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LANDROVING IN KZN
Land Rover Owners Club KZN
Image by Heather Wright Powell
Monthly Newsletter May 2015
LROC KZN Committee Chairman: Brian Moore [email protected] Cell: 082 8420064 Radio and Safety Officer: Grant Barnard [email protected] Cell: 073 1517879 Secretary: Mark Kirkbride [email protected] Cell: 082 6709063 Treasurer: Brendan Mitchell [email protected] Cell: 083 2824318 Webmaster: Andrew Kirkbride [email protected] Cell: 079 7436488 Trails: Leon Jacobs [email protected] Cell: 073 2147756 Gates: Zack de Lange [email protected] Cell: 076 7669944 Social: Brian Moore [email protected] Cell: 082 8420064 Co-opted Membership: Liesel Mitchell [email protected] Newsletter Editor: Michelle de Lange [email protected] Cell: 081 2124794 Member Without Portfolio: Winston Reed [email protected] Cell: 082 6456969 Member Without Portfolio: Erik Warburg [email protected] Cell: 082 4874950
Contents Page Editor’s Letter 2 News and Events 3 – 13 Featured Member 14 - 16 What’s On 17 Just for Fun 18 Classifieds 19-20 New Members 21
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The Editor’s Letter
ack and I have a weakness for cross country motorsports. The Dakar, in particular, is one of our favourite motorsport events. As we whoop and ye-ha at the screen we love to fantasise about racing through those saltpans,
deserts and incredible mountain ranges ourselves but we know that you need to be nearly ‘superhuman’ to complete that race and have very deep pockets. Realistically, the closest we will ever get to participating in that race is watching from the comfort of our couch. So when we get the chance to watch some of our heroes who participate in the Dakar, race live, it is an opportunity we cannot miss. The Donaldson cross country race came to Eston at the beginning of May and so we had the chance to go and watch these guys in action. It evokes something deeply primal within you when you hear those powerful engines roaring through the sugarcane. With no holds barred, these ‘supercars’ put on a spectacular show barrelling through water obstacles, drifting tight dirt road corners, leaving everyone in their wake exhilarated and gasping for more. We could only marvel at their astonishing driving abilities as they hurtled by. Our Dakar dreams are just that; dreams, but at least through these extraordinary drivers, we could live vicariously through them, even if only for a day.
Until the next time Michelle
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News & Events The club had their annual trip to the Tembe Elephant Park, put up an outstanding display at The Cars in the Park and ended the month off with the second gates event for the year. Tembe Elephant Park by Bridget Solgrove
e met Steven, Paula and the family at Petroport, Nandi Drive and hit the road at about 9:45am on Thursday morning en route to Tembe Elephant Park. Others made their way north many hours earlier. When you travel north on the N2, the bridges
above the highway do not have road names but letters and numbers. We saw cows, chickens, goats and a zebra in the Wetlands with a small herd of cows. We arrived at the main gate and reception at about 2pm and after signing in and letting down tyres, we made our way through to Ponweni Camp. There is no electricity at this camp. All heating is with fire, paraffin, gas and solar panels. There is a men’s and ladies shower and toilet on either side of the kitchen as well as outdoor showers and toilets, where you stand or sit and watch the animals walk by. We unpacked and set up our tent and socialized for the rest of the afternoon. That evening, just after Jenna, Nick, Kenneth and his daughter arrived; we had a delicious Nyala meat potjie prepared by two of our hosts, Denis and Ann. We were debriefed about the park and where we were and were not allowed to drive. Most of us were in bed by 9pm after a long day driving to our destination.
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At about 2:45am on Friday morning we heard lions roaring. We were up by around 5:30am and after a shower, breakfast and a steaming cup of coffee made on the fire, we were off to view some wild animals. Rick and Sharon, the other two hosts arrived bright and early at about 6am. As there is a limit of 2 vehicles per convoy most vehicles went out alone. We hadn’t gone far when we came across our first elephant of the day. We took a drive down the West Swamp Road heading for the Mahlasela Hide (this is the one where the live webcam is situated). After spending some time there taking photos of elephants, giraffe, buck and a warthog, we headed back to camp, stopping at two pans on the way back.
