Bundu-bashing getting boring? Try 4x4xnight!

The organisers of the annual African Off-Road Adventure competition have come up with a new tweak - off-roading at night!

The Bridgestone 4x4 Night-Driving competition, scheduled for the night of August 30/31, is aimed at 4x4 owners who use their vehicles for commuting, weekend fun and adventure holidays.

It won't be a car breaker - although convenor Greg van der Reis says it will be challenging! - and the route is designed to be achievable by a standard all-wheel drive vehicle.

Competitors will start from Bridgestone's head office in Montagu Gardens, Cape Town at five-minute intervals towards their first waypoint.

There the marshals will sign their check sheets and give them the next waypoint. It's not a race, says Van der Reis, all the times and distances have been calculated at "speed limit minus 20 percent".

Once drivers have found their way to the main event there will be some time for preparation before they tackle a challenging course of sand, mud, steep ascents and descents and some rock - all in the dark.

The sequence of vehicles will be changed between sections so as not to favour any one competitor.

Once everybody has completed the course there will be a few hours of sleep before the morning prizegiving.

So, if you have a street-legal 4x4, a sense of humour and a bit of a competitive spirit, go enter.