Now and then, a patch of mud seems firm enough to drive through without a problem, when it isn’t. This is what could happen next…

After an exhausting party weekend near Benoni we decided to play with the quad bikes on a track in the Witfontein area one Sunday morning. We needed a bit a adrenalin to wake us up…

After some last adjustments the six of us left on two quads and in an old Land Cruiser bakkie. I drove the bakkie and its owner was on one of the quads. 

I followed the quads over the obstacles. The owner was afraid that I would damage the Cruiser and would not let me follow my own route. He just said, “Follow me!”

After playing on the track for a while we started exploring the 4x4 territory. And that’s where the trouble started… 

There was a heap of sand that was too steep for the bakkie and I had to drive around it. In my way was a muddy section that I walked through to check if it was safe to cross. Apart from a couple of puddles it appeared to be solid enough. Low range, second gear, go!

The Cruiser sank like a rock and was solidly stuck.

It apparently was a trench that had not been compacted after being covered up – and the water table was just under the surface.

Four hours and three broken tow straps later we eventually got the Cruiser out. 

PIETER SMUTS, Randfontein