The African bush elephant is the world’s largest land animal, with an average weight of 6000kg – yes, that’s six tonnes; and just to note, the heaviest ever recorded was estimated at between 10 and 12 tonnes – and I am watching two huge male specimens wrestle each other not more than 20 metres away from the open-top safari vehicle I am sitting in.
When Ford Australia invited me to South Africa’s Kapama Game Reserve to experience this wild country, and to see how its popular Ford Everest 4WD wagon performed in this rugged environment, ultra-close encounters of this kind probably didn’t come up in the pre-trip planning meetings. Which probably explains why me, some fellow journalists, and Ford Australia’s PR Manager, are sitting in captivated silence, mesmerised by this stunning display of oversized aggression. “Welcome to Africa”, indeed…
The art of overlanding
Australia and South Africa share a love of overland travel. In Oz, we refer to it mostly as ‘off-road touring’ and that term conjures up images of four-wheel drive (4WD) vehicles exploring the outback, our immense deserts, and the tropical wild lands, such as the NT’s Top End and Gulf, WA’s north-west Pilbara and Kimberley, and Queensland’s Cape York region.
For South Africans it is all about exploring that country’s immense national parks and wildlife reserves, as well as longer journeys further afield to other neighbouring countries, such as Namibia, Botswana or, if you’re very keen, the complete African Overland, from South Africa to the African continent’s northern countries, such as Jordan, Morocco and Egypt.
No matter which journey (or journeys) you choose to undertake (and whether in Oz, NZ or South Africa, a 4WD vehicle is an essential, be it a wagon or ute. So, it makes perfect sense for Ford to invite a bunch of adventure/automotive journalists to South Africa to showcase how its popular 4WD wagon – the Everest – performs in these environments.
And why South Africa? Well, the Everest (and its ute-sibling, the Ranger) is sold here, as well as New Zealand, Thailand and numerous other markets along with Australia, making this short off-road sojourn in South Africa, with its similar tracks and roads to Oz and NZ, the ideal place. And what a place it is.
Into the wild
There are few more exhilarating ways to arrive at a destination than in a small plane, and this statement proves accurate again for our group of Australian journos and Ford PR types, as we enjoy an hour-long flight from Pretoria’s fabulously named Wonderboom National Airport, to a small airstrip near Hoedspruit, in the Limpopo Province, which is also the location of Kapama Game Reserve, our luxurious ‘basecamp’ for the next two days.
The flight is dreamy, the landing is pretty wild; heavy crosswinds force our experienced bush pilot to drop steeply (and fast) down to near-ground level, causing the plane’s safety system to squawk a verbal warning of approaching terrain, while us media types sit in stunned silence. It is actually no cause for alarm (he says now, writing this a week later) but more a nod to the experience of our pilot who had the perfect work-around to avoid those aforementioned dodgy crosswinds, and bring the plane down safely on the airstrip. Still, it warrants a rueful laugh or two from our group and signals the start of our off-grid adventure.
Inside Kapama
Kapama Private Game Reserve is 15,000 hectares in size and has an estimated 2000km of tracks on which to drive and explore the park while, of course, keeping an eye out for its abundance of wildlife, including the famous Big Five: lions, leopards, elephants, rhino and buffalo. There are five lodges dotted around the reserve, with our accommodation for the next two nights being the River Lodge.
From the private airport to this lodge, we have a two-hour drive ahead. It’ll be a comfortable one, too, as Ford has supplied us with a convoy of Ford Everest wagons, ranging from the base-model XLT (similar, but not exactly the same, as the Oz-specific Trend) through to the luxury Platinum, with both engine options – the 2.0-litre bi-turbo four-cylinder diesel and the 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel – available for us to swap in and out of.
Our convoy is led by a Kapama safari vehicle up front and it moves off slowly; the speed limit in the park is a leisurely 30km/h, for a very obvious reason, and it is not more than a few minutes before the crackle of the hand-held radio in our vehicles signals this: the first wildlife has been spotted; a group of impalas is grazing off to the side of the track. A flurry of camera shutter clicks later, we move on, only to be stopped nearly immediately by the sight of one of this park’s resident tall timbers: a female giraffe, pulling at branches high in a tree.
