Vehicle Requirements
2x4 with High Ground Clearance and Diff Lock will get you most places
Kosi Bay Valley Lodge, itself can be accessed in a normal sedan if we’ve had enough rain and the sand is not to soft, however, one would require or a 4x4 vehicle or 2x4 with high ground clearance and diff lock to experience the beaches and various other places of interest. It is advisable to lower your tyre pressure to 1.8 Bar for driving on the sand. We offer excursions to all these if you do not have a difflock or 4x4 vehicle.
Roads
Most of the roads are pure sand and have become very rough due to the dry conditions, while others are filled with building rubble or gravel by the community and surrounding lodges in order to provide easier access for most 2 wheel drive vehicles. Cars that sit low on the ground are not recommended on most of the rural roads, as the 2 wheel tracks on the sand roads often leave a centre bump in the road that can hurt the underside your vehicle.
Most of the lodges do offer trips and excursions to the beaches, mouth and Border. Many of the sand roads are single track, all drivers should drive slowly and watch for oncoming traffic around blind corners and hills. 4x4 drivers are encouraged to make way for 2x4 vehicles and vehicles towing a boat or trailer. Some 4X4 drivers do not find our roads challenging enough and spin out tracks whenever they find a steep hill. Please do not make new tracks.
Sand driving tips for all vehicles
- Lower your tyre pressure to 180Kpa max and to keep rolling at about 20kph in second gear.
- Engage your 4x4 or use the diff lock if your vehicle has it to aid in protecting the fragile environment and our roads.
- Drive slowly and steadily in a low gear through the thick sand.
- If stuck, reverse to a hard patch and try again. Often back and forward movement of your vehicle will help you get out of a soft patch of sand.
- Never spin the tyres trying to build up speed as the tyres especially if hard will just dig in and damage the road surface
- We urge drivers to follow these tips as our roads are very fragile. After you leave we still need to use them.
Quad Bikes are absolutely not allowed
- The South African Road Traffic Act 93 of 1996 states that Quad Bikes are not roadworthy and therefore cannot be legally operated on public roads.
- Any road leading to any building, home, lodge, school, church, tuck shop, camp or park is accessed and used by the public and thus considered a public road
- Riding a Quad Bike on a public road—even dirt roads is a punishable offence.
- Quad bikes are not registered or licensed to be on any public road, and may be impounded by SAPS.
- Quad Bikes may safely be driven within the private property of a farm, Lodge or private dwelling, or within designated Quad Bike areas.
- There are no areas within Kosi Bay that are designated for Quad Bikes.
- Quad bike tracks going once across the fragile open veld can still be seen two years later. Full scale erosion starts on the sandy soils where quad bikes have played.
Launching your Boat
- All boats being launched at Kosi Bay Camp need to be registered with the Department of Transport and must have a D.T.R number
- All boats must have a Skipper with valid skippers license & All boats must have a Buoyancy Certificate.
- In the boat there must be a first aid kit and life jackets equal to the number of people on the boat.
- If your boat does not meet the above requirements please do not launch your boat.
- Those who break the law will be liable for a fine. NO EXCEPTIONS will be made.
- All boats being launched must pay the Launching fee (R15)
- SAMSA Regulations require all skippers to fill out the Launching register with each and every time a skipper launches his boat and again upon his return.
