Gallery

A few snaps from our travels in and around Africa…

my_life_in_africa

Sometimes you just need to take a step back and ta

Sometimes you just need to take a step back and take the time out to appreciate what's in front of you...

Halfway to the weekend folks, you've almost made i

Halfway to the weekend folks, you've almost made it... hang in there 😎🤙🏻

This past weekend was all about the troopies, our

This past weekend was all about the troopies, our first group get together for @troopysinafrica organised by Tim from @troopyinafrica.

Loads of fun checking out all the different setups and all the stories shared around the fire!!!

Let's do it again soon guys 😎🤙🏻

Probably the worst named bit of equipment on a 4x4

Probably the worst named bit of equipment on a 4x4 these days is the "SNORKEL"! Why you might ask, well it's simple really, it's primary purpose is not for water, it's a clean cool air intake. If it was for water why didn't they call the windscreen goggles???

Here is the perfect example of a water free, let me rephrase, a desert environment where there is little to no water and not having a snorkel can be catastrophic to your vehicle. Having a combination of quality parts will ensure this doesn't happen.

1. A snorkel
2. A properly sealed airbox
3. A quality air filter

We use what we deem the best quality products available, our @all_in_4x4 snorkel coupled with the @terraintamer4wd air filter and air box seals.

Out of interest, who knows the benefit of ram air? What i mean is a snorkel facing forward vs facing to the rear?
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3 of the best things about camping, sunset, night

3 of the best things about camping, sunset, night time, which means story time around the campfire and sunrise...

Africa certainly never disappoints does she???

And yes our red light district keeps the bugs at bay...

Often overlooked by people as a must have item, an

Often overlooked by people as a must have item, an awning!!! From our experience with awnings you often buy the wrong one first, this piece of kit then becomes nothing more than extra weight on the vehicle and something you hardly use.

Why you might ask, well because if it's hard to setup solo and a potential divorce instrument when setting up with your significant other then you just don't use it.

Since moving over to the @quickpitchsa weathershade 270° awning I've used it all the time. It's 100% a 15 second (if that) setup. Whether for a quick coffee, a break from driving, a repair on a vehicle or just arriving at camp, it's the first item I setup.

Living in the Western Cape and I think we all know where this is going, THE WIND, this awning has outperformed any other in its class. It has a support leg and tie-downs for extra security which I must admit I've never used because there is literally no need to, it's strong enough.

This hands down is the best awning under the sun, and if you don't want the sun put out the awning 🤣😂

It's the little rattles that count... If you know

It's the little rattles that count...

If you know me and you've been on a tour with me one thing is certain, I pay attention to rattles. This tiny rattle that I've not been able to find eventually lifted it's ugly head and we were able to solve the problem without it causing too much damage.

In these pics are the team at @all_in_4x4 fixing what I can only describe as a common Cruiser... no wait, Toyota problem (I've had more than one). For those of you that have not yet joined the ultra lightweight era of lithium and are still running ridiculously heavy deep cycle batteries in your bonnet, take note and check yours.

So what's the problem, the secondary battery and bracket (yes with all that weight) sits on top of the thinnest metal plate that will eventually give. If I told you the metal is paper thin you wouldn't believe me but it is. This needs to be reinforced, I would recommend it as the mod just before a second battery is added. Mine started as a little rattle, not too concerning, then progressively grew to the point that closing my door would produce the rattle.

Finding this on a trip and wondering if your battery is simply going to make it out alive and how much further damage it'll cause knowing the roads to come is not a comfortable feeling you want.

Moral of the story, if your battery can withstand a severe shake down and doesn't move, eventually it will, make it stronger, stronger than you'll ever need it to be and listen to your rattles...

Let us know in the comments below if you've had this issue or similar with the start of that "rattle that wasn't there before"...

Thanks Richard and Team for sorting this out!!!

Front end Friday... A magical photo of 2 African

Front end Friday...

A magical photo of 2 African icons, the Donkey (I mean a Land Cruiser) and the king of the jungle.

Taken by @lostinafrica.tv who risked his own life lying on the ground with an approaching lion metres away to grab an incredible picture. It takes special kinds of nerves and ba**s of steel to get great shots like these.

P.S Tim was safely in his car to take the pic, I just wanted to add some drama to the description.

It's not always about endless playtime, sometimes

It's not always about endless playtime, sometimes you have to do some work in the bush too...

Running my @flexopower_sa lithium 444 to keep the laptop charged up and my 2 x 135w Tacoma panels on the roof to keep the lithium 444 charged up while my pics and videos are safely transferred to my @lacie_tech drives.

But once the work is done it's back to playtime...

