Viva la Vuka!

On the road at Tradouwspas, between Barrydale and Heidelberg. Groupleaders: Albert Marais (tour guide) Dolan Gosslett, Francios du Toit, Maartin Olivier (supporter), Hendrik Marais and Wessel Wessels.

Albert took Hendrik and three of his friends, Wessel Wessels, Francios du Toit and Dolan Gosslett, all of them grade 11 of 2008, under his wing to familiarise the inexperienced bunch with the must-knows of a Vuka. Albert set the pace and took the lead to ensure there were no dangers ahead. The Vuka can reach up to 105km per hour, however the group decided to take it easy and enjoy the ride.

In his own words Albert Marais elaborates further:

The excitement was tangible when the five of us left on Friday 5th December 2008 at 6am from Kuilsriver. The route started from Bottelary Drive, past Stellenbosch and through Du Toitskloof. It was such a pleasure enjoying the wind on our faces then stopping for a quick skinny dip under a bridge where traffic was passing above.

We carried on with the trip, driving 80km per hour, past Worcester to Robertson where we stopped to enjoy lunch. The support vehicle joined us here where we then continued through Ashton and just around the corner lay the beautiful Montagu. A peaceful camping area was picked out under the almond and pecan nut trees of Die Bos, next to the caravan park in Montagu.

That night we slept under a bright starry sky. Early Saturday morning everything was packed for the road to Heidelberg, where we would overnight on a farm called Skeiding. On our way we stopped at Barrydale for petrol. Between the five of us we used a mere 12 litres of petrol since we last filled up in Worcester. This meant 45km per litre on fuel consumption! What makes it even more remarkable is that the Vuka's easily climbed over hills and mountains at 80km/h.

The drive from Barrydale took us over the magnificent Tradouwspass, where we couldn't resist a pit stop, to cool down in the divine water pools. On the other side of the Tradouwspass we took the drive over Grootvadersbosch leading to the farm Skeiding. The tar was now replaced with gravel and at some point it proved quite tricky, with all the loose stones, but the Vukas passed with flying colors. This was indeed a plus point, Vuka's capability to not only perform on tar, but also on gravel.

After a good night's rest in the guesthouse on Skeiding, we hit the road early for the drive back to Cape Town at 6am. At Swellendam we filled up our tanks, 12.6 litres to last us 113km between five Vukas. Despite the hot summer day the Vukas were still going strong and made the ride past Ashton and Robertson really pleasant.

In Worcester we stopped at the Wimpy on the N1 where a whole family were gathered with their superbikes. The slipstream family made good-natured jokes about their machines' appearance, speed and power. My friend, Albert, a quick-witted lawyer, got them to keep quiet when he asked them, at what price will they have succeeded in speed, even though both arrived at their destination.

After a well-deserved milkshake we chose the direction through Bainskloof. A pool was spotted in the mountain and we voted for a last swim, before taking on the last few hours home. While we were swimming, pranksters closed the Vukas' petrol taps. Everyone was surprised when the Vukas stalled shortly after departure, but the boys quickly figured it out and we were off again!

The last leg of the trip we passed by Butterfly World and even though it was incredibly hot, the Vukas never disappointed us.”


Stats for a Vuka weekend:
Total distance was 550km x 5 Vukas = Total 2750km
Petrol for 5 Vukas = R500, the same as 1 Toyota Hilux 3.0
No additional oil was used.

The Vuka XL110 easily drives long distances at 80km/h over steady hills and mountain passes, has proven fuel efficiency of 45km per litre, and is definitely something to consider for your next adventure: Viva la Vuka!