I admit it … I do have a funny fascination about all things vintage. I really do. I find most modern things a little soul-less, maybe because they are too perfect. I don’t know. I like old brass taps, I like old watches, and I really like vintage cars. I always think that it would be such a pleasure to go back in time, say to the 1930s and spend one day in a city at that time. But that isn’t possible of course.

So I have been driving past this car shop for many years now, in Hoedspruit, and there was this old vintage 1947 car there, standing nolens volens under a shabby roof. And every time I drove past I thought to myself … one day, I will stop, buy it, and restore it to its former glory … what a shame it is standing around here, in the elements, slowly rotting away. But you know how it is … you think it … and you drive on. I either didn’t have the money, or the time, there always was a reason not to stop. So about 5 months ago, I saw that car again, but this time, I didn’t drive past. I did stop, walked in, made an offer and bought it!!

I had it taken to Pretoria, to a car restoration specialist, and he had only good news for me. Sound engine at its core, and good body, as well as chassis. No damage that cannot be made good on! What a find.

After some research, we found out that the car was the Cape Town mayor’s car in the 1940s. It was passed on to a friend, who kept it until he passed away, and then it went to his son, who sold it to a Hoedspruit mechanic in 2003. And now it is my mission to have it completely restored.

So why am I sharing this on the safari blog?

Well, I have decided to make this magnificent car available for mountain road trips to our guests once it is done. This sort of historic pleasure is to be shared and enjoyed by all.

I will update you here regularly on progress of the restoration. I will not yet let you know yet what the make and model is, but in due time, it will become obvious. All I will say is that it is a 1947 make.

Here a snapshot of the chasis restoration. This is a proper 100% bottom-up restoration, with all bolts and nuts restored or replaced. You will be able to enjoy this car in exactly the condition it was in when it rolled off the production line in 1947. Something to be getting excited about! It will be ready in about 8 weeks or so.

 

Ellies…..Ellies…..Ellies…. We found the herd between MRL and the Vuyani Safari Lodge in the block. They were on the move. We stopped in the road and the herd pretty much “surrounded” us. We got some amazing photos and the elephants got quite close … make that a British “quite”. Amazing moment for our guests, that’s for sure.

We also spotted the male lion near Big Dam in the evening. We decided to follow up the next morning and found they (male and two females) had taken down a wildebeest not too long before our arrival. The male had started feeding and as customary (first things first!), the females waited nearby for their turn. Great sighting and some very nice pics too……

We have started May off in a super fashion – the sightings have been superb so far. Not that it surprises us, the quality of sightings is always second to none here, but it still doesn’t cease to amaze us.

We have seen giraffes in all shapes and sizes – one animal you can never get tired of photographing, in my opinion. It is also an all-time favourite with our guests.

We also tracked and found the Lions in the evening near Diep dam – they were quite hidden in the thicket but we managed a snap of one of the sub adults peeking through the branches. We didn’t sit with them long as the visual was quite poor.

We also saw Nyala, Vulture, Vervet Monkeys and some Wildebeest. Amazing shot, see below. It doesn’t get much more iconic African nature than that.

We tracked and found the Cheetah on Jackal Plains – they were on the move and we snapped a photo of the one brother crossing the plains. Very cool.

We spotted the wild dog pack near porcupine dam – they were taking a nap. We spent around 10 minutes or so in the sighting and then pressed on. Having said that, this is the second rarest carnivore in Africa, with only about 2000-3000 still out there in the wild, so to see them is as rare as it gets. Well, the only rarer animals is the Ethiopean coyote. That’s about it. Enough said, conservation here is taken extremely seriously.

On our way back to the lodge we picked up fresh elephant tracks and they crossed right in front of us a mere couple of seconds later. Lucky!! They were on Nyala road near the bridge crossing heading West. The whole herd together and the bull gave us a bit of a dominance show (as usual). See below. He’s the boss. We get it. 😉