The excitement of doing a road trip for me—especially towards the end of a long year—always begins with the planning of the trip; deciding on activities that we want to do and places we want to see always stirs the soul…
This year we decided that a mixture of beach and mountains with hiking being the main activity was our preference. Google Maps is great for plotting the route and planning the stop-overs. Having studied a few different options, and with 10 free days available between Christmas and the beginning of Jan, the Eastern Cape quickly became our exploration destination of choice.
Checking out the different accommodation availability options in that region, an estimated 2500km round trip was planned that would take us from Johannesburg down to the Tsitsikamma region, and then onto Hogsback before heading back home.
Even more exciting, was that this was going be our first proper road trip in our 5-door Suzuki Jimny, and I was particularly looking forward to seeing how it would perform on the long open road and different terrains that we had planned.
In addition, the same could be said for the accessories that have been fitted to our Jimny; the tyres, we upgraded the standard highway terrains to General Tire’s AT3 Grabbers, Takla Products has fully kitted the interior, so these would get properly tested too.
For this trip, we were just two people so all of our luggage was fitted inside the vehicle, therefore, our Front Runner roof rack’s only task was to carry our Maxtrax Recovery Tracks in case we got stuck somewhere along the way…
Although we did have a Dometic fridge on loan for testing from Front Runner which we were super excited about.
Our first day’s drive was from Jo’burg to Colesburg. I pumped the tyres to 2.0 bar for highway driving and we set off bright and early. Stopping for a quick Wimpy breakfast at the Engen Grasmere 1 stop, we filled the Jimny with fuel with the plan to fill up again just outside of Bloem, with a 400km range from the 40-litre fuel tank of the Jimny, this should work out fine. Or so I thought… What I didn’t factor in was the strong winds and torrential rains that we experienced along the way, this affected the fuel economy somewhat as 50km outside of Bloem the fuel light came on, to make things worse, at that moment it was raining extremely hard and our comms were not working as a result, so we couldn’t see when the next fuel station was. Driving through a tollgate we asked the lady how far the next fuel station was, and she said there was one 40km away. We’d now done about 20km since the fuel light had come on so it was touch-n-go whether we’d make it. I set the trip meter at this point and watched the km’s go up in anticipation. At 40km there was still no sign of the fuel station and I was now starting to get worried as we must have been driving on fumes, luckily 2km later we saw the fuel station, we pulled in and filled up, almost kissing the fuel attendee, 40 litres exactly was put in—I was very thankful at this point.
What I’ve learnt from this experience is that next time, I will take extra fuel with me on long road trips, especially with the Front Runner roof rack system fitted to our Jimny, they have Jerry Can Holder accessories for carrying extra fuel. We live and learn.
Our stop-over for the night was booked at Honeylocust Guest House in Colesburg, I’ve stayed here several times over the years and always found it to be an excellent place to stay over when driving down to the Cape.
I was telling Cathryn about the excellent Karoo lamb that I’ve eaten there before and we were both looking forward to the prospect.
What I hadn’t anticipated was how these small towns were affected by the Covid era, as the last time I was there was in 2018. To my disappointment, the restaurant now only serves breakfast, as they can’t sustain a fully operational kitchen anymore. It’s sad to see that 3 years on places like this are still affected by what Covid did to the South African Tourism industry. So we ventured out and discovered the local hotspot in town “Die Plattelander”.
The restaurant was very busy and there were no outside tables available. At that moment, the town had no electricity, so sitting inside we discovered very quickly that it was unpleasant. We then asked the young waitress if we could move our table outside to the courtyard, which she very willingly obliged and helped move us straight away. Luckily, lamb was their speciality dish and it turned out to be excellent! A very pleasant evening was had, even with the generator sounds wallowing in the background—you’ve got to love South Africa.
On our second day, we headed down to the Tsitsikamma Region, which we were very excited about as the route was going to be more interesting than on day one.
