Trips run and booked since January 2006 Rawsonville Recce Wiesenhof Buffelsfontein Valentines Party Botswana (combined outing) Tyre repair workshop Club Meeting Ostrich Eco 4x4 Southern Cape Overland Richtersveld Buffelspoort Jakkalskloof Huey outing Diamond Coast Luderitz Botswana July – fully booked Aman – fully booked Breakfast Run Welcome to New Members Neville and Sue Reiche Justus and Michelle Harms Desiree Prinsloo Peet and Alta Hendricks Vernon and Jillian Houston Mark and Vanessa Langton Sean and Natasha Murray Leon and Alet de Waal Louw Jacques Viljoen Helmut and Inge Nuss Christoph and Marie Hollander Search and Rescue Group Our first outing has been moved due to the long weekend and will take place on the 16th of May 2006. Radios More and more members have got radios in their vehicles and each outing is becoming more and more interesting with the banter on the radios. Radios are essential if you want to be part of the group as well as for safety purposes, booking off for toilet breaks, etc. There is a move among members to purchase VHF radio. It is important to note that the VHF radios are not a replacement for 29 Mhz (as "everybody" uses 29Mhz) but typically a second radio which are ideal to talk over a further range, typically 15km to 40km depending on, altitude (height above surrounding terrain), power of the transmitter, antenna type(antenna with gain, measured in decibels), position of the antenna on the vehicle, tuning of the antenna (SWR, standing wave ratio should be set as low as possible), connections, etc. You are welcome to source your radios from any source but we can supply the new GME 29 Mhz at R1695 installed inc VAT, Dragon 29 Mhz at R1495 installed inc VAT and VHF at R2150 including installation and VAT. Contact Gloria at GRS Trading or 021 913 1262 GPS Specials Garmin Quest SA, bright colour display, USB interface, 256 Mb built in memory, AC charger, 12 volt speaker and mounting. Garmap SA software Club members only R4995 inc VAT (list price R5643 inc VAT) Special valid while stocks last or until 5th May 2006. Contact Gloria at GRS Trading or 021 913 1262 Breakfast Group After three and a half years of meeting every Thursday the Breakfast Group is still small with a new "regular" in the form of Philip with Neville and Theo having joined us as well. Nothing profound happens but we have a good laugh and a get to de-stress completely. We meet every Thursday at 7am at the "old" Cinnabun coffee shop next to Volvo in Durban Road. Photographic Group Click on the following link to see what you can do with Photoshop. This is a Photoshop created drawing/painting, not a photograph. Cool Photoshop Pic P.S. May's assignment is a free for all see what you can do with Photoshop (there needs to be a photo in there somewhere though). Regards Don Hulley OUTINGS REPORTS Jakklaskloof 4x4 1st to 2nd April 2006 Click Here for the Trip Report Huey Trip Hi Greg, Ek het die vlug in die Huey sooooo geniet en dit was 'n ondervinding wat ek enige dag weer sal oor doen. Ek het al vantevore in n helikopter gevlieg en ja, dit was "nice" maar dié was lekker..... die verskillende hoeke, draaie en swiep aksies maak dit baie interesant. Al wat ek sal aanbeveel is oorpluisies want dis nogal koud en dit voel of die wind deur jou kop waai, een oor in en die ander uit... Selfs die deurloop en bespreking agterna oor die ander helikopters was vir my as leek baie interesant en ek het iets geleer. Jy kan maar laat weet wanneer die volgend vlug opkom. Lacea "There is something about the 'thup-thup-thup' of a helicopter's rotors that bring out the little boy in me - I don't mind admitting it, seeing what a mess the grown-ups are making of this world - and its about as far as having (legal) fun a little boy can get! But more seriously, the sound of the rotors (those are the things that look like a fan, for the ladies) biting into the air tells you that now the game is on. Lifting off the ground is always an interesting experience, and though I initially thought the open doors (actually NO DOORS) may cause some sense of falling out, the thoughts disappeared as soon as we got airborne. I felt totally safe. Flying out to the "fun area" was average, except for the fact that there were no doors and hence the opportunity to take photos unhindered. Flying is flying, if you're a passenger. But then it changed - when I saw only blue skies over my boot tips as the pilot (nice guy, Isak) tipped us up and banked (i.e. turned) around to do the approach