4x4 Action group River trip Aug. 2014
Posted: 14 Aug 2014 13:23
Myself , Offroadbiker and Oellie joined this trip organized by the Offroad community action group. (West from Kruger in the Klein Letaba to Giyani)
It was not a guided tour and everybody had to be self sufficient regarding fuel , water and food. No facilities meant bush toilet and waslappie bath.
Coordinates for the start point and off you go. No set plan for camps meant freedom to do your own thing all day. At around 16h00 all stopped at a random spot and camp was made. The toll fee into camp is a large log for firewood.
Most of the group decided to sleep in the Klein Letaba riverbed 100m from Kruger fence on Thursday night. Dirk had a potential terminal failure when the left front wheelbearing retaining nuts came loose , but Oelie and myself could sort it with no permanent damage. He did the whole trip and back home on that repair done in the sand.
Friday morning at 8h00 we had a short briefing at the start point and off we went. 80km of loose sand , rock wall obstructions across the river and water crossings lay ahead. Most guys were like kids and the sand gave them plenty of playtime. Some of the vehicles (read Patrols) crossed the rock gardens better than others and road building and recovery was done. Stops for tea made the days interesting.
Brown Fanta and good bush cooking made camp time great. A lot of nonsense was talked.
We managed to reach the exit at Giyani before lunch on Saturday. Some went home , but the rest decided to continue on to the Moletotsi river. We all stocked up on fuel and brown Fanta , got coordinates and off we went. This river was used on previous trips , but was not recently driven. Myself and co driver Charles went ahead to recce the route , leaving tracks for the group to follow. That was hard work and we had to backtrack and build road , but it was the best fun we had in years.
The "uncharted" nature of the river made for slower progress and we made camp halfway to the Great Letaba junction on Saturday night. More brown Fanta.
On Sunday , Anthony with a modified V8 Mitsibushi joined me and Charles with recce work and we reached the exit point at 12h00. We had to build a lot of road and the rest of the group made a lot slower progress. We went home but the rest of the guys slept that last night at the Letaba junction.
One of the better trips I have been on. The Patrols performed brilliantly. The other vehicles got stuck a lot and also donated a lot of Tupperware.
Thank you to the guys at 4x4 action group.
Some pictures will follow.
It was not a guided tour and everybody had to be self sufficient regarding fuel , water and food. No facilities meant bush toilet and waslappie bath.
Coordinates for the start point and off you go. No set plan for camps meant freedom to do your own thing all day. At around 16h00 all stopped at a random spot and camp was made. The toll fee into camp is a large log for firewood.
Most of the group decided to sleep in the Klein Letaba riverbed 100m from Kruger fence on Thursday night. Dirk had a potential terminal failure when the left front wheelbearing retaining nuts came loose , but Oelie and myself could sort it with no permanent damage. He did the whole trip and back home on that repair done in the sand.
Friday morning at 8h00 we had a short briefing at the start point and off we went. 80km of loose sand , rock wall obstructions across the river and water crossings lay ahead. Most guys were like kids and the sand gave them plenty of playtime. Some of the vehicles (read Patrols) crossed the rock gardens better than others and road building and recovery was done. Stops for tea made the days interesting.
Brown Fanta and good bush cooking made camp time great. A lot of nonsense was talked.
We managed to reach the exit at Giyani before lunch on Saturday. Some went home , but the rest decided to continue on to the Moletotsi river. We all stocked up on fuel and brown Fanta , got coordinates and off we went. This river was used on previous trips , but was not recently driven. Myself and co driver Charles went ahead to recce the route , leaving tracks for the group to follow. That was hard work and we had to backtrack and build road , but it was the best fun we had in years.
The "uncharted" nature of the river made for slower progress and we made camp halfway to the Great Letaba junction on Saturday night. More brown Fanta.
On Sunday , Anthony with a modified V8 Mitsibushi joined me and Charles with recce work and we reached the exit point at 12h00. We had to build a lot of road and the rest of the group made a lot slower progress. We went home but the rest of the guys slept that last night at the Letaba junction.
One of the better trips I have been on. The Patrols performed brilliantly. The other vehicles got stuck a lot and also donated a lot of Tupperware.
Thank you to the guys at 4x4 action group.
Some pictures will follow.
but luckely for these two and 20min later - all was well in the land of Patrol 
