ChrisTOUR 2024 Namaqua Weskus Trip

[grips]

Thanks Manny for the kind words. Thanks to everyone that joined the trip. This is not my first trip with Manny, Andreas and Michael. Alley was new to me and Karin but well known by the other members. Easy going person that we quickly got used to.

Planning a trip like this sounds easier than it is. Travelling alone like me and Karin do is easy and when you have to change or adapt planning or schedule, your the only ones involved. Totally different in a group.

The standard were set quiet high as Andreas is a superb guide that even had a show on Via. Having done a few well organized trips with Andreas I did take quite a few tips in the past. On this trip he were my go to man if I felt that I need advice.

When planning the trip we sort of agreed what it should be last year at the end of our Namib trip. Cederberg here we come. Tankwa and West Coast were add in to make the trip more interesting. Planned the route more or less and then need to add in places to see and sleepovers.
I found that some reviews can be misleading. Don`t trust the net

In person I have learned a lot.
My GPS with maps of the area from Tracks for Africa were not that great. I have to consult Andreas at a few occasions. The very detailed maps of the area also made navigation much easier.

Manny thanks for the detailed trip report think no one could have do it better.

Thanks to everyone on the trip, you made the trip.

Now to sit back and wait for Manny`s planned trip next year.

[Mad Manny]

Christo, you did a great job, people generally underestimate how much time & effort arranging trips like this takes.
Everyone of this trip was fully aware and very grateful and did their best to make it a great trip.
I think your planning was 100%, but as you say, you can NOT trust the net.
You either rely on people who were there recently or you have to hope for the best.

Thanks again for the adventure.

[AndreasR]

Thanks for the trip report Manny.

As stated earlier these overlanding trips are never a two minute planning session. Thanks to Christo for all his efforts and also to Karin for the on the fly planning and booking of accommodation when plans changed slightly.

Planning cross border trips gets even more complicated having to book and pay for accommodation in some remote parts of Southern Africa where response times are not always great and where making payments can often be a challenge. The planning and research of an overlanding trip is something that I actually enjoy doing.

We all have limited time on our hands and many places that we want to visit are very far away from our home bases. Case in point is this trip where we basically travelled 900km before reaching the nitty gritty part of our trip. This can lead to a few long hard days in the saddle to and from the destination. Time doesn’t always allow for these long stretches to be done in a casual meandering manner, but it’s all part of the journey.

The area that we covered, being Tankwa, Ceres mountains and West Coast are definitely worth a visit with amazing vistas, incredible sunsets, good dining and beautiful mountain passes.

Preparing for these trips is also part of the “journey”. Returning from a Botswana trip in February I developed a bit of death wobble on the Patrol and so began a long process of elimination. After replacing tie rod ends, draglink, and steering damper as well as tyres, I was happy that the Patrol is once again running on rails. I do a lot of long distance bad road driving so am investigating upgrading my shocks to provide better road holding, comfort and believe better shocks could be kinder to the other suspension components. Not sure which direction I will take but either way it will hit the pocket again. This overlanding is not cheap if you want to keep your vehicle up to scratch.

Happy to report that my upgraded electrical system worked flawlessly. Prior to the trip I installed two Blue Nova 108ah Lifepo batteries in the Patrol. They coped perfectly. In fact with the two batteries I don’t even have to look at battery capacity any longer. Nice to just know that you have enough power. Previously I had a 84ah lifepo battery which at times needed management but now I don’t even look at charge levels.

Just a note on sand driving. The only part of the trip where I thought I might struggle a little as I was towing Manny's bed, was the Namaqua NP which has some very soft sand sections. On arrival I did lower tyre pressures and had no hassles getting to our camp at Boulder Bay. In the morning we were going to get back to the main road through the park so I increased pressures slightly as we didn’t have far to go to harder gravel. However at the last minute we decided to take the scenic route. We came across very soft sand with serious inclines and cross axles. I did bog down but simply reduced tyre pressures again and drove out. Lesson learnt. Don’t try to predict the terrain. Don’t be lazy. Inflate and deflate as often as necessary. If you bog down in sand just reduce pressure and drive out. 9 times out of 10 it works.

