Good day to all. Well the trip was enjoyed by those of us who have the heart, good nature, right attitude and spirit for what turned out to be a lovely day’s outing.

The trip was put on hold due to the lack of participation from the clubs’ members. When this was circulated to the members some die hards took the bull by the horns and said they were keen; needless to say those with a lot to say are usually put in charge (not sure if this is good or punishment for challenging the rules) and so off we went to fly the flag of 4x4Cape. 

We started off with 5-6 possible vehicles prior to the days outing and ended up with only 3. Mad Charlie did his own thing and did’nt turn up,(one down) and then we had those who were lucky to get free rugby tickets for Newlands (2 down) and the one guy with a genuine ‘can’t  go problem’ - Russel. He discovered while packing his pride and joy for the outing that some ‘clowns’ had tried un- successfully to steel his vehicle that night. They had bent the gear lever trying to get the gear lock dislodged (now 3 down). So the newly appointed 3 musketeers, “0ne for all and all for one” set off on the day trip to the enchanting and fabulous Babylonstoren Trail and reserve just outside Malmsbury.

We were all met at the designated N7 Engen One stop. With Gladiators vehicle (our third man down) temporary out of order and unable to be with us, we had a small issue of how to get there as Gladiator was to be the front vehicle and be the path finder. Crocodile thus led the (small) convoy. However, while driving along the N7 north bound , one GPS indicated turn left at all roads going left and the other GPS indicates a “no “, the start point of destination is 3 ‘o’ clock and this then translate to 180 degree  tug-of- war between the 2 GPS’s. As if we have one co-ordinate for “Ou trek pad” and one for “Babylonstoren”.  Just maybe we dump this sophisticated equipment and stick to the good ol’ ‘4-can-compass’! Needless to say we did eventually find our way.

Arriving at the starting point we were met by the lady of the manor who was making about 2 tonnes of biltong, on a wine farm? Yes, we were told it’s for there stalletjie on the N7 and that got us thirsty so we hit the trail. Having made this trip before, but in the rain, it was now fantastic to get all the lovely views.

 

 

 The trail is 3-4 rating with some man made testers to deliver a perfect day for the enthusiast who would like to test his own driving skills and it was here that Luger Mike Schmit seemed to be in his element, almost dancing in/on the play ground equipment.

 

 After some serious down and up hills we stopped and admired the views while enjoying a snack and refreshments (dark stuff with in a stainless steel tumbler to brave the cool air and steady some of the groups nerves at the top of the mountain range.

After a while Andre’s wife Patrys  says ”Jong, Kevin I thought we were just going on a sand road for a country drive, how the hek are going to get out here? Bliksem, our car has all that plastic in the front – like a  boob job and we don’t want to get that damaged – it’s  Andre’s pride and joy.

 

There was also a second group of about 7 Hilux’s doing their thing and posed no problem to us enjoying our selves. As this was a short trip with few people this report will not be the classical long debrief. Some of us had other appointments later that day and so at about 3 pm we all started to head for home. Andre and Patrys made it to Malsbury to watch the second half of the rugby at one of the local sports bars while Croc and Luger headed for home.

 

 

Thanks to Mike we have a sample of pics on the outing. Thanks to our small group for a fine day and hope to see you all next time at Ou Trek Pad on the 9 th of August. Croc ,out.