We go on the epic Isuzu mu-X adventure
By khulekani / on May 31st, 2019 / in Car News, featured, Travel
By Amanda Mfuphi
Often, we become so consumed in being busy and working that we neglect to appreciate the beautiful things in life such as building friendships, relationships, family and travel. I recently took a step back from stresses of life and embarked on a journey that explored the beautiful things in life over approximately 850km in our beautiful country.
Khulekani on Wheels recently partnered with Isuzu South Africa on the #Isuzumuxadventure road trip for the second year in a row and this year’s trip involved what we can only term as an epic trip across certain parts of the Cape region. This year’s #Isuzumuxadventure brought together young energetic influencers, bloggers, motoring and travel journalists to spend time with the Isuzu mu-X across certain beautiful parts of the country. The trip comprised of four mu-Xs which were supported by two Isuzu D-Maxs which led the convoy.
Let me try to paint the picture of our trip for you…
Day 1
As indicated, the trip included a group of young influencers, bloogers, motoring and travel journalists from across the country and I was part of the crew that came from Johannesburg. We took the 8:15am flight from the O.R. Tambo International Airport and made our way to the Cape Town International Airport. We landed in Cape Town at around 10:00am and met the rest of the crew for some breakfast and a briefing.
We are ready!!#isuzumuxadventure pic.twitter.com/Y2DEvZV1xo
— Sala Masindane (@salaontop) May 17, 2019
From the onset, I knew it was going to be an enjoyable trip as we all appeared to instantly gel as travel companions, and one could swear we all knew each other. I must admit, I sensed a bit of anxiety and a lot of excitement as we headed to the parking lot to collect our respective mu-Xs. We were split into groups of 3 per vehicle and hopped onto our respective mu-Xs and began our journey.
#isuzumuxadventure 😏💪 pic.twitter.com/E1xUDANQpy
— Micky Baker (@Mickydinho) May 17, 2019
We departed the Cape Town International Airport for an undisclosed destination but being the adventurers we are, got excited and followed the lead vehicle. We took a scenic route that took us through a long stretch open road of approximately 90km where we drove past some beautiful Cape farms and parts of the Atlantis sand dunes area on our way to the first destination, which was Langebaan. As we approached our destination in Langebaan, we put our mu-Xs on a soft test as we got on to our lunch spot, Pearly’s Bar, which was on the beach lagoon and required us to drive through some beach sand.
We enjoyed some nice downtime at Pearly’s Bar over a hearty lunch and took some Instagram worthy pictures on the beach.
As if the Langebaan lagoon was not beautiful enough, we were whisked to our sleepover destination which was a Santorini-styled resort based in Langebaan named Club Mykonos. This confirmed yet again that South Africa has beautiful hidden gems that need exploration. We were then treated to dinner on the beach at Marc’s Beach Bar and retired for the night.
The first day did not entail too much driving and we drove approximately 150km.
Day 2
We kicked off the second day with some breakfast at the White Sands Restaurant and checked out of Club Mykonos and got on the road to our next undisclosed destination. It became clear that scenic routes were going to be the order of the trip as we drove along the R311 and R46 in the Western Cape going towards the Northern Cape, through beautiful mountainous landscapes.
Geez South Africa, you're MOER beautiful…
The Isuzu mu-X is all about comfort but its heart? Its heart is beating (roaring) for an #IsuzumuXadventure adventure!
📷 by @malusicmsomi. pic.twitter.com/NEAMwPiceh
— GoingSomewhereSlowly (@AnjeRautenbach) May 20, 2019
We did approximately 230km before we arrived at our lunch spot at the beautiful Aquila Safari Private Game Reserve. It was through this long stretch of driving that we got to optimally experience the comfort levels of the mu-X and its friendly fuel consumption.
In the afternoon, we left the Aquila Safari Private and made our way to our overnight destination in Sutherland, Northern Cape (which was also a well-kept secret). Our specific overnight location was the Rogge Cloof Guest Farm; however, we went past the town of Sutherland before going to our venue to see the town and interact with the locals. Sutherland is a beautiful small town which is decently clean and well-maintained, but we unfortunately did not get much interaction with the locals as it appeared a bit deserted, surprisingly on a Saturday.
Songanena ngevosho? No, we’ll just take the @isuzusa mu-X off the beaten track and create memories. This is the beauty of having a practical and capable car. It’s easy to take it almost anywhere. #Isuzumuxadventure pic.twitter.com/kq0F785DUz
— Khulekani on Wheels (@khuleonwheels) May 19, 2019
We left the town of Sutherland and headed to the Rogge Cloof Guest Farm, which is a 16,000-hectare farm situated in the Karoo that was established in 1758 and as such, comes with a bit of heritage. The farm presented an opportunity for us to do some gravel road driving with the mu-X as we had an 11km stretch of gravel road to get to our respective rooms. The comfort levels of the mu-X did not deteriorate when we got onto the gravel road and the vehicle felt planted and stable on the gravel road, we did not feel any rear shakes or rattle during the drive on the gravel road.
