The route selected

It started with having to head to DRC for work and instead of fly like a normal person we figured why not drive? We would still arrive the day we were required to anyways. We hammed up 4 days, the border crossing was a bit of a nightmare but we eventually got in as the sunset which made the 1.5 hour drive to Lubumbashi a nightmare in the dark, on coming trucks with high beams and led light bars, add to this being a RHD in a LHD country added a challenge for passing, but with a solid trust base I would poke the wagon out and Asareh would say go or no. even having to time it one time between stakes in the road.

The road to and from work

We did get out for a few explores in the area. Even got some fishing in. lovely country honestly, shame about the corruption and issues up north as I would love to travel it more.

After 2 months it was time to leave so I hammered it alone to Joburg in an amazing 3 day period. This required some solid timing to make the Zambia Botswana ferry before it closed. I figure it would have been a 2.5 day trip but I lost 2 hours pulled over in Zambia for insurance disc issues. But it was a good drive. To date the wagon is still locked up in South Africa waiting for shipping to be arranged, so hopefully before end of the year I will get it sent out.

Street cred 101 Parked up since March 14th and counting

Back to the Adventure page I Or continue with Eurasia 

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Dropping oil like mad

An overall breakdown is we covered just over 25000kms over 70 days. 5 countries in total including the Mozambique bit. We met so many new friends along the way, many that I am still in contact with. 

11/10 Would do again.

It never stopped… I t never failed.. It just kept pushing on getting us home no matter what we did to it

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3 shorties and a LWB

Stefan and His father Dirk roll up next, and we are almost ready to race, but first, we need hats and shirts to match the crew. Thanks Guys!! A few more roll in as we get ready to race, I sit and tell myself to take it easy, but a bit of liquid courage and the fact we are only 1000kms from Joburg short circuit me. I pull up the line and preload the wagon. GO! I am gone. That poor wagon, 2 laps of abuse still mostly loaded with our gear after 2 months on the road. But at the same time, what a tough unit.

Straight hammer down fully loaded abuse

Listen for the tyre coming off the bead just after the 2 minute mark haha.

After racing, I am not in first, I did a 2:04 vs the winner which was a lexus v8 shorty paj with a waaayyy lower time. We hit the track and its time to swap drivers, we come to a well rutted out hill climb and after watching land rovers struggle and all else I decide this a perfect spot for Asareh to have a crank. Her first hit doesn’t quite make it, so on the second one we tell her how to preload, and with boost build she rockets up the hill, Solid work. Back at the track we watch a ford get high centered then challenge the down hill drop. Not a problem.

That should be the end of it… but a few people are not happy with there lap times so back to the track we go, this round Asareh is in the drivers seat, I will add, basically 2 years prior to this, I have a video of me doing a hill climb and you can hear my cv crack… and this would be the final blow. She rounds the second last corner and looses all momentum. The cv has cracked the cage and spinning internally. But didn’t shear which was impressive. After an hour of struggle we get the wagon winched up and tow it out.

With the braai cranked up we all relax and enjoy a few beverages and some amazing cooking by the guys.

Serious shout out to the South African Pajero Club! Cant thank you guys enough for that experience.

We spend the next day at Dirks place where Stefan gave the wagon a wash and we got a great brekky. Then it was off to the shops to source parts. A local cv shop was able to make some aftermarket parts work so I could get home. I have since replaced it with a OEM unit for strength.

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Looking Tough all cleaned up The Afrikaans Language museum

We hit the road and motor towards Paarl to visit the Afrikaans language monument, we seen it last Christmas we were here but didn’t have time to stop, very cool place. Hollow inside which was a surprise to me.  We spend some time there before grabbing a bite.

The rest of the drive is along the wine route were we stop and get wine at Arabella which I highly rate. With the car now way overloaded on booze we push for Mossel Bay for the night, but not before a quick cup of tea on the side of the road. The local farmer came out to see what we were up too, then left after a quick chat. We arrived in the dark which I hate doing, but that’s okay. Our host in the bnb blessed us and told us a few good stories before we turned in for the night, but not before some sushi.

Tea break Great view

Double day bonus!!

Mainly because I am running out of photos and we smashed this drive out pretty quick. We leave bright and early headed for wilderness national park but prior to arrival we pass the Kaaimans River and lap back to have a peak, and hey, a bar. So we grab a drink, and Asareh has a swing. There are some stunning places to find just off the main road.

