Previous Run
7 Day Adventure Dec 2009 to January 2010
Day 1
We all got together in our little rowboats - or that is how a song I used to know when I was much younger goes - these chomas got together at the Clubhouse in Melkbos on 27 Dec 2009 to start this 7-day adventure. Shrek, Fiona, Bad-Ass-Boy, Hitlers Revenge and Pink Floyd left the club after some mapping ideas how to get to our 1st destination - Bredasdorp. Our 1st stop was in Gordonsbay in the parking area. We had a nice hefty breakfast containing eggs, samies, frikkedelle, coffee, boerewors etc. To our surprise Dads Toy a pink beach buggy stopped for a friendly chat. Isnt it amazing just how friendly Beach Buggy Owners is? We hit the road again after taking off jackets as the day started getting very warm indeed. We traveled along the picturesque coast of Gordonsbay all the way to Rooi Els where we stopped for a much needed loo-break. We went through Kleinmond and Hermanus and stopped again in Stanford where the boys spotted a Beach Buggy under covers. Must be a project of some sort. We hit Bredasdorp round about 2pm - a very decent time to set up camp. I phoned Dave Jones from a garage in the area and he met us and escorted us to the campsite. The campsite was a huge surprise. Very big, spacious and clean. He had a few loop-doppe with us and then left to fetch his wife and children to join us for a braai. It was very very nice seeing old friends and ex-club members again. He is still a perfect gentleman and his business is going great. His Silver Dream Machine (Beach Buggy) is back on all fours and he is ecstatic. Now he can come and visit us in Cape Town when the need hits to drive long distance with the buggy. Deur die harwar van tent opslaan en alles gereed kry vir n braai het ons nie regtig opgemerk hoe Christo se Hotdog to nou eindlik daarna uitsien nie. Wat n klein ou tentjie. Christo pas net net in - van kop na voet bedoel ek nou - sy lyf het darem nog so bietjie beweegruimte gehad. Between all the gepompery - Dave T and Anita had to pomp 310 times, because they wanted to use the hand model and not the electrical ones. In between all the noise of the pump we managed to have some great fun chirping. Eventually we sat down with a nice cold one and enjoyed a perfect wind-still night with the Joneses. The first night came to an end when Dave announced that he is a working man and must get some shut-eye. We left the young ones with the fire and climbed into our warm tents for a very good nights rest.
Day 2:
Bright and early it was Christos wish to get us all out of our tents and up for the next days driving. Sandra was appointed (I still dont know how it happened) to be our mother on the camp. She was up very early seeing that everybody was served with coffee and biscuit. No-one really said anything but she took it upon herself to see that everyone had a nice cup and something small to eat every morning. Thanx su s, you are still the best. Christo had a nostalgic moment and bonded with his chair, dancing the morning away, just after packing up. He enjoyed his first night sleeping under the stars as his tent is just big enough and to have a bit more space he left the tent door open. Boot-Up was our next stop - this little shop in Bredasdorp is Dave Js pride and joy. He is really happy to be in Bredasdorp and his business is really doing very well. Dave, thanx for joining us and spending some time with us. It was really nice seeing you again. Remember our doors are open here in Cape Town if you wanna visit. We left Bredasdorp to reach our next station being Riversdal. We hit the gravel road (this made Flo very happy) and drove for a while stopping now and then to give the tail enders time to catch up. The road was pleasant and no hiccups occurred. At some point while we were waiting for Dave T and Flo, Christo grabbed Anton for a Stof-dans - what a perfect couple they make. We traveled along the dirt road for quite some time and stopped at a small shop - Overberg Agri to get some needed supplies. Everybody got some ice and cooldrinks for the road and we went on to Die Pont. What a huge surprise. This must be one of the nicest, coolest places I have seen in South Africa. It is also the only Pont in SA - you load your car on a platform and five people then drag you across the river. Herewe spent some leisure time, we had a nice breakfast once again of some left-overs of the previous night and watched other cars getting dragged across the river. Then it was our turn. We had to leave Dave T behind as he had a trailer and had to come over with another group - only 4 buggies fitted on at once. While waiting for the Dave T, Sandra and I found a Boer se land with a huge sprayer. It was extremely hot and we looked at the water with desire in our hearts. Sandra saw that the gate wasnt locked, so I opened the gate and ran for the water. What bliss!! While waiting for the others