Van Zyl's & the Marienfluss
SA4x4|February 2020
After braving a series of dramatic river crossings, the challenges of Van Zyl’s seemed pretty doable… and then there was the spectacular scenery of the Marienfluss to take in. This is what it’s like to travel with Simon Steadman of Ultimate Adventures.
Simon Steadman
Van Zyl's & the Marienfluss

Having braved some serious crossings of the Kunene River and spent Christmas at Epupa Falls, it was time to pack up camp and head south away from the Kunene River to the ‘town’ of Okangwati, where we topped up our fuel tanks before heading into the real wilderness of Kaokoland. This stretch of road gradually becomes more challenging and slow-going as you get closer to the community campsite just before the start of Van Zyl’s pass and, in my opinion, can be more challenging than Van Zyl’s pass in some sections with its many cross-axles and dongas to negotiate.

Low-range engaged, we crawled our way along this very scenic track through countless Himba villages until we reached the Van Zyl’s pass community campsite at the top of the pass. This is a great place to stop-over before tackling the pass, with good but rustic ablutions and scenic campsites next to a dry riverbed (yes, it was dry). After a tasty chicken curry in the riverbed, everyone turned in early in anticipation of what lay ahead of us the next day.

A sting in the tail

Van Zyl’s pass is probably one of the most notorious mountain passes in Africa, with many stories of rolled vehicles and trailers, broken suspensions and other disastrous endings. Maybe it’s an experience thing, but I think there are more treacherous 4x4 trails in South Africa than Van Zyl’s pass if it is tackled correctly and shown the necessary respect. The pass can only be driven in an east to west direction and is 10-15 kilometres of hard driving over rocks and through ravines. Most of it is downhill, so traction isn’t really an issue; rather making sure you pick the right line and taking it slowly down some of the rocky steps along the way.

Esta historia es de la edición February 2020 de SA4x4.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición February 2020 de SA4x4.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE SA4X4Ver todo
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+ minutos  |
March 2020
Chewy, But Edible
SA4x4

Chewy, But Edible

Take another look at those garden pests

time-read
4 minutos  |
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 minutos  |
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 minutos  |
March 2020
SA4x4

Rad Rig The Dream Catcher

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

time-read
4 minutos  |
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 minutos  |
March 2020
Steelmate TP-S9
SA4x4

Steelmate TP-S9

Solar powered TPMS (External sensor)

time-read
3 minutos  |
March 2020
SA4x4

Light on the dark side

VW AMAROK DARK LABEL

time-read
4 minutos  |
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 minutos  |
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 minutos  |
March 2020