WILD ADDO

Having received the invite, it didn’t take long for office battles to ensue as to who would attend the 2019 Cape edition of the Defender Trophy. Held at a new and every year, together an eclectic mix of characters, terrains and Defenders of every description.

This year, organiser Johan Kriek brought the Trophy to Addo Elephant National Park in the Eastern Cape – a massive 1 600km² SanParks reserve crisscrossed with trails, bush camps, high plateaus and steep, dark forests. We were lucky enough to get special access to some of the more remote areas closed off to the average tourist.

A great start at Schotia

Having driven to Knysna to collect my driving companion and buddy Rob, I introduced him to the trusty steed we’d be living out of for the next few days: a 1994 Defender 110 V8, completely bare of any luxuries bar my 20-year-old TV show. On arrival, we had set up camp in tents with rhino and elephant just metres beyond the fence and got to know some of the characters who’d driven from every corner of SA to be here.