The Syncro Saga
SA4x4|January 2019

Heavy rains turn a Moremi-Chobe safari into a swimming lesson

Tamsin Schepers
The Syncro Saga

An article in SA4x4 of February 2016, titled ‘Shoebox on wheels – Zim, Zambia and Bots in a VW Syncro’ brought back so many memories of our own attempt to drive through Botswana’s Moremi and Chobe game reserves in my dad’s VW Syncro.

That was back in October 2009, when we were in our late twenties, and my husband and I and two friends (one being three months’ pregnant at the time) decided after months of research and preparation that we had done enough to tackle Botswana. We’d even had a custom roof rack, the length of the Kombi, made out of steel, which weighed a ton and took all four of us to carry.

What we could not have planned for, was that Botswana had experienced some of its highest water levels in 40 years in the time we had chosen to visit. We entered Botswana through Martin’s Drift border post, driving via Palapye, Letlhakane, Rakops (where we overnighted) and Maun, before entering Moremi. It poured with rain during our two-day trek to Maun and this should have been a sign of what was to come.

I can echo Rene Bauer’s experience of finding that park officials gave his Syncro a strange look, and commented that he and his passengers were ‘nuts’ to attempt the rough back roads. That is exactly what we experienced upon entering Moremi: looks of utter disbelief. The more they explained that we needed a 4x4, the more we tried to explain it was a 4x4. Eventually, they gave up, and let us continue on our way.

South Gate

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der January 2019-Ausgabe von SA4x4.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der January 2019-Ausgabe von SA4x4.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS SA4X4Alle anzeigen
SA4x4

Uganda The Pearl Of Africa

This trip, the very last in the series of stories from Dan Grec’s two-year Africa round trip, details a scary mishap and some extraordinary wildlife encounters

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
March 2020
Chewy, But Edible
SA4x4

Chewy, But Edible

Take another look at those garden pests

time-read
4 Minuten  |
March 2020
Auto Perfection?
SA4x4

Auto Perfection?

Adding a six-speed auto to Mahindra’s workhorse ups the game for this value proposition

time-read
3 Minuten  |
March 2020
SA4x4

Defenders On Tour

The second 2019 Defender Trophy event kicked off in Limpopo and was unique in that participants camped in three different countries…

time-read
9 Minuten  |
March 2020
SA4x4

Rad Rig The Dream Catcher

Motorhome world’s one-of-a-kind luxury globetrotter

time-read
4 Minuten  |
March 2020
The Difference Between An Overlander And An Offroader
SA4x4

The Difference Between An Overlander And An Offroader

A very important distinction needs to be made between the offroader and the overland traveller; often the two are thought to be the same.

time-read
5 Minuten  |
March 2020
Steelmate TP-S9
SA4x4

Steelmate TP-S9

Solar powered TPMS (External sensor)

time-read
3 Minuten  |
March 2020
SA4x4

Light on the dark side

VW AMAROK DARK LABEL

time-read
4 Minuten  |
March 2020
Monkey business!
SA4x4

Monkey business!

Vervet Monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) are the most widespread of the African monkeys; occurring from the Ethiopian Rift Valley, highlands east of the Rift, and southern Somalia, through the eastern lowlands of Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia (east of the Luangwa Valley), Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and all nine provinces in South Africa.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
March 2020
SA4x4

GREAT ZOOKS

There are a few mishaps as a bunch of Jimnys tackle one of Lesotho’s premier off-road challenges, Baboon’s Pass

time-read
10 Minuten  |
March 2020