pass (3200m). When we got to the viewing point at the top a car came up behind us and said that Sue’s car (The Fish) had been leaking something the whole way up. One look under the car confirmed it, a rock had gone through her fuel tank and left a massive hole in it! Pratley’s Steel putty and some bandage got us to the next town Ha Lejone. Luckily we were able to get some more fuel and some Sunlight Soap, that is right, Sunlight Soap. The locals used it to cover up the bits that were still leaking. Apparently the glycerine stops the fuel from leaking out! We were off again and managed to drive through some rough terrain, stopping every 3 hours or so to Re-Sunlight the ‘Fish’ up again. The terrain got worse and worse, 4×4 stuff at its best, up steep mountain passes. After night fell we knew we were not going to make Sani. We decided that St James Lodge would be the stop for the night.  The next morning some more Pratley’s Steel putty and bandage was used to fix the hole in the fuel tank once and for all! The road to Sani was most scenic; sometimes the only thing bringing the convoy to a holt was the sheep that take up the road. We reached Sani Top Lodge at 2pm, had a nice warm meal and then headed down the infamous Sani Pass… how magnificent, we had made it and were doing something that some of us had always wanted to do!

Back across the border and back into South Africa, we stopped overnight at an Inn in Van Reenens Pass, and then made our way back to Johannesburg the next morning!

Thank you to all our Hand Me Down volunteers, to Maliba Lodge and all of those involved at the community centre, we thank you for the wonderful work that you are doing in the community!

For those of you would like to be involved in the collection and redistribution of Hand Me Downs, please contact us at info@saadventure.co.za

The 'Fish'

I purchased a beautiful new shiny Daihatsu Terios 4×4 in September 2008 after it became clear that my 4×4 wannabe Corsa was not quite making the cut.  I had done some research at the time and read a whole lot of articles on this marvellous little car!  After a month or two of doing a couple of road trips on pretty decent tar roads, I came to the conclusion she was a pretty awesome little vehicle!  She met all my needs, comfy, spacious, light on fuel, nippy in traffic, all the things a woman needs! Then one fateful Easter weekend on a camping holiday I discovered a secret about my precious ‘Tinkerbelle’, she had a dirty side to her! My son and I decided to put some of those 4×4 articles to the test.  We signed ‘Tinkerbelle’ up for an Easter 4×4 track trip.  We joined the queue much to the hilarity from all the ‘heavies’ some even came to ask why we had joined the 40 plus vehicles, others kindly offered to tow us when we got stuck.  We had no idea what we were in for and were rather surprised by the mud pit and various other obstacles.  Once out on the track we managed the obstacles just fine but that mud pit became an irresistible draw, we just HAD to do it!  So off we went, WOW the water was deeper than it looked on other vehicles, the bow wave was halfway across the bonnet and she kept going!  ‘Tinkerbelle’ received a standing ovation for her sterling performance.  We continued the rest of the track over hill and dale and my little princess transformed into a little ‘terror’!  She thrived on every challenge.  We did try again a week or two later just to make sure it was not beginners luck, sure enough she was up for bigger and better challenges! Amazing!

‘Tinkerbelle’ on her first 4x4 water crossing

With this newfound insight it appeared that a trip to Mozambique was in order. We travelled three up and towed a trailer to make things interesting.  Ho hum, only tar roads with the odd pothole awaited the ‘terror’!  The trip was duly completed without incident or anything exciting to report on the ‘terror’ front!

And so, it was back to a sedate life of driving to work, taking a trip or two to Durban all on boring tar roads.  Until one cool winter’s day on a whim to discover if my ‘terror’ could tow a caravan, we went to the Outdoor Expo Show.  We chatted to the caravan guys; they said no it was not possible for a Daihatsu Terios to pull a caravan!  Fortunately there was a handy Daihatsu stand and we asked them about towing and they thought it may be possible.  I don’t understand all the in’s and out’s. Cans and cannots, but I can tell you the ‘terror’ can tow a caravan!  On the way out much confused with all this conflicting information, we were asked if we would like to go on a 4×4 track – uh no thanks! But the little sales lady was very persuasive and told us we could take the ‘terror’ on the track!

