LANDROVING IN KZN

July 2006

St Bernards Peak weekend. 

Lovely venue to use as a base. If its too cold around the fire then the Pub has a cosy fire going. 13 Land Rovers made the trip. Friday was a do what you want day, with some going for a walk, others doing very little, and Bob Lemon, Gary Clinton and Ryan Goswell finding a play area below the Dam wall to stretch the Landy’s springs.

 Saturday had the group taking a drive along back roads up into Lesotho via Ramatseliso  Border Post. A good view point on the top of a ridge was found for a lunch braai. Very little snow around with the only snow visible on the top of distance peaks.

The hotel has a few horses and a few decided that a horse ride was just the thing to end the weekend. All available horses (8) were booked by the Landy members for a 09h30 Sunday ride. For some the ride was a first in many years or a first time on a horse. A short easy one and a half ride was all that was required to stretch those muscles you only use on a horse. An excellent and very reasonable venue for a weekend break away.

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

EAGLE VIEW CARAVAN PARK - HARBURG KZN   August 2006

Camping Fee       Adults R40.00 pp/day,   Pensioners    R35.00 pp/day,   Children u/12   R25.00 pp/day

DIRECTIONS:  from Pietermaritzburg  Take the R33 to Greytown.   Travel +- 15km then turn right onto the R614 to Wartburg.  Go through Wartburg and take first right turn outside Wartburg to Bruyns Hill and Harburg.  Pass Bruyns Hill Store and carry on until you reach a T-junction.  Turn right to Harburg and travel +- 8km until you see a caravan and camping sign on your right (just after the Shell garage).  Turn right onto this dirt road and follow the signs to the camping site (1.8km from tar road).  

GENERAL INFORMATION.   There is electricity available for campers (caravan electrical sockets are needed).  Ablution facilities include hot showers, wheelchair facilities and a scullery.  Trees are still small so extra umbrellas would come in handy for hot days!.  There is a small dam on site as well as the Mqeku river and waterfall where the adventurous may swim (at their own risk !!!!!).  Bird watching, cycling, hiking, bass fishing, tennis (3km from the park) and golf (15km, Noodsberg CC) are the main activities available.  There is a small tea room at the Shell garage 2km away - open from 07h00 - 19h00 every day).

Contact Gary 0721186599 for more info.

For what it's worth the 3 Botswana Land Rover Dealership contact details :

Land Rover Maun :                  09267-686-1694             After Hours : Bruce Watson : 09267-7230-4896
Land Rover Francistown :        09267-241-6601             After Hours : Edson : 09267-7211-4490 or
                                                                                                    Pitso : 09267-7211-4491
Land Rover Gabarone :           09267-391-2741             After Hours : Charles : 09267-7224-6383 or
                                                                                                Camera : 09267-7211-4406

DISCOVERY 3 HONOURS CONTINUE

Gaydon, Warwickshire, 21 June 2006 - The Land Rover Discovery 3 has scooped an Auto Express New Car Honour - in the 4x4 Off-Roader category - for the second year running, beating off tougher competition than
ever.

To claim the 2006 New Car Honour, the Discovery 3 defeated stiff opposition from the Audi Q7 and Volvo XC90. With a highly acclaimed TDV6 2.7 litre diesel engine, spacious seven-seat layout and plentiful storage, the Discovery 3 is an agile and practical offering on-road whilst off-road technology such as Terrain Response(tm), Hill Descent Control and Electronic Traction Control makes it unbeatable off-road too.

Auto Express editor-in-chief, David Johns commented: "Whether towing, mountain climbing, family carrying or simply taking the sting out of the daily commute, Land Rover's Discovery never fails to impress us.
Champion for the second year in a row, the big Brit has an unmatched range of abilities that sets it apart from every other car in the class."

John Edwards, managing director, Land Rover UK added: "It's fantastic that the Discovery 3 has proved yet again its versatility and staying-power in an increasingly competitive sector, with this, its 77^th award off experts from around the world."

Technical Tip  -   How can I check the glow plugs of my Defender TDi ?   It really battles to start in the cold. Previously no problem even in sub zero temps.

