Just got back from an excellent weekend at Marcuskraal 4x4 with the 4WDC. Really good trail, although had a couple of challenges in the absence of a difflock.
There was one incident where I stuffed things up because of way too much power, and ended up getting stuck
Will post a trip report when I sort through all the photos
You got stuck going DOWN HILL ? 
Gerhard Fourie
If you want to shoot somebody, make sure you aim at his head, not your own foot.
Me
If you want to shoot somebody, make sure you aim at his head, not your own foot.
Me
Site Admin
Yes, reversing downhill after failing to make the obstacle behind the photographer... and then slid off to the side. The video is quite embarrassing but there was a 2.8 Defender 90 that struggled... so after that I gave it all the horses I had... only problem is the horses got going too quickly.4ePajero wrote:You got stuck going DOWN HILL ?
Simon Bloomer
Site Admin
The is an account of our Marcuskraal 4x4 trip with the 4WDCSA.
In mid June one of our outing leaders sent a mail to the committee about a new trail he had heard about.
And so it was that a small group wended their way from Cape Town to Markuskraal, via Malmesbury where everyone was to meet.
Marcuskraal is a citrus and tea farm some 20km north of Citrusdal, a stone’s throw west of the N7, with a single 4x4 trail of around 26km taking a leisurely 7 hours or so to complete. The camp site is perhaps one of the 4x4 related campsites I have stayed at, consisting of terraced grassy stands protected by mature trees, overlooking a valley of citrus orchards. The highlight however was the kitchen area which was well appropriated with an indoor braai for when the weather is lousy. And the ablutions were superb, with piping hot water, and incredibly clean.
So, after having pitched our tents the fires were lit for the evening braai and we settled in for a sociable evening, learning what made our new members tick, including one who we found was on his first camping trip in South Africa and was only weeks away from a trip to the Kgalagadi (so a test of vehicle and camping equipment was in order). After what seemed like gallons of port we all slowly headed off to our tents to turn in for the night. Unfortunately some of the migrant fruit pickers were a little loud for our liking, and marred what would have been a peaceful night, but at least it drowned out some of the snoring!
On the Saturday morning Krisjan Mouton (the farm owner) briefed everyone on what was to expect from the trail as none of us had done it, before handing our leader the gate keys and bid us adieu. The first part of the trail was a gentle climb into the hills following an old boundary fence where we got a first taste the excellent condition of the fynbos on this farm. After a couple of brief stops to admire the scenery and a few baboons across the valley we eventually hit the first proper climb of the day, which included a short section that proved a minor struggle for those with tyres at the wrong pressure or those who chose the long line. Nevertheless after a couple of repeat attempts and no shortage of advice, everyone got through the first hurdle of the day, which really proved to be the only one, such is the focus on “a pleasant drive through great scenery”, rather than out and out adrenaline. We then worked our way towards the highest point of the trail, Osberg, some 700m ASL. It might not be all that high but in good weather one would normally be able to see the Atlantic. The conditions were no on our side however so we had a brief break of coffee and a rusk or two before moving on.
The trail then slowly dropped through more fynbos which had the (ex)botanist/zoologist in me wanting to rush around and marvel at the privilege we as Capetonians have with the smallest but arguably the most important floral kingdom, right on our doorstep. The weather wasn’t playing ball and we had timed things wrong in terms of the peak flowering, but I wouldn’t trade “our” fynbos for anything else, even the bushveld, which is what I grew up with.
It was heading rapidly towards lunchtime and we descended into the valley, heading for a patch of impressive Eucalyptus trees which was home to a rather impressive picnic site, situated near a stream. We all thought this would be a magnificent campsite, but the owner seems to have no plans on developing this further... he had in fact decided to join us and would guide us for the rest of the trail. As it was such a splendid spot we reluctantly organised ourselves and left for the rest of the trail.
Having climbed out of the valley where we had lunch it was a relatively easy trail with great views of the surrounding peaks and valleys, studded with the occasional fallow tea plantation. This eventually brought is to the one and only sandy part of the trail, which started off as a short drive through a muddy section of the river. The cruiser and Krisjan were up first, and popped to the top with no fuss. The Defender 90 was next and struggled to get over the obstacle, having tried 3 or 4 times, but eventually making it. I was next, and having forgotten speed does not always equate to momentum, went too fast and made a total mess of things after the wheels lifted out of the existing tracks and ended up at about 45 degrees on edge halfway up the climb. Reversing back down just made things worse and ended up in the shrubbery and thick sand. No fear, the cavalry in the form of the cruiser arrived with a quick tug with the winch. The only problem is the winch refused to work! Note to those with winches... test them occasionally. Nevertheless a quick pull with the cruiser had me out in seconds. I tried the obstacle again, with less judicious use of the loud pedal and starting closer up, I made it with little fuss, and then kicked myself while everyone else made the obstacle with no problems.