Now who could turn down an opportunity to get all muddy!  As usual the ‘terror’ loved every moment!  Little did we know that this would be a life changing moment for both me and the ‘terror’!

A couple of months later an open invitation arrives via email from SA Adventure’s Northward Bound Tanzania Expedition.  I was so ready to do something like this, but not too sure if the ‘terror’ would make the cut as an expedition vehicle!  I asked everyone who would lend an ear if they thought this foolhardy plan would work.  I re-read those articles about the Terios to give myself comfort and based on everything that had been written about this rather special little 4×4 it became apparent that maybe the driver, not the car would be cause for concern!  Having decided to join the Expedition, it became a mad dash to prepare both ‘terror’ and driver for 21 Days in deep dark Africa!

On the 3^rd December we met with the team from SA Adventure, as well as some of our fellow Expedition members at the Hennops Off Road Trail for our first team meeting before the trip.  I am not sure what their thoughts were as the ‘terror’ and I joined the convoy for our day’s 4×4 training.  As expected the ‘terror’ performed pretty well, her driver was a bit rough around the edges but nothing Tim from SA Adventure could not put right.  Near the end of the course with confidence pretty high we hit the water obstacle!  Ooh water, ooh very deep water, driver wants to opt out; the ‘terror’ was up for it!  We reached a compromise, let all the other 4×4’s go through first, maybe they will empty the water hole!  And then it was our turn, with a deep breath and eyes closed, well only for a short while, we entered the water, and kept going, and going, and soon we were on dry ground!  Well how about that!  Fun, no, but insightful, absolutely!  I now know what we both can do!  The cherry on the top was a beautiful picture of the Terios’s amphibious qualities courtesy of Ryan one of the expedition team members!  Once the 4×4 course was completed we received our Expedition stickers!  We had earned our stripes, eeerrrr well so I thought!  It was later decided that my little ‘terror’ had been baptised and renamed ‘Fish’ due to her amphibious capabilities!  And so the adventures of ‘Fish’ began………….

The baptism that changed everything.....and 'Fish' was born

It is no mean feat to get everything prepared for an epic trip like the SA Adventure Northward Bound Expedition!  7 Countries, 21 Days, 1 Goal!  The potential to be drowned in red tape is enormous, starting in our beloved country of South Africa, letters from Insurance companies, meeting the requirements of the Bank to take your vehicle into another country, the rig-ma-roll to get US dollars makes one feel that you are definitely doing something illegal, this coupled with the horror stories of pirates (you do know I am driving, I doubt I would be a pirate target) makes for an interesting few weeks prior to leaving.

Then there was the all important decision to be made about ‘Fish’s’ shoes!  To date she has had the stock standard tyres.  Sue, ever the worrier, does not want ‘Fish’ to be the only vehicle with piles of flat tyres!  PFFT!!!  Anyhow, we asked around, Tim without a doubt recommends Bridgestone!  “They will not let you down, you will not regret it!” he says.  Finally at the 11^th hour, good thing, we waited for the latest new Bridgestone AT Tyre and had them fitted!  I was surprised with the good road handling, they were quiet; very little road noise!  Let’s see how they perform out in the wilds of Africa!

With visa, legal documents, insurance, credit cards and some cash the big day arrives!  Our meeting in the early hours of December 16th was mixed.  There were new people, loads of vehicles, and a great deal of excitement, trepidation and thoughts of dreams unfulfilled!  After a quick cup of coffee, and collecting our padkos we were on our way, in my first convoy!  Follow the leader and keep up ……. simple rules!  I am easily able to keep up with all the bigger 4×4’s and the drive was peaceful and uneventful in terms of our convoy.

Our first Country was Swaziland, a first for ‘Fish’, and we were soon through the border posts, waiting for the others to join us!  While waiting in the car park, ‘Fish’ received her Swaziland Flag sticker!  It joined the lone South African flag on the driver’s door.  Our great adventure is under way!  We spent our first night at the beautiful Mlawula Nature Reserve.

