LEISURE DRIVE /
In the tracks of Mandela’s S-Class
have been the vehicle of choice for Madiba, if he was alive today.
We received a 400d 4Matic AMG-Line, the sevenseater splendidly presented in selenite grey with AMG twin-spoke light-alloy wheels, Night Package additions, and optional panoramic sunroof, and early on Wednesday, 22 July, we were at the plant where, 30 years before, the 500SE Mandela-mobile was built.
We initially planned to interview some of the workers involved with the project in 1990 but due to Covid-19 regulations we could not get access to the plant or employees. However, we did manage to arrange a similar-spec silver-coloured W126 500SE through the Eastern Cape region of the MercedesBenz Club of South Africa (thank you, Erald Hohls and Pieter Moolman) …
After photo-magician Ryan Abbott gloriously captured the 1990 S-Class and latest 2020 GLS-Class in front of the plant, we left for Qunu, birthplace of Madiba, and Mthatha – following the tyre tracks of his red Merc along the Mandela Heritage route to Johannesburg, Gauteng, where the car is now displayed in the Apartheid Museum.
We joined the N2 just outside East London and headed for the Kei River. The undulating roads
in Transkei befitted the torque-rich engine of the diesel-powered GLS, and with a brutish 700 Nm already available from only 1,800 r/min, the bulky beast flattened the rolling hills and sharp inclines with derision.
The Nelson Mandela Youth and Heritage Centre in Qunu – opened ten years to the day after Madiba’s release from jail – is currently closed for renovations but we managed to sneak some good images of our Benz at the centre …
ON THE HERITAGE ROUTE…
A visit to the Mandela Museum in the bustling city centre of Mthatha was also scuppered by lockdown regulations. However, having been there before, a visit is certainly recommended as it allows visitors to follow the footprints of a man whose long walk to freedom began in the foothills on the banks of the nearby Mbhashe River.
From Mthatha we continued our trip towards Kokstad in KwaZulu-Natal, before turning off on the R617 towards Underberg. Even in winter the landscapes were stunning, with the brown, bronze, and red colours of the surrounding panorama reflected in the mirror-still water of the numerous lakes.
After spending the night in Underberg, we stayed on the twisty R617 as our next destination was the Nelson Mandela Capture Site close to Howick. The low-profile rubber and advanced air suspension system on our big Merc made it easy to pilot quickly through the curves but we had to watch out for potholes, as the road was badly deteriorated.
The Capture Site, where Madiba was arrested on 5 August 1962, leading to the court case which saw him spending the next 27 years of his life in prison, was also closed but this time it worked in our favour. We managed to get permission to enter, and while we were not allowed access to the buildings, we were free to take pictures outside.
Without any tourists or visitors around, this was a fantastic opportunity to capture the site’s symbolic