LANDROVING IN KZN

April 2006

Slightly out of balance modified Front prop-shaft from Graeme Poulson’s Series 111 V8, modified at High Stakes.

There must be a way around this tuft of grass  !!!!

WELCOME TO THE FOLLOWING NEW MEMBERS 

Remember it’s your club and you will get out of it what you want to. You have purchased THE BEST 4 x 4 x FAR and now its time to use it. See you at the next club event. 

Helmut and Angela Bogner                 New Germany             Defender 110

Ant and Debbie Kenny                       Waterfall                     Defender

Craig and Maria Walker                      Winterton                   Defender 110

Patric and Judith Hyland                     Hillcrest                     Defender 90 TDi

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

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 

Hi George 

Here are some of the better pics I could find from the guys here who had cameras. It’s quite difficult to get accurate images without special filters and zoom lenses. I suppose modern digi cameras do have their limits. We were given special solar shield glasses to see the sun with and the cameras didn't compensate for the very dark images.   The most amazing things about the eclipse:-
it never felt any cooler even though the sun was blacked out completely.
It remained as light as a normal sunny day right up until only a very tiny crescent of sun was exposed, then it got quite dark very quickly over about 3 or 4 minutes. Quite eerie. The horizon all around glowed the same way as at sunset or sunrise. The darkest period lasted about 2,3 minutes. About 10 minutes after the total eclipse it didn't look or seem any different to a normal bright sunny day. During the few minutes of total coverage, there was the most amazing solar rays and like corona visible- very bright white ring of light around the moon. However this was only visible to the naked eye, the sky was pitch black when viewed through the solar glasses. IMG 3653 shows it.
Most people on the street seemed completely unaware of the event until the few minutes of darkness. Apparently the area on earth from which a total eclipse is visible is extremely small, so for one once it seems I was in the right place at the right time. It was an amazing sensation to watch.

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

PARTICIPATION IN NOW

 Dear fellow AAWDCSA Members

In my previous communication, I explained that the AAWDCSA is formally represented on the NOW (National Off road Workgroup).  We are there to represent the 4x4 Member Clubs on future legislation that could impact on our industry, our interests and our use of the outdoors.

Running parallel to that formal structure is a public representative structure working through a discussion forum on the NOW website (http://now.org.za).  The objective of this discussion forum is to invite public debate on objectives and issues that were raised during the workshop in October 2005.  The public debate forum was one of the conditions the government has set for NOW, to accept it as a representative body for all involved in the off-road industry.

You are invited to participate in this discussion forum by going to the NOW website and to follow the FORUM link.  Please remember that this discussion forum is to get your views on the topics that are listed and not to get negative or personal in any way.  We need your positive contribution!!

If you need more information, you are welcome to contact me.

Best regards

Jakob Jordaan
Vice Chairman: AAWDCSA
NOW: AAWDCSA Representative.
082 808 1422
jakob@global.co.za

RESPONSE FROM THE MINISTER OF  ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND TOURISM

Dear fellow AAWDCSA Member

The Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism gave an ultimatum to the off-road industry a year ago to: “…get their house in order…” and, “… if concrete proposals are not forthcoming from the industry as to how this will be done in order to curb the negative impact of their activities on the environment within the next six months, government will have to issue these unilaterally although this would not be our first choice…”.

The consequence of not complying with this ultimatum is the possibility of a mountain ban, similarly to the previous beach ban.

Excellent news is that the Minister has accepted the outcome of the off-road community’s effort in October last year and below his reply and confirmation.  Even though he signed the letter in February, we have only received it in the latter part of March 2006.

 In summary, the letter confirms that the Minister:

• Is convinced that we have got our house in order and he is happy with the diverse and practical proposals that we have made towards self-regulation and to better environmental performance of the industry.
• Will consider to once-off fund a strategy of action plans and an associated budget to implement a project plan to achieve the objectives of NOW.
• Will use his Department to identify areas deemed to be sensitive to potential impacts caused by off-road activities.

The next step in the NOW process is a planned strategy session between NOW and his department towards implementing the objectives.  We hope to give you feedback on this strategy session before the end of May.