At the first pan we encountered buffalo and buck. As we entered the road to the second pan, an elephant crossed the road in front of us and a little further on, five elephants were in the road and went to the right side of the road. We drove past with the one rubbing his chin on a dead tree branch. We saw buck at this pan.
We then made our way along the East Swamp Road where we encountered another elephant walking in the road. We must have driven for about 5km behind this elephant. At one stage a ranger vehicle came from the other direction, stopped and the elephant left the road, walked through the grass and then back onto the road. He eventually made his way into the bush on the side of the road.
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We then drove up to the Muzi Border Post gate and down to the suspension bridge. After disengaging the electric fence, Russell made his way along the bridge and back again. There was a wooden bridge lower below the suspension bridge but it had broken away in places. We got back to Ponweni Camp and somebody mentioned lions being sighted at the causeway on the East Swamp Road. We rushed off only to meet people on their way back to camp who said the lions had moved off in the direction of Ponweni Hide. A group of us turned round and made our way there. We saw another elephant that was playing in a pool of mud but no lions. That evening back at camp, there was either leftover potjie from the night before or there were braai fires lit for those who wanted to braai. That was when we heard that the lions had made an about turn and gone back to the causeway. We were also told that we had
no sooner left the camp, when a lioness walked right past the camp gate on the road. Those people that were still in the camp did not have their cameras ready to capture that sight.
On Saturday morning, after taking a cold shower in the outdoor showers, and having a hot cup of coffee and some breakfast, we made our way up to Muzi Border Post and were given access to the Tembe Museum which used to be an old prison.
There are numerous snares and traps. We saw skulls of different buck as well as an assortment of other smaller animal skulls. Out the back of the building was a caged area where the skulls of culled rhino are on display. You can actually see the hack marks on the bone.
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We found an elephant grave yard just off the road on the way back. When an elephant dies of natural causes and it has died elsewhere in the park, the other elephants will actually carry the bones to that site. We then left the park to refuel in a town about 17km west of Tembe Elephant Park. When we got back to the Park, we stopped off at Mahlasela Hide again and then we went to the Causeway and waited to see if we could spot lions. We had two Nyala male buck walk past in front of the vehicle while we were sitting there. A few other vehicles joined us but on the opposite side. Eventually a lion was spotted in the swamp. We watched for a while and then the rangers arrived and requested that we move as they were wanting to do a ‚call up‛ for the lion - they drag a dead Nyala behind a vehicle and when the lion is close enough, they dart the lion, take blood samples to check for disease and then take the animal to a boma where they are collected by the Rwandan game parks staff as they have realized the importance of having these animals in their own country. Tembe has an overpopulation of lion in the park at the moment which is causing the wild dog to escape out of the western boundary fence. Here the local people are trapping them and those that do come back into the park are often wounded. Those people who had the chance to go to the viewing tower area had seen wild dog on the west side on the park. We were also shown a scorpion in a wood pile. Denis had an ultra violet light that he uses to find them and they glow under the light.
On Sunday morning, after a warm outdoor shower, coffee and breakfast, we packed up our belongings and said our goodbyes and headed for Mahlasela Hide for the last time. Once again we were not disappointed as there is sufficient water at this hide for the animals and they seem to congregate at this hide all day long. We then left the park and made our way separate way home. A great weekend was had by all (even if I do say so myself). Many stories were told around the camp fires in the evenings and bonds formed amongst those many people.
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Cars in the Park 2015 – by Bridget Slogrove
Image by Zack de Lange unday morning dawned overcast and drizzly putting a bit of a damper on quite a few
motorists’ day, or so we thought. A couple members of the club met up at the BP Oasis
at Cato Ridge and travelled to the new venue in convoy. There wasn’t really a need to
though as there were so many old and new vehicles on their way to the same place. When we
arrived at our site, we were shown where to park with the oldest vehicles being parked right in
the front on the road side and the newer modern vehicles in the rear.