A good highway travelling speed in the 5-door Jimny is 110km/h, which is mostly fine. You need to adopt a ‘smell the roses’ not ‘flattening landscapes’ mindset when travelling open roads. Driving the long, straight, bumpy roads on the way down to Graaff-Reinet was made challenging as it was windy that day and we were constantly being overtaken—I looked forward to days on dirt roads when our Jimny would have the upper hand.
We stopped for a quick breakfast in Graaff-Reinet and we were both pleasantly surprised by how clean and well-kept the town was, which isn’t usually the case when travelling through small towns these days in South Africa.
After breakfast, we meandered our way down to the coast and joined up with the N2 on the Garden Route around mid-afternoon. Our stay for the next three nights was at Fynbos Golf & Country Estate, which is located roughly between Plettenberg Bay and Jeffreys Bay—about an hour’s drive to each town.
As you turn off the N2 towards Fynbos Golf & Country Estate there’s a ‘Padstal’ called Oudebosch Country Cafe which we found to be very conveniently placed. We would stop there often for fresh Roosterkoek in the morning and also to fetch water and stuff for the evenings on our way back at the end of the day’s adventuring…
From there, a 12km corrugated gravel road takes you to the entrance of Fynbos Golf & Country Estate. Now time to deflate the General AT3 Grabbers down to 1.6 bar for gravel road driving. Deflating the tyres down to the correct pressures for different terrain is important as it lengthens the footprint of the tyre which gives you better traction and floatation over poor surfaces—it’s basically like standing in mud in stilettos versus slip-slops.
This was the time for our Jimny to shine… Similar-looking cars that passed us on our trip down were travelling at around 20km/h on this dirt highway. Right payback time, we now had the upper hand and were cruising along at 60km/h leaving a wake of dust as we roosted past these very sad-looking family vehicles. Each time I would look at Cathryn and smile and she would just laugh back at me. I would be lying if I said that I didn’t get satisfaction from this experience. Offroad driving is really where Jimnys are the happiest and with the tyre pressures lowered, not even the bumpiest of corrugated roads could loosen any tooth fillings—the Jimny cruised along in a very smooth comfortable fashion.
Fynbos Golf & Country Estate is a very cool spot to visit, it’s off the beaten track, so each day when we got back from visiting busy tourist areas having peace and tranquillity was awesome. There’s a restaurant at the clubhouse serving great food. We would often take a stroll around the golf course most nights after dinner, taking photos of buck that roamed around the area, which made the whole winding down experience very pleasant.
We had two full days of adventuring planned while at the coast. The first day we took a drive out to Oyster Bay, mainly sticking to the network of gravel roads that are in that area, again dropping the tyre pressures down to 1.6 bar for a smooth driving experience. Our route took us past huge Windmill farms which were incredible to see up close.
Oyster Bay is such an awesome place to visit, being accessible only by gravel roads, it has an unspoilt feeling to it that is unique to the Wild Coast of South Africa. We took this opportunity to explore the beaches in our Jimny, this time dropping the tyre pressures down to 1.2 bar for an even bigger footprint, which in theory should keep us from getting stuck. With 4×4 engaged, it was time to explore…
This had to be one of the highlights of the trip for me, it was awesome driving along the coastline, and having all the comforts that we needed on hand during a hot summer day was very convenient.
Talking about convenience, the Dometic CFX3 25L fridge that we had with us on this trip was fantastic. I never realised that I needed one in my life until after doing this trip. Having ice-cold water on hand was just what the Dr ordered after a long hot day at the beach. Note, I’ll be doing a full review of this product in the coming weeks so stay tuned…
As for the driving, the little Jimny cruised around the beaches and dunes with aplomb, at no point did we get stuck, therefore, we didn’t need to use our recovery tracks at any point, their only purpose was to give our ride a bit of extra ‘rugged’ bling—it was an absolute blast!
The Grabber AT3s yet again have proven themselves to be an excellent ‘all-rounder’ tyre upgrade choice from the standard highway terrans fitted standard on the Jimny. Compared to other offerings on the market they offer incredible value for money too.
