Our long awaited Kgalagadi trip is about to get underway. We have been planning, modifying, and building to get our Defender ready for the long trip ahead. We have been on many adventures already but this one started right off the bat.
It’s about 4:55am. It’s still very dark and the rain is falling softly but constantly. The only light I have around me is the headlights and haze of the hazards as they flash away on the side of the road. I contemplate crouching down and crawling under the Landy but before I can I am suddenly spun around and soaked to the bone as a truck speeds by, narrowly missing both me and the Landy.
I collect myself and start to investigate the strange noise which has brought us to a sudden stop and caused an uneasiness in the pit of my stomach.
My fears are confirmed when nothing appears obviously loose or hanging off the vehicle. We now need to make a decision; do we limp back home and get the Jimny or do we limp forwards to Ventersdorp and find a mechanic with a lift so I can better inspect the underneath of the Landy?
It’s Thursday and the Landy is packed nice and early. All we need to do is give the house a nice clean, make all the preparations for Flerken, our house cat, to be looked after, while we are away. The rest of the afternoon seems to evaporate and before I know it, my phone lets me know it’s time to sleep if we are to wake up at 3am.
I make a few last phone calls, have a bath and we’re ready for bed. This is going well, really well, a little too well…
I start to wake just as my alarm goes off. I don’t feel tired. I feel excited and energised. We dress and get ready, load the the last few essentials in the Landy and off we go.
The start of the trip is pretty mundane as I drive that road everyday to work. Suddenly a little rattle becomes obvious. Ah darn! The gas bottle holder is slightly bent and it’s rattling between the two slats of the roof rack. Not a problem, I’ll pull over at the petrol station and add a ratchet strap to the holder.
It seems fixed. A few kilometers further on it appears again but we decide to leave it. We press on in the darkness and the rain. The road is narrow, dark and unlit by any external source. At least there’s no potholes I think to myself. A half hour later and the potholes have appeared! It’s a game of slalom suddenly whilst trying to balance the weight of the fully laden Land Rover. Inevitably I’m left with nowhere to go and slam into a pothole large enough to swallow the whole wheel. I pause wait and listen, feel for vibration, nothing all is ok!!
Another 10-15 minutes later and a disturbing noise appears. At first it sounds like the gas bottle holder on the roof is about to fly off. We pull over, it’s not that. Drive a bit further, and the sound is gone. I start adding speed and as I go into fourth gear the horrible clanking noise appears. First thought. The gearbox just lost fourth, I try fifth and the noise goes away but as I pick up speed again it comes back. Transfer case maybe? I hang halfway out my window, the noise is definitely underneath the car. Crap! Our holiday has just began and is about to end. I think back to all the times I vehemently defended my Defender against ruthless claims of unreliability and here at the time I needed it most I’m let down. I try to have a look underneath but it’s pouring with rain and I have an unfortunate experience with a few trucks coming past. It’s impossible. It’s too dark anyway. What am I looking for? If it’s mechanical it will be inside not openly exposed for me to fix on the side of the road. A decision needs to be made. A tough one. Either way, our holiday is coming to an end.
It’s now 6am. I phone my parents, do I need to turn back and get the Jimny or push on to a mechanic? My dad asks me the pros and cons of taking the Jimny. I realise it’s not an option, no dual battery system means no power for the fridge. Our budget nor destination allows us to buy food everyday.
It’s now down to either get the Landy fixed or game over and come home.
I nervously pull back onto the road. The sun is up and it’s light all around. I start slow, going through each gear. Next I’m in fourth and doing 80km/h. This can’t be the gearbox or transfer case. The drive is perfect!? Suddenly the noise returns. I lift off the throttle and it gets worse and then better. I accelerate again and it’s fine. I’m stumped but my senses and mechanical knowledge eventually start to sift through the anxiety, adrenaline and fear. It’s not mechanical I come to realise! It’s too light and hollow of a sound, exhaust or brake callipers is getting caught or rubbing I think.
The left side of the Landy is definitely hanging down a bit more. Could a packing error be causing an issue where things are rubbing or touching together??
We eventually limp into Ventersdorp, the sound definitely a lot more manageable and easier to bear with. We find a tyre and service centre and pull up outside to wait. It’s only 6:30 and they open at 7am.
7:02am a man arrives to open the shop. Our first night in the park is off the cards for sure but maybe just maybe we can fix this and make our second night.
The man greets me and informs me the whole town has lost a phase of power so all three phase machinery is offline. That means the lift is not working. But he fortunately has a pit. We pull the Landy in over the pit and I head straight for the back. I’m hoping it’s the exhaust but I’m still worried about a diff or axle shaft being the cause.
Suddenly relief falls over me as I see the exhaust has indeed shifted and is rubbing against the prop shaft. No wonder it felt like your intestines after an evening of indulgence from Mr Flames house of chillis and spice.
Great let’s sort this out! The friendly shop owner says: “Unfortunately not sir. My exhaust guy is off for the long weekend. But there’s another guy you can go to…”
A few directions later and we’re off! Directions lead us to a farm with a massive shed. We sheepishly pull in and are greeted by a young man who quickly takes the keys out my hand and drives my pride and joy (it had other names at this time) over the pit in his shed.
I show him the problem and he says that how he would like to fix it is not possible because of the power outage. However, he can make a plan. A few hydraulic ram shoves later and the exhaust is back in place. He then proceeds to do a full 101 point check on the Landy fastening every bolt, inspecting every bush and giving me helpful advice for maintenance in the future. It then dawns on me that this guy actually has worked on Defenders and knows them quite well.
