Karoo National Park

[Sab073-8]

I took the shorty for a weekend trip to Beaufort West this past weekend. It gave me a chance to see if the exhaust made any difference to the fuel consumption and experience my first bit of off roading.

The weekend was rather uneventful, driving from 80km to Kimberley then down the N12 at a steady 110km/h (give me a Bells). Keeping the discipline and only shifting down to fourth gear for overtaking the drive down felt longer than it should have, the fuel return was 8.2km/l, the best figures I've seen with my neanderthal driving style.

I spent the weekend at lodge just a few km outside town, a good bed is the minimum standard but this place was a worthy stop. Sunday was spent navigating the dirt roads and "4x4" routes of the Karoo National Park. Game viewing was disappointing but I had plenty of time to get to kn ow this car better. The warm rumble from the V6 never gets old, I think the exhaust shop did a decent job as she is not intrusive at lower revs but you know there's something there should you need to push a bit. It was an all round pleasant experience despite the insane rattles of the Pajero (I measured 82dB with the rattles in the worst places). The drawer box has some annoying squeaks that I'll need to sort out when I have the time. None of the trim inside or out was affected, only one spot light was shaken loose so no stress there. I had enough time to scare myself on a little 4x4 trail at Koka Tsara Bush Camp - note I am a noob and only knew what to do from a few youtube videos. Many here would think it is a basic route but I've never done something like that and having a Pajero sure made things better.
Fuel return on the day was 5.64km/l including a stint up and down a pass on the R381 (Cooked the brakes and ended up with a shudder until the discs cooled because I forgot this thing weighs 2 tonnes - but it was so worth it).

The fuel consumption on the drive back was surprisingly better than the drive down. Despite the 500m climb in altitude I got an average consumption of 8.39km/l, I'm really happy with that.

Below are some snaps from the outing. Fuzzy pics taken with a smart phone, crisper pics from the DSLR