On a rather cold and windy morning, three vehicles departed from the Excel Haven, The Rose on the N3 near Pretoria, to meet with the rest of the convoy at the Shell Ultra City near Middelburg.
After a quick driver & co-driver briefing, the convoy of 6 left at 08h00.

The plan was to travel to Lydenburg via 4 mountain passes on the way. Just after the toll gate near Machadodorp, the convoy turned off the N3 towards Schoemanskloof and in quick succession, ticked off both De Beersnek and Patatanek Passes. This was followed by a stop for "Kodak Moments" at the
statue of "Old Joe". This life-like stone was erected in 1927 to commemorate the completion of this road under the supervision of Joe Barbas.Soon after "Old Joe" the travellers turned off the tar and drove on a
very dusty gravel road towards Wonderkloof and Makobulaan Passes. All the dust in atmosphere caused a haziness that spoilt what could have been a breathtaking view form the top of the mountain.

The travellers arrived at the LASKE NAKKE camp site at noon, set up camp and enjoyed a quick lunch. After lunch they set of for Machadodorp via the tar road to tick off yet another two passes - "Witklip se hoogte" and "Chomse se hoogte", and were back in time to also visit the Gustav Klingbiel Museum. This museum, situated on the edge of town is small yet immaculately maintained. Exhibits and history covers both recent history (100 - 150 years ago) of the discovery of gold, and the subsequent Anglo-Boer War, as well as ancient history like the Lydenburg Heads - clay masks that were carbon dated to between 800 and 1000 years old.

Back at the camp site preparations were made for supper under the huge "afdak". The Scholtes family (John, Rebecca & Catherine) spoilt their fellow travellers with a delightful treat consisting of a variety of home made
cheeses, preserves and pickles. Each mouthful was a masterpiece, yet the haloumi cheese which John grilled to perfection and then served with a sweet chilli sauce was simply divine. After supper they sat around the fire, tired yet excited, not wanting the evening to end. Finally the weary explorers crawled into bed around 23h00.

A rather chilly start awaited the team when they ventured from their tents. Neville Black had been up even before the crack of dawn to change a flat wheel. Coffee and rusks were enjoyed before the briefing, and the convoy departed.

This time the route took them to Burgersfort via a very picturesque Watervalsrivier Pass. The hills were covered with thousands upon thousands of majestic aloes (Aloe Marlothii) and Mountain Cabbage Trees/Bergkiepersol (Cussonia Paniculata). At Burgerfort they turned towards Ohrigstad and
stopped at a small cemetery containing a number of Voortrekker graves, most of which succumbed to malaria. This was followed by a stop at the remnants of a Voortrekker entrenchment and a small memorial plaque, before arriving at Ohrighstad for a well timed comfort break.

From here the route led them to Caspersnek Pass, which was named after Casper Kruger, father of President Paul Kruger of the "Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek". Again the travellers were awestruck by the scenic beauty of the valleys, gorges and mountains. They criss-crossed a number of times over a small fast running stream (remember that this is prime fly-fishing territory for trout) before arriving at a very nice picnic spot right next to the river. The beauty of this spot was unfortunately spoilt as the rubbish bin had been raided by the local baboon tribe, and the mess had not yet been cleared. Soon after they arrived at the historical mining town of Pilgrims Rest, and resisted the urge to quickly dash op Robber's Pass, as the schedule was rather tight.

From Pilgrims Rest they travelled up the steep and winding unnamed pass to Graskop, and then down the short but very interesting Kowyns Pass. They turned towards Hazyview for a short stretch before again leaving the tar road behind and travelled through the Eucalyptus plantations and some natural forest, and up another very picturesque yet unnamed pass before reaching the tar road just outside Sabie.

In Sabie the convoy headed for Long Tom Pass and stopped for a "Kodak Moment" at the replica canon at the crest of the pass and again marvelled at the view. This replica of a Creusot siege cannon marks the spot where, from 8 to 11 September 1900, two of these cannons were used for the last time by the Boer commandos against the British army. A quick surprise stop was then made at The Hops Hollow Brewery, reputed to be "highest brewery in Africa" at an altitude of 2146m. All bought (but did not sample !) 2 or more litres of the various brews available.

Arriving back at the camp by 16h30, the now weary and thirsty travellers could not wait to sample the recently acquired beer, for as the label warned: "This is a live beer and must be consumed immediately" - or words to that effect. Then the preparations started in earnest - the theme for the evening was "2010 World Cup". Each party had to select a country that participated in this event and prepare food from that ountry.And what a special evening this turned out to be !

Special meals were prepared, the tables decorated in the right colours, some even wore the appropriate clothes.
· Ungerer chose Brazil and prepared marinated chicken hearts that were skewered and grilled over the coals, followed by roasted pork belly served with buttered boiled potatoes.
· De Vries prepared authentic "Hollandse Erten Soepe". They could not find Holland flags for their table, then bought two French flags, cut then up and sewed them back together in the right order for Holland.
· Visser chose Mexico and prepared a very tasty chilli concarné.
· Black also chose Mexico and prepared spicy lamb stew with chilli - with a "lekker bite !"
· Scholtes chose Mexico (it should have been a Spanish evening!) and prepared a "white" chicken chilli and a "red" beef chilli. Their table was suitably decorated complete with a sombrero. They even prepared one of those hanging goodies filled with treats which a blind folded person had to knock down with a stick.
· However, the Dillon/Phillips clan were the best. Yvonne laid out a Ghana table, with authentic cloths, baskets, foods, colours, the whole 9 yards ! She prepared roasted yams, cassava, madumbi's, fish and "grilled cane rat" (chicken dressed to look like rat), fresh coconut with holes drilled so one could drink the juice. They even wore real Ghanaian robes and jewellery, etc. It was fantastic.

All the foods were incredibly tasty, and well prepared. It was certainly not an easy task to pick out a winner. However, after due deliberation, second price went to De Vries and first price to Dillon/Phillips. Again some coffee and Boplaas "chocolate port" were enjoyed around the fire before the weary yet happy crowd went to bed.

Day three and all were up early yet again. This time they were packing up and getting ready for the journey home. A scrumptious breakfast was first enjoyed at the Laska Nakke Restaurant. The De Vries family said their good-byes as they were heading straight home. They have received rather unfortunate news of a burglary at their house the night before and were in a hurry to get home to assess the damage.

The remaining five vehicles then drove towards Roosenekal, first up Jaap se Hoogte, followed by Steenkampsberg Pass. After stopping at a very windy and chilly view point for a "Kodak Moment", they crested the mountain and arrived at what used to be "the highest tar road in the Transvaal", at
2252m.

At the crest the convoy left the tar road yet again and ventured down a wel maintained gravel road. At the bottom they turned off and drove throug the Verloren Vallei, a World Wetland site, and encountered a pass which is thought to be De Berg Pass (unconfirmed) before eventually halting at the R540 between Lydenburg & Dullstroom, a mere 4 kom outside the latter.

As Roy Orbison sang: "This was the end of the line !". Final good-byes were said and the convoy split while the travellers headed home. 12 confirmed mountain passes and 3 unconfirmed, in one weekend - that take some doing !

Again, it proves that one can have a lot of fun within the borders of our own country - "Viva South Africa, Viva !"

Johann & Anne-Marié Ungerer
Club Guides