Southern Africa 4×4 – Off-road Trips & Vehicle Mods

Day 1: Durban/Matubatuba to Ponta do Ouro

We left for Ponta do Ouro on Sunday around 11am with the Landrover Defender 110 (we left the Hilux in Durban) fully loaded with: camping gear, food, surf boards and diving gear. A very strong head wind did not help with fuel consumption, as we headed past Sodwana Bay up to Kosi Bay. IMPORTANT: There are no shops open on a Sunday in Kosi Bay. We had planned to do shopping at the Spar in Kosi Bay but it was closed. We where forced to pay exorbitant prices at the petrol station. We fill up the tank with diesel and the 20l Jerry can, dropped the tyre pressure in the BF Goodrich All Terrains to 1.5. At the border things went very quickly, R17 payment per person at the Mozambique side and R150 for the car 3rd party insurance.

Trip Map

Once through the border the roads disintegrate into sand tracks. A good 4×4 off-road vehicle is essential.

Take the sand track on the right if you want to go to Ponta do Ouro. It is about a 10km drive into Ponta do Ouro. Cellphone signal disappears soon after you head over down the Mozambican side of the dunes but you can buy a Vodacom Mozambique starter pack for about R50.

We drove through Ponta do Ouro in about 4 minutes though to the Tandje Beach Resort which is home to the biggest campsite in Ponta Do Ouro and found a site right on the beach. The water is amazingly clean and warm.

Day 2: Exploring Ponta do Ouro and surrounds

When travelling in Africa; when travelling anywhere; explore! Explore your surroundings, find the local spots, the local food and in Mozambique definitley the local beer.

To explore the coast north of Ponto, follow the one and only road along the coastline – yes its as simple as that when there is only one major intersection/crossroad in town. About 5 km’s along the winding sand track, you will get to Ponta Malongane which has a beuatiful shaded campsite. Along the road there are many local tuckshops, curio stalls and bars.

We stopped at one of the roadside bars for one of our favourute Mozambican delicacies, 2M!

You will also notice the multitude of new developments cropping up, nearly every point along the coast has a construction site on it, building from log cabins to double-story-american-style-dream mansions. I leave it up to you decide whether that is a good or bad thing.

Heading back into town, we visited the local market, where you are able to buy everything and nothing at the same time – as mentioned earlier, try do your main grocery shop in South Africa and preferrably when the Spar in Manguzi is open.

All 4×4’s and offroad vehicles should have a differential or diff. A diff transfers the power from the drive-train to the vehicles wheels. As the differential gets hot with use, it needs to breathe or equalise the pressure build up with the outside air pressure. To achieve this a differential breather is uses. It consists of a one way valve that lets air out but prevents water, dust and anything else from entering the differential. However when a hot differential is cooled suddenly as when a 4×4 drives through water, the difference in temperature causes the air pressure in the diff to drop sharply. As the diff breather is a one-way valve, this causes whatever is surrounding the diff to be sucked in through the oil seals. With the case of a water crossing, water is sucked into the diff where it mixes with the oil and causes all sorts of problems.

Extend 4×4 Differential Breathers

To overcome this you would need to extend your breathers to a point where they can breathe pure air.

Step 1 – Parts Needed For 4×4 Differential Breather Extension

I bought these two fittings from a local store for R10 each. 1/8 inch thread to 6mm. This should fit most Toyota Hilux’s.

Toyota Hilux Diff Breather