we had a really good time getting wet. The kids saw us in the water and the next thing all the children and the women-children was getting soaked. Needless to say we had a nice cool drive to Riversdal. We entered Witsand around lunch time and here is where our first breakdown occurred. Hitlers Revenge wanted some attention and within minutes the problem was solved and we hit the road again. We did a small detour to the Jetti and spotted some ouens with huge Kabeljou (25kg) and while we looked at the fish - Dave T decided to kiss the mountain. It was so, so close. Anita said all she remembers was that they were coming down the small incline, she saw the sand and then the mountain was next to her. When Anton asked Dave what had happened his reply was: I dont know - luckily no one was harmed and Hitler was also without a scratch. It was a big scare though. Our next stop was Heidelberg for some spares for Bad-Ass. He needed brake-fluid and seals for the Slave-Cylinders. We trekked into Riversdal around 3pm and set up camp. Our buddy Kevin and his mate Brent came to visit us on their Bikes and I won a lucky prize - I was privileged enough to hitch a ride with Kevin on his BMW 1200GS. What a nice bike - what a nice ride!! Kevin took me into town to buy some wood and needed supplies for the guys back at the camp. Flo and Dave T started stripping off the wheels on Bad-Ass and fixed the problem. The big men had to...
It was the girls duty to see to nice samies for the braai and that took a long time as everybody wanted samies. We had a nice fire going and attempted to braai some Adder Sausage - I didnt like it and I think I talk for most of the people on the camp. It is not something I will buy again. We had a rather late night, chatting with our friends and just having a really nice time. Kevin and Brent pitched their tent and as the previous night we had a wonderful evening with no wind. The next morning however we were greeted by a few confused raindrops. - Naomi & Anton
Day 3:
Riversdale to Oudshoorn. After a good nights rest we said goodbye to Kevin & Brent. We got up early and started to pack up our camp. Christo noticed that it must have rained during the night as his
pillow was slightly damp after leaving his Hot Dog tents door open. Once we all had packed up we headed for the town as Pink Floyd needed his tyre repaired. We managed to find a place called Highway Bande which charged him a mere R25 to patch the tube. We travelled from there through the Holbak Mountain Pass which had picturesque views. We stopped on route to Ladiesmit where Jacques decided that he was going to play with a quite large spider. After coaching him to leave it alone we continued our travels. We travelled over the Brand River through Krom Kloof to Van Wyksdorp. We managed to find a quite quaint garage just as we entered Ladiesmit where we stopped for lunch consisting of, ice, pies & toasties. We continued from there travelled past the Sewe Weeks Poort turn off, over the Huis rivier pass. We decided we needed a comfort break at a lovely Uitkyk punt and this is where Jaco decided that he no longer needed his top which blew out of Fiona. Finally we entered Oudshoorn and made a stop at the Pick & Pay to purchase food for the evening. From there we took the road towards the Cango Caves. On route Christo forgot to concentrate on the buggies in front of him and over shot the turnoff to the camp site. While travelling down this narrow road we encountered a lost cousin of Naomi standing in the middle of the road with its adder swaying. It appeared to have enough milk to supply a small army. We paid our dues at the Cango Mountain Resort and found a nicepiece of open grass to put up camp. The oddest thing was that there were no braai drums or braai facilities, so we had to braai on the grass. Floris and Christo headed towards Wilge Wandel to see what they had to offer. Dave & Anita ventured to the Cango Caves where Dave took the full route and Anita the more leisurely tour. It is believed that Dave head butted a stalactite which bit back and gave him a nice hole in the head. Dave the postman almost got stuck in the Post Box but managed to crawl his way through. That night Christo made a slow pork belly for supper while Sandra slept in her chair again. We had a brief appearance by Naomi the Big Bat. We sat around our fire till quite late as buggers one by one crawled into bed. - Christo
Day 4:
Oudshoorn to Sedgefield. We all got up early and packed our wagons and strapped in our oxen for our next trek. Sandra was kind enough to spray Christo with some sun block as his was not doing the
