Koala bears, Maori toyi-toyi & the US of A
By Danie Botha I’ve been struggling to decide on what to moan about this month. The morning school run presented me with an early favourite: parents who drive with their kids standing on the front...
View ArticleDanie Botha: 410 kilowatts of inspiration
Inspiration. It’s a consciousness that powers what we do and defines who we are. Imagine South Africa without the inspiration of the 1995 World Cup rugby victory. Imagine a world of pop music without...
View ArticleDanie Botha: Lights, camera… action
Some years ago, fed up with the lawless situation on our roads, I decided to stop moaning and start acting. So I put together a plan that I thought would not only do something about the dire situation...
View ArticleYokohama FUV Shoot-out
Some are real 4x4s that come standard with “stuff” like differential locks and low-range gearing. Others are 4x4s, but they are designed to – at best – mount a pavement at the local mall. And some are...
View ArticleThe bakkie showdown – Hilux vs Ranger vs Amarok
In 2010 we pitted six mainstream double cab bakkies against each other, with a panel of 12 judges deciding the outcome. VW’s then new Amarok dominated that fight. Now Ford has unleashed its...
View ArticleProject Vehicle: Disco I V8i
In October 2012 we spotted a Land Rover Discovery I V8i for sale at a roadside dealership. We bought the sorry-for-itself Landy for what we thought was a reasonable price, keen to get stuck into a...
View ArticleSubaru XV Visits Witwater
To some observers the Subaru XV may be just another pretend-pretend 4×4 that is really an accountant-type sheep in dingo’s clothing. They’d be wrong. There is much more to the XV 4×4 than meets the...
View ArticleIsuzu VehiCROSS: A rally-ready CROSS!
In 1998 Leisure Wheels featured a driving impression of the Isuzu VehiCROSS. The unit had been imported from Japan for the Auto Africa Motor Show. Sadly, the vehicle, based on the Isuzu Trooper...
View ArticleOn a GLA Pilgrimage
Pilgrim’s Rest in Mpumalanga, a wild frontier to which gold diggers flocked in search of riches, used to be one of the province’s best-known tourist attractions. But recent newspaper reports paint a...
View ArticleSEVEN7 Drive to Raise Funds for Little Fighters Cancer Trust
On 2 July 2015, three intrepid adventurers will depart from the Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Capital Park, Pretoria, on an epic journey through seven southern African countries – in just seven days....
View ArticleA new day, a new dawn
I know a lot of things. I know the man who visits our neighbour on his superbike has a small man part. I know this because every time he arrives at the neighbour’s gate, he revs his motorbike – which...
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Hilux vs The Rest
Bakkie battle! In February, the dreams of thousands of Toyota fans in South Africa came true: the all-new Hilux finally landed. We travelled Down Under in January to find out if the 10-year wait has...
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Driving Adventure : Hyundai Tucson 1.6t-Gdi Executive
From Korea. . . with sport! The original Hyundai Tucson earned a rock-solid reputation since it’s introduction here in 2004. It was replaced with the ix35 in 2010, and this compact SUV continued the...
View ArticleSpot the fine
The Trans-Kalahari highway is the fastest and most convenient means to travel by road from Gauteng in South Africa to Windhoek in Namibia. The road cuts through the western part of Botswana and 95% of...
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OFF-ROAD TEST – Toyota LC 79 Pick-up & Jeep Wrangler Rubicon
A Toyota Land Cruiser 79 V8 is big and powerful. A Jeep Wrangler Rubicon V6 is big and powerful. But what if they just aren’t, well, big and powerful enough for your requirements? What if you need...
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OFF ROAD TEST: VW Beetle conquers Sani Pass. Again.
In 1956, a man called Sy Symonds ‘drove’ the first two-wheel-drive vehicle up the infamous Sani Pass. It was a VW Beetle, and on that rough trail, it was quite an achievement. Now, 60 years later, we...
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Signs of our times
I’ve been walking past a shoe shop in a local shopping centre for the past 10 years. But the other day when I popped into the centre, the shoe shop was no more. Instead, posters on the shop windows...
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Dealing with bribery and corruption
In Africa, bribery and corruption have sullied the overlanding experience for many travellers. Our own recent experience at the hands of Africa’s Kings of Extortion, the Zimbabwean police, caused us to...
View ArticleFrom Landy. With love. Or not.
There I was, stranded next to the road. Deziree, the 1971 Land Rover, had died on the way to our office. Thankfully I’d made it to the pavement. Being stuck in the middle of a busy road would have been...
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Adventure drive: Isuzu KB versus plane
Like all highly important social debates that affect the core of human society, this dispute was sparked around a campfire: would a small plane or a bakkie be faster on an overland jaunt of say, around...
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