Special mention to the Mahindra Scorpio-N series that accompanied us on this trip. It is a very capable vehicle. Stock standard, it did extremely well. Just shows you that it is not essential to have a heavily modified vehicle to get out there and have fun.

All in all a very enjoyable trip with a very capable group of travellers who were all well prepared which always contributes to a successful journey.

[Saxj]

Happy to report that my upgraded electrical system worked flawlessly. Prior to the trip I installed two Blue Nova 108ah Lifepo batteries in the Patrol. They coped perfectly. In fact with the two batteries I don’t even have to look at battery capacity any longer. Nice to just know that you have enough power. Previously I had a 84ah lifepo battery which at times needed management but now I don’t even look at charge levels.

Hi Andreas,

Couple of questions about your electrical setup:
1. How are you charging the 2 batteries in the car?
2. Do you have batteries in the trailer as well?
3. Why do you need so much battery power?

[AndreasR]

Hi SaxJ

1. Charging batteries via National Luna dc to dc and solar via MPPT.
2. I have two lifepo batteries in the trailer as well. Only charged via solar but can charge dc to dc. Have never needed to. One of the best advantages of lifepo is the ability to recharge really quickly if you have the right input.
3. I go on a diverse range of trips. Some short some long. Some only with the vehicle, others with the trailer as well. I have tried to be as versatile as possible to accommodate my needs. Most people would say I have over supply of battery power but that just means if I stand for a few days without sun, I’m covered. I don’t have to park in the sun. My panels are big enough to cope with a bit of shade. In the car I run a fridge and a small freezer. I also want to run a Nespresso machine without stressing the batteries.

I can charge trailer batteries with solar panel on vehicle and the car batteries with solar panel on trailer. Again for versatility.

As said earlier, the over supply of battery power means just one less thing to worry about while travelling. I was on a trip in Botswana recently when it was 42 degrees. Most people had trouble keeping their fridges working to the extent that they had to go on a long drive just to power up the batteries.

Maybe my systems are overkill but I travel a lot so I deem the expense worth the peace of mind.

[Martin de Jager]

Love the detailed and honest report Manny, having camped in the Namaqa Park at Skuinsklip in 2022, we regard this area as one of our favourites, Hondeklip bay, was a disappointment, but then we realised making a u turn at the factory was a mistake. The Cape is where will be heading in the future permanently.
That route and small towns are all stunning, we travelled that road in November last year.
Glad to see you are home safe.

[jakeslouw]

Thanks for the trip report. That part of ZA has always been on my bucket-list.

[Rechardt]

So what does one have to do to get invited to trips like these,

Is there a VIP membership I don't know about.

[Mad Manny]

Hi Rechard, well you were on that stunning trip to Medina and Mecca...

This trip was a result of a chat I had with Grips a year ago, he was telling me about the Hantam Karoo, Namaqua and Weskus & I said we should do a trip.
Grips said hell set it up but he would include the Cederberg.

I mentioned it to Andreas and he said he'd be keen.

Months later Grips sent a rough trip plan and we agreed we would not exceed max. 5 vehicles. I'm friends with AlleyG and told her about it, suggesting it would be a great trip for her new Scorpio-N.
She was very keen.

At that stage we were already 4 vehicles & there was no point opening it up to the Forum with only one spot left.

I then decided to travel with Alley and Andreas so we were down to three.
Around that time Mike contacted Andreas, (they've done a few trips together) & said he was keen for a trip & Andreas offered him the spot I'd opened.

Given that we stayed in 8 different places over 9 days and averaged over 380km per day, it's not a trip that many would enjoy or are geared for.
So you are limited in who you could invite...

[PsyPhin]

So what does one have to do to get invited to trips like these,

Is there a VIP membership I don't know about.