It’s an amazing sight, seeing one of these majestic creatures in its natural environment; our metal machines are dwarfed by the height of this peaceful giant as it moves slowly away from us to sample more of its top-of-tree food supply. This convoy-stopper is followed by a few more over the next couple of hours, as we make our winding way to the River Lodge, with more impala, some greater kudu, zebra and giraffe being subjected to us gawking out Everest windows, before we come to our first showstopper.
This land of kings
That famous Elton John song about “the circle of life” is a slightly brutal reality as we stop to observe a recent lion-kill of a giraffe. Initially, it is difficult to see where the ‘king of the jungle’ is, with the carcass of the giraffe laying by itself in a slightly open area, with only yellow/rusty coloured grass and a few small mounds of dirt and fallen-down trees around it. Vultures circle above, and cling to branches of nearby trees, but there are no lions visible.
It is only thanks to my sharp-eyed co-driver (thanks, Noelle!) that I finally spot the lion; a young male sits quietly behind a fallen tree, hidden perfectly by its branches. Another great spot by Noelle makes me aware of another lion, exceptionally well camouflaged in long grass, nearby, with only its occasionally twitching ears giving away its location. Suddenly, those warnings about getting out of our vehicles ring loud in my ears. For our first day, and on such a short time-frame, to see one of the Big Five is awesome, and an uplifting way to end the drive to River Lodge.
The ultimate safari basecamp and one big climb
As mentioned earlier, River Lodge is one of five accommodation options in Kapama Private Game Reserve and it is, to put it bluntly, just bloody brilliant. The rooms are incredible, the restaurant proves both full of sumptuous food and comes with wildlife just outside the open doors, literally, and the staff are uber-friendly and helpful. Sitting down for a meal (at any time of day) means being regularly distracted by monkeys, impala and, in the lagoon below, even a family of hippopotamus – yes, really.
Our first night is taken up with a presentation by Ford about the Everest’s suitability to this type of adventure, followed by a sneak-peek at tomorrow’s big drive (more on that later) and the first of what pans out to be many sumptuous meals.
That ‘big drive’ is our full day in the Everest, exploring the region outside the game reserve itself, with the end-goal of climbing up to around 2000 metres in the Drakensburg Range, via some moderate to sometimes-challenging dirt tracks, before reaching the top of Mariepskop Pass, for what we hope is an all-encompassing view of the famous Blyde River Canyon, the world’s third-largest canyon.
The drive starts quite leisurely, with the on-road manners of the Everest making the first leg to the base of our climb both comfortable and effortless. We soon detour off-road on to some dirt tracks that are quite reminiscent of Australia’s many backroads, before we tackle a couple of short water-crossings, then start climbing more steeply. Our guides lead us through some quite challenging steep, rocky sections, where following their hand-signals and utilising the Everest’s off-road driving modes (primarily Mud/Ruts and the rear locking differential) we complete them with minimal fuss. These vehicles really are versatile; that combo of smooth, comfortable on-road performance, and the ability to negotiate some really tricky terrain off-road when called upon to do so, ram home why the Everest is such a popular 4WD wagon choice for adventurous outdoor-loving families in Oz, as well as NZ and here in South Africa.
Into the clouds
It is about two-thirds of the way up we realise that our much-anticipated final view may not happen; the day had dawned overcast, and the low-lying cloud has not lifted from the top of the mountain as our drive has progressed. As we climb higher (back on bitumen) toward the top of Mariepskop Pass, the jungle vegetation gets richer and thicker, but the mist gets even heavier. It’s a moody environment we are driving through, but still an incredible one, with views back down the valley highlighted by the dense forested valley walls. That dark moody vibe continues at our endpoint; high on the summit we are fully enclosed in heavy mist, with no view and not being able to even see the last vehicle in our parked convoy. Although not the vast view of Blyde River Canyon we hoped for, it’s still tinged with that wild feeling that encompasses this part of the world, and chilly with it; our Everest in-car temp reading sits at five degrees Celsius.