In the meantime, you are welcome to follow the open debate and progress on the forum section of the NOW website. (http://now.org.za)

Attached a copy of the letter from the Minister.

Jakob Jordaan
Vice Chairperson: AAWDCSA
NOW: AAWDCSA Representative.
082 808 1422
jakob@global.co.za

 (Transcription of letter to Mr Johann Marais, as received on 10 March 2006)

MINISTRY: ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND TOURISM

REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA

13 February 2006

Ref. 03/2/4

Dear Mr Marais

PROGRESS TOWARDS SELF-REGULATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATED WITH RECREATIONAL OFF-ROAD DRIVING

The conference of the National 0ff-Road Workshop held in October 2005 and your subsequent meeting with Ms Lize McCourt (nee Bothma) of my Department on 9 December 2005 have reference.

Firstly, allow me to congratulate you on your nomination as convener of the National Off-Road Working Group tasked with taking the outcomes of the NOW conference held in October forward.  I have been briefed on the conference and outcomes thereof and am pleased not only with the evident commitment of the industry to get it’s house in order, but also with the diverse and practical proposals made towards self-regulation and the resultant better environmental performance of the industry.  It is indeed encouraging that the challenge set to the industry in my well-quoted speech delivered to the National Council of Provinces on 14 April 2005 was met with such enthusiasm.

From the reports received it is evident that the Industry is getting organized towards self-regulation and I believe that good progress has been made in this regard to date.  It is however important that the impetus gained is maintained and that the good work that commenced through the conference now translate into concrete actions and ultimately culminate into the development and adoption of a self-regulation strategy; the promulgation or publication of enabling legislation or regulations (should it be proven necessary and an agreement between the industry and government toward implementation of the envisaged self-regulation mechanisms.

It is my understanding that specific activities and actions have been identified, responsibilities assigned and time frames set in order to ultimately reach the three targets eluded to above.  Based on an overview of the nature and extent of tasks to be performed and activities to be performed to reach the goals set, I share the Department’s view that this would require dedicated effort and expertise in various fields, including but not limited to legal and environmental management expertise.  I accordingly advise that a service provider-team be appointed by the NOW to manage the project conduct the required research, coordinate the inputs from the different sub-committees and compile the deliverables referred to above.  It is my view that without this expert assistance the NOW will not be able to meet the targets set.  Failure to meet the timeframes communicated to me, namely to have all the mechanisms in place for effective and efficient self-regulation by October 2007, will unfortunately result in government intervention in the regulation of the activities of the industry.  Delivery against the set targets will accordingly be monitored closely by my Department.

It is further my understanding that the ability of the NOW to deliver against the targets set might be hampered by lack of adequate resources to procure the assistance required.  In this regard, the Department will consider a request for once-off financial assistance provided that detailed project plans and cost estimates are submitted.  Such a submission must indicate all the expenses associated with the project as well as funds obtained through efforts of the Working Group and its members.  It should be noted that financial assistance will only be considered for the appointment of service providers employed to do work directly related to the three main deliverables as indicated above.  Once a request for assistance has been received and considered, the Department will liaise with you to make the necessary arrangements and to agree on the terms and conditions associated with such assistance if any.

Finally I would like to inform you that work by the Department to identify areas deemed to be sensitive to potential impacts caused by off-road activities is due to commenced shortly.  It is imperative that there be close coordination around this work and the work to be done by the NOW as integration of the two pieces of work would ultimately be required.  The Department will keep you up to date in this regard.

In closing, I wish to ensure you of my Department’s continued assistance and support with the work you are doing.  Please feel free to contact Ms Lize McCourt at 012 310 3972 should you require clarity or further information on any issue contained herein.

Kind regards

MARTHINUS VAN SCHALKWYK, MP
MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND TOURISM

LAND ROVER G4 CHALLENGE   Clearing the Un-exploded

Due to the 1960's and 1970's conflicts, Laos became the most heavily bombed nation on earth, witnessing over 580,000 bombing missions. Over thirty years later, the government's 10 year target is to clear unexploded ordnance from 18,000 hectares of land. A vast mission for one of the least developed countries in the world.
 
