YouTube trip report - Botswana 2021

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Bruce Turner

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Oct 3, 2021, 11:32:14 AM10/3/21
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Hi All,

If you bored have a look at my latest video. Still a few problems but will get there.


Rgds
BruceT

Hannes Steyn

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Oct 3, 2021, 11:59:34 AM10/3/21
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Nice one Bruce. How did the Ranger’s bin replacement work on the trip?

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Bruce Turner

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Oct 3, 2021, 1:24:25 PM10/3/21
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Thank you Hannes.

It worked really well. I actually like it a lot and if I could get one for the Landy I would get one. There are a few small teething issues but nothing that can’t be sorted out easily. 
Ryan will be doing a review on it so will share it when he does it or if you like subscribe to his channel 4x4ventures 


Rgds
BruceT


Hannes Steyn

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Oct 3, 2021, 1:28:09 PM10/3/21
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Please do share. I have stress tears on my load bin and this is one of my replacement options. 

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Hannes Steyn


et...@yebo.co.za

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Oct 4, 2021, 1:48:28 AM10/4/21
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I really enjoyed it. It’s a pity my Defender TD5 110 is not quite ready for a trip like this and that my wife and I are getting on and friends who used to travel with us no longer do.  Videos like this remind me are my past travels.  Keep it up.

Henry Townsend

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Jean Struweg

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Oct 4, 2021, 3:08:36 AM10/4/21
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Hi Bruce

I enjoyed it thanks. Just curious, what is the fuel consumption on such a trip?

I take it that off tar it is mostly diff-lock, but no need for prolonged low range?

Cheers

Jean

Sent from my iPhone

On 04 Oct 2021, at 07:48, et...@yebo.co.za wrote:



Bruce Turner

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Oct 4, 2021, 4:51:55 AM10/4/21
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Thank you Henry

Jean to be honest I never even locked the centre diff. With tyre pressures reduced for comfort and sand I didn’t have any issues.

My fuel consumption for the entire trip was just over 11ltrs per 100kms but I travelled light and alone. I also only checked before the last tank was filled. 

I also only used about 60ltrs of water. Mostly showers on hunters and at Kubu and coffee. I had drinking water in bottles. 

I will be doing more totally solo trips in the future. Not that I don’t want my family with but once in a while it’s actually awesome to keep things simple and very flexible without worrying about others. 

Thank you for the feedback. Busy working on episode 2 and trying to resist too much drone footage of the pans 😂

Rgds
BruceT

Hannes Thirion

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Oct 4, 2021, 5:29:06 AM10/4/21
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Bruce,
I had not got the time to read or watch your trip report, but I am curious, which drone do you have and any comments on it?
Regards,

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Bruce Turner

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Oct 4, 2021, 7:11:25 AM10/4/21
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Hi Hannes
I have the dji mavic mini fly more. I’m probably going to upgrade it as it doesn’t have some functions that I would like, for example the follow me function which I would have like on the pans. But the footage is incredible considering how small it is and how small the camera is. 

The drone footage will be in the next video which I am busy editing. Will be up in about 2 weeks 

Rgds
BruceT

Geoff Hill

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Oct 4, 2021, 7:52:03 AM10/4/21
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Brings back some lovely memories thanks for the video.

 

Geoff

 

From: overlan...@googlegroups.com [mailto:overlan...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Bruce Turner
Sent: 03 October 2021 05:32 PM
To: overland-forum
Subject: [Overland] YouTube trip report - Botswana 2021

 

Hi All,

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Peter Levey

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Oct 4, 2021, 8:14:13 AM10/4/21
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Hi Bruce,
Yeah I really enjoyed the video and seeing those great places again.  

Regards
Peter Levey


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Merwe Erasmus

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Oct 4, 2021, 8:30:00 AM10/4/21
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Thanks Bruce. Your Hunters Road experience mirrors mine. Late winter and early spring is very dry and we saw very little animals. 

A little suggestion/advice re the video: I found your audio level a bit too low, I know that while it is difficult to get good quality video, high quality audio is 10 times more difficult.

Looking forward to your next video and in particular your drone shots.

Merwe
(The world's worst drone pilot)

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Bruce Turner

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Oct 4, 2021, 8:51:55 AM10/4/21
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Thank you Merwe. I agree 100% and need to figure out why sometimes it’s ok and other times it’s not.
Rgds
BruceT

Bruce Turner

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Oct 4, 2021, 8:52:36 AM10/4/21
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Thank you very much a Peter and Geoff. 

Rgds
BruceT

Hannes Thirion

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Oct 4, 2021, 9:23:10 AM10/4/21
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Bruce,
If you are going to upgrade and not being in a hurry, there is a DJI Mavic 3 on it's way. Not sure when, but if interested I can keep you updated. 
I am also considering a drone but have not decided yet. 
Regards 

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Brian

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Oct 4, 2021, 12:49:47 PM10/4/21
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Hi Bruce,

 

Looks good, fun watching it, thank you.

