South Africa is a vast country that, aside from few urban areas, is sparsely populated. Many South Africans have likely never travelled through the country side and especially not on roads other than our national highways, which cut relatively straight lines across the beautiful landscape. Until recently I too was guilty of the above statements. Then I received an unusual invite from Ford Motor Company, proposing a trip from the outskirts of Gauteng to Cape Town using as few tarmac roads as possible.
Over those four days we covered 2,300km of which only 120km involved tarmac. With that sort of route map we needed vehicles fit for purpose, so a fleet of Ranger and Raptor bakkies were assembled for duty.
We met early on Wednesday morning near Hartbeespoort for a quick bite before commencing a short hop across the adjoining tarmac road to commence our adventure along some private land. A few kilometres later we hit a public dirt road and didn’t touch private land again, making the adventure all the more ripe for replication.
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Being early December, us in the northern regions hadn’t yet experienced much rainfall, a fact that was rather evident as we ambled along roads less travelled, initially toward Lichtenberg before tacking left on the way to Klerksdorp, on to lunch in Wolmaransstad.Â
Our vehicle on day 1 was a Ranger XLT, the mid range option inside Ford’s lineup of double cabs. With its all terrain tyres pumped a little hard initially, we found the light rear end to be a bit of a handful but that was easily corrected after finishing a bite to eat.
The remainder of day one went without further incident as we skirted the Free State border toward Kimberley and on to our overnight stay at Otterskloof nearby the Vanderkloof Dam. A nice surprise for the afternoon was a spot of rain, which was not only welcomed by the local farming community but also by us travellers as the damp conditions largely stopped the plumes of dust we’d been battling in the morning. Upon arrival at Otterskloof we were met with a blisteringly cold wind abated only by a warm, crackling fire inside the dining room. A wonderful game-meat dinner rounded off day one.
Bright and early sounded the wake up call for day two, albeit a relatively short day behind the wheel on our way to Nieu-Bethesda. The route zig zagged across the N1 and N9 highways in our continued attempt to utilise as little tarmac as possible, a task our Ford Raptor took well in its stride. Despite the Ranger XLTs prowess on day one, it is no match for the Raptor’s specially developed suspension system that makes even the roughest of our national dirt roads an absolute doddle.
Nieu-Bethesda is a delightfully quaint little place, with a wonderful brewery and a handful of enchanting establishments. However the town, founded in 1875, is most well-known for the Owl House. It’s a most bizarre museum of sculptures by Helen Martin, inspired by biblical texts, the poetry of Omar Khayyam, and the works by William Blake. Helen was deeply troubled and took her own life in 1976 at her house in Nieu-Bethesda, which remains largely unchanged since that day and is called the Owl House.
The evening was spent on a working sheep farm just outside the town, where the owner’s passion for fossils kept us entertained over dinner. His impressive collection largely gathered from the very land which a great many generations of his family had toiled.
Day three was once again an early start, however we had many kilometres to travel and a sunset to meet in one of the most remarkable landscapes I’ve encountered. I found myself at the wheel of a Ranger Wildtrak for this leg of the journey west across a vast expanse of the Karoo. Its array of driver aids, like cruise control, lane keep assist and blind spot monitoring were unfortunately of no use on the chosen road surface that loosely linked the series of small rural towns we hopped between. Richmond, Loxton, Fraserburg, Sutherland all the while racing the clock in order to reach Tankwa National Park before the sun kissed the horizon.
Coming over the ridge at Ouberg Pass revealed the dramatic landscape below. A scene more akin to planet Mars, this reddish desert panorama stretched as far as the eye could see. The entire party stood speechless, staring into the late afternoon sun, marvelling at yet another wonder South Africa has to offer.
The descent that followed was merciless on the Wildtrak’s highway biased tyres. We saw two punctures over what was ultimately a very short stint of our journey. One of the XLTs suffered a similar fate. The BF Goodrich KO2 tread Raptor’s were of course unfazed by the treacherous jagged rocks that lay strewn across the pass.
No matter, as our well equipped party made light work of the tyre swaps and we were soon at a small outcrop in the middle of Tankwa to soak in the final light of the day. A truly South African dinner followed, comprised of braai meat and pap.
Day broke on the final leg of our journey, which had us set for a leisurely jaunt down the west coast to a Durbanville wine farm, just outside of Cape Town. Another day in the Raptor was welcome as these dirt roads were suited to (relatively) high speeds. Just what the doctor ordered for these bakkies and our dirt-weary bodies.Â
What struck me on arrival at our final destination was that over these four days I’d seen more of South Africa than ever before. Yes, I’ve driven to most major cities but always with the view of arriving, which sounds like the obvious goal of any trip. However it only requires a small mindset change to transform the destination into merely another stop on the journey. Perhaps that’s an even more powerful metaphor for life itself. All I know is that there’s more to this wonderful country called South Africa that I intend on exploring – and vehicles such as Ford’s Ranger line up are the perfect tool for the adventure.