trick. Once all was loaded we headed towards the Cango Caves and pulled in at the Wilge Wandel Entertainment area. This is where the fun started. Dave was very impressed with the Giraffes and was determined to ride one. We all had a good chuckle as the giraffes were actually fairly well behaved camels. Dave mounted the camel and off they went on a stroll. While this was happening Sandra, Naomi & Christo bathed in the sprinkler. Jaco & Jacque decided that a ride on a small Pipe car would be great fun. The buggers all decided that we were going to ride on the bumper boats. As half the boats were not in working order we had to split into two groups. The more behaved buggers went first and then the splashers went afterwards. We were greatly entertained by a very large peacock which fanned its tail and made mating gestures which excited Anton. The kids all decided to go down the fuffy slide which stretched over the water. Dave & Mandy took a go at the pipe car and drove too fast and was almost given a red card by the marshals. Low and behold Pink Floyds tyre was flat again and needed a pomp. Once this was done we headed to Oudshoorn & stopped at a Kwik Fit for another patch. The owners weretruly impressed that we were travelling so far in buggies. While Christo was repairing his flat Sandras Fiona decided enough was enough and blew her fuse. Dave decided that Fiona could not be left stranded in the middle of the intersection and pushed Fiona with his bumper out of harms way. By this time Sandras eyes were problematic and she needed to recoup a bit and handed her keys to Naomi. We quickly got some ice and refreshments and headed to Sedgefield over the Outeniqua Pass. While travelling through George we stopped at the Checkers to buy some rations. As we entered Sedgefield we stopped at the liquor store for more ice and a few drinks. Right next to the bottle store was an Antique motor dealer which had a wide variety of classic cars. They even had a few over priced buggies for sale. We then headed back out of Sedgefield to the Swartvlei Caravan Park. Then it was the same old story of putting up camp and the kids were off to scout the area for something to do. Christo & Floris were very impressed with the amount of talent walking around and had to go and drive through the camp to check out the menu. Dave had to do some minor maintenance like set his clutch and filled his gearbox with oil which at that stage seemed dry. It was not long and our camp neighbors must have thought that we were very starved travelers and brought over some divine potjie ko s. We were entertained by the neighbors which decided that they were going to do a spook show for some of the campers. Now this camping facility was jammed packed and ever had a Sokkie Jol for the campers of which none of us went to. Go figure! Jaco, Mandy & Jacque decided that they were going to look for lost treasure and dug big holes on the beach. Christo phoned his kids and this is when Maxie decided she missed her daddy and wanted him to promise to phone her every night. We all sat around the fire, braaied and headed to bed early. - Sandra
Day 5:
Uhuru - Freedom / Liberty. Its very, very hot, after leaving Sedgefield and traveling via Oudtshoorn, taking the 34 km turn off to Calitzdorp Spa we all got lost for a while, like 100km lost, ongravel road and cement roads but we reached Uhuru at last. All the Wildbuggers jumped out immediately on arrival and went to greet the beautiful feathered birds, other animals and monkeys. Mandi and I
were just sitting in the car relaxing before we set off to explore Uhuru. This is absolutely a must place to visit; there is an entertainment area, bar, hot, hot spa, and a not so hot swimming pool indoors. Outdoors there is a braai area and a small super tube which ends in a very tempting swimming pool. We walked around stretching our legs after the journey for a while, before we proceeded to the house that would be called home for 2 days next to a dam. We quickly sorted ourselves out with some beds and yes we had a guest that welcomed us at the house, a dog. Sandra was so kind and took care of him for the rest of our stay. We settled in quickly and then the kids and Christo went for a dip in the swimming pool. We all went for a ride on the slippery slide while Floris was spending time with his relatives, who were also at the camp site. We had a braai early evening and also welcomed some neighbours next door who later fed us with some potato salad in exchange for a torch we lent them earlier in the evening. The New Year was entered without a countdown and we were all hesitant to wish as we were not sure if it was 00h00. Mandi shouted, Mommy it is New Year and then we all exchanged greetings. We had champagne and the bottle was passed around. What is New
Year without champagne!! The men seemed tired but Naomi, danced and made some old guys night. Anton and I were commenting on the old guys energy as Naomi was gliding with him all around the floor. Sandra, Floris and Christo enjoyed the spa and later returned all relaxed. Jaco, Jacques and Mandi were on the super tube till late. Lovely evening with sakkie-sakkie and a picture perfect view.
