The Isuzu KB-driving Wild Women of Mafunyane

So many bakkies, so little time. New models are launching left, right and centre. Apart from having to be durable, they have to be female-friendly too - hence the Ford Ranger’s popularity. But what if you actually prefer your bakkie to be a bit less bling and a little more butch?

A private, guided, self-driving 4x4 experience

Towards the end of last year, I received an invite to drive the 6th generation Isuzu KB on the lesser-travelled roads of the Kruger National Park, to experience Sanparks’ latest venture: The Mafunyane 4x4 Eco-Trail. This is a guided, self-driving 4x4 course through parts of the park where your average Joe doesn’t have the privilege to tread, with minimal disturbance to the sensitive environment. This would be the Kruger at its most unspoiled.

An all-girl group of journalists and ‘influencers’ would be the first to encounter the Mafunyane 4x4 Eco-Trail. To make this possible, we were assigned two of the Kruger’s most experienced and knowledgeable park rangers, namely Vanessa Strydom and Karien Keet. These two special ladies would guide us through the pristine and lesser-known northwesterly region of the park. After a leisurely lunch at the Phalaborwa gate, we were also given our vehicles for the trip: brand new, 6th generation Isuzu KB’s.


Fresh-faced new KB

Leaving the automatic models to the lifestyle journalists, us motoring ladies opted for the manual Isuzu KB300 D-TEQ LX 4x4 at R549 800 (only the top-end LX-derivatives had been booked for us).

The new shiny, revised grill doesn’t take anything away from its masculinity, and neither do the reshaped bonnet and fog lamps - In fact, it adds to it. The daytime running lamps make sure you’ll be highly visible. Around the back, it’s hard to see any changes, but you do notice the 4x4-decal on the load box, new 18-inch alloys, and apparently the tailgate styling is different.

On the inside, it’s a mixed bag of robustness and quality, with a few buttons feeling a little ‘budget’ when pressed, especially the ones on either side of the new touchscreen. But who can complain when you can connect your phone to the Isuzu’s Wifi and make a call via Whatsapp? The central touchscreen resembles the screen of an Android or Apple smartphone, with plenty of apps and other handy shortcuts such as an on-screen calculator. In the LX-variant, satnav is also a standard feature.

Up north we go...

I start up the 3.0-litre diesel engine, which sounds gruff, but friendly, and childhood memories of trips (in Isuzus) to Sodwana Bay come flooding back.

We reverse out of the parking area at the Phalaborwa gate, keeping an eye on the image on-screen (a rearview camera is standard on the LX). Soon we’re on our way to the first campsite, and as our cell reception dies, we couldn’t be happier to shake off the city stress.

As we’re driving along slowly along the dry and dusty road, the ride quality in the Isuzu feels rather civilized, thanks to the revised rear suspension. In convoy, and connected by way of two-way radios, we have given our Isuzus names, so we know who’s who. Bluebird, White Rhino, Silver Tequila. Vanessa’s cheerful voice intermittently breaks the radio silence, as she points out every interesting bird, tree, or creature along the way, teaching us bushveld things we’d never have known otherwise.

The first part of our route would lead to the Malopeni campsite, where we would arrive approximately 42 km later, with our tents and camper-caravans already set up , and a blazing fire (compliments of the for the evening’s dinner. If you do the Mafunyane 4x4 Eco Trail under normal circumstances, you have to bring your own food and camping equipment, including tents and trailers, firewood, lamps, chairs, cooking utensils and so forth. But you can rest assured that there will not be a fence in sight, putting you right in the middle of the wilderness for a Kruger adventure like no other! That’s probably why we were advised not to make trips to the eco-loos alone, and without a torch…
Late that night, we heard a lion clearing his vocal cords in the distance, and a hyena being shooed away not far from the now-smouldering fire.

As for those eco-loos, they hold their own charm. A very important point to remember (as you’re making your way onto the seat) is not to look down - what’s been seen cannot be unseen! The eco-loo is very much a long-drop, and once the camp has been vacated the next day, some environmentally friendly chemicals are thrown into the loo, to make the toilet paper (and other gruesome contents) disintegrate.