Firstly, is the glow plug timer relay working? You should hear a click after about 15 to 20 seconds after turning the ignition on. If that works then you will need to take the glow plugs out and check their resistance. If no ohms then open circuit,  throw it away. If resistance over 1 ohm then too high and will not get hot enough, throw away. You can also check by taking plug out, reconnect wire and touch on earth and switch ignition on, can then check the tip glow and just when the red glow starts spreading up the plug the timer should switch off.

Be careful, a lot of current and very hot.
If buying new ones, replace with Beru, don’t waste your money with County plugs.

Big rock, small rock, all the same, I am going to park up here as well.

White Mountain Folk Festival to debut in September

C-Weed Entertainment Promotions is pleased to announce that it has joined forces with White Mountain Lodge to bring you the White Mountain Folk Festival, which takes place over the Heritage Day long weekend from 22 to 25 September 2006 in the scenic Central Drakensberg region of KwaZulu-Natal.

On offer is a three-day programme of live acoustic/folk music by top and emerging South African artists, as well as a choice of camping, caravanning and country lodge accommodation.  Added attractions include a variety of outdoor adventure activities like abseiling and river rafting, a craft market, assorted food and beverage outlets, children’s entertainment and, of course, the breathtakingly beautiful natural scenery of the area.

The festival will be held on the grounds of White Mountain Lodge, which is situated in a tranquil valley in the foothills of the Giant's Castle Nature Reserve only 34 km from Estcourt on tarred roads and approximately 400 km from Johannesburg and 200 km from Durban.

A bonus for festival-goers is that they don’t have to ‘rough it’ but can instead choose to stay in the lodge’s affordable, fully equipped and serviced chalets on either a self-catering or dinner, bed and breakfast basis.  Alternatively, outdoor enthusiasts have the option of staying in an established caravan park with electrified sites and access to all of the lodge’s amenities, or in the free, self-contained festival camping ground.

“This is a unique concept in KwaZulu-Natal and festival-goers can look forward to a weekend of great music in an awesome setting, plus wider access to amenities and accommodation options and lots of fun outdoor activities,” says Pedro Carlo of C-Weed Entertainment Promotions, who also manages the very successful annual Splashy Fen Music Festival.

He adds that a number of really exciting artists have already expressed interest in performing at the White Mountain Folk Festival, which bodes well for a great debut event.  The line-up is currently being finalised and will be announced shortly.

Buy early and save! 

Tickets for the White Mountain Folk Festival (including free access to the festival camping ground) go on sale at Shoprite Checkers outlets around the country on 1 June 2006.  For one month only, ‘early bird’ tickets will be priced at R250 whereafter advance tickets will cost R300, which is a big saving on the gate price of R350.  Tickets for children under 12 years of age cost R50. 

For more information on White Mountain Lodge’s all-inclusive chalet/caravan park packages, call 0861 MOUNTAIN.  For general enquiries, contact Pedro at 082 892 6176 or e-mail c-weed@iafrica.com.

The Latest Santana PS10 Pick Up.

The History.

Spanish company Metalurgica de Santa Ana ( renamed Santana Motor SA ) started assembling Land Rovers shipped out in kit form from Solihull, over 50 years ago under a contract with land Rover. Over the years things changed and the local content percentage of locally manufactured parts increased. In 1985 Land Rover sold its shares in Santana to Suzuki. Santana continued to make a “Spanish” Land Rover with no links to Land Rover until 1992. With a break of  7 years until 1999 during which time Santana focused on building its version of the Suzuki SJ410. From 2000 Santana has been producing an updated version of its early “Land Rover” called the PS10, which is displayed above.

LRO magazine in the UK recently compared the Santana PS10, the new Defender and the old Series 111. The Series 111 being 30 odd years old was not disgraced but was in the wrong company. The Santana scored good points for the cab layout, which was more spacious and the seats more comfortable. In the rough the Defender and the Santana proved to be almost equal with the Traction Control giving the Defender the edge.

Which one would you buy ??

Last Modified : 16/07/2006 12:13