Chris Meistre

Sunday 14 June 2009

Everyone woke up this morning extremely excited as well as nervous about what this day will hold.  Breakfast was had in mostly silence, and then everyone prepared to take off at 08:30.

Charles did the briefing and explained everything about putting the vehicle in 4wd high range, where the diff lock button is, and how the day’s events will be run.  We were a small group consisting of 9 teams, so we’d be able to go through all the events quickly, and still have enough chance to enjoy the scenery around us.

Briefing

Each team were given a Mitsubishi Triton 2.5 4×4 to use for the event, so it was nice driving someone else’s car

The first event was a standard offroad racing event, trying to see who can drive through the course the fastest.  Sounds easy enough, but you start off on a slight uphill so that you cannot see the rest of the course that you’ll drive, you have poles that you have to miss and gates (2 poles) that you’ve got to go through and not touch.  Adrenaline was pumping as the first team went.  We went second with me driving and it was awesome!  The first thing I noticed was that the Triton 2.5 lacked power that the Triton 3.2, that we practised with, has.  Although you’re racing and driving quite fast, everything seems to happen in slow mode.  Must be adrenaline.

The second event was a sandy hill climb.  You got one chance to go as far up the hill as you could.  We were first, and again I took the wheel and tried.  We did quite well, with Sarel even saying over the radio that it was a good climb.  I was chuffed about that.  Then 2 teams later a guy went up about another 4 metres.  So we ended up being the 2nd highest up.  Not bad I thought.

Most of them were just racing events similar to the first one.  Bernadette and I alternated between those.  There was another sandy hill climb where you chose a position to pull away from, and based on that position you can get points if you make the climb.  I made a bit of a stuff up of that as well.  Reflecting back now, we were putting too much pressure on ourselves, and ended up making stupid mistakes.   I really enjoyed the racing style events though, I felt like I was really getting into it.

The one was a reverse hill climb that I tried.  I went up the hill and saw I was going to hit a poll.  I stopped immediately (because hitting a pole is 30 second penalty), rolled down my window, pushed in my side mirror.  As I pulled off, I made a HUGE mistake by turning the wheel the wrong way and ended up hitting the pole anyways.  Damnit I was angry with myself.

We then headed back to the campsite for some lunch at around 12.  Everyone was talking excitedly about the events that’s happened so far.  Then it was back to the events.

There was a figure 8, again to see who does it the fastest.  This time with a twist, there are 2 vehicles on the circuit at the same time.  Bernadette took on this challenge and did very well.

At another hill climb Bernadette did excellent by making it look easy!

That was about that for the 1st day, and everyone’s adrenaline was pumping when we got back to the camp.  But the organisers were prepared for this, and took us for a nice relaxing drive down to Black Rock Beach.

We were privileged enough to be driven around by the late Nduna’s son, Bongani.  He is set to become his tribe’s new Nduna (leader) once he gets married.  It’s worth noting that the whole area we were living in and doing the events belong to a Zulu family.  They help out by supplying a few hands to help run the event, let us use a camp site, and much more.  I took this time to ask him questions about the culture and the area, and he was more than helpful to answer them all.  The route we took to get to the beach was amazing.  It’s like watching a movie.  The scenes that you normally see of people driving through the jungle on a exotic island, EXACTLY like that.  And what was also quite astonishing was how hot we were getting there, compared to waking up to -2 degrees celsius temperature the previous morning at Goldengate.

Once at the beach we all chilled around on the beach, watching the sun set and reflecting on the day’s events.  Some of the people swam and snorkeled but didn’t see much unfortunately.

Black Rock Beach

Event Photographer

Just before the sun finally set, we drove back to the camp site to enjoy a relaxed evening with some great food.  I was roped in to help with the braaing, but was more than willing to help because I hate sitting around idling.  After that we had a shower and went to bed for another night’s early sleep.

All the photos from the event can be viewed on http://www.meistre.co.za/gallery2/v/Other+Journeys/June2009+Expedition/Sunday+14+June+2009/Pro+Pics+P+van+Zyl/?g2_highlightId=20576

Sometime early this morning we start feeling that it’s very cold inside the tent and the top of the blankets are actually wet from the condensation.  Both of us were too lazy and too cold to get up to get more blankets or sleeping bags though, so we stuck it out.   When we eventually got out of the tent it had a layer of ice on it.

Ice on the tent

In record time and with freezing hands we had our camp site setup and packed away.  We headed for the showers, but before that I checked the temperature in the car.  It was -2!

-2 Degrees

After a nice hot shower we got some hot coffee and tea and drove off towards Harrismith.  At this point in time we thought we had more than enough time to drive around and explore the park.  So we took the 2 circular routes you can drive.

The golden rolling hills and mountains are amazing in this part.  We didn’t see any wild, but just seeing the surroundings was more than enough.  The sun was also starting to come out now and you could feel how your body starts heating up.

Goldengate Park

Goldengate Park

Goldengate Park

On the way to Harrismith I noticed a huge dam on my GPS screen and decided to go and check it out.  We drove through gates right up to the edge of the Sterkfontein Dam.  As we stopped there I noticed a car coming racing down to us where far across the damn.  Didn’t pay much notice to it and we got out and took some photos.

