JUMPING JIMNY!

What better way to introduce a novice driver to 4x4 driving than a fun day with the Samurai Driving Academy at Bass Lake? 18-year-old Anton Willemse (Jnr) shares his experience of getting behind the wheel of the king of small 4x4s, the Suzuki Jimny, to earn his off-roading badge of honour

- Anton Willemse (Jnr)

When my dad asked me to join the Samurai Driving Academy at Bass Lake for a day of 4x4 fun, I was super excited because I love watching people off-roading for the first time.

In this instance, I expected to see only one novice, a wonderful lady called Elna Deysel, who I was told had no prior 4x4 experience except for being a scared passenger. So you can imagine my surprise when I realised that the second novice was myself – an 18-year-old laaitie who barely has his licence and couldn’t always pull away without stalling a few times! To say that I was nervous was a huge understatement.

My nerves were quickly put at ease by our instructor, Alan Pepper, who is probably the calmest person I’ve ever met. He started us off with a bit of theory which I was used to, but my classmate was eager to start driving and “learn on the fly”.

No such thing with Mr Pepper, though. We pushed through with the theory, learning the function of the low-range gearing as well as key aspects of using a 4x4 vehicle – such as when to deflate the tyres and when to use the diff-lock if one is fitted. In the case of the new Jimny, it has a traction control system in place of a conventional diff lock, which copes with most situations.