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The Ford Limpopo Challenge 2004
It
is a great honour bestowed on me to have been the lucky person drawn to represent the club at this challenge.
The anticipation prior to the event was almost unbearable, and Saturday 18 September, 2004, eventually arrived for me and Lance Nel, who had offered to be my navigator. It turned out to be a good suggestion.
We left for Polokwane to be there by 15h00. We were put up in the Moropo Lodge just outside Polokwane, and in the evening we had supper with various officials from the Limpopo Government. The Challenge was officially opened and our cars (Ford Ranger 2500 Turbo Diesel Double Cabs) were allocated. We drew car number one, a silver version.
After some socialising we retired for the evening to be up at 5am for the first obstacle challenge at the hotel. Before breakfast we did the course, moved a few 80kg mealie bags, did some log and ditch driving, got stuck (on purpose) in mud and rescued, and washed the car. The excitement had begun.
After breakfast we left the hotel in convoy to start our GPS challenge. Strict attention was paid to convoy rules. As one can appreciate - to stop and start a convoy of almost 20 vehicles is difficult. We were also quickly informed that stopping for nature calls is not really appreciated. Most of the times lunch was completed in the cars while driving.
A very strict time schedule was kept to all the time. We were on the road every morning by 06h30 and completed the day's tasks by about 17h30. It was serious driving day in and day out, covering over 1200km off-road in six days.
For me to try and describe the trip would not do it justice, except for the fact that it was extremely well organised. Never once did any of the contenders lack anything, and even the smallest detail was attended to by the organisers. We saw what very few people will ever see, and from a perspective never to be repeated. We went very fast from point to point. A jerry can race in the bed of the Limpopo River, with Tuli elephants watching these silly humans, buffalo crossing rivers, and the absolute tranquility of a Limpopo bushveld sunset, that was what the trip was about.
Our accommodation in the various lodges we slept in at night, suppers and breakfasts of good quality, enjoyed in a hearty and friendly atmosphere, were beyond our highest expectations. One cannot comprehend the quality of service and splendour that the Limpopo Province's lodges have to offer, unless you are willing to experience it yourself. We were treated and treated. To experience only the best, and to be treated better than the best, is an understatement. Bearing in mind that we worked hard for our board and lodging, we deserved the best, and we got better. Nicky, Marcel, Tanya and Yolande saw to that, without any suggestion of failure.
The Fords we drove were ours to drive for six days. The convoy consisted of ten Ford double-cab 2500 turbo diesel challenge vehicles, two branding cars, two cars for the TV crews and two for mechanical backup, all Fords.
Two V6 4.0 litre cars also accompanied us, with Marcel and crew in one and Conrad, a "Big Shot" from Ford and crew in the other.
The Fords proved themselves very capable, and the Pirellis proved competent. The normal turbo lag was present at low rpm, but less noticeable in low range. The cars were fairly economical over the harshest of roads and obstacles. We had no serious breakdowns except for two broken radiators after a river crossing, which was not the cars' fault. We picked up a slow leak on a tyre, and one of the V6s cut a sidewall. The cars were supplied to the contestants in a good condition, and ready to get the job done, which they did.
I am a Toyota 2700i fan, but these Fords really gave me an eye-opener, and a lot of respect for them. I do own two 4x2 in my fleet of cars, and now look at them from a very different perspective.
The Ford 4x4 configuration is very much the same as the next 4x4 bakkie, and it gets the job done. It climbs rocky and sandy uphills and downhills with ease, wades water and crosses grasslands and then takes on a tar road with comfort. The motors worked hard, and I got used to my Ford and really enjoyed it. It was with regret that I had to return the car which was required to run the next challenge. I heard they were destined for Durbs.
We shared our fantastic experience with fantastic people and after the first day we all knew most of the names. I have driven before with Francois Rossouw of RSG on a tour to Namibia. He has actually made some live broadcasts over the radio of the challenge from wherever he could obtain a cell phone signal.