Growing up is optional Natures Valley

Pulling into the park I pay entry and we head out for the seven pass road, which about 2kms in I realize we didn’t have to pay. As we are already out of the park, clearly my map is a bit out.  We wander through the back country, switch backs and gravel. We follow this till the main highway where we quickly zip off south to natures valley, another twisty road, which is you don’t get back on the toll road is actually a tight twisty paved road that has been closed for a while but is still passable. Highly worth the drive. We roll into Port Elizabeth a bit late, but we gained an extra day in town which we will need for what’s about to happen.

Coming to the end of this trip

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Waking up Asareh is able to shower before the water can even boil, we are totally out of LPG, but that’s alright, we still got coffee.  We start motoring south towards our destination of cape town.  Asareh has booked us in at a special hotel for the night. Little did I know we would be staying on a BOAT!!! How awesome is that. Well a yacht actually. Very cool place. We unload and settle in then decide it is time to hit the waterfront. VA waterfront has quite a few decent restaurants so we quickly find sushi and dig in with a G&T to wash it down.  The weather is lovely, the view decent.

Next on the list is the Aquarium, this is a must see. Heaps of selection… that makes it sound like a buffet… and even some interactive displays. Getting up close and personal  with the clown fish is fun and who can resist getting in a turtle shell.  And for once I am not lying about it actually being my birthday!! So the photo is legit. You get these all over Africa, we grab a copy at special occasions.

Heading into the mall I grab a shave and Asareh treats me to an amazing gift of a shaving set. Definitely worth it (first use looked like a murder scene) . Moving on I find a Gin shop and we stock up on a few bottles for later, it was all a reasonable price. Then make our way back to the boat.  A quick shower and dress up sees us headed back out to our favorite Braai joint. You can get damn near any animal here. We enjoy some springbok, zebra and ostrich. A great end to a great day.

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We stop and check out a few cool rocks, and even luck out and find a bearded dragon, doing 40kmh on a road, how do I spot these guys? Skill. But I have driven right past an elephant. We swap drivers and Asareh takes over, she knew somehow there would be 34532 gates up ahead,  open the gate, close the gate… and on and on and on. This is unfair. We stop by the road to enjoy the seaside and some home made dip for our carrots. We eat quite well and healthy on the trip, some simple prep can avoid fast food take out for ages.

We took the railway line south for a shortcut, the key is to pop out before the overpass to avoid security, lol. I got busted last time in a rental car. I found a little tortoise on the road and picked a heap of ticks of him, as he was covered everywhere. Hope he’s doing well.

Today’s goal is Lamberts bay for dinner at the most amazing outdoor restaurant we have found. We arrive decently early in the day and setup camp and just chill. Luckily there are showers and we can get all cleaned up for dinner, nice shirts and all. We move a couple of seats till we get a place close to the fire as its freezing out. Now I should mention, when I heard seafood buffet I figured a range on seafood, not 10 types of fish, I know like fish. It was a great meal, you cutlery is mussel shells and they have a large range, there is a seafood mix with mussels and stuff if you don’t do fish and they don’t a roast for later in the night as like a dessert? I guess. Asareh is fished out, even her fingers smell like fish. We finish with coffee on the fire before walking back to camp.

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Good Enough place to stop 

Stopping at a shady area we repack the wagon and have a cup of tea, and maybe a few pieces of chili bacon.  We quickly cut of the main road and head for the coast, twisting through dirt roads the drive is great and the views spectacular. We arrive at Namaqua National Park and make our way in, slowly the area gets foggier and foggier. We stop at some caves and I am stoked, I go running with torch in hand like a small kid, apparently it’s not a cave, just holes in the rocks. Let down I walk back, Asareh is having  a laugh as she already could tell me the geology.

We stop a few places for some photos, then pull up to a wet camp, it’s so misty out it feels like rain.  On top of that we are almost out of lpg and dinner takes ages as we can’t get a fire going. As the night air creeps in we retire to the tent. The weather is perfect for a great nights sleep. Fantastic.

Making our way along the track Time for a drink

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The sun finally peaks over the range, but the wind has not left. We are both not overly well rested. We get up and I drive the wagon down the track a few 100 meters to move around an old wall to take the tent down, this was a struggle. But we make it happen without killing each other. Poor tent took a beating but held up. It lives to fight another day.

Leaving the worlds windiest campsite

We are on the road by 8am, a record for us and we head down the road before pulling over to make coffee our of the back of the wagon. The wagon is getting hammered by wind on the highway, killing my fuel economy haha. Asareh sleeps and we pull into a small town to grab so meat for sandwiches and dinner. Steak for days!!  It’s a rather boring drive south only because we are only on a time limit and we skip a head of cool places, although in another blog I will cover fish river canyon.

