Kroonland 4x4
Posted: Mon May 24, 2010 9:07 am
On Sunday we did the Kroonland 4x4 trail on the Kaaimansgat farm. This is about 7 km outside of Villiersdorp. YET, the turn off to this is only about 1 kilometer outside of Villiersdorp in the direction of Worcestor.
It was a most "interesting" day ...
We headed out Sunday morning without any specific plans. Finally found a spot for breakfast, wanting to support a new venue turned into a saga to find one ... After a lovely breakfast we headed over the Franschoek pass, in the direction of Villiersdorp.
Having heard of this trail before I headed towards Kaaimansgat - without having contacted the owners beforehand .....
After waiting almost an hour for the owners, we were aided by some of the farm workers. Having paid and signed the indemnity form we took our map and headed into the trail.
It started of as a perfectly graded gravel road, hardly worthy of a "1" rating. Idling along this perfect road we had time to enjoy the view over the valley. The map had numbers at each junction, and the junctions were clearly numbered as well. This made navigation an absolute breeze.
Then a slight climb.... A little bit of erosion on the side ..... Just enough that you needed to start paying attention to the road. Yet hardly worthy of a 4x4, just yet ...... And as we climbed the view of the valley just kept on getting better.
And then it was time to make "a litlle turn" at the end of the dam and then climb upwards. It looked "strange enough" that I stopped and walked the obstacle first, the first of many such stops for the day. As it turns out this one was not bad, as long as you got the line right. Rock on the inside to take note of and more erosion ditches on the other side to catch the unweary .... After this turn the climb got markedly steeper - correct tire pressures, low range a requirement, and diff lock recommended to prevent wheel spin and damage to the trail. Not much further the trail narrowed and the surface changed to slightly larger rocks. Again no reason the sweat, just enough that you now neede to pay attention to the trail.
On the way to the Uitkykpunt we somehow missed one turnoff ... We found our way again and kept on climbing untill we finally reached the Uitkykpunt. It is one of those experiences that a camera will never be able to truly capture.
Going down from the Uitkykpunt, was a nice steep incline. The first of many ...
Due to our late start we now headed straight to the camp site for lunch. Missing out on most of the trail. We WILL be visiting the camp site again ! Next time to overnight. Strange how a hotdog can be better than a Sunday roast ....
So now it was time to do the bits we missed ..... DONT attempt this with a "low rider SUV" !! If I went there with the standard Hilux bumper it would most probably have come back in tatters .... In fact if Uys's bash plate was on it would have have some scratches on it ..... And yet, strangely it never felt like we were pushing the Hilux beyond its limits. Some of those climbs were STEEP. 1st gear Low range and she just idled away. Not once did she break traction and spin away - this with HT tires down to 1,6 bar. I am VERY happy with my Hilux !!!!!!
O-yes, on four occasions we had to do some "trail clearance". Even this was a breeze on a lovely day out on the trail. Pity we could not take pics on the rougherr bits - some of the areas just did not allow you to stop and get out ..... More than once I had to do as Andre says: "Get out and walk the trail, find the best line ....". More than one rock shows the scuff marks where vehicle owners underestimated the terrain ....
It was a most "interesting" day ...
We headed out Sunday morning without any specific plans. Finally found a spot for breakfast, wanting to support a new venue turned into a saga to find one ... After a lovely breakfast we headed over the Franschoek pass, in the direction of Villiersdorp.
Having heard of this trail before I headed towards Kaaimansgat - without having contacted the owners beforehand .....
After waiting almost an hour for the owners, we were aided by some of the farm workers. Having paid and signed the indemnity form we took our map and headed into the trail.
It started of as a perfectly graded gravel road, hardly worthy of a "1" rating. Idling along this perfect road we had time to enjoy the view over the valley. The map had numbers at each junction, and the junctions were clearly numbered as well. This made navigation an absolute breeze.
Then a slight climb.... A little bit of erosion on the side ..... Just enough that you needed to start paying attention to the road. Yet hardly worthy of a 4x4, just yet ...... And as we climbed the view of the valley just kept on getting better.
And then it was time to make "a litlle turn" at the end of the dam and then climb upwards. It looked "strange enough" that I stopped and walked the obstacle first, the first of many such stops for the day. As it turns out this one was not bad, as long as you got the line right. Rock on the inside to take note of and more erosion ditches on the other side to catch the unweary .... After this turn the climb got markedly steeper - correct tire pressures, low range a requirement, and diff lock recommended to prevent wheel spin and damage to the trail. Not much further the trail narrowed and the surface changed to slightly larger rocks. Again no reason the sweat, just enough that you now neede to pay attention to the trail.
On the way to the Uitkykpunt we somehow missed one turnoff ... We found our way again and kept on climbing untill we finally reached the Uitkykpunt. It is one of those experiences that a camera will never be able to truly capture.
Going down from the Uitkykpunt, was a nice steep incline. The first of many ...
Due to our late start we now headed straight to the camp site for lunch. Missing out on most of the trail. We WILL be visiting the camp site again ! Next time to overnight. Strange how a hotdog can be better than a Sunday roast ....
So now it was time to do the bits we missed ..... DONT attempt this with a "low rider SUV" !! If I went there with the standard Hilux bumper it would most probably have come back in tatters .... In fact if Uys's bash plate was on it would have have some scratches on it ..... And yet, strangely it never felt like we were pushing the Hilux beyond its limits. Some of those climbs were STEEP. 1st gear Low range and she just idled away. Not once did she break traction and spin away - this with HT tires down to 1,6 bar. I am VERY happy with my Hilux !!!!!!
O-yes, on four occasions we had to do some "trail clearance". Even this was a breeze on a lovely day out on the trail. Pity we could not take pics on the rougherr bits - some of the areas just did not allow you to stop and get out ..... More than once I had to do as Andre says: "Get out and walk the trail, find the best line ....". More than one rock shows the scuff marks where vehicle owners underestimated the terrain ....
