Sable Ranch 4x4 Hekpoort Saturday 25 July

[BushWacker]

If we dont wait for LX or Striker
at Pinehaven Sasol ...
... how we know who to wait for ?

[Mad Manny]

Neither of those two are attending Chas...

I got some great feedback from Estee - seems its reasonably easy with escape options.
An Evoque did it today.

You can, early on, split the group - which is what we will do.

Sounds like a nice, easy trail.

[KurtG]

It’s simple Chas. At 08h00 sharp we leave Sasol and head to the venue. We don’t really care how many cars are in the first group, we just go.

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[HenriSteyn]

If we dont wait for LX or Striker
at Pinehaven Sasol ...
... how we know who to wait for ?

Me. White Pajero

[Wooky]

Did you manage to find my payment yet??

[Saxj]

Did you manage to find my payment yet??

Post 2 says list of paid attendees. You are on that list

[CornellMans]

So I went to Sable Ranch 4x4 with some guys from the other forum on Sunday. I have added some video snips from my dash cam and some of the other guys for your viewing.

We all gathered at the parking of Nobelman Brewing Co. There you sign an indemnity and then set off to the first obstacle: A river crossing.

Currently the river is fairly low, I would say 300mm at most. The bottom is pebbles, and no real traction problems getting in or out of the crossing. The crossing in itself is about 10 meters long.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ixYvG3ent4

After the river you proceed to tunnel that takes you to the other side of the R96. Coming out of the tunnel, there is a slight incline to the right with some artificial ruts. These were apparently to put there to catch out an Amarok or two…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCLWeXONDKg

Conquer this and you move on to a small artificial hill (more a speed bump) with an easy axle twister in front of it. Traction is really not a problem in this stage and you would easily get over it without engaging 4x4 even. Moving on to the first play area.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fD3S1DFiuQY

Play area is a play pit with a few short hills you can climb. Surface was very firm, almost like driving on tarmac. 4x2s would be able to play here as well I’m sure. You can to the obstacles from different angles if you want. (Level 1) This would get nice and muddy with some rain as it seem like to have a lot of clay here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyjZV-91mpQ

There is another play pit after the first, that you basically have 2 routes that you can take to drive through it. Again 4x2s will be at home here. (Level 1) this also seems to have a lot of clay.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OphP20r3dVM

Next up is a long, straight and flat axle twister. Nothing major, but cool to check your vehicle’s TC vs diff lock. Some of the open diff vehicles had limited difficulty, but nothing momentum wouldn’t sort out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0LiCG5mg38

Last of the preliminary obstacles is a “teerpaal” bridge. I guess it’s 8 to 10 m long, going over a hole in the ground. Might needs someone to guide over it if you are unsure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmH4M2GVaMo

From here you take a winding path through a few gates to the mountain…

BE ADVISED :
• There are no chicken runs up the mountain
• All the paths are wide enough for one vehicle only, but can be driven in any direction, which would be problematic in the case of traffic coming head on, as there is virtually nowhere to pull off the track to let somebody pass.
• There are a lot of hikers, thinking that they own the road, so keep an eye out.
• There are signs on the tracks, but basically indicating where the turn-off from the track you are currently on.
• The entire track has a rocky surface, some loose and rolling by the time we got there, but also loose with fairly sharp edges. One bloke in a Fortuner got stuck when a fairly large rock stood up as he drove over it and lifted the ‘Tuna’s rear while by pushing on the bottom if the rear bumper. We helped him get over it, and unstuck as well.
• There are a few ruts as people opted for power rather than the correct line, and we fixed the track on several occasions.
• Due to the confusing signs on the track, I imagine you might get lost.
• There were some of the tracks that some guys attempted but then backed out of, because of fairly deep and wide holes that I think would damage a stock vehicle. Those parts I would rate towards level 4, although the rest of the track is a level 3.
• The parts we drove did not pose any real threat to panels.
• Two people, that I know of, lost tires due to side wall cuts. My HT tires did not get damages, although I did sustain some scratches on the mags.

Coming down the mountain we went to the picnic spot at the back of Nobelman Brewing Co for a bite. And then when to play in the final playpit.
This is also a small playpit, but the main obstacle is named Mt Everest. Looked intimidating at first, but my Everest mounted it from all directions, making me feel all manly and chuffed. (Just to see that a guy in a XC60 Volvo also did it.)
It would be a challenge for a vehicle in 4x2…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHUT2mcPDE8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZLPfCXriSc


Some videos from other participants and about Sable Ranch 4x4:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYz57FY ... e=youtu.be
https://youtu.be/HEi1SE5Wxbo
https://youtu.be/6loDZW58qNQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uOpGsJW_Og
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N2fBWF-BnM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr9-MoUo4gM

[Mad Manny]

Excellent report Cornell - thank you doing this for me - Appreciated...

I believe that once we have done the river & crossed under the road there isan opportunity to split the group.
That's what we intend to do.

[AndreasR]

Nice write-up Cornell. Thanks. Now we know what we are in for.

[Renier_c]

Thanks for the info!

How long did it take you to do the trail?

[HenriSteyn]

Thanks for the write up Cornel.

I saw a post by Estee on 4x4CF that you guys missed some of the trail on top of the mountain?

If so any advice to spot it once there?

Cheers

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk

[CornellMans]

Thanks for the info!

How long did it take you to do the trail?

Hi there all. We missed a significant part of the trails on the mountain, and we still in total drove about 5 hours. But keep in mind that confusion about the which route to take maybe added to that. But I think you can keep yourself busy for 6 hours easily.

[CornellMans]

Thanks for the write up Cornel.

I saw a post by Estee on 4x4CF that you guys missed some of the trail on top of the mountain?

If so any advice to spot it once there?

Cheers

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk

Hi there HenriSteyn

The signs are VERY confusing, but feedback to the owner was to add numbering to the signs and then combine it with a map. The one thing that is very worrying for my, is that you can travel in any direction on the single lane tracks, and there are no place really to get off a track safely to let somebody pass, unless you are somewhere close to where a new route splits out. Hopefully by the time we go, they would have added direction indicators as well as numbering to the intersections and have a bit of a map handy.

[CornellMans]

Glad you guys understood my Kalahari English, hehehe

[CornellMans]

Oh and one thing I forgot. I don't think Nobleman Brewery is operating yet, but you can at least use there toilets and stuff. So pack you food and drink, and maybe some white gold in case you get the call of nature on the track, there are no facilities up there. There are apparently a picnic spot on the top of the mountain, but I don't think we managed to get there, or did not recognize it.