Fueling up on the Namibian side to empty most of our cash stocks, 111L for a final amount of 1600N. fuel is an okay price, nothing to crazy. And we managed 12.4L per 100 while doing 120 with a load on the roof.

At the border I wait in line at customs and the truckers let me go first, awesome guys. And I find out I don’t even need to see customs, well maybe I do but they don’t care. Easy enough, I’m out before more questions come. In the customs office I get quickly stamped out and go see Asareh who is havng a slight panic about the date stamp in her passport, they stamped her 2 days earlier than mine some now. Either way she has over stayed. And in true Africa operations, they don’t even look, just stamp and we are gone. Easy peasy.

No rookies here

We have a good chat with the police on the SA side, which was a positive meet after the issue with customs only wanting to give me a 7 day visa. You have to stand your ground with customs. And know the rules going in. With everything sorted the police give me some info on the road ahead and we are off. We stop at Orange River campground, buy some wood and setup. We are back in what feels like home, so we celebrate with drinks and marking our maps to see where we have been.

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We tried to stay an extra night in town, but the place was fully booked, so instead of looking for a new place we start heading south which is a good idea as we only have 2 more days left in the country before we overstay our visas. Packing up and a quick breakfast followed by a quick chat with another group staying. Bit odd to see a fully kitted 4wd staying in a place like this instead of camping.

We have a large day of driving, 427 kms to be exact, but its all highway, even then we still prefer short days on the road. Normally leaving by 11 and shut down by 3-4. Some days we cover 50kms some days 200, but rarely this far. Luckily we find a farmers market halfway through, which is perfect as we are hungry. We stop at the petting zoo for a look then move onto the food area, one older couple is making curried pickled beans, which I highly suggest buying. Her husband also produced moonshine and gave me 2 shots to test, 2 shots on an empty stomach is a bit rough, but it was tasty.  We grab a feed, lamb ribs and potato salad and I enjoy a hotdog. The tunes are bumping and we enjoy a spot of shade and a drink.

Apparently we Crossed this line We had to park with the sun behind us at there was a tourist bus on the other side and we didn’t want to wait

Hammering along we turn off the main road hit the gravel on our way to the Brukkaros crater. A very interesting feature on the land, check out the google maps of it. There is an abandoned camp ground up top we are planning to stay at. None of the reviews mention the wind issue.  The road up is a bit rough but proves easily overcome even though I need to stop to reattach the VNT solenoid vacuum hose. The view is good, we notice a slight bit of wind and setup and are straight into a vegetarian dinner and wine (someone didn’t double check the meat situation)  <- it was me.  The wind has been slowly increasing and eventually knock my wine over. Uggghhh, fine. I put the fire out and we move to bed.

All hell breaks loose about 2 hours later, gusting wind like I have never dealt with in my life. It somehow restarts my fire which was put out with water, and then promptly blows it away. At least that’s as far as that got. But the tent is taking a beating, The guy ropes has pulled out of the ground and with both of us in the tent the back half lifts up.  I make the call, we are gonna have to move the vehicle with the tent up to put it facing into the wind, at 1 am with Asareh in the driver seat I wait for a break in the wind and off we go moving the wagon.  Asareh climbs in as I put the dual spares pointing out from the rear and then retie the tent ropes to them, they will hold no issues. 

Lovely area, just to windy to even launch the drone for a peak inside

Back in the tent we are getting hammered, I figure at the current wind speed by morning our drive to cape town will be shorter. 1 of us thought it was funny, the other did not. I have to get out of the tent 3 more time to reset poles and strap canvas down. The best part was where I snored through the rest of it while Asareh sat up thinking of ways to kill me, we I assume that’s what she was doing.  Huh? Oh she says no she wasn’t.

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Cleaned up for around town

We stop at the bushman shop, its by far the coolest place to visit here. So much stuff to see. Highly recommend stopping here. With that completed the phone starts to ring and we go collect the wagon, I get the paperwork and laugh as it says scratches all over. I have a quick chat with the service manager about our trip, he is interested in how I got the custom rego plate and thanks me for picking a mitsu. We leave with a fully detailed wagon. Amazing.

A must stop Ya, I woulda given up too

With all our daily duties completed its time to party and we head to Joes bar, we are told we cannot miss it. Apparently its another place that requires pre booking, but that isn’t a problem. I pull into the wrong parking lot and have to spin around as luck would have it 2 guys also travelling Namibia in a 4wd do the same thing so we have a laugh between vehicles and end up parked together across the street. A small chat later we head in as a larger group. A good night of stories and laughs. We all get zebra steaks except Asareh who gets springbok. The meals are cooked to perfection and the beer flows.

Best drinkin place in town

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