After several further trips to Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe in the bakkies, I arrived back home from school one day in 1992 to find a brand new Volkswagen Kombi in the driveway. But even I could see this was no ordinary Kombi, it was a Syncro. That winter holiday we went to Namibia and went fishing at Henties Bay.
1994
Thereafter another Botswana trip followed and in 1994 we visited the Kaokoland in the Syncro and an Isuzu 2.5-litre diesel bakkie and a trailer. The Syncro was still stock standard, except for the 15" wheels fitted. We did not do our homework properly and never realised that it is not a good idea to travel Van Zyl's pass west to east. Not only is the climb difficult, but you also damage the road and make it difficult for others.
However, we arrived at the foothills and tried the first climb with the Isuzu and trailer. We didn't get very far, although the bakkie had a rear diff lock, it was too steep and uneven and got to a halt with loads of wheel spin. We reversed all the way back, and tried again, but this time leaving the trailer behind. We managed to get to the first section where the road levelled out and unloaded all the luggage from the bakkie. In the mean time the Syncro made its way up, without a problem, to where we were waiting. The bakkie then turned around to go and fetch the trailer which we unloaded into the back of the bakkie and onto the roof rack. Up we went again, towing the empty trailer, and managed to get to where the Syncro and unloaded luggage were waiting. All the luggage was again loaded the way it originally was in the bakkie and trailer and off we went. There were more places where the bakkie could not manage, and we had to tow it with the Syncro.
On that same trip, my brother (then 10 years old) fell very sick. At Epupa falls, my dad decided to take the bakkie and get him to the nearest doctor as soon as possible. We slowly followed in the Syncro, no need for us to miss the scenery along the Kunene on the way to Ruacana and we would meet up with them onces back in civilisation. Then we noticed some fresh oil on the road and knowing that not a lot of vehicles travelled this way, we feared for the worst. I got out to look at the oil on the road, it was still warm and definitely not engine oil, but either that of the gearbox or diff. It was not much further when we got to the bakkie, parked next to the road.
Somewhere along the way, probably on Van Zyl's pass, a rock must have hit the rear diff drain plug in such a way that over time it worked its way out of the diff, draining all the oil. By the time my dad heard the humming sound, it was almost too late and the diff was already filled with sand and dust. There was no way the diff would last under load. We removed the driving shaft to the diff, cut a wooden plug from a branch and filled the diff with petrol. We drove up and down for a couple of times and flushed all the dust and dirt with the petrol. After a couple of flushes we filled the diff with oil and off we went, front wheel drive. This time the trailer was behind the Syncro.
It worked well for most of the way, but the road along the Kunene had some steep uneven climbs and the bakkie with no front diff lock was basically a single front wheel drive. We even tried to reverse up some of the climbs, but to no avail. So, out came the tow rope again and the Syncro had to do its duties. We didn't even unhook the trailer, the tow rope was tied to the Syncro and placed underneath the trailer. The towing went on until late at night and we made a bush camp close to Rucana. The next day we drove to Oshakati where a doctor diagnosed him with Hepatitis. Although he was already over the worst, the doctor suggested that we visit the hospital at Tsumeb for a final check. The next year, 1995, we did the same basic trip but this time from east to west and going down Van Zyl's pass.
1998
I studied mechanical engineering from 1995 until 1998. With pictures and video material at hand, it was not difficult to convince two of my best student buddies to go on such an adventure. It would be my first trip "alone" without my parents and we couldn't wait. Shortly after graduation day we loaded our stuff into my dad's Syncro and off we went. We had no detailed planning and the detailed route description was a single word: "Botswana". All three of us were going to continue with postgraduate studies so time was on our side and we only had to be back by the end of January. The only limiting factor being student finances of course.
We were heading for Maun via Francistown and Nata but when we stopped for fuel at Palapaye, I suddenly remembered about our past trips through the Makgadikgadi pans. Immediately the plan was changed and we headed for Maun via Orapa, the salt pans, Gweta and the Nxai national park. However, I never realised what the pans look like in the summer - the rainy season. I grew up in the Cape and only travelled up north during the dry winter (June/July) school holidays. So when we reached the edge of the pan we were surprised to find it filled with water, ankle deep.
We were happy-go-lucky and without hesitating we drove into the slippery pan. We made it all the way through the pans without getting stuck and then found ourselves in a maze of roads on the other side. We had no GPS, nor any map of the region. From childhood memory I could recall that we drove from Orapa through the pans to Gweta and that was the amount of detail we had. How difficult could it be? We stopped at a kraal and luckily there was someone who could speak English. He told us to simply follow the main road. So off we went, following the sandy jeep track so-called "main road".
Soon we reached a split in the road, left or right? Which one is the main road? We followed the one which seemed to have the latest tracks just to find another split in the road a couple of kilometers further. Left, right? In our defence, I have to mention that it was an overcast day and keeping direction was difficult. About 30 minutes later we entered another kraal, hopefully they could tell us the way to Gweta. We also noticed a fresh set of 4x4 prints in the sand. Surely the guy in the 4x4 would be able to explain to us the way out of here. But then we realised that it was the print of a Firestone ATX - our tracks from 30 minutes earlier. We didn't bother to ask for directions again, and somehow managed to find Gweta.
Our travels took us to Maun, Savuti, Kasane, Vic-Falls, Binga at the Kariba dam, Ngepi in the Caprivi, Etosha, Swakopmund and safely back home. On the whole trip we got stuck once in the dunes just outside Swakopmund. We arrived at Swakopmund just before New Year's Day and could not find a single available camping spot. We tried every place in and around Swakopmund and Walvisbay, but with no luck and it was getting late. We then bought Kentucky take-away and drove into the desert and set camp between the dunes about 5 km from Swakopmund. On our way there we had some fun with the Syncro on the dunes and in the process managed to get it stuck. Luckily it was equipped with a winch and we had to bury the spare wheel in the sand for anchorage. That was one of the best nights of camping ever. We climbed one of the dunes behind our camp and could see Swakopmund's lights in the distance.
Botswana and Namibia trips also followed in 2001, 2002 and 2003 in my dad's Syncro. In 2001 we went to the Kaokoland only in the Syncro, in 2002 we went to Botswana together with a friend in a Kia Sportage.
2003
In 2003 we were joined by friends in a 1980's Toyota Hilux with a Ford V6 engine. We left Stellenbosch and when we reached Springbok the V6 started to misfire and we had to set the timing. In Khaudum, it started to overheat in the thick sand. Luckily we had an extra electric radiator fan with us. The fan was quickly mounted on the bakkie's bullbar, in front of the radiator and connected directly to the battery. This worked like a charm and got us out of Khaudum.
Then disaster struck in the middle of the Makgadikgadi pans. My friend wanted to change gears, but the clutch was gone! The slave cylinder lost all of its inside parts, just the outer shell was still in place. The circlip or something keeping it all in place must have rusted away. We could not find any of the missing parts and had no other choice but to continue without a clutch. We push started it and my friend managed to change gears by manipulating the engine revolutions. It was Sunday and we could not find a place where we could get a replacement slave cylinder. Travelling through Gaborone proved difficult without a clutch. Getting it out of gear to stop at a traffic light is not too difficult, but to get going again is the problem. All of the Syncro passengers had to jump out of the vehicle, push the bakkie until it reached a speed where it would engage a gear (the engine was kept running) and then jump back into the Syncro. This was not practical, but luckily the Syncro's bulbar was the perfect height and we started to push the bakkie with the Syncro. In the end it posed almost no problem and we drove all the way back to Stellenbosch without a clutch.
