TRAIL GRADING All our events from now on will have a Trail Grading according to the 5 grades below. 

1.        Complete novice soft dirt road trail, no low range required. Suitable for all Land Rovers including the Freelander.

2.       Limited low range required but suitable for the novice driver. Suitable for all Land Rovers with certain trails not suitable for the Freelander.

3.       Low range and limited off road knowledge required. Suitable for all Land Rovers except the Freelander.

4.       A low range technical trail suitable for the experienced. The inexperienced will be able to do the trail, as assistance will be available from the more experienced members. Suitable for all Land Rovers except the Freelander.

5.       Extremely technical, suitable for the experienced only with the possibility of vehicle damage. Only suitable for "Series" Land Rovers.  Ha Ha

4x4 Track at High Stakes Cato Ridge. 

Directions : Take the Cato Ridge turn off from Durban and keep left at the stop. Proceed for about 1km and take the Killarney/ 4x4 High Stakes turn off to the right. Follow the dirt road for about 1km and turn right at the High Stakes sign.

Cost. R50.00 entry fee at the gate. R20.00 of the entry fee is redeemable in the bar or on take away food.

Braai fires will be provided. Either purchase a braai pack at High Stakes or bring your own. Full bar and catering provided at High Stakes.

Time 10h00 at High Stakes or arrive when ever. If you arrive after 10h00 proceed down the hill and look for the Land Rovers at the bottom.

A sign outside a local store. If interested I can supply the address !!!!!

Howsit George,

Ja, as for the weather… its 4x4 season full on here.

Friday saw the heaviest snowfall here in Atyrau in about 12 yrs. It basically fell for about 15 hours, and now the whole place has about 6-8” ; the drifts are 3ft in places.

Since its still not so modern here, the pavements and roads aren’t swept, so cars make their own tracks through the snow- the roads in town now look similar to Botswana - 2 sets of middle mannetjies. And pedestrians pick their way through over around whatever. Temps are alright at the moment hovering around -5 to +1.

Two weeks ago it was about -15 daytime and -20 at night. The strong wind really is the worst bit.(major wind chill factor).

Most of the local operations of international companies’ use Land cruisers, our office got a Pajero-

I have seen only one LR here, an old Disco Tdi that clatters and smokes like !!$%.

One also sees 4x4 versions of many vehicles we wouldn’t. E.g. Mitsubishi Delica (mini-bus I think we call a Space Wagon); VW Jumbo Golf 4x4 (yes), Kia and Toyota 4x4 minivans, quite a lot of newer Gelandewagens, of course there are tons of  Nivas all over, in all sorts of guises, pick-up, double cab, shorty, etc. and kitted out with mags, lights spoilers, and so on, and some old type of Russian panelvan which I would equate to the old 70’s style of Kombi, but its 4wd and tough as nails.

Its quite common to see Nivas driving up and down the middle of the Ural river which passes through the city and which freezes to about 18 inches thick.           

Due to the oil money, it’s also becoming more likely to spot individuals owning Porsche Cayennes, Nissan Muranos, and the bigger Audi Quattro’s. The Cruiser is king however, there are hundreds of them around. Of course Toyota is the only dealership in town and always displays a huge stock on their forecourt.

Percentage wise there are only about 0,1% bakkies around.

Interestingly, they have only had vehicle finance here for about a year now. Not too bad however considering they didn’t know what an ATM was in 2000.

Sorry I was only going to tell you its bloody cold and I miss the green hills around Pinetown, …

Enjoy the weekend.

Perhaps I should take some pics of these strange vehicles and share them in an article for you.

For what its worth, you might want to recite this email text at the AGM, just to send a shiver up the spine of the lucky Landy owners in paradise.

Cheers for now,

Dave Burrows 
Lead Instrument Engineer
KBR Production Services
Zheleznodrozhanaya 8a, 060002, Atyrau
Republic of Kazakhstan

 Working hard in extreme conditions, Defender is the first choice globally for farmers, explorers, rescue services and defence forces. In the most appalling conditions, Defender pulls the heaviest loads, rides impossible terrain - always powerful, tough and totally reliable. Whatever the task - Defender is up to it. There's a choice of three wheelbases, five body types and eight seating arrangements. You choose the configuration to match your demands, specifying the vehicle to keep you in control. Whatever your requirements, nothing gets in the way of a Defender. Riding high in the command driving position allows you to see the lie of the land and anticipate hazards.

No other 4x4 has the capability of a Defender. The choice of body sizes and seating arrangements offers the flexibility to match your precise needs, whether you're carrying people, cable, livestock or produce. Only the Defender has the versatility and tough functionality to cope.

When you consider that at least three-quarters of the Land Rovers ever sold are still working, you'll realise just how dependable the Defender is.

All around the world, professionals know that, when tackling the worst conditions, the toughest terrain and the most dangerous tasks, they can depend on Defender to get the job done. Its heroic capability is second to none.

A whole range of factors will determine how you want your Defender to look, and what you want it to do, including the conditions you work in and personal taste. To tailor your Defender exactly to your needs, a comprehensive range of stylish but robust accessories is available.

From light guards to steps and side runners, from snow chains to winches, from extra storage units to a complete security system, the Defender range of accessories is as tough, good-looking and reliable as Defender itself. Whatever you demand from your Defender, the accessories are available to make it a reality.