The press from SA 4x4 magazine drove car No 6. Johan got hurt in a recovery that could have been tragic were Patrick in the car. Typically, a snatch rope broke a recovery point off from car No 5 of Mec Collins Chabane, went into the back window of his car, through the left front headrest and bounced inside the roof of his car and smacked him on his left hand on the gearlever. (That was not on TV!)
At that time I was also being recovered, stuck in the river, by car No 2, Emile and Ruan, and they also got stuck. We were both rescued by car No 3, Francois and Kallie from RSG. They came third in this challenge.
There were two girls "Blommetjies" from Witbank, quickly nicknamed Blommetjie and Liefie. They were great sports and taking a lot from the rest of the guys. Always a laugh and a crack, took the "gees" award for being the biggest on spirit.
The national champions accompanied us on this challenge, Jack Nel and Nico Pretorius, and it was a pleasure to drive with them, watching them do their thing. They came second in this challenge.
The winners of this challenge were Dries and Jannie, and their smooth skill in their red Ford was a pleasure to witness. They started their day every morning by washing their bakkie.
Lance and I had fun, and to me the challenge and the treats and the experience were far more rewarding than anything else received or given out.
To have been part of the start of the international heritage plan on Heritage Day, driving in that convoy, with the reception of tribal dancing, was a spine-chilling experience. The absolute mind-boggling power of the Limpopo Province was demonstrated when we over-nighted in the bed of the Letaba River on Wednesday night. We drove up the dry riverbed and suddenly, around the bend, there was a complete tent town, in a huge circle around an enormous bonfire in the river. The buffalo were crossing the river further upstream. We had a troop of very agitated baboons, because our camp was right under their tree.
The sunset, the food and the atmosphere just called for a huge party, and it did turned out to be just that. Changing tyres in the sun on loose sand the next morning was really hard work.
So much driving had to be well managed, and we had five marshals accompanying us. They were pretty fair and whilst they were part of the group, they maintained a professional distance. I suppose to stay impartial would not be too difficult and we all ended up good friends. Wayne and his crew did a good job, and were tested at times as tempers flared in the hot sun. They kept their cool.
The people behind the scenes that looked after us, the catering by Tanya, cold drinks and ice, were done effortlessly, or so it appeared.
The trip was the prize. If it comes my way again, without any hesitation I would jump at the opportunity. The honour to have been part of the first Ford Limpopo challenge is too great to verbalise. It was a great moment in my life, and I have compared the experience with a lot of precious moments in my life.
The TV cameras were somewhat of a surprise to all of us, as we did not expect them. Where we drove the 1200 km, there were two cameramen that actually ran this distance following us, then ahead of us on the cars, then down. All the time they were active, very fit, and if you turned your face, you looked into a camera.
We saw the biggest baobab tree in the southern hemisphere, looked at buffalo crossing rivers, watched crocodiles stalking prey on the river bank, watched Limpopo sunsets from high up, slept in a tent down in a river, ate supper under a dam wall, got chased by the Tuli elephants, looked onto Zimbabwe, played in the sand, got full of mud, got wet in the river, drove a lot, ate together the best meals in the best of venues and wondered about tomorrow. We became one body out there, about sixty of us that made us proud of being South African. All mixed pretty well.
It was with some emotion that we parted our ways on Friday morning. We left Hoedspruit in a bus, back to Pietersburg, where our transport back to reality awaited us.
To write about this experience is impossible and to describe it, unfair. Photographs show a scene and video an experience.
From start to completion, every single detail was perfect. The places visited, the routes driven, the experience lived, all makes the realisation vividly clear to be a responsible 4x4 owner. The beauty out there is for all of us to grasp, and to protect without exception or it will all simply disappear.
We were the most fortunate 20 people to have experienced this tribute to Limpopo Province. The crew behind the scenes made it possible. The list of thanks is long. It was done on the last function, and all credits were screened. Thanks again.
All thanks to the FWDCSA for giving Lance and I the opportunity to represent our club.
Dawid Pretorius
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