Nissan Patrol 4x4 (Africa)

So our country MD is a firm believer in an annual social, strat planning and adventure. Called the management Bosberaards and as he has been with various companies in Namibia his Bosberaards have cross crossed Southern Africa for decades!!

I have been riverraft on the orange, House boat on the Kariba and 4x4 in Damaraland and now Kaokoland.

I did a short version last year solo and was looking forward to the dream route!! Otjiwarongo-Kamanjab-Ruacana-Upopa-van Zyls-Marienfluss-Red Drum-Orumpembe-Purros-Sesfontein-Palmwag-Kamajab-Otjiwarongo.

We were 7 vehicles Toyota Fortuna (new shape) hilux (new and old shape) and a 4.2d Land cruiser pick-up. Heavily loaded with everything including kitchen sinks we left for Ruacana. All tar roads in good condition. We stayed at the Ruacana Eha Lodge. Nice place. We are a rowdy bunch and I arrived late at the pool to find the local Paster beating a retreat from the pool area with his family We make a point of stopping at any Shebeens and making friends. 8am first beer. It is getting hot already.
Ruacana Falls were unspectacular at this time of year.
We then went along the Kunene to Swartboois drift. The road is good grades road and as they have not had much rain yet even the dips are fast.
Until 2015 past Swartboois drift it was heavy 4x4. This has now been graded and it was smooth sailing through to Epupa Falls. It was however Very warm and at about 47C frequent dips in the Kunene were necessary. No crocs here We arrived at Upopa falls after a very leisurely drive. Stopped of at a lodge for lunch and spotted this Patrol. There is even free Wifi. Epupa is magic, again not very spectacular but time for some more cooling off!! In Part 2

The next day was Epupa to Marienfluss Kunene. This is a BIG day. Given 7 vehicles and the the fact that some were not seasoned offroaders and some heavily loaded vehicles it was a big ask. Now the original planning had a "wait and see" for camping. If we took too long we would camp on van Zyls. But in the mean time part of the group who could not make the 4x4 section had decided to fly in to the Marienfluss for the night by Cessna. This meant we HAD to make the campsite at the Kunene. So the day was a mad rush to get through before nightfall. So it was a long hard hot day on bad roads and tempers were getting thin as I was responsible to get everyone safely to the camp to meet the plane and everyone else was taking their sweet time.

Thanks Steve for sharing your trip. Its these adventures that get our feet itching to head out again and am looking forward to Part 2. If possible though, could you include a map of your route? Upopa has changed so much since my last visit. The only thing there was a kiosk where you could sometimes get a cold beer, but before that, nothing.

The first stretch

Team Renegade.

Don't keep us waiting to long for the next episode.

Excellent sover, will also be interesting to know how the different vehicles performed on the trip

Shalom

The next day was Epupa to Marienfluss Kunene. This is a BIG day. Given 7 vehicles and the the fact that some were not seasoned offroaders and some heavily loaded vehicles it was a big ask. Now the original planning had a "wait and see" for camping. If we took too long we would camp on van Zyls. But in the mean time part of the group who could not make the 4x4 section had decided to fly in to the Marienfluss for the night by Cessna. This meant we HAD to make the campsite at the Kunene. So the day was a mad rush to get through before nightfall. So it was a long hard hot day on bad roads and tempers were getting thin as I was responsible to get everyone safely to the camp to meet the plane and everyone else was taking their sweet time.



So we started off. I had tried out my hammock for the first time and was feeling very rested!!
(this is from Warmquelle but you get the picture).
There was fuel at Okangwati... but no diesel when we left One of those going from small dealer to small dealer asking if they have fuel.

We pushed hard for Van Zyls Pass and at 12 it looked like we may make the Marienfluss Camp site by 5. The plane was due in at 4:30. We contacted the pilot on the sat phone and gave the thumbs up... then we slowed right down. Many of the group had no idea of what we were about to tackle. Lots of questions like will it be worse than this? Yes, this is just the road to van Zyls
Generally speaking the road is in good condition. End of the dry season so it is going to get worse when the rains come.
I went through first and finally got a picture of the Storm Trooper negotiating the pass. The drone shots show the bad section quite well. The green cruiser that was stripped and tipped over the edge is a stark reminder... And in the end we all made it. Expert and novice alike. The guy who was guiding everyone through says he was very happy when the last one went through... and said it was hilarious looking at drivers faces after the tyres slip a bit...
Everyone at the bottom: Now the race was on. The plane landed about 2 hours ago and we had just entered the Marienfluss... we should have camped there but need to press on. My passenger was worried that the three passengers of the plane would be cooking alive in the sun waiting for us. I told him that he does not know our boss... I told when we get there he will be at a lodge drinking a gin and tonic with his feet up looking out over the Kunene.

So the patrol can be fast and i can drive fast, I had driven the Marienfluss so knew what to expect. We passed the lead to the second car with instructions to go North and stop if they landed in the river. We belted it to the Kunene to find the Plane and passengers. After some low flying we got to the Kunene at dusk and got a message that the plane passengers had gone to the lodge and were worried about us. So we rushed to the Okahirongo River Camp,



where they were found drinking a beer on the deck looking out over the Kunene... at 6K ppn I would also be enjoying it. Because they had brought nothing with them for camping they had been forced to check in...



We managed to collect all the other vehicles in the dark and herd them to the Okarahumbo community camp. (Camp Syncro is better) Easy when you are the only vehicles in the valley and we had good licenses VHF radios. Were we had another ruckus evening around the fire... we apologise profusely to the french tourists also in the camp... I dropped our guests back at the lodge at about 1:30am and one of our group had developed Mampoer induced sleep tourettes syndrome

We slept.

Part 2 route:

Jules wrote: ↑22 Nov 2018 14:58 Excellent sover, will also be interesting to know how the different vehicles performed on the trip

Shalom

All the hiluxes picked up body work damage. The fortuner did not. The LC pickup did not iether. It is worth noting that the LC pick-up was on commercial marie buscuit tyres and got stuck once in soft sand. Dropin pressures and everything was good again.

The hilux and fortuner just could not go as fast as the old hilux and the patrol. It was a comfort issue. We had a guy that was swapping between vehicles and has a tricked out Defender... said while driving the Patrol and I quote:"I am in danger of falling in love with this thing".

Great reading sofar interesting that the Fortuner did not receive any damage, are the approaching and departing angles better than the Hilux or is it more driver capability
Do you know what happened to the red GQ

Shalom

Great write-up bud !!!!

btw.... did you make a little wee-wee in your hammock ......