Muddy princesses

There’s a reason why the Mafunyane trail would only be open from the dry season onwards, and that is the unexpected bouts of rainfall that can turn a campsite into a drenched and muddy mess. During the night, the heavens had opened. At least the Isuzus would be well suited to the roads (or lack thereof); or so they would prove, a few kilometres up the next leg of the route. As we were in the process of crossing a dry riverbed (which had now turned into a mudbath), Vanessa and Karien’s ranger vehicle got stuck at a steep, slippery incline. After much stone and branch collecting, cheerleading, and careful instruction by my motoring colleague and 4x4-nut Jeanette Kok-Kritzinger (https://www.facebook.com/wiele2wiele/?ref=br_rs), the Toyota made it. But the entire group behind her would have to make the crossing as well, and they were not looking thrilled. Half an hour later, nervousness had turned into pride, as all the ladies managed to get their Isuzus safely and easily across. Now it was my turn. I selected 4H via the rotary knob, and accelerated so I would have momentum working for me, and Voíla! We were on the other side. But the fun wasn’t over just yet!

After a picnic lunch we encountered the muddiest section of the route by far - the mud was getting thicker and deeper by the metre, causing us to go slip-sliding (what fun!), and not always in the correct direction. By now, the tread of the tyres was covered in layer upon layer of pale brown sludge, yet not a single Isuzu managed to get stuck, despite nearly having to swim through the muck in some parts. When we reached the Nyari campsite, us girls were the first to arrive. The men managed to get one of the 4x4 Xplorer caravans stuck en-route. By the time they arrived, we were making G&T’s and singing along to Vanessa’s guitar while the bushveld sun was setting behind lush Mopani trees.

Paradise found

After a good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast, we had a whole day of driving planned, as well as a beautiful guided walk to a cave with some Bushman paintings. Maybe today we’d see a leopard or a lion - up to now, we had only seen giraffe, antelope, elephant, wildebeest, buffalo, and countless springbokkies, but no ‘whiskered ones’. According to Vanessa, the recent drought meant that the animals were probably staying close to the lesser-known watering holes, not risking their lives with even a short venture away. With our final campsite being the ‘pièce de résistance’ namely Punda Maria, it probably wouldn’t be the end of the world if we didn’t see lions. A few hours later, we were still out of luck, but the landscape’s beauty lifted our mood.

By the time we reached Punda Maria, it was already dark, but when we woke at dawn, it was to the most exquisite view over the Luvuvhu river, where crocs and hippos were greeting the day with an early morning bathing session. Reluctantly we packed our trusty Isuzu, who  forgave us all our errors, and never let us down the entire journey. And spending quite a few hours on the back seat (there was constant arguing between me and my two colleagues about whose turn it was to drive), I was quite impressed with how comfortable and spacious it was back there, regardless of the seats being very upright, as they are in all bakkies. Plenty of slow driving kept our fuel usage at a low 8 litres per 100 km, which went up to 9.3 when we drove on Limpopo’s more congested roads. Not bad for a 3.0-litre turbodiesel engine!

Isuzu round-up

The Isuzu did wonders for the girls’ confidence, making everyone’s testosterone levels rise, proving that you don’t need bucketloads of 4x4-experience if you have a capable vehicle.
Go to www.isuzu.co.za to check out the entire range.

Mafunyane need-to-knows

• The Mafunyane 4x4 Eco-Trail is a four-day (three-night) self-catering guided adventure in the northwesterly section of the Kruger National Park, between the Olifants and Luvuvhu Rivers. The route covers approximately 270 km. You drive your own 4x4, (because of possible poor road conditions only 4x4’s and trailers are allowed) with all your own provisions for the trip. Only 5 vehicles plus the guide vehicle are allowed. A maximum of 4 persons are allowed per vehicle. No children under 12 allowed, unless by arrangement.
• Overnight sites have a fireplace, eco-loos, and a shower (water is heated on the fire).
• The trail departs from Phalaborwa Gate 12:00 pm every Thursday afternoon, and ends at Punda Maria Camp on Sunday morning. It is operational only during the dry season from 1 March to 30 November.

Description of the route with approximate distances

Day 1 (Thursday): Phalaborwa Gate to Malopeni overnight site – 42km

Day 2 (Friday): Malopeni to Mafunyane overnight site – 123km

Day 3 (Saturday):  Mafunyane to Shidzivane overnight site – 90km

Day 4: (Sunday)    Shidzivane to Punda Maria Camp – 15 km

Cost:    
R 6000 per vehicle, until 31 October 2017.

For more information and bookings, please go to:

https://www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger/tourism/activities/4x4.php
Reservations: +27 12 428 9111
Email: reservations@sanparks.org