'Fish' third from the left, in the company of the bigger 4x4's on the Expedition

In the morning we did photo shoot and headed out of the Reserve headed for Mozambique.  We came to a section of very steep windy road, driving behind ‘Juho’ our lead vehicle, she set a strong steady pace and I did not disgrace myself.  The view from this lofty height was amazing!  Onward and upward, we go through the Goba Border and into Mozambique.  With our nights stop quite a few kilometres away, we set to getting some cash, coffee and petrol at a small village.  Ah and then Sue discovers that her chip credit card does not work in Mozambique!  Great!  Now what, let’s convert the dollars!  A bit at a time – what a stupid suggestion, but still I went with it!  ‘Fish’ says to Sue “Do you have any idea how much fuel I will need to cover this phenomenal country?”  “You’re standing in the queue not me!”  “I’ll wait outside and chat with the other 4×4’s!”  There is ‘Juho’, a lovely shade of British racing green, packed to the hilt with just about everything one could wish for – did I mention she is a 110 Land Rover Defender!  Then there is ‘Prada’, a very sophisticated lady, with loads of class and every gadget in the book!   Another close companion was ‘Tuna’, an interesting Toyota Fortuner – she is pretty cute, but a bit blonde, does some silly things!  I am very intimidated by the Penthouse Suite – a Ford Ranger with an elaborate canopy camper.  I think we will become very good friends though.  There is ‘Elolo Mashodzi Shongololo’ a Land Rover Defender 90, I’m not too sure about her yet, she does have some great girl’s driving her though, and a rather cute teddy on her bulbar! ‘Flea’ is a Defender 90 as well, with loads of character, sadly she only came as far as Swaziland, and so I did not get to know her well.  And finally there is ‘Zazu’ the mother hen of the group, you can be sure she will never let you get lost or left behind!

Having negotiated the morning traffic heading to Maputo, thank goodness we could bypass the city, we were finally on the EN1 heading to our night stop at LaGoa Eco Village in Quissico still quite a few kms away.  We found with all the bank stops that we were running out of daylight!  It is a good thing that ‘Juho’ knows where she is going (actually, thanks to Tracks4Africa) we head to the turn off.  I have heard all the stories about how terrible the roads are in Mozambique, and I am wondering what they are talking about, the roads have been very good tarmac, not even a pothole to dodge.  I did however manage to break the speed limit and get caught!  By this time I am pooped – I am not used to being on the road for such a long time, and Sue’s not much better, I have caught her nodding off when she is driving me!  Just when I thought we were in a whole lot of trouble, ‘Juho’ takes the turn off the tar, nearly there!  We wind our way through palm trees and small villages.  It is dusk so we do not see much except for the light of the village fire.  The track is sandy, very sandy, “when do you think ‘Juho’ is gonna stop so we can reduce our tire pressure? (I did read the books you know)”, she just keeps going and the sand gets deeper, so we carry on.  We are found by Niels who leads us the last little way to the Lodge.  What do you know!  I am not the first Terios this far North in Mozambique, there is a little companion here before me!  I’m better dressed though!  We all parked in the dusty street for the night and felt quite safe – isn’t that interesting?  The next morning reveals the beauty of this lovely place!   And I don’t want to leave, but Sue says we have to!

After a hearty breakfast we head back to the tar road, my word, the sand was deep, and I made it!  Even I am impressed!  How about that, must be these supa dupa tyres!  Back on the black top and on our way to Vilanculos to Baobab Beach Camp.  We soon came across another mile stone, we cross the Tropic of Capricorn!

'Fish' crossing the Tropic

We were the first to get fuel at Vilanculos and paid for it in US Dollars!  They would not accept Dollars from the others but did from us!  I am sure they saw my pleading look!  Ready cash is now a problem for us, which is stressing Sue out!  I had a chat to ‘Zazu’ and she is gonna speak to her owner to make a plan for us, such a loving Mum!  The cash problem has been resolved for now, between ‘Juho’ and ‘Zazu’ we have a plan in place, grateful thanks to all involved!  We had a lovely couple of days at the Baobab Beach Camp, met a couple of rogue Landys and other heavy 4×4’s, they are surprised to see little me, and are shocked to hear where we are heading!  Out come all the stories of shocking road conditions, war wounds and the like!  I’m gonna have nightmares tonight!