As for the interior protection from Takla, their products are so well thought out, and the durability and quality of their products is outstanding. This is something we’ve now gotten accustomed to as this is the second time we’ve fitted out our ride with Takla. I found that having the dashboard bags on this trip was very handy for storing my phone and essentials such as a petrol card. Plus, the seat covers and footwell protection did a great job of keeping everything tidy.
Our second outing was hiking at Storms River Mouth at Tsitsikamma National Park, although very busy that time of year, we had an amazing day exploring the wonders of the forest trails that hug the coastline—the suspension bridge that crosses the mouth is quite spectacular. There’s nothing quite like spending the day out in nature, it does wonders for the mind, body and soul. Surprisingly a lot of international tourists walked the park, which was nice to see post-Covid era. Hopefully, this is a sign that tourism is picking up again, well certainly at the main tourist hotspots anyway…
Another product that we tested on this trip was Thule’s EnRoute 20L Camera Backpack. Whilst out in the field on trips like this, keeping expensive camera equipment and my laptop safe from all weather conditions is very important to me. The EnRoute 20L Backpack was the perfect companion for this trip, I was able to carry our Nikon Z50 mirrorless camera, plus my laptop, and other essentials for days out adventuring. Again, I will be doing a full review of this backpack in the coming weeks…
Talking about Nikon, at the ZA Bikers office, we have always used Nikon equipment from our designated professional photographers to our journalists. Being more of a hobby photographer myself, I wasn’t interested in taking a “Pro Body” DSLR or a top-of-the-range Mirrorless, but rather something light and compact, a camera that would be comfortable to pull out of the bag multiple times a day and just as comfortable hanging around my neck.
My outdated Nikon D5500 was just right for me and ticked those so-called boxes back then, but in today’s mirrorless world, even the D5500 feels a bit porkish and more of a chore to carry about. Nikon has stopped making DSLR cameras and has taken the mirrorless world by storm with 9 different mirrorless options. Where do I even begin?
Nikon’s entry-level into the mirrorless Z mount world with a viewfinder is their Z50, now although “entry-level” the little Z punches way above its weight class, especially if you compare it to DSLRs from not too long ago. The Nikon Zfc with its vintage look was an option, but I preferred the hand grip on the Z50 especially whilst out hiking, the Z30 was also a contender with it being so compact, but I’m still a stickler for a viewfinder even if they are electronic these days.
The Z50 and its Z DX 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 lens were the perfect companion for our trip, the little Z worked in aperture priority most of the time with ISO and white balance still in manual use. After using and spending many days with the Z50 in hand, the just under 21MP, in body stabilization and UHD 4K video recording ‘really’ did impress. Coming from a Nikon D5500 and a Panasonic Lumix GH5, I would happily adopt a Z50 for more run-and-gun moments like these.
For more information on these cameras visit: www.nikonsa.co.za
Our next destination was Hogsback. Hogsback is a little village hidden away, high up in the Amatola Mountains in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. It is surrounded by indigenous ‘Afromontane’ forest that provides a certain mystical, magical charm that soothes the spirit and rejuvenates the soul and is one of my favourite places in South Africa to visit.
Our drive there took us up the N2 coastal road towards Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha), which was very scenic, stopping along the way for fuel at the Wind Farm Petrol Station. We were very amused by the giant bull-like statue that had a set of ‘ginormous’ bright blue hanging balls…
After a quick coffee break, we headed up towards King William’s Town (Qonce) which was very run down, after which we wound our way up the mountain to Hogsback.
Our stay for the next two nights was at The Magical Teepee Experience. As the name suggests, it was a magical experience indeed. The set-up is rustic, there are 4 Teepees each having a double bed, freestanding fireplace and a power supply, which we found to be very handy for plugging in our Dometic fridge. There’s a communal kitchen that is divided into 4 areas so that each tenant has their ‘own’ fridge, cupboard, sink, etc… The same applies to the bathrooms, there are 4, so again each tenant has their own private bathing space. It was New Year’s Eve when we arrived, tired from the day’s travelling, we enjoyed a very blissful evening under the stars and in our cosy little dwelling.