Image by Bridget Slogrove
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The club gazebo and banners were set up and club members settled in for a day of showing
off their vehicles to other club members and the public. Some vehicles parked on ramps to
show articulation. Most members had printed photos of their vehicles as well as other
vehicles, showing just what a Land Rover can do.
Images by Bridget Slogrove
As we were parked close to the entrance, we were able to watch other vehicles arriving and
making their way to their stands – Lotus 7s, Ford Cobras, Ford GTs and Ferraris to name a few.
Image by Zack de Lange
With the smell of coffee and breakfast close by, numerous club members made their way to
the food court to get something tasty to eat. Those wanting coffee had a long wait. The
Castle tent where they were serving beer was pretty empty at that stage. Once breakfast was
done, members wandered round the other stands admiring tractors, a fire engine, an off-road
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caravan, motor bikes of all shapes and sizes, cars from bygone eras to a solar panelled car of
the future.
Obviously, vehicles with bonnets open were a draw card for the motor car enthusiasts to check
out the engines and turbo chargers. From wooden wheels and floor boards to the ultimate
sports cars, there was something for everyone to enjoy. Inspired after seeing a Rolls Royce
with a mini bar in the back complete with glasses embossed with the Rolls Royce insignia, we
decided that this was just the thing we needed fitted into our Land Rover.
Image by Zack de Lange
For those that wanted to buy a trinket or two, there was a flea market with everything from
miniature cars, earrings, and jackets to plants. As midday approached, the braais were started
and the smell of meat drifted through the air. The food court had plenty to offer from
hamburgers to Thai food. There were also those stalls selling sweets, biscuits, and pancakes.
By this time, those that had left their beers at home were now extremely thirsty. So the Castle
tent was beginning to get quite busy and the weather had now changed to a partly cloudy but
mostly sunny day.
For the motorbike enthusiast, the extremely well
ridden tyres were interesting to look at and by this
time, as the sun had come out, there were plenty
more bikes which had arrived. Besides the normal
two wheeled bikes there were a number of trikes
which looked extremely comfortable to ride on.
Bikes ranged from the old classic motor bikes to
ultra-modern motor bikes. Image by Bridget Slogrove
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There were skydivers that landed on the field at lunch time but as we were so far away from
the landing site, we were only able to see them above us for a little while.
Some members volunteered to marshall and
control traffic entering and exiting the
venue. There was a long line of vehicles
arriving as well as leaving the venue and at
2pm when we left, there were many vehicles
parked on both sides of the road for at least
a kilometer from the entrance as well as in
the main field just next to the entrance
where the exhibitors went in, and in a field a
little way up the road on the other side.
It seems that a good day
was had by all those
members who attended
the event, as well as the
other exhibitors and
members of the public
who braved the early
morning drizzle and then
the warmer weather in
the afternoon.
Images by Bridget Slogrove
Image by Zack de Lange
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The 2nd Gates Event Photos by Heather Wright Powell and Bridget Slogrove
Images by Heather Wright Powell
morning in the beautiful Inanda valley, was the site for the 2nd Gates event. My two undercover photographers, Heather Wright Powell and Bridget Slogrove took some fantastic snaps of the action.
Johan de Lange took first place in standard class with Brendan Mitchell winning the modified class.
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Images by Bridget Slogrove
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Images by Heather Wright Powell
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Ten Minutes with Brian
Tell me about your very first Land Rover?
A 2000 Defender 110 TD5 bought second hand with 140 000km on the clock, with no accessories
How long have you been 4x4ing and who taught you to 4x4?
Discounting some limited military experiences in an aged 1943 Bedford on the beaches of Blauberg Strand, and some scary excursions in a Buffell in the boondocks of Natal, a life time ago, a mere 5 years or so. Most of my driving has been self-taught, with the occasional chirp from some of the club stalwarts and some handy tips from Andrew St. Pierre White's DVD and the terrified shrieks of my passengers.
