Dusty memories down SA’S back roads
Hit the gravel road to see sights you’d never witness on tar
WILLEM VAN DE PUTTE
DRIVING from Cape Town to Johannesburg exclusively on dirt roads sounds a little far-fetched in this modern era but when the new Ford Ranger Raptor was launched, I wanted to do the trip.
I’m not talking about roads that were tar, but are now stretches of potholes.
During my research I came across a blog that was written a few years ago about a group of friends that had travelled from Joburg to Cape Town mostly on dirt roads and sent the link through to Ford more in hope than expectation.
A while later a “save the date” email popped up; Gravelogue, read the subject. We’d be driving 2 300km in Ranger Raptors, Wildtraks and XLT double cabs from Cape Town to Joburg.
What had started as a rambling discussion over a couple of beers was now a reality.
The group gathered one early morning at Meerendal Wine Estate, with the first stretch of just over 500km to Tankwa lying ahead of us.
We opted for the single turbo Ranger XLT, which I’ve written about before as being one of the best value-for-money double cabs on the market.
But first we had to make a detour to collect some animal feed.
As you know, certain parts of the country have been decimated by drought and expedition leader Gideon Basson decided on the Joburg to Cape Town rotation that having a string of empty bakkies driving past farms in the Sutherland area in dire need of supplies would be an opportunity missed.
So, we loaded each bakkie and drove off with 86 bales of feed in to the hinterland.
No matter which way you look at it, a bakkie built on a ladder frame and unloaded will always be a bit skittish, especially on dirt, so loading them served the dual purpose of using them for what they were designed for and also making them a bit more comfortable to drive.
We traversed railway crossings and drove on service roads and long stretches of dirt up the West Coast, which has its own special brand of beauty.
The XLT was a pleasure to drive, with the 10-speed gearbox shifting effortlessly as we constantly changed our speed for prevailing conditions.
By now all the vehicles had a decent layer of dust covering them.
A sharp right just before Klawer, heading inland past Clanwilliam and Wupperthal, saw the terrain become a bit tougher and drier.
Overnight was at the delightfully eclectic Tankwa Tented Camp, where all manner of odds and ends are built, welded, planted and hung.
It’s the home of Afrikaburn every April, so you get the idea.
On our way to Nieu Bethesda, this time in a Raptor with the overnight stop at Ganora Guest Farm 620km away, we were told over the radio that the Tankwa Karoo is the driest place in South Africa.
The sunburnt rocks bore testimony to that as we headed towards Ouberg Pass over the Roggeveld Mountains.
It’s a tough pass with hairpins, loose rocks and magnificent views, which we enjoyed while tightening the bales.
Having cellphone signal again jolted us out of a pleasant 12 hours of being unreachable, but did provide the opportunity to contact the distressed farmer to determine his whereabouts.
The sky was an African blue and the sun beat down relentlessly as we headed past Sutherland and the famous telescopes before turning in to the farm to meet the farmer, his wife and two workers.
Well, the workers were temporary for the day because everyone had been let go as a result of the drought.
We unloaded the feed, which was enough to keep them going for eight weeks, after which hopefully there may be some rain to get the veld to grow again.
As city people we watch the news and see the images on our social media feeds from an unaffected perspective, shrug and then head to the shops to buy what we need without giving it a second thought.
Seeing the grizzled farmer, his wife and the workers in a huddle with tears streaming down their faces hit us like a kick in the midriff.
“We know drought, but in three generations we have never experienced something like this,” he said, staring off into the distance.
“It’s not just because of the feed,” said his wife. “It’s because yesterday someone thought about us. That’s what makes it so special.”
We headed out and I cursed the lowrent punks that spout their bile from platforms about appropriation without compensation.
But we were there to drive and I was behind the wheel of a Raptor on a dirt road, unencumbered by bales. Time to play.
This was Raptor bread and butter with its big 35-inch all-terrain tyres, Fox suspension and a Baja mode.
Whenever the lead vehicle warned us of bumps or imperfections in the road, we’d hang back and pick up speed.
We weren’t quiet airborne, but the Raptor stayed true even at speed and four-wheel drifts were attacked with much gusto and joy.
As we headed past Loxton the heavens opened, making the road a slippery, muddy mess. I thought about the farmer and hoped the rain was heading his way before gunning the Raptor through a puddle, sending plumes of water over the bonnet and windscreen.
We arrived at Ganora Guest Farm in the dark and headed for our rooms before tucking in to some of the best lamb I’d tasted in a long time. It’s a working sheep farm so it stands to reason, but owner Jan-peet Steynberg was just as passionate about the 250-millionyear-old fossils found on his farm.
The Karoo was never covered in seawater as many believe, it was a fresh water lake.
After breakfast, the day offered a fairly short drive of 363km to Otterskloof for our last overnight stop.
There were stretches of long, straight roads that the Raptor revelled in and we passed towns I recalled driving past as a kid. It seemed like almost all small towns in South Africa have an air of decay and hopelessness to them.
These were towns that were mostly connected to the railways. But the railway infrastructure has been left to rot and crumble for a number of reasons, as have the communities living there.
We stopped over in Colesberg for lunch and the restaurant we ate at was taking the strain. Then we remembered – stage eight load-shedding. Sigh.
Eventually, we pulled in to Otterskloof in vehicles that by then were covered in dirt, dust and mud. We were asked to put our phones in the middle of the table during dinner and to talk and tell stories.
Not everyone was comfortable with the idea, but there were a few good laughs, philosophical discussions and war stories before most retired for an early night to rest for the 800km trek back to Joburg.
It was an early start and my co-driver and I reluctantly gave up the Raptor for a Wildtrak.
Nothing wrong with it, though, with plush (did I mention dusty?) interior and a 2.0 litre twin turbo also coupled to a 10-speed automatic gearbox.
It does, however, have road-oriented tyres and that’s the first thing I would change if there was going to be a lot of gravel driving.
Stronger sidewalls and an aggressive tread will give you a lot of peace of mind.
There had been good rains, so the fields were green and the cattle fat as we continued our dirt road safari before a quick lunch in Wolmaransstad and the last stretch back to Lanseria.
Time passed quickly though and parts of the road had been washed away, making the going slower than anticipated, so the decision was made to head to the tar so that the Cape Town people could catch their flight.
There’s no one dirt road between the two cities, which is why we took so many twists and turns, affording us the opportunity to witness places and sights in our beautiful country you’ll never see if you stick to the black stuff.
You don’t have to do the whole bang shoot, but on your next journey make a dirt detour and experience something more than Ultra Cities, franchise food and stale coffee.