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4x4AG Most Extreme Trip-Baboons Pass 9-11 August 2019.

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Saxj
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#316

Post by Saxj »

I had an absolute blast. I couldn't have hoped for a better group of people to do it with. Many of us don't appear to play with a full deck, which made it even more fun.

The short wheelbase SFA's with big tyres had a much easier time than the others. Being long and wide is not your friend on the pass.

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Flipside
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#317

Post by Flipside »

Well done everybody, it is a pity that my circumstances prevented me from joining in.
it is still on my bucket list to tick.
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LX
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#318

Post by LX »

Mad Manny wrote:
Sat Aug 17, 2019 1:41 pm
Martin de Jager wrote:
Fri Aug 16, 2019 6:56 pm
It amazes me how little comment we had on this event....
Especially by the other 6 guys who did it & the 5 Navigators!
We did the trail, it was awesome, can do it again... now we're looking forward to the Moz trip that you canceled, Weekend of 24 September 2020, make it happen please.
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Woolf
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#319

Post by Woolf »

In accordance with Manny's comment here are this Navi's observations. However being called a navigator is a bit of a misnomer as I only had to get out of the vehicle once to do some guiding. More like a passenger. I met Pierre (Bugger) through this forum and asked to go along with him and he kindly agreed. We initially met up at a Jeep Day at Gerotek earlier in the year and from this a new friendship started culminating in me joining Pierre for this trip. Thank you!!

I had previously done Baboon's as a Rock Jockey with Paul Carter Brown from the LCCSA in Dec 2011(https://www.4x4community.co.za/forum/sh ... s-Dec-2011). That was the trip where the late Willie (Sampie) pulled a Venter trailer through the pass with his Range Rover and made it albeit with the trailer somewhat worse for wear. Shortly after that the pass was fixed up till the school and there were fears that this would mark the passing of an iconic offroad track. However it seems that that was a one off and the pass has deteriorated markedly (for the better) since then. There has been severe erosion over time with far more rocks exposed. This was particularly noticeable compared to 2011. Pierre had done the pass in 2017 and he also observed that there had been tremendous deterioration since then.

I am going to try and show the difference on one section where we managed to bend a transfer case mounting. I think it is called Yee Ha hill. The current picture is turned on its side (courtesy of Apple) but I think one can appreciate the amount of erosion that has occurred over the last 7.5 years. Can the mods correct this?
Dec 2011.jpg
August 2019.JPG
There was one section where I thought the Hummer was going to sukkel. There was a huge rock which narrowed the road considerably. I vaguely remember reading that someone was planning to move the rock but I could not find the thread. Santa also commented on the absence of this rock. Anyhow whoever did this did the big vehicles a favour as this was a tricky bit to traverse.
Baboons rock.jpg
Where that bush is was a steep drop leaving very little room to manoeuvre. Well that's history now.

Here is what T4A has to say about the pass
T4A.JPG
In the SA4x4 article they commented on how difficult the road was after the pass. I was surprised by this as in 2011 it was quite easy except for one very narrow section. However the road is terrible and not a simple drive back to the tar

I would like to give my inexpert opinion on the vehicles that did the pass.
I travelled with Pierre in Tiny which I think a lot of you know. This is a Suzuki SJ with a Nissan 1400 engine, Hilux axles, front and back lockers, 35" wheels and a crawler gearbox. Pretty much unstoppable. It was towed on a trailer to Ramabanta by a V10 Touareg. Now this is an impressive vehicle with its 750NM torque.

The two Jeep Wranglers (Rubicon and Sahara) did what one would expect modified Jeeps to do. They just coped with what had to be done.

The Terrano had the hardest time as this was the only vehicle with open diffs and although they sukkeled more they got through everything eventually. I think Jaco packed the most rocks on the day.

The Fortuner (an SUV that everyone loves to hate) also did very well and made all the obstacles. Martin was at a bit of an disadvantage as he had no navi.