Our journey back down, and back through farmlands and past small communities, is straightforward, to the point that I start to feel like I am nearly back home in Australia, such are the similarities of road surfaces and driving. It’s only when I get back to my room at River Lodge that I am hit with a stark reminder of where I am. While unloading my camera gear, I look up and out my window to be confronted by the sight of a large giraffe ambling by. Yep, we sure ain’t in Kansas now, Toto…
The perfect end to one epic safari
It’s an early start on this final morning, but an incredibly exciting one. We are heading out in an open-top safari vehicle with two Kapama guides for around three hours, before we fly back to Pretoria. Jordan is our field guide/driver, while Marshall is the tracker, perched up high on the seat protruding from the front of the vehicle.
It’s only around five minutes before we encounter a few giraffes and impala, and then Jordan announces they’ve spotted some rhino tracks, and this lifts the anticipation significantly. Jordan reckons that, with overnight rain, this rhino has decided to either try and find a female or, more likely, is re-scenting his territory. What follows is an exciting hour of following rhino tracks as they wind through the park, veering off road occasionally, but mostly sticking to the clearer tracks. In the end, we do not find the rhino – and time is running out to see other wildlife – but the actual ‘chase’ itself was exciting in its own right.
More exciting, not too much further into our safari, is when we spot our first elephant, grazing in a riverbed, followed by two buffalo who emerge from that same riverbed near our vehicle. Jordan mentions that of all the wildlife in the park, he is most wary of the buffalo when driving, due to their cantankerous nature.
Following this (and a surprise crocodile viewing), we check out two female lions, chilling out in dense vegetation. Jordan mentions that both look to have eaten recently and are most likely conserving their energy before looking for more prey. A little later, we move toward a large lagoon and see a number of hippos peeking above the water’s surface. We then return to that giraffe lion-kill of two days before where we can see a huge flock of vultures gathering. These birds aren’t the prettiest, but their size – and the sheer number of them in one spot – is incredible to see as they bicker over the scraps left by lions and hyena, bouncing around over each other to nab choice morsels.
It’s hard to believe we’ve been driving for nearly three hours when the time comes to start making our way back. It is then – and yep, a case of brilliant timing – that Marshall and Jordan spot two elephants a couple of ridges over. Five minutes later, we’re witnessing what must be one of nature’s true tests of power as the two bull elephants push and shove each other around, trying to show dominance, while we sit in our seats, muted by this display of strength just in front of us. If you wished for the perfect ending to a wildlife safari, this would be close to it, and it’s a hugely satisfied group that enjoys the last ride back to the River Lodge, stoked to have spotted close to all of the Big Five.
Amusingly, and showing how our group has – perhaps – become ‘veterans’ of wildlife safari viewing in just three days in Kapama, later that morning as we drive the Everests back to the airfield for our return flight to Pretoria, the sight of giraffes and impala grazing near our vehicles nearly feels like ‘just another day’.
However, I will put a heavy emphasis on that word, ‘nearly’; the opportunity to get to, and then explore one of the world’s truly wild places, whether in the comfort of our Everest, or in the fresh air of an open-top safari vehicle, is something that you will always want to do again, and again.
Adventure vehicle: On safari with the Ford Everest
The Ford Everest is a five- or seven-seat 4WD wagon first introduced to the Australian market in 2015. This ‘Next-Gen Everest’ (the model driven on this safari) was released in late 2022 and has built on the previous model’s well-earned reputation as a capable off-road wagon that is equally at home navigating urban environments and weekend trips away as it is carrying your family across the Simpson Desert.
The Everest is available in a number of model configurations: the base-spec Ambiente, the Trend, Sport, and top-tier Platinum. Ford also occasionally releases limited-edition models, with the just-released Everest Tremor, one example. There is a choice of two engines in the Ford Everest range: a 2.0-litre bi-turbo four-cylinder diesel, or a 3.0-litre single-turbo V6 diesel. The TDV6 is only available in the two top-end models, Sport and Platinum (and in the limited-run Tremor). The Everest comes with a five-year warranty.
The writer was a guest of Ford Australia and Kapama Private Game Reserve.