During the years of conflict, entire towns were left in ruin, including Mahaxai - a small town 400 km south of Vientiane, inland from the Mekong River.  

"The bombing got so bad that people stopped living in the town," one village elder recounts.  "We went to live in the caves in the mountains nearby. There were maybe 40 families in there.  The only time we would come out was at night, and only when the moon was full, to tend to our fields. Even that was not safe.  Bombs were everywhere." 

A haunting blackened skeleton of a once grand house is a reminder of how the whole village looked after almost a decade of destruction at the end of the 1970's. Its concrete ribs are buckled and twisted.  Craters scar the land all around.

Thirteen year old schoolboy Khoun Souk and his mates are sat in one crater, about six feet across, on the edge of their village school football pitch. Craters are good. They show where ordnance has exploded.

"There has been no reports of bombs appearing here but with time, they work their way to the surface and that's when they can go off," warns British munitions expert Paul Stanford whose Phoenix Clearance organisation have the risky job of sweeping and destroying UXO (UneXploded Ordnance) from the playing field.  "By the time we are finished here, the football pitch will look like a scene out of the Somme. But at least then the kids, and their families, will know that the area is clear."

Stanford's team from Phoenix Clearance is doing the job in Mahaxai as a part of an extensive clearance programme supported by the Land Rover G4 Challenge.  Most of the clearance work Phoenix has been doing on behalf of Land Rover has not only been in towns but also at the dozens of remote areas in Laos, where the event will be staged in April and May.

For the first two weeks of the Land Rover G4 Challenge, 18 competitors from across the globe will travel extensively in Laos by Land Rover, kayak, mountain bike and on foot.  On route they will compete against
the clock and against each other in a series of adventure sports and off-road driving.  Laos' stunning natural landscape of Limestone Mountains, thick jungle and the mighty Mekong River provide a spectacular setting for the Challenge and the remote simple villages provide a unique cultural experience.

Through this lush landscape and around villages and rice paddies, the Phoenix team have spent months exhaustively checking and where necessary, clearing the campsites and competition venues. The cleared
areas have now been marked as safe, contributing to the government's target.  Finally, when the Land Rover G4 Challenge competitors and support personnel arrive in Laos on the 24th of April, Stanford and his Lao team will provide a final safety briefing on UXO etiquette and precautions. 

"We can't have competitors just wandering about the place, and certainly not digging holes," says Stanford. "You don't put a shovel in the ground anywhere in Laos unless you know it is safe to do so.  Lighting fires is
another no-no.   There are many stories of Lao setting off bombs with a campfire. But this is not like Cambodia where mines are the biggest problem. You can drive over the bombs in Laos and not set them off."

The clearance of the school playing field is a thank you to the town, which will host the Land Rover G4 Challenge for a day. Without Land Rover's input, the playing field is just one of the areas that would
remain un-cleared and each day would remain uncertain for the kids and their parents.

Sappers scan the field methodically with giant blue metal detectors. With each beep the team mark the ground with a wooden stake, before making a closer inspection with a more penetrating detector.

During the playing field clearance operation the deep ground detector emits a range of shrieks and whines. An experienced operator can tell by the sound, not only how big an object might be, but also its shape too.
A Laotian sapper is on his knees, long-handled trowel in one hand, clawing at the sun-baked earth. 

In the distance, a cockerel and a chain saw compete noisily.  But it is silence that envelopes the football field.  After about five minutes, the soldier raises his hand.   The uninitiated don't know whether to dive to the ground or breathe a sigh of relief. But Stanford's purposeful walk towards the pitch indicates all is well.

"It is just a piece of junk metal," he declares. "But it might not have been a piece of junk.  We'll keep clearing until we are sure that it is only junk and not bombs below this football pitch."

Lesley Sutton
Media Affairs
Land Rover and Jaguar Cars South Africa
E-Mail: lsutton5@ford.com

Last Modified : 06/04/2006 03:51