After two lovely nights at the beach we head inland to Sakkies Camp just outside the Gorongoza National Park, once again the roads are great (those guys are such liars)!  Just before we get to the turnoff we go over a magnificent bridge, I hope someone took a photo!  Getting to the camp gives us a taste of our first corrugations on the road!   Uuuu Uuuu Uuuu not nice!  But hey it beats smooth tar!  Next morning Uuuu Uuuu Uuuu back up the road, and onto lovely smooth, boring tar!

It is SO hot!  Really hot here!  It must always be like this.  Sue has chosen to join me in the heat and leaves the windows open and does not use my air-conditioning; she does not want to be separated from Africa in a car cocoon!  That also helps me a little; I don’t have to work as hard!

Our next destination is Quelimane on the coast and about a 100kms from the main road.  We drive down the most stunning road with Coconut trees on either side making a gorgeous avenue.  This must be the most awesome camp we have yet to come across.  Sadly, it was not at all what we expected.  We parked in a hotel car park, and the team members camped on the sand of another car park section.  There is an airy sense that all is not well at this site and I am comforted to know I have ‘Tuna’ and ‘Prada’ for protection and company for the night!  There were ugly crows around and I don’t like them.  I was a bit jealous of ‘Juho’ and ‘Penthouse’ as they were allowed to camp with the team, as it turns out; even that was not much comfort for them.  The folk who were supposed to watch over us wanted more money, and we had to make a quick escape plan!   I was glad to get the dust off my Bridgestone’s as we left the next morning!

'Juho' our fearless leader on the palm avenue leading us to Quelimane beach

Destination, Veranda camp, I sure hope it is better than the last place, but again it was on the coast so it just had to be good!   Am I right or what? Veranda camp no longer exists, and we were directed to Currusca Camp, which was pretty darn awesome!  We trekked through beach sand to the most awesome place.  I took a wrong turn and got stuck in the soft sand, and would you believe it, Sue panicked and almost burnt out my clutch trying to get me out, silly woman!  Tim to the rescue! Straighten my tyres and bingo, no problem at all!  It is not what you know but who you know out here!  Having parked down a little lane of scrub, ‘Tuna’ parked behind me with a comforting “I’ve got your back!”  How were we going to get out, I have no idea, that is a problem for two days time!  For now it is kick back, swim, and catch up on our washing!  To show her gratitude, Sue checked my oil, topped up my windscreen water, and with great love overfilled my radiator.  I did not have the heart to tell her, so just spat it out on the road the next day!

The fuel here is leaded and it is an acquired taste, not the best but it works and I manage to keep moving, without too much difficulty!  Let me tell you about some of the fuel stops we have encountered.  Fuel stations are few and far between, when you find one, you have to fill up, even if you don’t want to, as you never know when you will next encounter another one.  The further North you go the less frequent they become.  There are times when they only have diesel, or only gasolina, or neither, sometime rarely though they have both.  Then there are the queues, if you happen to arrive around the same time as a tanker there are loads of motor bikes all vying for a spot to get a few litres of fuel, or the folk that have walked miles and have waited in the hot sun with their 2l or 5l container for fuel.  We show up in force and expect immediate attention (as that is what we are used to in South Africa).  The attendant then tries to service our vehicles, leaving their fellow countryman extremely disgruntled and angry!  I completely understand their feelings, but we need to keep moving and do not have the time or place to wait for the next tanker.  A station with no motor bikes, is a sad sight, as there is no fuel either!  The fuel bowsers are old and probably have never been calibrated, they do not work like the ones back home and most prices are worked out on a calculator at whatever rate the petrol attendant decides, and usually you have little to no idea how much fuel was put in.  The attendants are hard to identify in the mass of people around the bowser, as the uniform idea has long ago died.  Locked doors and windows are an absolute necessity and being always vigilant essential.  Handing over your hard earned cash is also an interesting affair, and are never sure you will get the right change!  To tip or not to tip that is the question!  Checking tyre pressure is best left to the professionals (our drivers); water and oil checks also feel better when done by our drivers.  Everybody wants to touch me, I have big hand prints on my windows, doors and sides!  I do chuckle though when locals get too close to me and they notice the snake on the dashboard!  They definitely take a step back and generally go and find another vehicle to touch.  I don’t like being separated from the convoy to get fuel at another station, but fortunately ‘Prada’ usually comes with me as she also likes petrol in her tanks!

