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With a very chilly winter weekend being forecast for Johannesburg (we have experienced the coldest weather I can remember in Johannesburg in years) an intrepid group of enthusiastic Four Wheel Drivers did the sensible thing and went to Moegatle just north of Brits (it's far warmer up north you know!).
We went for a day of off-road driving, with some of us camping for the week-end and the rest staying in chalets, with Alex and Rene as our hosts. The group was made up of about 30 like-minded folk with a love of the outdoors and 4x4ing in common. Actually, while it seemed that most of the group actually enjoys the adrenaline rush and challenge of outdoing obstacles, we mainly wanted to put our fairly newly-acquired Discovery through its paces and get to know its alleged strengths and wonders first-hand. We were not disappointed. We were VERY impressed.
The 4x4 trail graded 3 - 5 was led by Alex Fullard, who has nerves of steel! He stood beside or in front of each vehicle in turn, and calmly talked the drivers through the different obstacles, as if he was discussing the weather. Never mind that obstacle 2 gave us a bird's eye view of the chassis of the various vehicles. When Stockie and the SWB vehicles came through, Alex actually stood on the drivers' side running boards to keep them from turning over completely!
Our single female driver Jane was a little nervous about this one, and so being a rock of sensibility, I reassured mad Jane before her first gravity-defying stunt, (and here I am absolutely not exaggerating) that she would be fine.
I said "CJ (Calamity Jane) just do EXACTLY as you are told by the trail leader, and you will be fine."
She was. More than fine, she was awesome. Kept a cool head, even with her vehicle on its side with both right wheels off the ground, and the entire chassis on view! David and the others looked as though they were fine, but let me tell you, how they didn't roll is just inexplicable to me. As the Disco leaned left, and the right wheels left the ground, and the sand poured out of the chassis, I could see the left wheels clearly, and Dave was up in the air. Not a tiny bit of exaggeration.
When my dearly beloved came to do it, I was too nervous to photograph the underneath view of his vehicle - an omission which it would seem is very nearly punishable by death!
Then there were the "escape routes"! Some of these are scarier (nearly) than the obstacles they are escaping from. Colin did a very impressive escape from the axle twister - just when I was convinced that it was "all over" his vehicle gripped and surged forward, missed the branch on the left, missed the drop-off to the right, and turned the bend, escaping sudden death. His loyal passenger never fled the scene. She was faithful to her dear old dad till the end of the course. Just!
Of course being graded 3 - 5, some obstacles were scarier and more difficult than others. One particularly hair-raising one saw CJ's clutch pack up entirely. When the guys couldn't locate recovery points to winch her out - she WAS up to the running board in gravel - she had to reverse down the crevasse. Dave took the escape route on this one, good sense taking over from the thrill and challenge. Steve, driving the other Discovery in our group decided that he could not resist the challenge. Incredible vehicles though they are, the final part of the challenge stopped him short. It very nearly worked, but the challenge was less of an obstacle than a brick wall. Suspension badly damaged, a spade was produced, and the way out eased for him. Suffice to say that watching people wheel spinning and slipping sideways and backwards; stalling and restarting, and then getting there, was a very traumatic experience for me, exhilarating for them, but for all, without exception, a very reassuring exercise in getting to grips with the awesome capabilities of these four-wheel-drive vehicles.
The final challenge was THE ROCK! All the vehicles that attempted it, made it. Some managed easier than others. There was much deliberating, checking out of angles, low points and high points. The yellow custom-built V8 did it very easily, as it did all the obstacles, with Robin being very satisfied and delighted with its performance. Some of the drivers gave the spectators anxious moments, as they manoeuvered themselves up the steep rock-face. I learned that four-wheel-drive vehicles stick to rock like Bostik. I learned a couple of new words as well!
Just when I thought it was all over for the day and I could get my pulse back to a respectable beat, Alex suggested that Robin and Dave attempt the BIG rock! Dave agreed, on condition that Alex accompany him! Needless to say, both vehicles made it, even though Dave's front wheels were both off the ground at one stage, and Alex calmly told him to just keep the speed steady, and keep going. It was quite something to see, I think everyone will agree.
We did finish JUST in time to watch the Bokke beat the All Blacks. Now that was a good and entertaining match. Just what we needed to help us relax after the stresses of the day!
Later we enjoyed a marvelous lamb on the spit, with traditional boerekos in the open air of course, with a lovely pit fire blazing. The nice thing about this sort of weekend is the camaraderie afterwards, swopping stories and technicalities, sitting around a big fire, enjoying one's favourite tipple. Can you not all identify with the thrill of comparing engine sizes, torque, traction control and departure angles! Riveting stuff!
Awesome as the experience was for us, and Dave is happy to have done it, from now we will focus mainly on getting to destinations, and enjoying the ride, confident in the power and ability of our vehicle, in almost situation we can anticipate finding ourselves in.
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