Early dawn of 16 December 2004, an audacious group of 4x4 junkies set forth out of the concrete wastelands of the greater Durban area…

Their mission - to boldly go where no M-Class has gone before…the stunningly beautiful the Mnyameni Estuary, situated on the Wild Coast of the Transkei.

We would be gracing this amazing area with our presence until 19 December…

These gallant travelers were:

Heinrich van Zweel Land Cruiser 79 series 4L; Hilux 2700i 4x4

Elna van Zweel

Regard van Zweel

Jacho van Zweel

Gareth Tiedt

Guy Boardman Land Cruiser FJ43

Elsa Boardman

Mike Lauterbach Landrover 110 Tdi Pick up

Gudrun Lauterbach

Peter Zagel Land Cruiser 79 Series 4500 EFI

Kevin Govender Shortened Hilux Raider 2.2 Double Cab 4x4

Jennifer Govender

Tyrrell Govender

Talia Govender

Ricard Cerone Willys Jeep CJ2A 2.4D Toyota Forklift Engine

Lindsay Spencer

Don Irwin Land Rover 110 Tdi; 200cc Bike

Mike Ashington

George Goswell Land Rover Series III Ford V6 Engine

Ryan Goswell

Mandy Goswell

Calvin (Friend)

Faisal Mansur Condor 2.4i 4x4

Gail Mansur

The agreed meeting spot for most of the group was the South Coast Ultra City, which provided the opportunity to set up 29 MHz comms, and a quick breakfast for those who hadn’t had yet.

Between the Ultra City and Oribi Plaza, Kevin Govender and his family joined the convoy.

Once past Oribi plaza, Kevin and his family were introduced, when we stopped for Ricard to quickly fixed a faulty windscreen wiper with some help from other members in the group since we had just gone through some fairly heavy rain.

Now in South Africa, one can see an amazing array of weird and wonderful things…but I don’t think anyone has ever seen a vehicle frantically ‘rowing’ itself along the N2 in order to gain enough speed to overtake a truck!!! The mystery of this strange behavior would only begin to explain itself as our holiday progressed…the first clue being that the vehicle had a GP registration!!!

On arriving at Port Edward, refueling took place, and some last minute supplies were acquired…

Guy, who had dropped back to park his town car, had discovered that the FJ’s starter motor was faulty, and sought to have it repaired in the area. He would join us later.

From Port Edward we crossed the Umtamvuma Bridge into the Transkei. As the convoy crossed the bridge, it was relayed over the radio that Kevin, whose vehicle was notorious for punctures had once again managed to acquire…a puncture. Faizal dropped back to help him, whilst the rest carried on until the turn off to the dirt road. Here the group waited for the two vehicles to catch up.

During this wait, Heinrich set the Land Cruiser free, which had been towed until now. Jacho would drive this from now on, with me as co-driver.

Faizal and Kevin soon arrived, and the convoy was on its way again.

The road surface was typical of low budget rural roads - full of potholes and bumpy.

The experience of driving on theses roads brought to mind a great idea for an ad showing a new way to eat KFC’s sprinkle pops…

After traveling for about half an hour, the convoy stopped to deal with a broken battery mount in Ricard’s, Jeep’s engine bay. The battery was removed and the vehicle’s 2nd battery, stored under his seat, was used. This solved the problem. While this was being done, the rest of the convoy took the opportunity to lower air pressure in their tyres.

On the way again, we drove on and stopped off at the Mnyameni Waterfall, which is indeed worth a visit. From here we backtracked a little, and then turned onto the two-spoor track that would eventually lead us to the campsite. Mike Lauterbach has produced excellent maps of the route, and can be found on the Ecotracs website- www.ecotracs.org.

The track provides access to the hundreds of rural huts that dot the landscape. I was quite amazed to notice that two huts that we passed had solar panels.

Another feature whilst driving along the track were the countless numbers of local children running alongside the vehicles asking for a "job" or "isweeti". Some of the children persisted and kept at running alongside the vehicles all the way to camp, a distance of about 5 kilometers. I was amazed at the persistence of these children, who would not take no for an answer and persevered until the end.

The track had points that demanded care and concentration, with some vehicles opting for low range, but with most of the track just demanding 4H and decent clearance. Closer to camp, however, the track surface changed to deep sand. It was however compact and easily manageable…damn.

Arriving at camp, the group met George Goswell (Land Rover Club Chairman) and his family, who had arrived previously.

Tent pitching was now the order of the day, with the four gillies helping out at the campsite.

Camp was soon established, with chairs and beers now being opened and thoroughly enjoyed.