Another interesting thing I have had the privilege of experiencing which I do not think the other vehicles had was I had a few different drivers.  Sue was the main driver, but she needed help when she got tired, also driving alone a little company here and there was in order.  Each driver had a different style, and having never driving such an awesome 4×4 like me, it took them a while to get the gist of my awesomeness!!  Shirley drove for a while, Sue was grateful for her company, naughty girls though they switch off the radio.   Jono, was our main back up driver.  I really liked him as he knew how to have fun!!  When we did finally hit those hectic mud roads, Jono and Sue had a field day in the mud and puddles!  One time when we were all completely exhausted Ryan drove, he was pretty good actually, pity he had to go back to ‘Zazu’.  Then Timmo drove, but only for a little while and that was to get me in a position help ‘Juho’ out of a spot of trouble.  That’s another story though, for a bit later…………….

Little 'Fish' helping Big 'Juho' out of trouble at the Rovuma River between Tanzania and Mozambique

Thanks for reading all about my Big Adventure, Part 2 will be coming soon!

The website includes a listing of Warn products, 4×4 events, educational “How To” videos, user downloads and the latest Warn news as it happens. There are also details of your nearest Warn retailer.

To promote the launch of the new website, Warn is giving away a Warn Winch to the value of R7 000! All you need to do is register on the website and answer this easy question: How many catalogues can you download via the Warn website?  Go to www.warn.co.za.  Warn is also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/warnsa.

The lucky winner will also receive a Personal 4×4 Recovery Training Course from SA Adventure valued at R1 995, to teach you how to use your new winch correctly and safely! (T&C’s apply)

The SA Adventure / Gabriel Disco and Defender

This past weekend saw the much anticipated Landy Festival roll into the Malonjeni Game Farm near Meyerton!  The concept behind the Landy Festival was to see if we could beat the World Record of 347 Land Rover vehicles in a convoy set by the Convoy for Hero’s in Gaydon, Warwickshire, England 23-24 April 2011! As the Landy’s started rolling in by the hundreds on Friday afternoon, we could already tell that we were going to smash the record out the ground! SA Adventure and LandyOnline hosted the 4×4 Course at the event.  We had a mud pit, axle twisters, rocky climbs and “Gabriel Hill” Most people found the 4×4 course quite easy until they reached “Gabriel Hill” a steep climb of about 50 meters on a sandy loose surface and then a sharp right turn at the crest only to be faced with a steeper rocky decent at the top! Needless to say this had a few of the drivers wide eyed!  A donation was made by each driver who drove the 4×4 Course of R20 and this money will be donated to our friends at SPOTS who are working tirelessly against Rhino Poaching in South Africa!  Sunday was the day the record was going to be broken.  The masses of people and Land Rovers of all makes and models started to gather on the field from about 10am. All the vehicles had to be checked by the organisers and put into order, this as you can imagine took a bit of time! The convoy left at 1pm to drive the 16km route required to achieve the record! I have seen a lot of Land Rovers in my time but this was a sight to behold, official numbers are 1007 Land Rovers in convoy! We are still waiting for the confirmation from Guinness Word Records, but we are confident the record has been shattered right here in South Africa! Well done to all the drivers and organisers, we can’t wait till next year!

Our first handover of clothes in Mtwara, Tanzania

Hand me down is an SA Adventure initiative aimed at the redistribution of old clothes to less fortunate people and communities.
Old clothes are something we all have. There are many of you who don’t know what to do with them, often they get thrown away or we leave them to pile up in the garage or cupboards.
This is an appeal to donate what you consider to be your old clothes, so we can redistribute them to those less fortunate, through the correct channels!
Even when you may think that no one could make use of it, they can, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. This includes baby clothes, adult clothes, shoes etc.
Please contact us to arrange for the drop off/collection of your Hand me downs and we will ensure that they are redistributed to those in need!

If you would like to be a part of this great  initiative, please join our Facebook Page here and tell all your friends!