Chris Meistre

EC Offroad Adventures organised an event to Brakkeduine 4×4 Sand Trail. Lexi, our bull terrier, wasn’t feeling good and because of medication we had her on, we decided that Bernadette would stay home with them just in case something happens. I took the opportunity to take our other doggie, Kodi, with on the outing.

I thought about it carefully before finally deciding to take him, because I didn’t really know how he would react around so many people and being in the car for such a long time. But, nothing ventured nothing gained, so off we went.

I had to leave early on the Saturday morning, so I made sure that all the doggies ate early in the morning already. To distract the other doggies, we gave them chew treats while I got Kodi into the bakkie. When he noticed that he is going to come with me he got very excited. Even while excited though, he listened to me and stayed on the passenger seat.

There were DVDs to be dropped off at the video store and diesel to be put in before we could head towards the 4×4 trail though. I took this time to see how he will behave, by leaving him in the bakkie while the fuel attendant was busy while I went into the shop. When I came out he was still sitting there with a big smile on his face.

While we drove off in the direction of Humansdorp I shared the muffin I had just bought with him. The drive is about an hour, and you could see he was getting a bit bored and a bit worried about why we’re driving so long. He is used to 2-3 minute drives to the beach to run around.

Just before Humansdorp I pulled off the side of the road so that he could relive himself. I thought he’d be scared by all the cars rushing by, but he didn’t even take notice of them.

Our next stop was at the Humansdrop Engen Garage. This would also be the meeting point for everyone joining us on the outing. I was about 30 minutes early, so I parked the bakkie and got Kodi out on the leash and walked around Humansdorp with him.

The people joining us for the outing then started to arrive, and Kodi didn’t like all these people around him so he opted to go back to the bakkie and wait for me. Once everyone was there we headed off for the 30km trip to Brakkeduine. When I got into the bakkie Kodi had discovered the cookies Bernadette had packed for him. He didn’t rip open the packet though, and was just staring at it.

The road towards Brakkeduine was quite bumpy, but he didn’t seem to mind. He did seem to take notice of all the cows that we were driving past, probably wondering what type of dogs they were.

At Brakkeduine I let him out again while I got all the people to sign the forms before we could start on the outing. He took this chance to stretch his legs a bit on the soft grass at the camp sites.

We took the drive through the bush and once we got onto the dunes Kodi’s eyes lit up. He loves going to the beach, and probably recognized the dunes as being a place where he can run and go wild. At the first obstacle we stopped and I let him out. You could see he was very excited and darted off in a direction, turned around and raced back to me. He repeated this a few times while I was walking towards where the action was happening.

The guide had decided the drive so far had been too boring, and wanted to try out a different route. This turned out to be quite a challenging part of the trail and thus more interesting. We stood around and checked all the 4x4s for quite some time, all the time with Kodi hanging around me. Once the action was done we were heading onwards again.

Kodi looking on

Kodi was getting used to this 4x4ing thing, because I noticed that as soon as I started revving the bakkie higher in anticipation of climbing a dune, he would brace himself against the back of his seat. He behaved him very well throughout the trail.

When we got to the Langbult, there was a long time that he had to run around and be outside the bakkie. By then it was already very hot so soon after arriving there he chose a shady spot to go relax in while watching all the 4x4s attempt the Langbult.

Colt at Langbult

Then it was my turn to try it, and he got into the vehicle to join me. Once again he braced himself just before we got to the dune and sat still as we made it up the dune and, for the 2nd trip in a row, actually completed the obstacle. Normally the Colt runs out of power on this dune, but the last 2 times at Brakkeduine, I’ve been able to drive it out. It used to be my Achilles heel.

Kodi at Brakkeduine

From here the only part left was the Roller Coaster, where you need quite a bit of speed to get up a very steep sand dune. We did this with relative ease while Kodi was sitting on my lap this time.

Some vehicles were a bit over eager to get over the dune.

Boring

Getting some airtime

We took a slow drive back to the camp site, and once there the owners of the trail invited us onto their boat for a bit of a cruise down the lake. I wondered how Kodi would do on the boat, so we decided to stay a while longer and go on the cruise.

He got on with me, took a seat next to me, laid down his head in my lap and sat like that for the duration of the cruise. He was obviously very very tired from not being able to have taken his naps during the day.

On the drive back home I let him sleep on my lap, but he was just like a child, didn’t want to miss a thing. His head kept nodding off, but as soon as his eyes closed he’d open them again, just to make sure there isn’t something he missed.

At home, he just went to the couch and fell asleep. So next time, we’ll try and see how one of the other doggies behave!

The birds are active again.

Currently we have 5 finch eggs, 5 quail eggs and 2 dove eggs waiting to hatch. We also have one little dove that hatched about a 2 weeks ago. I tried getting him tame by handling him a lot, but as he is getting older he wants nothing to do with me touching him. I was warned though that doves might not be able to become tame so easily.

After two failures, our Lovebirds’ babies hatched this time and there were 4 babies. I checked up on them this morning, and they’re all doing fine!

Bernadette decided to do some paint touch up around the house. While she was outside, Tux, our little dachshund decided that he will help her.

Dear Dogs and Cats,

The dishes with the paw prints are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by Bernie Ecclestone and is not a racetrack. Racing me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn’t help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king size bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort however. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other, stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out on the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is no secret exit from the bathroom! If, by some miracle, I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge in an attempt to open the door. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years – canine/feline attendance is not required.

The proper order for kissing is: Kiss me first, then go smell the other dog or cat’s butt. I cannot stress this enough.

Finally, in fairness dear pets, I have posted the following message on the front door:

TO ALL NON-PET OWNERS WHO VISIT AND LIKE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR PETS:

(1) They live here. You don’t.
(2) If you don’t want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. That’s why they call it ‘fur’-niture.
(3) I like my pets a lot better than I like a lot of people.
(4) To you, they are animals.. To me, they are adopted sons/daughters who are short, hairy, walk on all fours and don’t speak clearly.

Remember – dogs and cats are better than kids because they:

(1) eat less,
(2) don’t ask for money all the time,
(3) are easier to train,
(4) normally come when called,
(5) never ask to drive the car,
(6) don’t hang out with drug-using people;
(7) don’t smoke or drink,
(8) don’t want to wear your clothes,
(9) don’t have to buy the latest fashions,
(10) don’t need a gazillion dollars for college and
(11) if they get pregnant, you can sell their children

Our doggies are like our children.  Actually, we probably take better care of them than we would children

Tux – the black dachshund

Lexi – english bull terrier

Kodi – light brown mix breed

Cache – white toy pom

Three Musketeers

The Four

Fantastic Four