No camp is complete without a good hearty fire, so Jacho, Calvin, Ryan and I, together with the gillies, set of in the Cruiser to get some firewood from a nearby Blue Gum forest.

George, who knows the Transkei area very well, directed us along a different track, which turned out to be a lot more fun and more of a challenge to a 4x4. This track lead over deep sand and there were holes and dongas that swallowed the whole vehicle … perfect! It turned out to be a real fun drive.

At the Blue Gum forest we spread out to collect and soon had a decent pile of wood loaded in the bakkie.

With a heavy load on the back, our return trip was made via the better track, and we soon arrived back at camp. After unloading, Jacho and myself headed back to the "play area", where, much to the amusement of the locals, we purposefully got stuck and unstuck, using 2H as often as possible.

As we were about to head back, we encountered George and his family in their Landy, followed by Kevin, Talia (daughter), Tyrrell (son), Regard, Ricard and Lindsay in Kevin’s Raider. They were headed to a great bathing spot, for a swim and a clean up. The pool had a 6m ledge to safely jump off, landing in deep water. There was also a depression above the waterfall that formed a natural ‘bath’.

Isn’t it amazing how nature so readily provides?

After some exhilarating jumps, and with most of the day’s dust washed, off we headed back to camp as it was also becoming dark.

After a supper featuring Elna’s amazing cooking and a good chat around the fire, George took us to the lagoon to show us the remarkable luminescent micro-organisms that were visible in the dark when walking on the edge of the lagoon. We also discovered that on shining our spotlights onto the surface of the water, mullet would jump out of the water and into the light.

On arriving back at the camp, the idea of sleep became irresistible, and with the snores of the now tired 4x4 junkies filling the air, the camp eventually became quiet, except for, well… no prizes for guessing who was the loudest…

At about 5am on day 2, I was woken up by the sun and couldn’t get back to sleep again. Pulling out a chair, I enjoyed the still beauty of camp in the early morning sun, while listening to the loud, contesting snores of Heinrich, and Guy across the ‘road’ from us. Guy won by many decibels.

Between 6:30 and 7:00, the rest of the camp gradually awoke joining me in their entire morning facial splendor. Soon kettles were on the go, boiling water to make urgently needed coffee.

Breakfast soon followed, after which we started planning the day ahead.

First on the agenda was a guided trip by George, who would be showing us some of the sights of the area. Accompanying us, would be George’s family in the Series III, Don on his bike, Kevin in his Raider, and Jacho, Gareth, Heinrich, Faizal, Ricard, Lindsay and Mike Lauterbach in the Cruiser.

From the camp we headed east, in the direction of the Wild Coast Sun. The trip consisted of a river crossing (nothing too serious) and a narrow, downhill, rocky gully, which demanded low range eventually leading us to a beautiful secluded beach, which was a great potential camp site.

After admiring the scene for a while, and chatting about things like crayfish and the like, we headed to another beach, and then on to the highest point in the area, where we found trig beacon 33.

From here, a striking view of the coastline lay below us, and we all stood there in total awe of what lay before us…it was truly a magnificent sight.

We then headed back to the bathing pools, crossing the same river that we crossed earlier.

Arriving at the waterfall pools, we immediately jumped in from the ledge, to enjoy the refreshing coolness of the water. A good hour and a half was spent ledge jumping, and sipping beer in the pool, while others sat in the shade and enjoying that relaxing feeling that only camping can offer.

At this point Kobus Wiid and his friend Hermann Reske, who had left Durban that morning, arrived at the pools, having set up their tent at the campsite.

On the way back, the fun route was again taken, where Jacho managed to get the Cruiser "stuck" on a sand bank. Kevin enjoyed the pleasure of snatching him out. This was followed by a ‘contest’ between the vehicles on climbing ability, and fun was had by all.

Arriving back at camp, lunch was prepared, with stories of the morning’s activities filling the air. Eager to join in the fun and show us the true capabilities of his jeep, Ricard made his roof top tent a ‘ground floor’ tent, and readied his vehicle for the next trip, which would be an uncharted route along the Mnyameni River gorge.

On this trip were Heinrich, Regard, Jacho and Gareth in the Cruiser, Ricard and Lindsay in the Jeep, Kevin, his wife Jennifer, Tyrrell and Talia in his Raider, Kobus and Hermann in Kobus’s Isuzu, Guy and his wife Elsa in the Bruiser, George and his family in his Landy and Don together with Mike Ashington in Don’s Landy.

This was a fairly demanding trip, with a river crossing at the beginning, a climb over a fallen tree, and a climb up a steep rocky hill, before reaching a very rocky stretch, which Kevin, Jacho, Don and Kobus delightfully drove up, with the others taking the escape route…too much competition guys???