We exchange pleasantries and many thanks. I ask him what do I owe and he says just R100!!…
Well the holiday is still on I guess but we’ve lost 2.5hours travel time. It was always going to be tight to travel from Jhb to Kgalagadi in one day but this is near to impossible.
I’m not turning back now!! I point the Landy west and apologise profusely for the horrible names I just called him.
I plant my foot and wait for the response…the Landy picks up and off we go! Being fully laden and the condition of the road, I’m limited to 100-108km/h. This makes the tight deadline even tighter.
We keep pushing, the thought of a toilet break is abhorrent. We reach Vryburg, just in time for peak hour traffic. Oh joy I think sarcastically. In the back of my mind though I’m dreading the upcoming towns as I had be warned of stone throwing and petty theft.
We get through Vryburg. The road is long and not maintained. Kuruman appears…we get through with no incidents. Next stop Kathu. Kathu appears with no incident either. This is going well!
I look down at the gps. We are still on the limit. Arrival time is estimated at 18:55 at the main gate. Our camp is another 35minutes from the gate on badly corrugated roads. There’s a strict no late entry policy. We still need to do one last fuel stop at Upington. I feel the sweat start to break out on my back and legs. I don’t have time to think if it’s the stress or the 34 degree heat outside. The aircon is off to squeeze every last drop of power from the Td5 engine.
The road goes on and on. I love the road, travelling is such a passion of mine that I can drive with no destination. I feel disappointed that I’m not appreciating the road or scenery. A bit of a waste in my mind. But I’m focused on one thing and that is making the fastest fuel stop ever in Upington.
Eventually the scenery starts to break, there is Upington in the distance. It rushes closer to us and suddenly we are in the town. I follow my gps every turn and command. But I realise we are leaving the town! The gps has routed us past the town and now we need to turn back and get to a fuel station! I quietly counsel myself under my breath as I realise we’ve just lost 5minutes at least.
We get to the Engen garage and I give the order to fill up. Caroline dashes out the car to make a quick toilet break and get two burgers for dinner. There’ll be no time for a braai tonight.
The pitstop is over and we hit the road again. The gps recalibrates and we get our new arrival time…18:50. This is not going to do!
I get Caroline to phone the gate and make an exception for us. She is told that we have to be there at 6:30pm in order to be let through for our camp as it’s a 30min drive to the camp and gates close 7:30pm.
I plant my foot flat and the Landy seems to not want to comply but the turbo spools and off we go again down the road. The road from Upington to Askham is what some call Big Sky Country. It’s beautiful landscape and I can imagine with enough time and a wide angle lens, the photographs will be breathtaking.
We keep pushing on only letting off the accelerator for the gentle curves in the road that appear every now and then. I peer down to the gps again, we’ve made time! New ETA is now 18:45. If I keep this up we’ll make it!
Askham appears in the gps and then suddenly we are past it. A small little town which I had really wanted to stop in and try the milktart. Oh well there’ll be a next time. We take the last turn off now to the park. The scenery has changed from flat scrubland to rolling red dunes covered in a jersey of grass.
The road however yields to the dunes. This means it bends and twists and undulates with them. Although the speed limit is still 100km/h it’s almost impossible and downright dangerous to do more than 80km/h. The gained time we have made up starts slipping away… I reposition myself in my seat, adjust my footing on the pedals and in my mind start becoming one with my Landy. Alright buddy let’s find your limits I think to myself.
Now the Defender is not the first name in rally driving but a company called Bowler do convert Defenders into legendary rally cars. My Landy is nowhere near to being a Bowler Wildcat but I’m going to give it an honorary title. I grip the gear lever and gear down. Caroline gives me a side eye. I don’t blame her, not sure I trust myself. I push the accelerator and the Landy springs into life and begins to roar. I reach 100km/h before hitting the brakes gearing down and taking the bends at 80 km/h. Then gently accelerating out the corner into a full on foot to the floor pull back to 100km/h. This continues for what seems like hours. We’ve been on the road now for 14 hours. I can feel it. My back is tight and I’m on the verge of spasm, my buttocks numb from the same position, my calf and ankle jammed in the same position it’s been in for the last three hours. My head is ringing and sore. Not sure if it’s the heat or the stress or immense concentration I’m putting in to this last few kms of driving.
We’re close, I know it the gps says 5 more minutes but it’s already 6:32pm I grip the steering wheel and gear down one last time.
The orange buildings of the main gate reception appear and it’s a sigh of relief from both of us. I let off the accelerator and free wheel into the parking lot to give the turbo some relief from the abuse I’ve just put it through. The Landy is barely stationary and I jump out the door with booking papers in hand. Caroline will switch off and lock up and meet me inside. I break out into a mild sprint for the door. I’m in! I can breathe. Whatever happens now I don’t care. I’m here. We made it! The booking in process is rushed for us and there are no issues. I get sent out to deflate my tyres and Caroline signs the last few papers. I’m busy with the last tyres when she joins me again and we hop in and go through the gate.
We have been requested not to stop for any sightings and to stick to but not exceed the speed limit of 50km/h. This will be interesting.
We hit the main road and I gently push the Landy to 50km/h. The road is corrugated but the deflated BFGoodrich tyres just eat them up for supper. I’m able to maintain the speed limit quite easily but time is still tight. Eventually after following the sandy road for 30mins we see our turn off for camp! We pull into our camp and quickly locate site number 6. We stop and I look at the clock, we have 1min to spare! What a day.
I crack open the roof top tent and set the bedding. We crawl up the ladder, have our burgers but before we call it a night we are gifted with one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen. We sit and watch it fade away as our adrenaline and alertness does too. We crawl under the sheet and fall asleep promptly.
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