 

 

 

Regards,

 

Brian McMahon

br...@bdmc.co.za

landline +27 12 030 1032

cell        +27 82 652-0101

 

From: overlan...@googlegroups.com [mailto:overlan...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Bruce Turner
Sent: Sunday, 3 October, 2021 17:32
To: overland-forum <overlan...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [Overland] YouTube trip report - Botswana 2021

 

Hi All,

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Bruce Turner

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Oct 5, 2021, 8:09:11 AM10/5/21
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Yes please Hannes. That would be great thank you.


Thank you Brian. 

Hennie Rautenbach

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Oct 27, 2021, 2:18:43 AM10/27/21
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Hey Bruce - apologies for the late response. I am way behind with some of the posts. Awesome video. Just a few comments. 1 Thanks very much for the tip about the trailer plug - power-takeoff. Very handy and going to make me a plug like that. Second thing - thanks for the awareness of leaving rubbish behind. I have become quite pedantic about this. When I visit campsites or picnic sites I always try to clean as much "micro rubbish" as possible. Beer bottle tops and bread-bag locking tags. And it's surprising how many tent pegs you find. Then just a question around Club Defender. What is it ? I saw you pulling a sticker off you Landy on Instagram ?

Keep up the good work. Your video was very nostalgic to me... It's been too long... :( 

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Hennie Rautenbach

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Oct 27, 2021, 2:21:12 AM10/27/21
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Bruce with regard to doing solo trips. I'd be very keen to tag along if at all possible on a future excursion...


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Bruce Turner

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Oct 27, 2021, 9:11:59 AM10/27/21
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Thank you so much Hennie. The litter is really irritating. I even picked up coke and beer cans on Hunters road believe it or not. 

 I was invited to join Club defender which used to be fun but unfortunately the dynamics of the group and integrity of some of the members changed so I left.
I prefer to do my own thing with a small group of like minded people anyway. Fitting diamond stitched leather seats and worrying about my nails getting dirty is not for me anyway 😂

My next trip is beginning of feb to Zim ruins and Gonarezhou and possibly a few places in between. Perhaps you and a few members could join on all or part of the trip as a sort of reunion. 

Next year August will be 10 years since we all went to Kubu for my 40th! How depressing is that 😂 

Rgds
BruceT


Bruce Turner

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Oct 27, 2021, 9:14:03 AM10/27/21
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Hennie you would be more than welcome. Will let you know when I do the next solo trip but there is also the trip to Zim as mentioned in my previous email that you are welcome to join. In fact I may need to go to Zim in the next month and I’m thinking of doing a solo road trip for that also. 

Rgds
BruceT

Geoff Hill

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Oct 27, 2021, 10:40:59 AM10/27/21
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Just be careful in Gonarezhou as I was sent some pictures of a Ranger bakkie that was destroyed by and elephant together with a sound clip of the owner describing the incident.

 

I don’t know how to post here from whatsapp.

 

Geoff

 

Bruce Turner

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Oct 27, 2021, 2:35:46 PM10/27/21
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Thanks Geoff. Here is from the Gonarezhou Facebook page:


🐆🐘 An action-packed month for “Rangers” in Gonarezhou! 🐘🐆

By now, we are sure most of you have seen several images being shared widely of an incident in which an elephant damaged a tourist vehicle (a Ford “Ranger”) in the Park. You may also have seen pictures circulating of a leopard that attacked one of our rangers.  We are grateful to let you know that both incidents, whilst serious, had happy endings but they serve as a reminder of the fact that Gonarezhou is a wilderness area!
The elephant story goes that a long-standing Gonarezhou supporter, Mr O’Donovan, was driving his Ford Ranger to the Chilojo Cliffs East Viewpoint when they came around a corner and met a group of five elephants. One suddenly charged, and in an attempt to evade the charge, he reversed, unfortunately hitting a tree and becoming stranded, at which point the elephant was already on the vehicle. Thankfully none of the occupants in the vehicle were injured. The incident has created a storm of messages on social media, particularly WhatsApp, with many offering their opinions. Gonarezhou provided assistance with the recovery of the vehicle and made a follow up to try and identify the particular elephant but we can only speculate on what exactly caused this behaviour. Gonarezhou is home to over  10,000 elephants at a density of approximately 2 elephants per square kilometre, we have our own fleet of vehicles that traverse the park daily as well as over 3,000 visitor vehicles in a single year each often having several elephants encounters on a drive. Negative encounters are bound to happen, particularly with our own Gonarezhou vehicles that are working in the Park day-in and day-out, but it is critical that we view these incidents constructively. Elephants are generally gentle by their nature but in Gonarezhou, they have long suffered from unrest. As a result of this past trauma, they have earned a reputation of being aggressive. Whilst this is the case for some encounters, the vast majority are positive encounters that reinforce positive behaviour as well as reassuring our visitors to this wilderness!  When asked, Mr O’Donovan explained that he has been coming to Gonarezhou regularly for the past 22 years and has never had an incident like this, and he assured us that he will be back. 
The second  “Ranger” story involved one of our field rangers and a leopard.  Leopards are one of the most dangerous animals in Africa, especially when cornered and this story talks not just of the risks that wildlife rangers face on a daily basis when safeguarding our natural heritage but also of the enormous bravery of this specific ranger…. but we will save that for another day when Messias will recount it himself!
Whether it is an elephant, leopard, lion or klipspringer, Gonarezhou is a wild place and incidents like this highlight the realities of working in, developing, protecting and visiting a wilderness area. We are truly thankful that both of these stories had happy endings and we sincerely hope that these incidents are viewed positively and do not act as a deterrent to visitors to this special place!

