I have enough information to write 10 articles about Johan Marais, South Africa’s well-known naturalist, snake man, entrepreneur, and photographer. He’s the author of the ‘A Complete Guide to the Snakes of Southern Africa.’ And, I believe, a new and

Rob’s Discovery 4 SDV6 HSE was built to conquer a massive cross-continent trip. The modification list is very extensive, but a few highlights include the ARB front bumper, Ironman 12 000lb winch, Rival underbody protection, Big Country Ostrich wing a

I have to extend a big thank you to Chris Thomson of Hi-Range Safari City, the 4x4 goto place in Gaborone. He was one of the core sponsors of this trip, together with Darrell van Zeil of Opposite Lock in Gauteng. I drove with Chris and Darrel from Ga

We’ve often featured the adventures of overland adventurer Dan Grec in the pages of SA4x4. He recently wrapped up a two-year round trip through Africa, so it’s great news that he had published a large-format book containing some of the photographic h

A disclaimer here: I am pathologically afraid of snakes. After this adventure with Darrell van Zeil of Opposite Lock and snake expert Johan Marais, I was able to lie on the deck literally staring a giant Forest cobra in the eyes. I only got to this p

Mahindra has launched a new after-sales promise statement across its entire dealer network to create a superb service experience and a closer relationship with customers. Called #GreatValueGreatService, the campaign combines industry best-practice an

The scale of the COVID-19 pandemic has surprised us all. As has the severity and impact of the lockdown restrictions imposed in South Africa since late March. It was the right thing to do but, as with any severe action, the medical gains in containin

If I were only allowed to pack three items in a survival pack, they would be a knife, paracord, and duct tape. With these, I think you could surmount any catastrophe. It’s likely we know the origins of the knife and paracord (ok, if you don’t, paraco

Occupation: Technical Lecturer Modifications: Front Runner roof rack, Howling Moon rooftop tent, 4x4 Mega World side awning. Future modifications: Dual-battery system, snorkel. Dream car: This is it. Most memorable trip: June/July 2019, three wee

The rugged Tibesti Mountains are as far as you can get from civilisation in Africa. Situated in the centre of the Sahara, in northern Chad, it’s a long four-day 1 500km journey from the capital, N’Djamena, much of which is on tracks, or pistes, that

There’s no point in driving around with your roof rack/ rooftop tent if you’re not on holiday. Save fuel (and wear & tear) by installing a Fredlin hoist. This proudly South African product solves the problem of where to store your roof rack/ rooftop

The writer of this month’s winning letter receives one of the most useful recovery aids you can carry on your vehicle – a set of two Total Traction by Treds recovery tracks from Ironman 4x4. That’s quite a mouthful, but these bright green Australian-

I was most interested in reading the article on Botswana’s Hunter’s Road in the April issue of SA4x4. It certainly is a challenge with all that black cotton soil in the rains! In the article, the author mentioned that they visited Kukonje Island. Alt

Nobody said overlanding is for sissies, and our exit route from Angola was a stern test of this. It took three days to cover 160km of the worst road we had ever seen, as we plunged from one giant puddle to the next, each one threatening to tip Agnes

It seems that a ‘must-have’ piece of equipment, which is often mounted on peoples’ 4x4s, is a winch. It most certainly has that ‘wow’ factor and makes you look like the ultimate adventurer. This piece of equipment has been available for decades, yet

There are two groups of people when it comes to modifying vehicles: those who modify for looks and the guys who do it out of necessity. At SA4x4, we tend to have more in common with the latter group. Richard Kiggen, the owner of the Isuzu-based rig y

Whilst ‘growing younger’ sounds like the sales pitch for a new anti-ageing cosmetic, it is indeed a scientific fact. Well, in some insects at least! One of the weirdest phenomena in all of nature is the ability of certain insects to grow younger, or

In order to truly comprehend and correctly utilise your vehicle’s four-wheel drive systems out on the trail, one needs a basic understanding of certain generic ‘offroad’ concepts. So, prior to continuing on driving skills per se, this column deals wi

The Amarok is a cleverly-engineered pickup. From launch in 2010, it was a step or two ahead of the rivals in terms of technology, if not ability. Back then, the flagship version used a 120kW 2.0-litre turbodiesel, which was a very different approach

Illuminate the future with up to 9 180 raw lumens, courtesy of the Ironman 4x4’s Meteor Driving Lights. Available in 7-inch and 9-inch sizes, the Meteor uses 3-watt Osram LEDs with 6 000K colour temperature to simulate natural daylight. Featuring a b

For 2020, Toyota has bestowed the revered Fortuner with a host of exterior additions and created the latest iteration – the new ‘Fortuner Epic’. Two Epic variants are on offer, both based on the 2.8-litre GD-6 derivatives: the ‘standard’ Epic and the

We will be the first to admit that this is not the typical vehicle we test, but if the opportunity comes to get the keys for the most powerful SUV in the world for a couple of days, you grab it, much like your passengers will be grabbing at the handl