The journey so far

It’s been 12 days since our Mahindra Pik Up Karoo Authentic Bakkies departed on a 3-week, three-country expedition through the most rugged & unforgiving terrain across Southern Africa. The objective? To prove that Mahindra Pik Ups are the toughest, most reliable and most capable bakkies on the market. The journey started at our Mahindra Head Office in Centurion, Gauteng, through Bloemfontein on the way to our first leg in the Northern Cape.

The Expedition officially started in Upington as we drove to the Mahindra Upington dealership. The team then headed South to the Namibia/South Africa border, immediately experiencing the hot and dry weather of the iconic Kalahari Desert. Their next stop was further North into Namibia into the small farming and ranching town of Koës for a game of cricket with some of the local kids. After the match, we headed towards the edge of town in anticipation of the Kalahari Red Dunes and the site of the Kalahari Red Dune Route, which has a tough 4×4 trail that our Special Edition Karoo Range easily overcame.

The next stop of our trip was a famous Namibian landmark and geological phenomenon that is said to have been formed 180 million years ago—Giants Playground. The drive was quite challenging due to the dust and it was difficult to see in front of us while driving. Next, we stopped just outside of Keetmanshoop to capture footage of the Quiver Tree Forest, a collection of strange-looking trees. The trees also hold significant historical value to Namibia because the branches were used to make quivers (containers to hold arrows) by the indigenous San people.

We stopped again to take a photo at the “Tropic of Capricorn” road sign, it marks the location of one of the five major circles of latitude—the others being The Arctic Circle, Tropic of Cancer, Equator and The Antarctic Circle. One of our team members even had a radio interview with Kosmos Radio, an internet radio station in Namibia. We then arrived in Windhoek and went straight to the Mahindra Windhoek dealership where customers and staff welcomed the team and were excited to view the vehicles.

Upon leaving Windhoek, we got on the famous C28—a 310-km long dirt road that connects Windhoek and Swakopmund. We had a couple of stops on the C28 including Liebig Haus, an old dilapidated house, and Namibian historical monument, which some believe to be haunted and the majestic Namib Desert before we finally arrived in Walvis Bay to see the magnificent dunes.

Our next destination was the small town of Solitaire, which functions mostly as a tourist stopover because of the sparsely populated surrounding area, to indulge in the world-famous traditional apple crumble at McGregor’s Bakery. With our spirits high, we continued our journey by heading down the D707, one of the most scenic routes leading to Sossusvlei from the C13, providing the first glimpse of the magnificence of the Namib-Naukluft Park.

After an eventful couple of days on the road between Swakopmund, Walvis Bay, Solitaire, Sesriem and Betta, we landed in Aus. A little town with a rich history. It used to be the site of a prisoner-of-war camp used by the South African army to house German inmates during WWI in 1915. The town is also noted for having a herd of feral horses that live in the desert, on the outskirts of town, and have been roaming freely for over 100 years. After trekking across the Southern Namibian countryside, we arrived in Vioolsdrift, a small settlement situated on the border between Namibia and South Africa. As we crossed the border back into South Africa, we drove straight into Richtersveld. In our opinion, it is one of the most photogenic places in the world. It’s huge, sparsely populated and has a quiet, eerie and spooky feel to it because one can go for hours without seeing another human being.

In the coming week, we’ll be getting back on the road for the final leg of our expedition as we continue to put the Karoo Special Edition Range to the test!

What has been your favourite highlight so far? Let us know on social media!