The trail then meandered its way upwards and onward along the eastern section of the farm and we eventually stopped at a rather spectacular vista of the whole farm. While we were taking in this rather breathtaking scenery Krisjan gave us a rundown of the history, geology, and not a little bit of zoology and botany. All good things must however come to an end and we made our way slowly downhill off the ridge, through some of the orchards, and back to the camp site.
The timings during the day were all around the Tri Nations rugby... where the Boks were determined to avoid making a mockery of their season. So it was a rush to get aired up at Krisjan’s compressor. Some of us however decided the evening was too good to waste on a game of rugby, and sat chatting on the magnificent lawns of the camp site and seeing the sunset in. I, in the meantime, had to clean out the fridge in the back of the Pajero, because just about everything that was in plastic had escaped its wrapping and took part in a spectacular chemical reaction and resulted in an awful mess. The wine was OK though!
The rugby had ended and the group reassembled for the evening social. It turned out the rugby naysayers amongst us missed out on some really good biltong and some half decent rugby. After a thoroughly enjoyable dinner, quaffing a good measure of wine and port, we reflected on a good day, and all slowly made our way to bed.
On the Sunday everyone surfaced at their leisure, had breakfast and slowly struck camp, with our new member taking his time to work out how his camping gear gets back into its relative packaging... I now know why I use a 2-second tent. As we were busy, Krisjan came to bid us farewell, welcoming criticism of his campsite and trail... a short part of the conservation. Once we had gathered ourselves we headed, via the back roads to Kardoesie where we were to have breakfast... except it was closed and we had to head off to the Spur in Picketberg.
After a hearty Spur brunch we all started to head off home at our own pace, having had a thoroughly enjoyable weekend. Krisjan has managed to put together a really good 4x4 weekend. It was nothing too stressful, but very interesting. But the highlight is the campsite and the facilities which would satisfy even the most hardened city slickers.
In mid June one of our outing leaders sent a mail to the committee about a new trail he had heard about.
...he said. There was some “umming” and “ahhhing” and Johann went ahead and organised it. Boy, were his spies not wrong!“My spioene vertel my dis 'n pragtige roete, met 'n heerlike kamp”.
And so it was that a small group wended their way from Cape Town to Markuskraal, via Malmesbury where everyone was to meet.
Marcuskraal is a citrus and tea farm some 20km north of Citrusdal, a stone’s throw west of the N7, with a single 4x4 trail of around 26km taking a leisurely 7 hours or so to complete. The camp site is perhaps one of the 4x4 related campsites I have stayed at, consisting of terraced grassy stands protected by mature trees, overlooking a valley of citrus orchards. The highlight however was the kitchen area which was well appropriated with an indoor braai for when the weather is lousy. And the ablutions were superb, with piping hot water, and incredibly clean.
So, after having pitched our tents the fires were lit for the evening braai and we settled in for a sociable evening, learning what made our new members tick, including one who we found was on his first camping trip in South Africa and was only weeks away from a trip to the Kgalagadi (so a test of vehicle and camping equipment was in order). After what seemed like gallons of port we all slowly headed off to our tents to turn in for the night. Unfortunately some of the migrant fruit pickers were a little loud for our liking, and marred what would have been a peaceful night, but at least it drowned out some of the snoring!
On the Saturday morning Krisjan Mouton (the farm owner) briefed everyone on what was to expect from the trail as none of us had done it, before handing our leader the gate keys and bid us adieu. The first part of the trail was a gentle climb into the hills following an old boundary fence where we got a first taste the excellent condition of the fynbos on this farm. After a couple of brief stops to admire the scenery and a few baboons across the valley we eventually hit the first proper climb of the day, which included a short section that proved a minor struggle for those with tyres at the wrong pressure or those who chose the long line. Nevertheless after a couple of repeat attempts and no shortage of advice, everyone got through the first hurdle of the day, which really proved to be the only one, such is the focus on “a pleasant drive through great scenery”, rather than out and out adrenaline. We then worked our way towards the highest point of the trail, Osberg, some 700m ASL. It might not be all that high but in good weather one would normally be able to see the Atlantic. The conditions were no on our side however so we had a brief break of coffee and a rusk or two before moving on.