What land Rover do you drive now?
The same one, only older with a lot less body work a few more attractive bits, more oil leaks than the Exon Valdez and 287 000km on the clock!
Does your Landy have a name and what inspired that name?
Yep. All my vehicles have had names. Her name is Dusky, inspired by her wonderflous-ness and beauti-flessness as she took pride of place in my front yard, highlighted in all her 3 ton, non-aerodynamic beauty by the setting African sun.
If you could have one modification/accessory fitted to your Landy, what would it be? If I could have one modification, discounting for a total rust removal, it would have to be a winch. Mainly to help me remove offending rocks at inter-club challenges so as not to ever embarrass myself in public again! An inboard ATM would also be a nice touch for all the other bits I'd like! There's more!
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What is your favourite Land Rover memory?
It would have to be the look of absolute delight and joy on my kids faces when I drove up the driveway for the first time in Dusky!
What is your worst Land Rover memory?
Without a doubt, breaking down en route back from Cape Town and that horrible sinking feeling I got when I saw the temperature gauge right off the scale and the tell-tale of steam coming up from under the bonnet! (Close runner up was the night she trundled down the driveway in "R for Race" and removed my gates and boundary wall 8 hours before I had to catch a plane to Jhbg!)
Where have you been in your Landy?
Work, Tembe, the entire Swaziland border fence route to Jozini from Tembe!, Mkuze, the Berg, Sani, Mthatha, Kokstad, Matatiele, Cedarville, Maclear, Elliot, Ugie, Queenstown, East London, Port Elzabeth, Jeffries Bay, Knysna, Sedgefield,Phantom Pass, Outeniqua Pass, George, Storms River, Port Alfred, Stutterheim, Plettenberg Bay, Mossell Bay, Malgas and the Brede River Pont, Greyton, Stellenbosch, Paarl, Simonstown, Blaauwberg Strand, Cape Town, Cango Caves, Ronnies Sex Shop, Oudsthoorn, Hluhluwe, St. Lucia, Mtunzini,Johannesburg, Boipatong or was it Alexandria Township (damn Gps!), Hartebeespoort Dam, Clarence, Golden Gate, Sani Top, Midmar, Oribi Gorge as well as all the usual club haunts and events. Oh, I forgot Landy Parts , The Centre, Chris Williams 4x4, Mike Grant, Midas, Outdoor Warehouse, Land Rover PE and countless visits to Shell Gateway!
Which was your favourite?
That's very difficult to answer honestly, but I would have to say any place with lions where I didn't have to lay under or push my Defender!
Where would you still like to travel to in your Landy?
Without a doubt, should I ever be so fortunate, Namibia, Botswana, Chobe and the ultimate Masai Mara to watch the Wildebeest migration.
If you could own any Land Rover (besides what you own already) what would it be and why?
WelI, I have two choices here. I would like to own a fully kitted expedition equipped Camel Trophy Defender (preferably the last new one ever produced in the world) and a fully kitted SAS WIMIC complete with all weaponry and a life time's supply of ammo! (for the taxi's).
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Besides land-rovering what else do you enjoy doing?
Sailing, reading factual books on epic survival against all odds and military heroism, writing, spending quality time with family, teaching karate , laughing hysterically until my sides ache, tennis, golf, music but most importantly, sitting quietly next to the glowing embers of a campsite fire listening to the sounds of the African Bushveldt and silently contemplating the awesome grandeur of God's creations. I sometimes also enjoy painting racing numbers on my garden snails shells!
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TRAIL GRADING: All our Events / Trails are graded according to the 5 grades below.
1. Complete novice soft dirt road trail, no low range required. Suitable for all Land Rovers including the Freelander.
2. Limited low range required but suitable for the novice driver. Suitable for all Land Rovers including the Freelander. 3. Low range and limited off road knowledge required. Suitable for all Land Rovers with certain trails not suitable for
the Freelander. 4. A low range technical trail suitable for the experienced. The inexperienced will be able to do the trail, as assistance
will be available from the more experienced members. Suitable for all Land Rovers except the Freelander. 5. Extremely technical, suitable for the experienced and/or modified vehicles only with the possibility of vehicle
damage.
