What a gem to find in the middle of the city overlooking Centurion, Waterkloof Airforce Base, and Irene, Cornwall, and so much more. The trip to the top is not as adventurous as others we have been on, but having some mates on scramblers made finding the correct route so much easier to stop and take a break from the rush of the city without needing to leave the city. But we are getting ahead of ourselves here, so let’s start from the beginning.
It was a typical Saturday afternoon, with not much going on. Planning a considerable trip was out of the question as the time was too short to get it done, and the week, well, I was slaving away in my digital cave with multiple production deployments that went off till the early hours of the mornings. Friday was our last deployment of the week, and I couldn’t make it. The kids and myself were exhausted from the rush of the week, and by 9 pm, everyone was asleep. Saturday came, and the kids jumped back on tech. The one wanted TV the other iPad, and I looked at this and just thought to myself, no! We are going out. I called up a friend Liaan and asked him what they up to, and the answer was the same as mine. Lazing at the house as the week was exhausting, but he was up for a visit, and I thought, why not, let’s go.
Upon arrival, I asked him when was the last time he and his son drove the bikes. Embarrassed to answer, he just gave the “not so long ago,” and I had a bee in my bonnet. There is this hill behind his house, which about 12 years ago, Liaan and I drove around religiously with our quad bikes. We were not stuck behind computers, and we made every effort to be in the bush. Even though we never earned much money as we were starting in our career, we made the best of it. Well, he has a scrambler and bought his son one, and here I was with my clean and shiny 4×4 and told him, “come bud, let’s tackle the mountain.” With a skewed look, he asked if I was sure I want to take my car on roads where we took the quads years back, and of course, I said “yes” what’s the point of a 4×4 if I am not 4x4ing.
Moments later, Liaan was in the garage getting the bikes out and getting them started. His son’s bike started without a hitch, and his bike would not catch. Scrambling for tools, Liaan took out a spark plug, cleaned it, put it back in, and tried again, but without avail. After taking out his 4th and final spark plug, Liaan was exhausted to try kick-start this bike, and this is where I came in to help. I tried and tried and tried, and the bike wouldn’t start. His son looking at us with this disappointment on his face made us both melt and realized we have to make a plan. We eventually pushed the bike forwards and backward, in gear, out of gear, and Liaan said there is no hope. The bike needs to go in for a service. I asked him, let me get one last shot, and after 5 attempts kickstarting, the bike came to life! The smiles on all the kids’ faces were priceless as they all knew “NOW the adventure starts”! The quickest I have ever seen someone change was Liaan’s son, and that was into his MX gear, and Liaan was busy getting dressed. My eldest Leo was disappointed as dad doesn’t have a bike, but lucky for Leo, Liaan had spare kids gear and a helmet which his wife MJ pulled out for us. When Leo saw this, he was dressed in that faster than any morning he had to go to school, maybe I should get him MX gear for school to wear in the mornings, but I digress.
Here we were, kitted and ready to go! I had my 3-year-old Clark and Liaan’s daughter strapped in the bakkie, and off we went! I could not remember the routes exactly anymore, it has been 12 years after all, but Liaan has been out a few times with his bike and said, ” follow me.” We left his house and met up behind the Irene Farm Villages, where we took the security car’s patrol route to get across the field. Off the bikes went and took a shortcut through the bushes where the trusty D-Max set-in 4×4 followed. The road was a gravel road we ended up on and drove a while before we got to the hill entrance to the lookout point. Disappointed that the wild and untamed beauty of these back routes is currently pushed to be developed, and the excitement of raw nature in our backyard is getting smaller and smaller. Nevertheless, we arrive at the start of the hill climb.
There was water rushing down the mountain, creating a mud hole. Liaan and his son stopped in front of this water puddle and would not drive, though it was mud and water for a good few meters. But when we saw that water, Liaan and I had a chuckle, as the last time there was water in the beaten tracks, we had fun in our quadbikes, that I ended up with an eye infection that made me invest in better goggles for biking. This, however, presented an opportunity to take one dash through in the d-max and make it look like a 4×4 should after a weekend, and a glorious splash of mud and water it was.
After the fun in the puddle, we saw the hill entrance rushing down with water, and Liaan asked should we or shouldn’t we. He looked at his bike, and it sprung a leak, he had fuel running out, and his face went pale. I asked him, how much fuel do you have left? He responded, its a slow leak, so maybe it’s a good idea to turn around. So close to the end, so close to the point we wanted to reach, I looked at him and said, “where is your sense of adventure, mate? If you stuck, we load it on my bakkie and take the bike back home”. Liaan nodded, and this was my sign to go now before he changes his mind. I jumped back into the trusty D-Max and pointed it to the sky. Up the road, the 4×4 was working mud, rocks, slipping here and there but up we were, and we just dashed off higher and to the view I remember 12 years ago, and thus had to shared the story with the kids “this is where dad and uncle used to hang out on weekends, and now you get to experience this too.” And they were blown away. The dodgy routes, the lack of people, the lack of noise, and just pure nature with vegetation sights and sounds they didn’t expect in the city. The kids, Liaan, and I just stood there going. Man, we should do this more often.
On the way back to the house, the kids in the car were smiling from ear to ear, and all they could say, “that was so cool,” and indeed, it was one epic day away from tech and to be out in the bush.
Carlo is an off-road adventure enthusiast and hobby copywriter who is passionate about exploring forgotten routes. When he’s not blazing trails, he works as a Digital Software Solutions Architect, bringing innovation and creativity to his professional pursuits.
You make me wat to go 4x4ing 🙂