Dave and I left early while the rest enjoyed some drinks and partying.
Day 6:
New Year: They say early to bed and early to rise. Not in theTaylors familys case, we slept late while the rest of the buggers were enjoying breakfast at the pools side. New Years Day is spent with a sick Shrek, who needs a new clutch cable after finding the old one had started to unravel right inside the Bowden tube. This meant one thing. Irrepairable, but replaceable. Pedal cluster out before we even start. Fairly easy going until the new cable does not fit into the Bowden tube as the Threaded end is 1mm thicker than a standard beetle one. Eventually Christo jumps up with a cheer as he has the cable all through, only to find the Bowden tube is put in arse about face. Damn!!! Start the process again. After another ½ hour we eventually win. Now we need to hold the cable tight while we bolt in all the pedals. ! @!#$&^% the bolts behind the accelerator pedal had been butchered by the previous owner. Now! we are up a creek without a paddle. We call on the Site owners assi stance, who says a drilling machine will be available the next morning. This is where we call it a day and packed up all the tools while the others were preparing the evenings Potjie. Anton and Naomi made an awesome potjie and this was served with rice and veggies and lots of gravy. Dave went to fetch a second helping of gravy and bread, Ja nee toe is hy dik. Bravo to the Chefs. Those that slaved away in the afternoon could now relax while the others did the washing up. We later went for a swim in the hot water swimming pool, thanx to Floris for the idea!! This was fun; we were swimming while Dave relaxed in the small hot spa. In the region of 50 deg C. The evening was ended with coffee thanx to Sandra and we were discussing some movies that had been watched by some. Calitzdorp was one of many highlights of the tour. - Dave Taylor
Day 7:
Everyone got up early to leave for Swellendam. We said our good-byes to the farm and Oom Gerrie the owner gave us the drill to fix Shreks pedal cluster. I dont want to call him Shrek, I want to call
him the Green Monster after all the problems he gave us the day before. It was once again, shirts off, in the blazing sun, 9 oclock in the morning. We drilled 2 holes to mount the pedal cluster and then we
were off. Stopped in Calitzdorp for some refreshments and hit the road to Swellendam. Just before Lady Smit, Christos sugar levels dropped to the point of passing out, but he managed to hou kop, got to Lady Smit where he laid down under a shade tree. He had 2 Energades and a slab of chocolate and about 45 min later he was alright and we hit the road. Along the road we stopped for a smoke break and everyone was sitting under a road side lapa. We all felt very pap as we all felt the heat, driving in an average heat of 44 degrees. Christo was the only one with enough energy to hop around, laughing as his sugar levels was back to normal. Got to Swellendam and stopped at OKs to get our nightly supplies and headed off to the camp-site. Swellendam has one of the nicest camp sites with green grass and lots of huge shade trees. And off cause there was Donkey - shreks buddy. He made a lot of noise. We pitched our tents and sat around for a while - I dozed off for a short period as the heat had its toll on me. Refreshed I woke up and the crowd was in a circle joking and talking. We then started our Funny- Buggers game, throwing around a water-filled cooldrink bottle without the lid, to each other. After a while no-one was dry and we had loads of fun. Christo got Daves Watermelon and Anton did the honors of cutting it up. We sat around having sweet, red fruit and enjoyed each others company. Later we lit a fire and braaid mielies that Anton bought (from the left over wood-money). It was definitely the best mielies I had in a very long time and everybody agreed. We braaied our meat and decided to head to bed early. The donkey did