At various points along the route, we stopped to admire the view from the top of the gorge, spotting some "lekker" camping spots and bathing pools in the gorge below. Accessibility by vehicle would however be a problem…even for the mighty Land Cruiser!

Just before turning back, some more 4 x 4 testing was done, with some hilarious results.

There was a reasonably easy spot to cross a small river, which most vehicles could quite easily negotiate. However, there was a grassy muddy section about 4 m above it, where Kevin decided to attempt to make his crossing. Now you have to understand Kevin…

Kevin is disinclined to travel on anything that looks easy or mundane. Kevin continuously tests his vehicle’s ability and his driving skills to the limit. If there is a rock in the road, Kevin does not drive around it, he drives over it. I think that the reason for this is that he is continuously practicing for the 4x4 challenge, which I understand he participates in regularly.

Kevin wound up the Toyota’s engine, released the springs and made it half-way before becoming hopelessly bogged down. After an attempt by Ricard to snatch him out, Guy hooked up his Cruiser, and after a number of pulls, out he came…very muddy.

Refusing to be beaten by mere mud, Kevin attempted the same patch again…and within seconds his chassis was the only thing preventing him and his vehicle from sinking any deeper into the mud. No amount of acceleration would make any difference. This time Ricard managed to pull him out (he pulled forwards this time), and Kevin admitted defeat…

While comforting Kevin an assuring him that it was an impossible place to cross (the mud seemed bottomless), we heard the thunderous revving of the Jeep, and turned to see Ricard flying at top speed, or as fast as 2^nd gear low range would allow him, towards the same muddy patch. He made it halfway, going from top speed to nothing in approximately 1 second, as the mud swallowed him up. What was Ricard thinking? Maybe he thought that the substantial skid plate protecting the front diff would allow him to ski over the muddy surface, or maybe the Jeep was lighter. Either way, he and poor Lindsay were covered in black gooey, sticky, stinking mud. Laughing our heads off, Kevin, with a wry smile, got in his vehicle, and pulled Ricard’s Jeep out (on the first try).

Freed from the slippery grips of the now triumphant mud hole, Ricard proceeded to smother Lindsay with a stinky, muddy hug.

A valuable lesson was learnt from this hilarious experience though…firstly, never under estimate the power of mud.

Secondly, Ricard had his tow ball mounted on thin steel plate. When he snatched Kevin from the mud, it almost bent straight, demonstrating the importance of a sturdy chassis mount.

Returning by the same route, some more fun was had, this time below the easy route across, which demanded some serious rock climbing and more mud crawling. Now Isuzu’s are not known as vehicles with very articulate suspensions, but Kobus has done some amazing work to the rear suspension of his Isuzu. It proved amazingly articulate.

Kobus has removed one or two of the blades from the rear spring-pack but has added a cross member above the diff where he has mounted a stiff coil spring attaching directly to the diff and the cross member. This provides the truck with sufficient spring tension to carry a load on the box, whilst the "weaker" blade springs allow for incredible flexing of the rear diff over undulating surfaces. Effectively the rear axle swivels around a central spring and it stands to reason that the axle would be more "alive". Great work Kobus!

This improved suspension enabled him to make his way through most obstacles as if they were everyday driving.

As we headed back, we noted that the black skies that had been present most of the afternoon were now heading our way. So, turning on our tails, it was straight driving, back until the river mouth campsite.

Now presumably, there was only one way to drive up the riverbank on our way home. Not according to Kevin however, who, in his spirited steed, decided to try the harder way…I think he was still trying to recover his dignity from the thwarted mud hole crossing attempts…The bank was however incredibly steep and the Toyota just did not have enough traction.

To lessen the gradient of the soil ledge, Heinrich took his Cruiser down the bank from the top end breaking the vertical edge with the front end weight of the Cruiser and then "grading" the edge using the Cruiser’s chassis as it went nose first into the water. He dropped down from the top twice in succession, but it failed to make any difference, when Kevin again attempted the challenge from the rivers end, all to no avail.

After dropping down the second time, he took a fast drive in low range upstream, until the motor stalled…The Cruiser would not start again, and after some fiddling, expecting a wet ignition, it was realized that the finest engine in the world could not run without fuel … Kevin helped out by lending Hein 20 liters.

It was then back to camp, me now driving the Cruiser for the first time…

Supper was soon prepared, with Elna once again out doing herself.

