MANY REASONS TO STAY
Brenwin Naidu found enchantment in Limpopo
We have an incredible country. And this is not a revelation induced only by the warmand-fuzzy stories shared on a certain Facebook group with snowballing popularity. But after a few minutes after arrival in the secluded, beautiful wilds of Limpopo, I too decided that I would be staying. Well, until the demands of deadline and other calls of automotive penmanship summoned me back to the big smoke of Johannesburg anyway …
On a hot Friday afternoon, my mission was steering a Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class 400d 4MATIC (priced from R1,351,200) to that province known for its sorcery, among other intriguing things. Witchcraft seemed like a plausible reason for sustaining not one but two nail piercings in the left-rear tyre of our test unit, barely 15km into the trip.
The usefulness of its graphic pressure display on the instrument panel shone through in this instance. After plugging both punctures we were on the road again. Worth remembering that its early predecessor, the ML-Class of 1997, was the chief instigator of a segment. It would be years before fellow Germans BMW followed suit with the X5 and Audi with the Q7. And though the overall character errs on the soft-roader side, the lineage of this pioneer from Mercedes-Benz is tinged with an adventurous spirit.
Take for example the appearance of the first model in the Jurassic Park film franchise. And maybe your memory is sharp enough to recall the television commercial for the old car? It involved a driver evading the deathly throes of sinking mud, triumphantly activating those windscreen wipers as a chipper rendition of I Can See Clearly Now intoned.
This newest iteration is replete with a host of novel innovations. This includes the option of a trick suspension system that can dance itself out of ruts. Seriously. Partly powered by the onboard 48-volt battery system, the socalled E-Active Body Control setup allows for independent regulation at each wheel corner — so it can effectively bounce itself free. We witnessed a demonstration of this at its global launch in Texas, US, last year, a feat that its moustached German custodians were hugely enthusiastic about.
The cruising manners of our derivative, with its 243kW and 700Nm, were notably positive on the freeway. Save for criticism of the way its low-profile rubber dealt with lessthan-perfect surfaces once the off-ramp heading away from the cityscape had been taken. Another gripe reared its head in the intrusiveness of the lane-keeping assistant, which applies the brakes more abruptly than one appreciates, when it detects even a slight straying onto a solid line. If the intention was to jolt the senses to heart-attack levels of shock, then they have succeeded.
Luckily, the afternoon of waterside leisure planned would reduce blood pressure levels after these spikes. A bush getaway is certainly one of the many luring propositions for tourists in SA, local and foreign. And plenty of the latter at our chosen venue was encouraging. Barely two hours out of urban Gauteng, here I was, basking in the vastness of the region known for majestic baobab trees and leopards. All things considered, one does not have to struggle to find reasons to visit.
THE SPOT
For residents of Egoli, Mabula Game Lodge represents an ideal spot for a weekend sojourn, since it strikes the perfect balance between being far enough, without being too far. The four-star hotel offers thatched suites with the rustic ambience one would expect on a safari-themed jaunt, but sprinkled with the plushness you could never get had you opted to camp. The most exciting part of the establishment is the sheer diversity of wildlife in the Mabula Private Game Reserve. Our hides were planted in the seats of those Land Cruiser expedition vehicles for two daily sighting drives. The prospect of spending time facedown in the on-site spa was the strongest reason to disembark. As was the varied cuisine on offer, with all meals served in a buffet style arrangement.