Sterksfontein Dam

When the car stopped a guy got out and walked over to me.  I was about to greet him friendly when he just blurted out,” You are you doing here?”, and I replied to him saying we’re just taking some photos.  He told us to leave immediately and we were trespassing.  So we left, not too much in a hurry Only on driving out of the gates did we see the NO ENTRY sign on the inside of the gate!  On driving out I took another detour on a gravel / mud road.  This turned out to be a interesting detour because at one stage I had to do a bit of maneuvering to not get stuck in the mud in the middle of no where in a 4×2! 

At 9:00 we arrived in Harrismith to have some breakfast.  After that we starting driving towards Pongola through Ladismith.  We had a couple of stops and a few detours, but the most interesting came just before the Pongola Dam.

Somewhere around mid day I realized if we follow the directions the Spirit of Africa guys gave us, we’re going to be doing an extra 200km when we could just as well go straight to the meeting point (because I knew where it was) and save that 200km.  This would also mean being on time or being 2 hours late!  So I setup another route for us on the GPS, and at one point we reached a gravel road that the GPS thought would be a main road.  Needless to say there were no alternatives so we turned into it.  Unfortunately we ended up being a Landrover Defender that seemed to be on a Sunday afternoon drive.  The road was too narrow to pass as well.  If it was my own vehicle I would’ve driving up on the side and passed him, but I couldn’t do it with this bakkie.  So after a torturous few kilometers we finally go onto a main road again.

This took us to the Pongola Dam.  It looks like this dam just carries on forever and ever.  From here we made our way to Jozini.  At some points on the road it is better to actually drive on the side of the road than in it.  There are potholes the size of the bakkie that we had dodge.  And among dodging potholes there were goats, people and cows to also avoid.

A smaller pothole

The next 2 hours were spent racing to get to the meeting point on time.  I hate being late, and we sort of saw it as a challenge to get to the meeting point at just the right time, 15:30.

More potholes, dodging people, speeding, we finally stopped at the meeting point at exactly 15:30.

There we were met by 2 other vehicles that comprised out of 3 teams.  Funny enough, one of the teams were also from Port Elizabeth!  We stood around for about an hour talking about previous events, and various other things while waiting for the SOA escorts to come and take us to the camp site.

We were taken to the camp site, and as we were about another 1km away from the camp site, the bakkie’s fuel reserve light came on.  I thought it would last a bit longer, but driving the 4×2 in the 8km to the camp site chowed the petrol a bit.  So now I wondered if I’d make it back to the nearest petrol station that is about 30km away!

I put that thought out of my head as we meet the rest of the teams and get our initial briefing and team numbers.  We ended up being Team 4.

After getting our tents sorted out and doing final registrations at the office, the evening is spent around the fire and having a very nice dinner.  Even though everyone is excited about what the next day will hold, it’s off early to bed for everyone.

Friday, 12 June 2009

After spending the last night with our puppies sleeping on the bed with us, we’re up early to leave for our adventure.  The most difficult part is always leaving them alone at home.  Luckily our friend said he’ll look after them, which took a huge burden off our shoulders.

Saying goodbye to the Puppies

All their blankies in their little house

As you can see, we made sure they’ve got enough blankets to be kept warm

We start driving towards Cradock where we have our first pitstop for the morning.  It visible that it’s getting colder the further we drive to the middle of the country.

When we reach Hofmeyer at around 9:00, a little town with almost nothing, we are about to drive through it when we notice a small little shop advertising breakfasts.  It’s decided that we’ll stop off here to have some coffee, tea and breakfast before heading onwards.  It turns out to be a cute little shop with a lot of old antiques in there.

Old Sign in Shop

Us infront of the Shop

Haha yes, we did the tourist thing, taking photos in front of all the landmarks

By 11:00 we drove into Burgersdorp.  Amazing little place with a golf course that doesn’t resemble a golf course at all.  There’s no grass to speak off, so I can just imagine how it must be to play golf there.  I realised I had some geocache locations loaded on my GPS, so while we were driving and something was closeby we stopped and tried to find it.  It was quite interesting as we didn’t have the clues or anything with us.  We did manage to find a few.

Here we are

The view of Burgersdorp

A fort in Burgersdorp

From here we headed on again after a couple more photos were taken.

While driving I noticed a place called Zastron on some of the sign boards.  I found this name quite unique and was intrigued to see how this place looked.  Although a bit out of our way we decided to head off and see what the place looks like.  We ended up visiting a camp site that’s located next to a lake.  Looks like a very nice.. and cold.. place to camp over at.  I got Bernadette a bit nervous trying to drive up a very muddy little uphill, but decided against it when we start sliding around and not having our trusty 4×4 there.  I’m sure it would’ve made it with a bit more momentum

Zastron

After the slight detour we headed on again.  I turned into a gravel road which would take us to the Lesotho border post.  My idea was to turn just before we got to the border and then drive all along the border towards Clarence.  While driving there though we contemplated what’s needed to actually go into Lesotho, and how much time it would add to our trip to reach Clarence before nightfall.  We had decided we need to reach at least Clarence today otherwise we’d not make the 2nd leg of the trip to Kosi Bay in time.