Land Rover vehicles get into unpredictable situations - that's what they're built for. The sheer power and capability of the Defender takes on the most hostile conditions on the planet, allowing you to drive with safety and confidence. No other 4x4 is tougher, more agile, or more dependable.

Not for long as the Defender is to be replaced with something that will sell in the USA. What it will look like, how it will perform and how it will be received by the Defender hard core is something we will have to wait for. Until then there is no other vehicle like the Defender in the world.

 1965.Reinforcements amongst whom was yours truly, had just arrived after a gruelling flight from Stanleyville. Still clear in my memory amongst other incidents, is when the pilot stated that he was diverting to Paulus (paved runway) as Faradje airfield (unpaved) was too muddy and since you don't get 4x4 D.C.3's we didn't have a problem with that. He then further announced that on 2nd thoughts he didn't have fuel so we would have to chance Faradje!!  As he began his L/A, we noticed a wrecked D.C.3 lying next to the runway!!

Much to my delight we landed safe and sound, and to this day I don’t know if that crazy American pilot was just kidding or was DEADLY serious.

Once on the ground we were allocated transport to take us to Abba (H.Q.town)  My transport was a M.U.T.T. a Ford 4x4 C.J.type vehicle, no chassis, very dangerous!!  Which I shared with ammo boxes, rations e.t.c so I had to sit on the tailgate facing backwards leaning on the boxes. Lucky for me!! Because unbelievably the Mutt crashed, I was fine because of the way I was sitting but the two guys in front were badly hurt ,in fact I heard the passenger later died, sad, all because somebody ''forgot'' that it was left-hand drive. I was very thankful that I had survived both the hectic flight and the even more hectic land trip!!

In Abba they had two armoured Land Rovers, one was U.S as it had been shot up and the chassis was cracked so it was going to be used as spares for the remaining one. Apparently them and others were flown in with the Ghurka's (U.N.forces) to Katanga in 1961 who then donated them to the A.N.C. (Arme'e Nationale du Congolaise)

Even L/R's couldn't withstand those roads with all that armour, as they were originally designed to carry driver, twin M.G.operator in passenger seat and single M.G.operator behind facing backwards. I didn't know much about L/R's then (still don't) but it must have been an early series one and with all that armour and 900x16 tyres it wasn't very fast!!

Our mechanics did away with the back M.G. operator and all the back armour, which didn't make me very happy as I was subsequently ''volunteered'' to be the crew.

That was the 1st L/Rover that I had a fairly lengthy ''relationship'' with and I had various drivers who all had one thing in common, they were all ordered to put the back into cover and then bale and none listened!

The old Landy used to give lot of trouble and was eventually abandoned in Uganda, but that's another

  war story and I'm supposed to stick to L/R stories.

I was once told that the prototypes were submitted to the British S.A.S. but were not approved.

Sometimes  I think of my 1st L/R mouldering away in the jungle but I can’t say I miss those days, too stressful!!

Reminder        Reminder       Reminder

The LROC KZN year runs from January to December, which means that your subscription for the year 2006 is now due. Subs are R120.00 per member per annum. If you have not yet  received a notice of Subscription Renewal please contact the  Membership Secretary, Henry Cochrane. If you have not paid your subs please do so by mailing your payment to the following address:

Membership Secretary
LROC KZN
P.O.Box 70650
Overport 4067 

The jack is a heavy sob and is difficult to stow. It must be easily available and mounting it on the roof rack defeats the objective of keeping the load low. With this in mind I thought it best to mount it so that the vehicle chassis would take the weight. I first got the idea from Jimmy a couple of years ago and adapted it for my 90.

Picture 1 shows the bottom mounting which is made from a piece of 65x65 angle iron which is bolted to the chassis using existing holes in the rear cross member. The spigots are from 16mm round bar and pick up the holes in the base of the jack. 8mm bolts secure the spigots to the angle base plate. 

Picture 2 shows the top mounting. This is made from a piece 40x5 flat bar secured to the 90 by the same bolt that holds the spare wheel swing out bracket and a 8mm bolt that picks up the outer rivet hole. The jack is secured by 12mm bolt which is attached to the flat bar. The bodywork is strengthened on the inside by a piece of 50x50x3 aluminium angle. Also shown in the picture is the antenna mount for the HF SSB Amateur Radio transceiver. Very useful for keeping in touch with the home front while you are having fun in Bots or some other remote destination. 

Picture 3 shows the jack located on the lower mounting a piece of neoprene between the base of the jack and mounting bracket avoids metal-to-metal contact. The holes in the base have been enlarged to 16mm.

Picture 4 shows the jack secured by the top bracket. Rubber loaded polyethylene bushes hold the shaft of the jack in position. To align the top mount with a hole in the shaft of the jack a thin slice can be shaved off the bottom off the shaft where it enters the base of the jack. Using an off cut machine beats the hell out of doing it with a hacksaw. A threaded handle holds the jack in position.

Picture 5 shows the jack in position with a spade lashed to it. The handle and spade can be locked with a short length of chain and a padlock if you are parked at a shopping mall or some other scaly place.

Last Modified : 31/03/2006 19:03