We stopped at Hoedspruit to stock up on supplies – some extra ice for the cooler boxes, extra drinking water, and eggs. We fuelled up in Gravelotte and reached the Molototsi River at around 1 pm. We entered the river at the Ga-Modjadji bridge, roughly halfway between Tzaneen and Giyani.
There were roughly 30 vehicles, more than half being Patrols, along with some Cruisers, a Jeep, 2 Discos, one or two Fords and Hiluxes, a Jimny, and even a modified Mercedes Sprinter on Patrol axles.
We entered the river east of the bridge on the Tzaneen side. The ground was badly washed away underneath the bridge, creating a rocky, slightly off-camber obstacle.
Some of the vehicles opted to exit the river, cross the road, and re-enter on the west side (Giyani side) of the bridge to avoid this obstacle. Obviously, we did not do this – we like a challenge. This set the pace for the rest of the trip...
The first time I did this trip was 10 years ago, and it gets more technical every year. There are now lots more exposed rocks where it was mostly sand a couple of years ago.
On some sections, some vehicles looked for escape routes to drive around the more technical rock driving.
Unfortunately, I damaged both my rear lights – I actually bumped the rear bumper driving over big boulders, which in turn knocked the lights. (on separate occasions.)
“Elke sport het sy beserings.” (I really need a replacement rear bumper...)
It helps to have good clearance and some undercarriage protection like rock sliders.
I’d say 33” tyres are the minimum if you want to do the whole trail without taking detours. My 33” tyres felt small among all the 35” and 37” tyres on the accompanying vehicles. But more important than tyre size is knowing your vehicle, its capabilities, limitations and choosing the best line. That said, vehicles with smaller tyres or less ground clearance were able to take detours where the going got too tough.
Every day around 2–3 pm, we would look for a campsite, drag a tree trunk or two to the camp, and make a big bonfire. It’s impossible to get coals from this huge fire with a normal spade without burning your eyebrows... From past river-trip experience, I came prepared with a pool telescopic pole attached to a sawed-off spade – this patent was very popular among fellow travellers.
As usual, it was a great group of people – men, women, children, and even a few dogs came along.
Everything on this trip is self-sufficient – bring your own food, drinks, water for washing and drinking, and a spade for the toilet... The biggest expense is petrol (or diesel), and a Patrol is not light on juice. Thick river sand, low range... expect to get less than half the km/l you normally would on a bad day.
Normally we spend 2 nights in the Molototsi and 2 nights in the Klein Letaba. For some reason – maybe the group size or the experience level of some participants – we ended up spending more time than necessary in the Molototsi and camped only 1.8 km from the exit point on the 3rd night. It would really have been nice to camp next to the Kruger Park fence as we usually do.
The exit point is where the Molototsi joins the Groot Letaba. In the old days, we used to cut across the river right past the big fig trees, but a citrus farm popped up across the river, blocking the route after crossing. We had to drive a stretch down the river to cross further downstream – an exciting experience, feeling how the sand underneath the water tried its best to suck the vehicle down.
From here, we drove through the village of Selwana. We were running low on supplies (mostly beer and water), so we supported a local tavern. Local is lekker.
Next stop: the Klein Letaba. We entered at the bridge where the Selwana-Macene road cross the Klein Letaba. Most of the group opted for the dirt road along the KNP fence. As we only had one day to do Klein Letaba, I thought this would be a waste of time. (That said, some of the group members did report Elephant sightings along the KNP fence..)
We drove past the notorious rock garden and looked for a place to camp. Unfortunately, we lost most of the group en route – no cell phone signal and no luck reaching anyone via radio.
A small group of us set up camp on a beautiful stretch of white, beach-like sand.
It was definitely the best camp site of the trip – and coincidentally, almost the exact spot we camped when I did the trip with my father and daughter in 2021. It brought back great memories.
The next morning, we made our way downriver and explored a ravine which (according to Google Maps) would end up near the road – which it eventually did... our way back to civilization.
This is a trip every 4x4 enthusiast should do at least once in their life!
