Ostrich Eco 4x4 Trail 3rd - 5th March 2006 We all met at the One Stop on the N1 for a 4pm departure on Friday afternoon. Due to the power cuts and road works, a couple of vehicles were late and we only got away at 4:30 pm. (It is early in the year, so I was not too strict about leaving promptly) So there we were - 8 vehicles in all, and everyone in radio communication. Ian & Veronica brought up the rear, and basically made sure nobody got lost. We travelled through the tunnel, and then onto Swellendam via Worcester, Robertson and Ashton. Imagine our surprise when as we turned onto the N2, 2 Harvards flew over us. The annual show was on in Swellendam and the planes were for them and not to welcome us. We stopped at the Buffelsjagrivier BP garage (S34 02 20.0 E20 32 45.8) to fill up. Then as per the farmers recommendation, we went past the turn onto the R324 and took the R322 instead as this was a tar road and we were already losing light. We got to the farm house (S34 20 31.2 E20 47 55.5) at about 7:30pm and were met by Piet Uys, the owner. Piet took us into his house to complete the formalities. Each vehicle was given a small pack with brochures, a map of the trail and a small colourful ostrich feather on a keyring. We also had a chance to buy some "Suurvye Konfyt" which proved to be very tasty. Piet then took us down to the campsite - about six farm gates later (thanks for closing them Veronica!) we got to the campsite. Everyone picked a spot to set up camp and soon the campfire was burning. Piet had brought a huge log for our fire which should have lasted until well into the week had it not been for some wind that caused the log to burn out during the day on Saturday. We had a good evening around the campfire with the die-hards eventually packing up just after 1 am. I had just got into bed when I heard this very loud snoring. Could not believe that anyone can start snoring so soon after getting into bed. (Name withheld). Saturday morning was a nice relaxed start as we were only meeting Piet at 10:00 am for the trial, as he was going to be our guide for the day. This turned out to be a good idea, and the first stop was at some ostriches where Piet did some explaining about ostriches and farming. Then it was onto the trail. This trial is fairly odd, most other farms you would be on the flat ground and then drive up into mountains. This place you drop into gorges and ravines from the level ground - just the opposite to the norm. The difficult obstacles all have bypasses so there is no real danger. The first obstacle was a straight up incline with a sharp left turn on a side slope then dropping back down to join the track. Little bit of cross-axle halfway up with a nasty rock that could catch you out if you took the wrong line. Only one car here had a problem and this was probably only because some of the others had dug up the ground pretty badly. Nowhere is the trail dangerous and you really shouldn't be able to damage your vehicle. Piet is so concerned about people's vehicles, that he travels with a "panga" to trim the bushes back for the vehicles. During the drive, we had commentary from Piet about the plant life and what the different plants are used for. There is no chance of getting bored on this trail. Just when you start to relax, suddenly there is a side slope or cross-axle to keep you awake. We stopped before the descent to the river for lunch, just so Piet could check the Fish Eagle nest to make sure there were no chicks. Once he was happy the coast was clear, we proceeded down and up, to stop at the top of the ridge where we could look down at the nest. From there it was a gentle descent to the river where we had our lunch stop, under the shade of the milkwood tree. Getting back up to the escarpment from the river proved to be a bit too much for the one vehicle and with a gentle tug, the recovery was quickly done. After a short drive, we ended up on an empty field where we parked all the vehicles next to one another for a group photo and then it was off to the "water hazard". The water was long gone, and it was a dry riverbed with a few tricky turns. The last car popped their tyre off the rim at the start of this obstacle, but we soon had the car up on a jack and the tyre re-seated and inflated (thanks to my trusty Fini) without taking the wheel off. There was one other obstacle where some of the folks used the bypass, but the part that I thought was the trickiest of the day, everyone went through. Well done to you all! When we got back, it was time to get the fire going and to hit the showers. The ablution facilities are neat and clean - 2 hot water showers (gas heated) and 2 flushing toilets. There is no electricity in the campsite, although the ablution block has 12v lights running off a battery. There is plenty shade in the campsite - all under trees. A nice big communal fireplace for everyone to braai together - and we really mad good use of this. Sunday morning we packed up and left the campsite at about 9am. Our rout home was via Witsand for a quick look-see, then on to Malgas for the river crossing by hand drawn pont (probably the only one in South Africa). This took a bit of time as it was only 3 vehicles at a time on the pont, so we used 3 trips to get everyone across safely. We traveled past the De Hoop reserve to Bredasdorp where some of the group split up for the homeward journey. All in all, it was a great weekend with a great group of people. I hope everyone enjoyed themselves as much as I did. I definitely recommend this trail to everyone, and would also suggest you make use of the guided option. Piet has a lot of local knowledge and he is very happy to share it. You can get all Piet's contact details from his website. Ostrich Eco Trails