What’s On….
LROC KZN PROVISIONAL EVENTS DIARY 2015
When What, where More Info. CONTACT
PERSON Grade
21 June
3RD GATES
EVENT 2015 –
HIGHSTAKES
CATO RIDGE
Competitors to please be at Highstakes at 8:00am Rate is R70 per 4x4 vehicle per day. There is also a venue fee over weekends and public holidays of R30 per car/vehicle, which is redeemable through the bar or kitchen. In other words, each 4x4 would pay R100, of which R30 is redeemable, and visitor`s cars would pay R30, which is redeemable
Zack de Lange 076 7669944 Leon Jacobs 073 2147756
3-5
18 – 19 July NORTH COAST
WEEKEND AWAY Provisional – More information to follow
Brian Moore 082 8420064
2 August 4TH
GATES
EVENT Venue TBC – More information to follow
Zack de Lange 076 7669944 Leon Jacobs 073 2147756
3-5
13 September
FAMILY FUN DAY Venue TBC – More information to follow Michelle de Lange 0812124794
2-4
10 October PECANWOOD
OKTOBERFEST More information to follow
Zack de Lange 076 7669944
3-5
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Just for Fun
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Classifieds
If you wish to place an advert, please forward the info to
[email protected]/[email protected] Please note that ads will run in two successive newsletters thereafter, they will be removed. For ease of reference those highlighted in red have already appeared and will not appear in the next newsletter unless you specifically send me an email asking me to keep the ad. _____________________________________________________________________
Land Rover Forward control Pick up Toyota 2.4 diesel motor ENV diffs 900x16 tyres No rust In good running condition. Contact Jaques 0832975190
___________________________________________________________________ Defender 6x6 rebuild project I’m looking for various Defender parts and body panels for my 6x6 Defender project. The vehicle is basically only a rolling chassis and I have a motor and gearbox on now. I still need stuff like: 1. Defender dash, fenders, door B-Pillars for 5 door configuration, 2. 110 Hardtop bin and a 90 or 110 full roof 3. Various other Defender bits and pieces like door handles, seals, window winders, door trim etc. Fair prices will be paid for said parts and any unwanted items, will also be received with open arms as well as any donated stuff towards the cause of the project. Gideon Van Zyl e-mail me : [email protected]
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1979- 3 door hardtop Series III - with the 6 cylinder 2625cc Rover side exhaust engine for sale. This classic collector's model needs enthusiastic owner who can prolong its life, and who, I am sure will enjoy it as much as I have. Vehicle is ex SAAF fwd airfield mobile radio commcen. It has had a complete engine re-build - new pistons, bearings, valves etc.(13000km done since) A new stainless steel fuel tank has been fitted. It has an auxiliary fuel tank and a 20 litre water tank. Two spare wheels, free wheel hubs fitted and original hubs retained, auxiliary battery charging circuit. All brakes have been overhauled and still bedding in. (New servo and m/cylinder plus 4 new front slave cylinders etc). New clutch fitted 3000 km ago. All spares and manuals go with it. I have purposely not deviated from standard specs. R45000 onco. Contact Richard B. Isemonger Hillcrest -Durban - South Africa Tel: 031-7657412. Cell: 084 264 7653 [email protected]
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New Members WELCOME TO THE FOLLOWING NEW MEMBERS
Monthly Newsletter of the LROC of SA KwaZulu-Natal
P.O. Box 70650, Overport, 4067
Find our Home Page at www.landroverclub.za.org
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this Newsletter are not necessarily those of the Club’s
Committee, Members or the Editors and may, be incorrect.
Remember it’s your club and you will get out of it what you want to. You have purchased THE BEST 4 x 4 x FAR and now it’s time to use it. See you at the next club event.
New Members who have joined or re-joined LROC over the past few months
Member No Surname Member Name Salutation Email Address