Pretoria - Johan Retters and Oan de Waal are the winners of the 2014 Ranger Odyssey.
Appropriately, the award was made at De Rust Outdoor near Hartbeespoort Dam, which is where their Odyssey began during Boot Camp in August.
As their prize, each will get to drive an Odyssey-spec Ranger for a year, with R5000 worth of fuel a month to burn.
Retters, 41, from Limpopo is an avid outdoor enthusiast, regularly venturing off the beaten track on 4x4 trips, as well as riding motorcycles and quads.
De Waal is a 23-year-old adventure athlete from Pretoria, specialising in obstacle course racing, both locally and internationally. He is also an active rock climber.
The two were first thrown together during team selection at the start of the main event on 7 September in Kamanjab, Namibia - as were all 10 teams - and competed together over the following 12 days, on the tough 2500km route and through numerous special tasks.
SPECIAL TASKS
During the expedition the 10 teams were scored daily by the instructors on driving techniques, camp craft, team work, vehicle maintenance, technical knowledge and general knowledge on the areas visited.
Several special tasks were also staged during the trip including winching and vehicle recovery exercises.
The route for the 2014 Odyssey event focused on the remote and largely unspoiled Kaokoland region in the far north-western corner of Namibia, renowned for its remote and extremely challenging 4x4 trails.
The 14-vehicle convoy went over the spectacular but treacherous Van Zyl's Pass, followed the Kunene River that forms the border between Namibia and Angola, traversed the Zebra and Baynes Mountains, and snaked along the Khumib, Hoarusib and Hoanib River bed 4x4 trails.
Ford marketing vie-president Mark Kaufman said: "The 2014 Odyssey was a real test of man and machine; the rugged Kaokoland pushed everybody to their limits, but Johan and Oan excelled throughout the event and are deserving winners, truly embodying the Odyssey's spirit of adventure with their active outdoor lifestyles."