The trail then slowly dropped through more fynbos which had the (ex)botanist/zoologist in me wanting to rush around and marvel at the privilege we as Capetonians have with the smallest but arguably the most important floral kingdom, right on our doorstep. The weather wasn’t playing ball and we had timed things wrong in terms of the peak flowering, but I wouldn’t trade “our” fynbos for anything else, even the bushveld, which is what I grew up with.
It was heading rapidly towards lunchtime and we descended into the valley, heading for a patch of impressive Eucalyptus trees which was home to a rather impressive picnic site, situated near a stream. We all thought this would be a magnificent campsite, but the owner seems to have no plans on developing this further... he had in fact decided to join us and would guide us for the rest of the trail. As it was such a splendid spot we reluctantly organised ourselves and left for the rest of the trail.
Having climbed out of the valley where we had lunch it was a relatively easy trail with great views of the surrounding peaks and valleys, studded with the occasional fallow tea plantation. This eventually brought is to the one and only sandy part of the trail, which started off as a short drive through a muddy section of the river. The cruiser and Krisjan were up first, and popped to the top with no fuss. The Defender 90 was next and struggled to get over the obstacle, having tried 3 or 4 times, but eventually making it. I was next, and having forgotten speed does not always equate to momentum, went too fast and made a total mess of things after the wheels lifted out of the existing tracks and ended up at about 45 degrees on edge halfway up the climb. Reversing back down just made things worse and ended up in the shrubbery and thick sand. No fear, the cavalry in the form of the cruiser arrived with a quick tug with the winch. The only problem is the winch refused to work! Note to those with winches... test them occasionally. Nevertheless a quick pull with the cruiser had me out in seconds. I tried the obstacle again, with less judicious use of the loud pedal and starting closer up, I made it with little fuss, and then kicked myself while everyone else made the obstacle with no problems.
The trail then meandered its way upwards and onward along the eastern section of the farm and we eventually stopped at a rather spectacular vista of the whole farm. While we were taking in this rather breathtaking scenery Krisjan gave us a rundown of the history, geology, and not a little bit of zoology and botany. All good things must however come to an end and we made our way slowly downhill off the ridge, through some of the orchards, and back to the camp site.
The timings during the day were all around the Tri Nations rugby... where the Boks were determined to avoid making a mockery of their season. So it was a rush to get aired up at Krisjan’s compressor. Some of us however decided the evening was too good to waste on a game of rugby, and sat chatting on the magnificent lawns of the camp site and seeing the sunset in. I, in the meantime, had to clean out the fridge in the back of the Pajero, because just about everything that was in plastic had escaped its wrapping and took part in a spectacular chemical reaction and resulted in an awful mess. The wine was OK though!
The rugby had ended and the group reassembled for the evening social. It turned out the rugby naysayers amongst us missed out on some really good biltong and some half decent rugby. After a thoroughly enjoyable dinner, quaffing a good measure of wine and port, we reflected on a good day, and all slowly made our way to bed.
On the Sunday everyone surfaced at their leisure, had breakfast and slowly struck camp, with our new member taking his time to work out how his camping gear gets back into its relative packaging... I now know why I use a 2-second tent. As we were busy, Krisjan came to bid us farewell, welcoming criticism of his campsite and trail... a short part of the conservation. Once we had gathered ourselves we headed, via the back roads to Kardoesie where we were to have breakfast... except it was closed and we had to head off to the Spur in Picketberg.
After a hearty Spur brunch we all started to head off home at our own pace, having had a thoroughly enjoyable weekend. Krisjan has managed to put together a really good 4x4 weekend. It was nothing too stressful, but very interesting. But the highlight is the campsite and the facilities which would satisfy even the most hardened city slickers.
Simon Bloomer
Awesome trip report Simon.
I only have one question.
Is my bullbar still alright?;)
Nico.
I only have one question.
Is my bullbar still alright?;)
Nico.
Very nice!
One to put on the wish list.
One to put on the wish list.
Gerhard Fourie
If you want to shoot somebody, make sure you aim at his head, not your own foot.
Me
If you want to shoot somebody, make sure you aim at his head, not your own foot.
Me