Round roaring fires, the activities of the day were discussed, with general conversation echoing through the camp, until the days early rise and excitement caught up with me, and I turned in early…falling asleep almost immediately…amazing what fresh air does for you…

Today, the plan was to drive to the Mtentu River, and after the usual breakfast, the vehicles were packed for the impending daytrip and we departed at about 10:00.

Everyone except Gudrun and Elna went along, with Mike’s Land Rover staying at camp with the ladies, and Mike opting to drive with Peter Zagel in Peter’s Cruiser.

The convoy followed a slightly different track, with me once again behind the wheel of the Cruiser, until the Mnyameni waterfall was reached. Those who hadn’t seen it took a quick glance, while the rest headed for the bridge above the falls.

Jacho took this opportunity to reclaim the steering wheel. I think he was a bit rattled after the experience of me driving a petrol-powered vehicle for the first time.

The bridge is a relatively new upgrade to the rural road and those in the mood for fun quite happily ‘forgot’ the intended purpose of the bridge, and drove down into the river to cross the by the ‘old’ route.

Kevin, Jacho, Ricard, Kobus, Don and George crossed the river, with those who had gotten muddy the day before, taking the opportunity to clean up the chassis’ of their vehicles.

A two-spoor track was then followed toward the Sikhombe lagoon until a great red sandy hill barred the route.

The hill was crossed, and then, backtracking, we eventually reached the main track that lead to Mtentu. Unfortunately the weather was beginning to get rather damp, and so after looking around the area for a while and seeing that further process was futile, we headed back.

Along the way, some more sport was indulged in crossing the two rocky river courses, and the main river above the Mnyameni falls, alongside the bridge. Vehicles attempted to climb the spillway on the far side of the river…with Jacho, Kevin and Kobus, utilizing their superior clearance, managed to climb the steep ledge and make their way to the top of the riverbank. Ricard and George’s Landy found other ways…George going bundu-bashing up the bank, clearing an access path for the vehicles that had already submitted to climb down again and attempt the spillway via another route.

Passing the Blue Gum forest on the way home after the bridge, some more wood was collected.

Closer to camp, some more vehicle testing was done in a small gully, with both Ricard and Kevin’s vehicles failing to surmount. Jacho also tried but had to be pulled out by Kevin. Kobus with his articulate Isuzu was the only one who managed a perfect crossing.

The weather had gone miserable again, and Ricard, who had gone ahead following his first attempt at crossing the obstacle, got lost. He arrived back at camp 15 minutes after the last vehicles had arrived. His story was that he apparently he had almost rolled, gotten stuck, and then had to winch himself out… We listened to his story, but most of us did not buy it, preferring to think that he and Lindsay had gone to watch the setting sun. But then that was also impossible, since there was no sun…the whole day!

Dirty and dusty, and desperately needing a clean up, a few of us set off to have a ‘bath’ at the waterfall pool above camp. Not much time was spent here, as the sun had made up its mind, and was setting without giving us much chance for a decent swim…and the Cruiser did not have adequate lighting.

That evening all of us brought our photos to be downloaded onto Mike Lauterbach’s laptop. The slide show afterwards, was accompanied with shouts of laughter, as the depicted events were re-lived…

Supper that night was great as usual, and the rain clouds that had been threatening rain the whole weekend disappeared, leaving a wonderful starry night sky. There was no need for the "sterretjies" withdoctor!

Sleep, once again became the greater appeal to most of us, and soon after, Guy’s snores, sounding much like the Chevy V8 that he has under the bonnet of his Cruiser, signaled that another day had passed… If there were provincial colours or maybe even national colours for snoring, I would most definitely nominate Guy for team trials.

Waking up on the last mornings of a camp always seems to be a bit quieter and subdued than any other morning, probably because people start reflecting on those mundane things that fill our daily lives. To wake up to a perfect sunshine morning was rather sad, especially knowing that we would soon all be traveling back into the concrete jungle of the "uncivilized" world…

On the way back our thoughts were with Don, Kevin and his family whose holiday would be continuing, since they would be carrying on to Port St. John’s…

After a good cup of coffee, the process of breaking down camp began, which seemed to take much longer than at the beginning of the trip…

Eventually the vehicles were all loaded and the group got together for a final team photo. And with that, it was all over. For this round anyway…

Goodbyes were said, and soon we were all on our way back to suburbia, to live as common city dwellers once again.

Heinrich and his family, for inviting me on this wonderful trip.

George and his family, for showing us some super sights.

Guy – for editing this report.

Everyone who came along to share the experience…it was great getting to know you.

Regards

Gareth T

P.S Even though Ricard had a head start of about ½ hour, everyone heading back to Durban passed him along the way. He and Lindsay were still rowing…well… a forklift engine can’t do everything you know!!!