not wake us this time around. Just before we left the camp-site his tearfull goodbyes reached our ears. We packed the tents and buggys and started the long trip home. We had two pit stops on our way to Worcester and there we stopped for lunch. True to Cape Town we got rain as we headed out of the tunnel. Engen One Stop was our next stop as it was time for a pp-stop again. Here we said our goodbyes to Christo as he decided to go ahead and get home as fast as possible. Dave was the next to go his way and we decided to drop Sandra off at her house and have a cup of coffee. Myself and Anton took the last stretch to Melkbos and got home around 2pm. The total kilometres we traveled were 1500 and my petrol consumption was 13 km per liter. Not bad for a Bad-Ass-Boy. In my opinion this was the best trip of all the trips I was on. Great bunch of people and excellent maintained buggies. Thank you to everyone that made this adventure so special. - Floris
Previous Run - Christmas Lights Run
As planned, we all got together at Shoprite Bothasig on Tuesday, 15 December. Our bug was unfortunately out of action so we arrived 3 up on the Z1300. Found out that Miguel has grown an inch or two, as his helmet kept hitting mine and was very uncomfortable. Luckily for me I got a lift with Christo in his bucket seats only made for one.... my ass just a tad too wide for them so I had to sit sideways ı Was very impressed to see Gustav& Ouboet and their family. They came all the way from Tulbagh to see our lights. Ek is baie dankbaar. Christo and I led a group of 8 bugs, a "thing" and a bike. It's really not fun being in the lead - your necks get a bit "uitgerek" after a while. Some buggers made purchases on the way and now we even have our own "Horny Dame Edna" - heehee Anyway, we saw some beautiful houses and even got the chance to enter one home to see their tree. It's astounding how much money and love is spent on making their homes so pretty. We eventually made our way home and everyone came in for coffee and a chat and of course, some free spice. A lovely way to spend an evening. Thanks everyone! - Kareen Dantas
Next Run:
Op-die-Koppie - Ceres
Organised by: Gustav and Juanita
Camp: 5 - 7 February 2010
Cost: R50 per head - children under 12 Free
Anton and Naomi will be leaving from the Clubhouse on Friday between 6 and 6.30pm. Everybody that wants to join us and ride with us are welcome to meet us here. We will be meeting Ouboet in Tulbach and from there we will drive to Op-die-Koppie.
Remember to pack all your food, drink, tents, etc as we are not near civilization
From the Treasurer:
Hi everybody - just a reminder that it is a new year and subs are due again.
The new subs is as follows: A Single Member - R120 per year; A Family - R100 per adult (so it will be R200 per family per year)
Please pay your subs into our Club Account and use your name as reference. Contact Naomi Kleyn for the bank account details as it has not been made available to the editor by the time this newsletter was printed.
From the President:
I am glad to say that I am looking forward to this years club activities. We have a full schedule of fun ahead of us and I really hope that we will see all club members attend the runs. I want to encourage you as members to try and recruit new members. I am working on a flyer/business card to give to people with Buggies. This will be given to all members soon.
Hope your year is a great success!! - Anton
General:
For Sale: Surry vir Beach Buggy - R200
To Order a Surry phone Floris on 082 956 5892
Swop Shop
Herman Van Greunen - a qualified mechanic in Goodwood will sort out your car problems. 083 253 1920
Wild Buggers get 10% discount on all goods bought from Beetle Bits & Beam Bug. 021 - 696 4110.
Biltong & Droe Wors can be bought from Kleyn Begin. Contact Naomi - 082 428 9216. Or see www.kleynbegin.co.za
Carpet, upholstery cleaning and flood damage. Contact Floris at F&B Carpet Cleaners on 082 956 5892