It has been about a year since we decided to pull the plug on living in South Africa. As a family we decided it would be best to leave everything behind as we knew it, and move to Botswana to purse a life of nature and the outdoors.
Botswana, like any other country in Africa, has its challenges ,but makes up for it in spectacular ways. Beggars in the streets of Cape Town were now replaced by donkeys and goats, and amazing game reserves were now at our fingertips!
We’ve managed to check out some pretty awesome places since we’ve been here. We’ve also watched the season turn from crazy amounts of rain, to a bone dry climate that’s turned mud into dust. Gaborone being the capital city is situated very close to the South African border, but also sits relatively close to some amazing game reserves like Khutse, and the infamous Central Kalahari Game Reserve.
Our first outing as a family took us three hours north of Gaborone, to Khama Rhino Sanctuary. KRS was established in 1989 in order to give our Rhinos a safe place to breed and live under the watchful eye of the Botswana defence force. During the summer months the rain comes and fills the beautiful pans with water. The whole park turn into a bright green oasis for all sort of animals like, Rhino, Giraffe, Zebra, Kudu, and many more! We loved it, parked off on the edge of Malema’s Pan sipping on a cold gin and tonic as the kids sleep in the back seat!
We recently took the opportunity to head to Northern Botswana as schools were closing which gave us the freedom to go!
We started by doing the CKGR eastern cutline. This was certainly not for the faint hearted, or inexperienced. The day awaited us with 300km of deep sand and extreme concentration. To do this you must be absolutely and completely self sufficient, as you will not see another human for a good 6hours! We arrived at the end of the cutline by Matswere Gate (CKGR) and turned into Rakops to regroup and top up on fuel! Our next step was to find the Boteti River ferry in order to cross the river into the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park. The ferry was a very cool experience as it was hand drawn and not powered by motors. The only other place i’ve seen something like this was in Malgas in South Africa, before the hand drawn ferry was replaced by a big modern one.
As soon as we crossed into the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, we came across massive herds of zebras, maybe 100 at a time, if not more. Along the river bed were herds of elephants grazing in the trees. A truly spectacular sight.
We set up camp at Khumaga which was absolutely spotless and very well run!
The following morning we packed up early to make a quick coffee and feed the kids before driving off into the sunrise. We decided to take a track along the Boteti River. It was absolutely stunning and we were greeted by hippos and many many zebras. Luckily for them no crocs in sight. We decided to keep heading North and exited Makgadikgadi Pans National Park via Phuduhudu gate and into the Nxai Pan National Park. This continued for the next 10 days as we adventured through Botswana getting as far as Maun! If you’d like to follow our adventures, please give us a subscribe on Youtube at Adventures Overland 4×4. We also run a popular instagram page (@Adventure_overland_4x4) where you can check out all of our awesome content, as we base ourselves in Botswana, and live life to the beat of our own drum!

Alex Rochard

When buying a bumper for your 4×4 vehicle, there are two elements that are incredibly important to a potential customer. The first is the design of the bumper, and the second (and equally important) is the quality of the bumper.

Design
Design in general is a personal preference and what appeals to one person might not necessarily appeal to another. The shape, the colour, and the profile of a bumper might add to the overall look of the vehicle, but it mostly still boils down to personal preference of the customer as to which looks better.

Quality
However, when it comes to the quality of the product, people are far more objective, and the facts need to speak for themselves. Bumpers are required to protect the occupants of the vehicle and the vehicle itself, to ensure that all of the vehicle’s safety mechanisms (like the airbags and sensors) are unhindered, and to also have no rattles when driving over and through rough terrain.

The material used for the bumper’s construction, the manufacturing process, the research and development, and the testing of the product are all vitally important to ensure that a product of exceptional quality is delivered.

Modular Bumpers versus Welded Bumpers
During an article published in the June 2017 edition of SA 4×4, it was stated that welded bumpers are generally less likely to rattle loose than modular ones, simply because they have fewer components. Although some people may believe that this is true, we have found the contrary to be a better reflection of the truth.

Rhino 4×4 makes use of a patented three-piece design and mounting system which allows the bumper to have more “flex” than a one-piece welded bumper. The result of this is that a modular bumper therefore is far less likely to rattle than a one-piece bumper, since a one-piece bumper has far less flex than a modular one.

Our personal experience further supports this belief. Rhino 4×4 has to date not had one warranty claim relating to a bumper which has rattled loose or failed during very rocky or corrugated terrain. In fact, this has become a point of differentiation for the Rhino 4×4 brand compared to some of its competitors over the last few years.

Testing
With close to 30 years’ experience in design and manufacturing for both the racing and leisure industries, the Rhino 4×4 designs are thoroughly tested with a lot of research and development going into them before they are released into the market. It takes close to a year of development and testing before the end product is launched to the consumer.

All Rhino 4×4 products sold in South Africa go through a strict, dynamic crash testing process in Australia to ensure that our products will allow the airbag to fire at the precise pulse rate as tested with the OE bumper crash tests. All of the Rhino 4×4 bumpers are therefore airbag tested and certified. It is important to note that many manufacturers claim that their replacement bumpers are “airbag compatible”, but a replacement bumper can only be deemed compatible if it has been tested and certified.

Take a look at how one of the Rhino 4×4 tests is conducted.

Do Your Homework
The next time that you are in the market to buy a bumper for your 4×4, take a little bit of time to do the necessary homework, and find out about the products which you are considering fitting to your vehicle. Speak to other people who have had replacement bumpers fitted to their vehicles and get them to share their personal experiences relating to those bumpers.

At the end of the day, always make sure that your new bumper answers the following three questions: Is it strong enough to protect you and your vehicle? Will it allow your airbags and sensors to operate as normal? Does it have enough flex and buffering to prevent noise or damage when driving through any rough terrain?

How many times has this happened to you: you are driving at night, and the next moment you are confronted by an animal either standing in, or busy walking onto the road which you are traveling on. This is exactly what has happened to one of our clients, Mr. André Steenkamp. On his way, a calf was walking onto the road as he was coming around the bend. The result was unfortunately unavoidable, as the vehicle struck the calf at 120km/h. Here follows the video of the incident:

What normally should’ve been an incident which would’ve seen Mr. Steenkamp’s vehicle being written off, wasn’t the case as the Rhino 4×4 Evolution 3D bumper fitted to his Toyota Prado, deflected most of the impact away from the radiator and other sensitive components housed within the engine compartment. This meant that Mr. Steenkamp could drive back home without any hassle and have his Prado repaired that following week. In the photos below you can see the aftermath of the accident.

The Rhino 4×4 Evolution 3D bumper comes in 3 separate pieces which meant that only the damaged parts needed to be replaced, not the full bumper. In this case only the left side section needed to be replaced.

In an article written by the Arrive Alive campaign, it is noted that there is no fool-proof way to keep animals away from the roads. Hoofed mammals that stand high on their legs, such as cattle, horses and antelope such as kudu pose the most danger to vehicle occupants. If they are hit, they can roll onto the bonnet and into the windshield or roof, resulting in extensive damage and serious or fatal injury. Due to their height, their eyes are above most headlight beams.

Adding a good quality bull-bar or replacement bumper can be a great help in minimising the impact or damage caused to your vehicle when colliding with an animal. The Rhino 4×4 Evolution 3D bumper is the perfect option for any vehicle as all of the products are of the highest quality, have all been impact tested, are all airbag compatible and certified, and require no cutting of any kind to your vehicle. Before going on your next adventure, make sure that you contact us for all of your 4×4 accessory needs.