Dust And Dynamite

We attend the final round of the Cooper Dust Series in the Tankwa with a custom Jeep for a two-day festival of dust, 4x4s, and adventure

- Andrew Middleton

The Cooper Dust Series is a multi province event exposing drivers to a wider range of tasks than most ‘between the poles’ events. It started two years ago as the brainchild of 4x4 guru and ex-motoring-journalist Gerrie Van Eden, who wanted the Dust Series to be a true adventure. The event covers long distances, and includes GPS, obstacle courses and night challenges to encompass a wide range of skills that overlanders may use on their adventures.

As Gerrie notes, “The Cooper Dust Series is focused on getting the owners of a normal 4x4 off their couch and off Facebook, and onto a trail or open road, exploring and having fun.”

SA4x4 was invited to participate as a media team in the final event of the year, held in the Western Cape, where winners from four previous events in other regions would duke it out for the ultimate Dust Series 2017 honours.

Having heard that Cooper Tires’ newly-acquired poster child, a heavily modified and door-less Jeep Cherokee XJ, would be trailered to the final at Stonehenge Farm in the Tankwa Karoo, I quickly put my hand up and offered to drive it up from Cape Town. In midsummer, this rocky, Martian landscape is incredibly hot during the day, turning windy and frigid at night. It’s a harsh environment for man and machine, and a perfect testing ground for some of SA’s top amateur drivers.

DAY 1 – GPS Challenge

To kick things off, all contestants were given a GPS co-ordinate at which they could find another co-ordinate and a clue. Vehicles were set off for the 240km route at intervals, to aim for a predetermined time which would be achievable by following speed limits and finding every GPS co-ordinate on the first attempt.