There were two stand out vehicles.
The Hummer because this was an unknown quantity. However Alex coped very well. Because of its large size it was trickier getting around the tight spots so this took a little longer but otherwise it coped very well.
Vic's third generation Jimny was the star of the show. It has a 50mm lift and custom coils with larger tyres that i don't remember the size of. The traction control worked overtime and this vehicle just drove over everything. It sustained no major damage. It was like a mountain goat. I'm sure Vic will give his own impressions in time.

I think that everyone was relieved that we did not have to sleep on the pass as it really was cold by the time we finished at the end.

That evening was a jovial time. As mentioned the court sitting was great fun. Only problem is that I am a teetotaller and so Pierre took my shots for me.

This was a wonderful trip with a group of disparate people who didn't all know each other but ended with everyone friends. I hope that this trip will be repeated and would encourage others to join. Although it can be a vehicle breaker the damage was limited and could largely be avoided by skillful guiding

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Martin de Jager
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#320

Post by Martin de Jager »

Woolf,
Well I love how you compared, if you have not done it, then nobody will realize how difficult it is. I sit at least once a week looking at my videos, man this is tougherer!
Woolf I am in full agreement! We set new records! We took a Hummer and the new Jimny up Baboons Pass.
To give people an idea, the Hummer is on 35" wheels, yet it got stuck on the diff, and the leaf springs. We had some really twisty conners, was always on the edge , close to a drop off, never never land your destination.
Take a look at this video and you will understand!
https://youtu.be/7DtjTRBkSU8
https://youtu.be/AxA_SyvhOfM
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Anthony Forgey
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#321

Post by Anthony Forgey »

Incrediblebob ended up stuck with Disco 3 suspension error in that same spot your first video starts :) (he also damaged his left rear quarter panel :shock: )

in the second video, you cant appreciate (from the footage) the extent of the dropoff on the right and exactly how tight some of those sections are :shock: . In fact When I did baboons a few years back with Ben, Simon and Incrediblebob, my front right wheel went over the edge :o . Definitely a fudged nylon moment :lol:

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#322

Post by Hedgehog »

Mad Manny wrote:
Sat Aug 17, 2019 1:41 pm
Martin de Jager wrote:
Fri Aug 16, 2019 6:56 pm
It amazes me how little comment we had on this event....
Especially by the other 6 guys who did it & the 5 Navigators!
Well, Martin does leave very little for the others to comment on..
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Bugger
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#323

Post by Bugger »

Yip as Woolf mentioned
Tiny nearly unstoppable but 31" not yet 35" Tyres

Some might say there are no challenge then with a vehicle like this

No you still work for your chips


But instead of building roads and getting out when stuck

You got so much more time to still enjoy Nature and walk around to enjoy outdoor

Advantage of Tiny is that I can take the wive on a day trip without any backup vehicle to enjoy Nature and that was the reason I really enjoy my Syncro camper and Tiny

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LX
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#324

Post by LX »

I wish we had a drone on that trip.
Next year we take the IceMan and his New generation Defender and Bushwalker with his old one.

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Martin de Jager
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#325

Post by Martin de Jager »

https://youtu.be/xG81Dh0qi6Q, A short video of Baboons Pass,
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2013 Suzuki Jimny, Brutus, (larger than life),
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Martin de Jager
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#326

Post by Martin de Jager »

2011 Toyota Prado 3.0 VX,
2013 Suzuki Jimny, Brutus, (larger than life),
2023 Toyota Starlet xr auto,
2019 Invader Duo.

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Martin de Jager
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#327

Post by Martin de Jager »

Looking at this video, one gets to respect Baboons Pass, these guys had to sleep on the pass. https://youtu.be/JkMQUzzlT4E.

The awesome team that went with me in 2019, achieved the unthinkable, we did it in one tough day.
https://youtu.be/umxs1trsi0U
2011 Toyota Prado 3.0 VX,
2013 Suzuki Jimny, Brutus, (larger than life),
2023 Toyota Starlet xr auto,
2019 Invader Duo.

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