Tankwa Tented Camp to Sutherland via Ouberg Pass/238 km
Tankwa at dawn is one of those rare places where you can seemingly sense the turning of the Earth. In a cocoon of unnerving, tinnitus-inducing silence, one by one, those stars that blazed across the sky at night begin to flicker out as the eastern sky is marked with slashes of crimson and yellow that only a desert awakening knows. On a road trip such as this, it’s a time of unlocking creaking bodies that have endured sporadic sleep in tents and rustic cabins, and the clatter of diesel engines and LED headlamps piercing the receding gloom. It is also a time when photographers urge their somnam-bulant colleagues to shake a leg before the harsh light of day burns away at that narrow window of low-light shooting opportunities.
Almost apt to its surroundings, climbing into the Pajero Sport was like easing into a well-worn but rugged pair of hiking boots. Despite its rakish looks, the Mitsubishi has a rare ability to feel worn-in but at the same time indestructible, even when brand new. Following the convoy into the waning darkness, over axle-twisting humps and ruts, its Triton-based underpinnings announced themselves with a hint of waddle here and a lurch there; nothing uncomfortable or disconcerting, but rather reassuringly old-school in its feel. Similarly old-school is the rather fiddly and unintuitive infotainment system and ergonomics that are somewhat compromised by a lower-than-expected seating position and scattergun ancillary control layout. Still, over