Our thoughts were interrupted when a police vehicle that came from the front kicked up a stone that hit the windshield leaving a bit crack.  To say that we were angry was an understatement, but we got over it quickly when we reached the border post.  I’ve never left our country’s borders, so it was quite exciting to know we’ll be finally stamping our passports.  After all the stories you hear about border posts, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

Was I amazed when we were greeted by two friendly staff members that told us we only needed our passports to enter Lesotho.  Having asked a bit more about road conditions and traveling times we decided to rather give this a skip and carry on through our intended route.

Lesotho Border Post

After a fuel stop and headed on to get to Clarence before nightfall.  Our plan was to camp at the Highland Golden Gate Nature Reserve.  We’ve heard it was beautiful there and have seen photos, so we were keen on spending the night there.  Temperature started to drop though as the sun was getting lower and lower.

At around 15:30 we reached a little padstal called the Cabin.  It was just about the right time because we were so hungry and just needed a little break from sitting and driving for so long.  It’s a lovely little place with some unique art that you can buy.

The Cabin

After a last fuel stop and getting some braai wood in Clarence, we were about an hour away from our site for the night.  We got to the Goldengate Nature Reserve as it was starting to get dark.  Just the drive into the reserve is a very beautiful drive.  The mountains and formations on either side is something everyone should see!  At the reception we quickly booked in, knowing the longer we took the darker it would get and the colder it would get while setting up camp.

By the time we’d set up camp, which was probably a new record, we could no longer feel our hands and fingers.  The temperature was now 5 degrees celsius.  The fire was made and we sat around it reflecting on what we’d experienced during the day.  We saw some cool new places, saw beautiful scenery.

The braai with vegetables went down very nicely, and we headed to bed after that.  As we got to sleep new campers arrived and started setting up camp.  Fucking inconsiderate people didn’t even try and whisper.  At least we were snuggling up nice and cosy in our tent, so that made it all right.

Need Heat!

Thursday, 11 June 2009

It is the day before we leave, and we’re very excited.  I’m a bit worried though as my bakkie has been in for some repairs for well over a week now and they still don’t know if I’m getting it back this afternoon.  After numerous phone calls to the dealership during the morning, I decide at 15:00 that I’m going to drive there to talk to them in person to find out what is going on.

When I get there I can see they’re a bit surprised to see me.  I immediately go to one of the managers to ask him what’s going on.  After speaking to the workshop manager, I ended up driving to the place they’d need to go to get some parts because they couldn’t get hold of the place on the phone.  I get there and the parts aren’t ready, so I headed back to the dealership.

After a bit of discussion they said they’d be willing to lend me one of there vehicles for the trip.  For this I am very grateful, because otherwise we’d have to cancel the trip.

There are still problems though.  This vehicle doesn’t have a canopy, so we’d have to pack very sparingly to fit in everything we need.  This meant leaving the fridge at home, but we decided we’ll survive without it.

Just after getting back from the dealership, I get showered and dressed and off we are to the LA Sport 4×4 Shop opening evening to represent EC Offroad Adventures.  We don’t even drink a beer, although it’s been a hectic day, because we know we leave at 4:00 the next morning.

LA Sport Opening Day

At about 21:00 we head back home and back everything in the vehicle.

Puppy wants to go with

In 2008 I took part in our first Spirit of Africa event with a friend.  This is an event sponsored by Mitsubishi Motors and run by the famous rally and race driver Sarel van der Merwe.  The competition is split into 2 parts, the semi finals and the finals.  During the semi finals about 400 different teams of 2 people each take part over a 3 month period.  Each group of about 15 teams go take part for 3 days, and then whoever gets the most points ends up going to the finals.  The competition tests your 4×4 and rallying skills, but is also there to learn a lot from the master himself.

This year I decided to take part alongside my wife as my team mate.  We also decided to make a nice holiday out of it, instead of just rushing there, taking part for 3 days and rushing back.  We planned everything earlier in the year already, booked our spots for the competition and then also got our accommodation sorted.

We like not planning too much ahead when we go on holiday, so we used our holiday club’s points to book a place we’d stay after the event, but for the days before the event we decided to just wing it and see where we get.  I don’t like sticking to a schedule when we’re driving, because I like taking detours and stopping off at different places.  I also didn’t want to rush through the 1900kms we’d have to travel just to get there.

When the time finally came to go, a lot of things started happening.  Projects got delayed that I was going to be a part of, the recession hit, my Colt’s repairs wouldn’t be done in time and we just felt perhaps it’s not the right time to take the holiday.  But having already spent the money on everything, we decided to just stick it through.  Best choice we could’ve made!

Maritime Motors in Port Elizabeth was kind enough to let us borrow one of their Mitsubishi Triton’s to practice a week before we went up.  This proved to be a bit of a mistake to my thinking.  We wanted this competition to be about fun, and at the end of the day, having practiced so much beforehand just made us put too much pressure on ourselves.  But we are still very grateful for them allowing us that!