🌋🌋🔥🔥#Isuzumuxadventure#DozerDrives pic.twitter.com/18ZZvRw6Bb
— #Dozer_Drives (@doughZAR) May 18, 2019
We were treated to a wonderful dinner with some springbok steak, which was a first for me. We also learnt that the Rogge Cloof Guest Farm was situated in a special part of the country that has one of the clearest skies and clean air (due to no pollution caused by industries) and as such, we were fortunate to be treated to some star gazing. We ended the evening with a bonfire and drinks session reflecting on the trip and life in general. The bonfire really come in handy because the Karoo region gets very chilly in the evening.
Its been an epic weekend, good people, good cars and good vibes. Exploring the Western & Northern Cape with the @isuzusa mu-X. #IsuzumuXAdventure pic.twitter.com/QhQGFcy5jI
— DBN Spotter (@dbn_spotter) May 19, 2019
We did approximately 400km on the second day.
Day 3
We started the third day of the trip with an early morning game drive before heading to breakfast. The Rogge Cloof Guest Farm is predominately a springbok game reserve but has other game such as cheetahs, but we unfortunately did not have time to go to the cheetah part of the farm, due to the size of the farm (16,000-hectare remember!).
After breakfast, we got back on the road and headed back to the Western Cape to another undisclosed location, which was about a 300km stretch. Before leaving the Northern Cape Province, we went to see the amazing The Southern African Large Telescope (SALT). The Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) is a 10-metre class optical telescope designed mainly for spectroscopy. SALT is the largest optical telescope in the southern hemisphere.
“Don’t be too hard on yourself” ✊🏾
was the theme of the #Isuzumuxadventure weekend with @isuzusa pic.twitter.com/FkefjoY1Pl
— Nicolette Mashile (@ImcocoMash) May 20, 2019
I particularly enjoyed the route back to the Western Cape via the R354 as it presented us with beautiful curves and long stretches to put the mu-X through its paces for about 150km. The power delivery of the mu-X is quite impressive as the vehicle is able to carry its body weight on inclines with ease. Naturally as an SUV, the mu-X is not the happiest in curves at but does remain composed especially when speeds are managed well. From the R354, we got on to the N1 towards Stellenbosch where we had to stop for some photos, of course.
We arrived for our lunch stop at the beautiful Le Pommier Wine Estate, which also doubled up as our sleepover spot for the night. The Le Pommier Wine Estate is so beautiful it screams “baecation”, talk about saving the best for last!
I’m just here to show off my amazing suite for the night 😍
I don’t know about you but beautiful hotel rooms get me each time!
how perfect? #Isuzumuxadventure pic.twitter.com/wgCAyewoMu— Cherry The Manager (@Cherry01_) May 19, 2019
A taste of Stellenbosch at Le Pommier Wine Estate.#IsuzumuXAdventure pic.twitter.com/7OwSKm35S6
— GoingSomewhereSlowly (@AnjeRautenbach) May 20, 2019
We were treated to some wine tasting at the Le Pommier Wine Estate from a collection of their award-winning wines. After the wine tasting, we checked into our rooms for the night and had a bit of downtime before heading to dinner at the Oppie Dorp restaurant in Stellenbosch where we were treated to a three-course meal to end the trip.
Delicious food at Oppie Dorp. Pity I couldn't finish both starter and main course. Funny though I have space for desert 🙈🙈🙈. Waiting for chocolate brownies 😋😋😋.#Isuzu #IsuzuSA #isuzumuxadventure #Adventuretime #OppieDorp #Stellenbosch #CapeTown pic.twitter.com/QE7nORXY8v
— Otsile JohnsonT (@OtsileJT) May 19, 2019
Final word
We are grateful to Isuzu South Africa for partnering with us in the #Isuzumuxadventure which presented us an opportunity to explore leisurely locations and discover new Sh’tleft destinations in our beautiful country with a reliable SUV. The mu-X presented itself as a spacious, comfortable, reliable and durable companion for our road trip and many memories were created with the Isuzu brand at the centre. The connectivity technology of the mu-X was also compelling and appropriate for the #Isuzumuxadventure with AppleCarPlay connectivity, touchscreen infotainment system and 7 USB ports. It is easy to see why one would respond when adventure calls in the Isuzu mu-X. The mu-X was with us for the long run!
The sentiment from the adventurers when we parted ways was “we can’t wait for the next one”!
FIre!
Absolutely!