Chatting with new owners Pierre & Alex, they plan on doing plant medicine-style retreats at their venue in the future which sounds amazing! We will certainly be going back there. The Magical Teepee Experience would be a perfect getaway for adventure bike riders who are planning to explore the area too.
Activities we enjoyed whilst in Hogsback were mainly hiking and also hanging out at some of the many eateries that Hogsback has to offer.
The hiking is spectacular! The many hiking trails lead to glorious waterfalls and ancient trees. It is also home to the last remaining Cape parrots and the colourful Knysna Loerie. The majestic views and spectacular sunrises and sunsets can only fill you with wonder, peace and tranquillity.
Unfortunately, the litter that was chucked around at the entrance to one of the hiking spots was a disgrace—it is very sad to see this kind of disrespect to the environment.
Because of this, we opted to park at Away with the Fairies Backpackers as it’s one of the places where the hiking trails begin. We discovered The Green Dragon Cafe there, which makes delicious pizzas and serves some interesting craft beers. This was great to come back to after a morning’s hike. Situated at the edge of the mountainside, they have a “Cliff Bath” which is perched on the edge of it and is available for private bookings.
We took the opportunity to reflect on life and take some memorable photos of our trip…
Our final two nights in Hogsback were at the Treehaven Retreat which was a step up in luxury compared to our glamping experience in the Teepees.
The unit comes fully equipped with; a Braai facility, and an indoor fireplace and features a wood-burning-style hot tub. The attention to detail from the owner was superb! They even made the effort to set up all of the fire-lighting areas with pre-stacked wood and fire lighters. A great place to unwind and relax before heading back home.
Packing for our drive back home, I reflected on how good the Takla products were at keeping the inside of our vehicle protected when fully loaded. It really is quality stuff and makes a massive difference over the standard trim.
Do yourself a favour and go and check out their range of interior protection products, they make for most bakkies and SUVs, a quality product that is proudly South African – www.takla.co.za
As we were driving out of town, a very excited Jimny owner pulled us over and asked if he could take a photo of our two vehicles together.
This is what makes ownership of a Jimny unique as there is an instant camaraderie between Jimny drivers that is different to owning any other vehicle. Both myself and Cathryn had big smiles on our faces as we drove out of Hogsback, what a memorable experience it was..!
Our drive up to Bloemfontein was pretty much uneventful, apart from almost losing my drone as we were taking footage on the long gravel road that leads up north from Hogsback. I lost the signal and the drone decided it was going to land back where it took off. We turned around and headed back in search of it and then the signal came back and we could see it being carried by a lady who was walking to her white bakkie. We then saw the bakkie ahead and flagged them down, luckily it wasn’t crashed or stolen.
Our final night stopover was at the Blue Rain Guest House just on the outskirts of Bloemfontein. This was a very pleasant surprise; it had very clean and comfy rooms, yummy breakfast (which was included), excellent service and it was by far the cheapest of all the places that we’d stayed at…score! If you’re looking for a stopover in this area I would highly recommend this place. Oh, and our room had a visitor just outside, a small baby bat that was sleeping on a plant—it was very cute!
Driving back to the Big Smoke after our 10-day road trip, reflecting on what was an epic adventure! Our hearts were full and we were ready now for getting back home.
We both really enjoyed our trip in the Suzuki 5-door Jimny. Sure, highway travel is limited to a chilled cruising speed, but the places it can take you and the adventures you can have, with a cool factor, versatility and value for money (which is unmatched for a 4×4). To be honest with you, if I had the choice between driving a normal boring SUV or a 5-door Jimny, I would choose the Jimny every time!
As for the General Tire Grabber AT3s, for over two and a half years we have put our faith in General Tire’s rubber on our 4x4s, specifically the General Grabber AT3s. My previous Jimny 3-door had them fitted and they took us far and wide.
The biggest compliment I can pay them is that apart from adjusting tyre pressures for the terrain we traversed, we didn’t have to consider them at all. They got us through deep water, sand and over rocks without fuss or bother. On the tar, they gave good feel through bends and on the brakes. All this was without howling about their performance which is tiresome on long journeys. Truly a tyre for all seasons.