Geoff Hill

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Oct 27, 2021, 4:22:28 PM10/27/21
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Thanks very interesting

Eben Henning

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Oct 28, 2021, 1:29:59 AM10/28/21
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We were chased by ellies in Gona in 2019 and the following hilux behild us got rearranged by a young bull.
They are extremely agro in Gona and those mopani thickets are super nervous to drive as you have zero chance of turning around or getting away.

EbenH.

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Bruce Turner

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Oct 28, 2021, 2:06:04 AM10/28/21
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Not to disagree at all but this is the first incident this chap has experienced in 22 years of visiting the park. I have experienced two charges in Kruger and I’ve only been there about 5 or 6 times so as a ratio Kruger for me is more dangerous. On hunters a mate of mine had the same experience about 3 weeks ago where he was literally chased by an elephant for about a km he said and again when he was in the Moremi. So I think it happens all over and as in any wildlife area you have to be careful and sometimes its the luck of the draw.

I also think that these sorts of stories can get out of hand and actually do more harm than good for the areas and already struggling parks concerned. I have already had several people telling me I am mad for going to Gonarezhou as two people died there about a year and a half ago and because of this elephant incident. (The two people that died had driven into a tree in the park and it is still unknown why as far as I know - maybe they were running away from something or maybe just rushing to get back to camp before it was dark, I don’t know).

Out of interest how many people here have been to Gonarezhou, how many times and how many times have you been charged or worse?

Rgds
BruceT


Walter Ortell

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Oct 28, 2021, 3:17:10 AM10/28/21
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My uncle was visiting KNP with my aunt, driving a Valiant station wagon, this would have been back in the 60' or 70's when the park was still all dirt roads. They came across some Ellies crossing the road and my uncle leaned out the passenger window to film them on his Super 8 camera, who can still remember those? While he was filming they were charged by one of the Ellies and my aunt started to reverse while my uncle, the mad German, continued to film. He said he could actually see, through the lens, as the elephant's foot started to descend towards the bonnet, narrowly missing as the car slid away. They managed to escape and when they returned to Johannesburg he sent the film away for developing. When the film was returned the footage of the charge was missing and he was told that the film was blank. He speculated that someone at the lab either stole the footage or that they were under orders from the government to 'cover up' negative news about Kruger from reaching the outside world. Would have been awesome to see.

Cheers
Walter

Hannes Thirion

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Oct 28, 2021, 9:28:00 AM10/28/21
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Bruce wrote:  'Out of interest how many people here have been to Gonarezhou, how many times and how many times have you been charged or worse?'

Gona is still on my go to list, but I have been charged by elephants many times in Kruger and once in Hlane in Swaziland.   I had no elephant charges or aggressiveness in Kruger the past 2 weeks.   
None of the many elephants that I encountered in Tanzania charged.  I have been told that they are far less aggressive.  
Regards,
Hannes Thirion






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Mike Slater

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Oct 28, 2021, 11:16:18 AM10/28/21
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Been to Gonarezhou five times over the past 15 years.  Last trip in 2019.

Iver the years the elephants have become less nervous and we have had a number of occasions to back out when they look un happy. 

Move away at the first sign of discomfort.  Don't try to sneak past, rather wait around a corner, go back or take a detour. 

Gona elephants are still traumatised. 
 
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Hennie Rautenbach

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Nov 10, 2021, 2:43:38 AM11/10/21
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I have been to Gonarezhou more than 10 times in the last 25 years and have never been chased by elephants... But it should be noted that I am the cautious type. I had much more harrowing experiences in the Lower Zambezi and Mapungubwe.

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