Epic little weekend getaway with the @terraintamer

Epic little weekend getaway with the @terraintamer4wd team through the Tankwa Karoo...

Nice to be traveling with @gailrau by my side for a change 🥰😍😘♥️

Friday vibes... Time to pack that @snomaster_sout

It's the cruisers and the trees type of morning, g

It's the cruisers and the trees type of morning, giants in their own right against giants!

Have a crack at picking the locations of each of the trees...

Nothing quite beats the nothingness of the Kalahar

Nothing quite beats the nothingness of the Kalahari. The wide open plains, the endless pans, the gorgeous sunsets and of course not having signal...

I find the more I tour the more I enjoy a technology reset! Do you cope with life without signal or are you dependant on it?

Moments that live with you forever...

Moments that live with you forever...

One of the most common questions I get is about su

One of the most common questions I get is about suspension, "how is the Terrain Tamer setup and specifically how are the parabolics?"

I've been using the @terraintamer4wd parabolics, smart coils and shocks for almost 2 years now and I've never been happier. The comfort of the ride is incredible, if you ever bump into me just ask and I'll let you see for yourself. The body roll I used to have is all but gone, corrugated roads, deflated or not I barely even notice anymore.

The weight carrying capacity I went for the 700kg constants, loaded or empty the ride is still great, not too hard not too soft, like Goldilocks said when she ate the porridge, "it's just right!"

I'm by no means gentle on my gear and have thrown the book at this suspension and it just keeps performing and performing better and better. When you need to feel absolute comfort and absolute control offroad I'd highly recommend you look no further for suspension.

I had a friend with me on a recent trip (@gaz_rod) who said that if we'd been driving his vehicle that we would've bottomed out many times, but not with my setup, not once or even close to. Due to a slight lapse in judgement in white sand and some dune blindness I hit a drop in the road at about 80kmph which made us airborne (if dumbo can fly so can donkey) and in the process throwing us and everything inside all over the place. The last worry on my mind was the suspension, I was more worried about his now dislocated knee, popped his knee back into place and off we went.

So moral of all of this is would I recommend Terrain Tamer parabolics, smart coils and shocks, HELLZ YEAH, you don't know what you missing until you have driven with them.

Having spent almost 60 days on the road in the las

Having spent almost 60 days on the road in the last 2 months I'm over the moon with my setup. One thing you don't want to have camping for an extended period of time is a bad night's sleep.

You also don't want to have to constantly worry about batteries and how to charge them if you're staying in one spot for longer than a day or 2.

I've found the winning combo, my @quickpitchsa clam shell is fast to setup, fast to pack up and isn't something I worry about when I get to camp. I've seen some people taking 15-30mins to setup tents and I'm not one of them, 15-30 seconds is what I need. Added to that the comfort in my tent guarantees I'm getting a great night's sleep. Added to that my bedding stays happily packed in my tent so no worries there either...

So I said combo, right, 2 x Tacoma 135w semi flexible panels from @flexopower_sa on the roof perfectly aimed at sunrise, close the tent during the day, perfectly aimed again for maximum charge.

How does your camping setup compare? Can you say you are 100% happy with it?

Why I've been so quiet for 2 months, a look into m

Why I've been so quiet for 2 months, a look into my life as a guide...

They say, "never look back", I think they're wrong

They say, "never look back", I think they're wrong, if you don't you won't see things like this...

Some highlights of our most recent Kalahari Crossi

Some highlights of our most recent Kalahari Crossing Tour, what an epic adventure!!! The camp fire stories from this tour will be told for many many years to come.

The hardship of the thick hot sand, the air filters that clogged up with sand, the lions in camp, the elephants, the fuel stress and of course the amazing people that undertook this journey with us.

Join us on one of our many up coming tours either in 2022 or 2023 for the best adventure of your life!!!

One of our favourite places to explore is and alwa

One of our favourite places to explore is and always will be the Cederberg & Tankwa Karoo. Somehow this landscape never gets old...

Being a little more loaded than usual for this trip I'm over the moon to give feedback on over 1 and a half years of testing the @terraintamer4wd parabolic suspension I honestly couldn't be happier. Corrugated roads feel like tar roads, without the need to deflate to ridiculous pressures, everything I've thrown at them they've handled like a champ. With the amount of weight we carry on top, the lack of body roll is outstanding.

We're now testing the heavy duty radiator along with the water pump and alternator. Donkey now is cool calm and collected. It's hard to report on the cooling system at the moment but with the heat of the CKGR on the days to follow will put it to the test.

The alternator has been performing well so far with a running charge of 14.2v going on when driving. Needles to say the battery never runs low.

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