with the waves seemingly trying to break into the cockpit. And from there on we were in a rolling, chasing, lifting, turning, swerving mode that would make Rambo drool and talk even more unintelligibly. Every turn would have the engine growling and the rotors 'thup-thupping' as we raced into another drop down or climb. I took a few photos of the SHADOW of the Huey that clearly shows how close we were to the ground at times. Greg wouldn't allow me to take my AK along, otherwise I could have taken out two taxi's that I remember from some time ago when we paralleled the road to Melkbos... And like that it went - up, over and around until we had to head back to the hangar. Coming in over the harbour I had the opportunity to get nice photos of the harbour and the docks, some sailors waved at us (I hope at Lacea and not me), then we stared some startled motorists in the eye as we hopped over the N1 and all too soon it was over. Perhaps next time we can combine it with a paintball game, eh Greg?... Notice to photographers - due to the movement of the chopper I used 1/1000th shutter speed and lost some colour saturation, but most of my photographs were reasonably in focus. Be careful with reflected light off the sea. A polarising filter may be a good idea if you can work it quickly - I only had a UV filter on my digital." Groete/Regards Theo Marais Breakfast Run With the rain falling the Scrambler Interest Group did not end up setting the route out and so Greg, Gloria and Brigitte (in one vehicle) and Clive and Philip in the other vehicle departed early on Saturday to set up the route for the Sunday morning breakfast run. Winter seems to be here and with the rain, the mud. The plan was to use all the back roads and gravel roads wherever possible and this we did. There was an enduro on the go and thus we had to wait at various parts of the route for the bikes to cross. My estimated 45 minute recce took us almost 2 hours and this was due to the maps showing roads that are no longer "public roads" and so we had to detour. The latest Garmap has most of the farm roads and after checking between Garmap and T4A I decided to use the Garmap maps. After choosing the most direct route to Riebeeck West, our final destination we had a cup of coffee and back tracked leaving geocaches in the form of waypoints for the next point. Sunday morning the participants had their first waypoint SMS'd and soon they were away. The ETA at Riebeeck West was 10am and so it was suggested that the participants left their homes at about 9am. At 8.20am I heard Johann and Frans on the radio and they were on their way. I left at 8.30am and found Ian and Veronica at the first waypoint. We travelled directly to the restaurant and waited for the others. John and Shirley, Frans and Lyn, Morne and Alex, Johann and Marietha all arrived together and then soon after George and Susan, Nazier, Ian and Veronica and Andrew and Anna. After a call I found that Roger and Bev nearing Riebeeck Kasteel and soon they also arrived. The outing went well, breakfast was inexpensive and we will definitely do this again soon. Hi Greg, I just wanted to thank you again for today's breakfast run!! I don't know how you manage to do all the other things you do and still work out these sorts of events, the routes, waypoints etc, etc. We all enjoyed it tremendously - apart from the brief "pukeritis" interlude performed by Michael! As I said to you at the breakfast venue, I had fun and learnt just a bit more about the demon GPS. We would love to do this sort of outing more often and Bev promises to give Michael a dose of Valoid before we set out the next time!! Once again thanks and we look forward to the next time. Kind regards to you, and Gloria Roger French Thanks for an awesome trip. Morne Stevens Diamond Coast Starts on Thursday morning in Garies Click Here for the Trip Report Richtersveld Bruce took an exciting trip over the Easter Weekend to the Richtersveld. The route chosen was one of our lesser known routes and after all the rain that has fallen in the area a route which normally takes us about 3 hours took a full day. To the new comers this trail was almost a baptism of fire, but was enjoyed by all. Click Here for the Trip Report Hi Philip and Greg Philip, your report is great! What I would like to add is as follows: Richtersveld Easter 2006 report back Report compiled by Bruce Jenkinson I have been to the Richtersveld so many times, I know this extensive area like the back of my own hand. It is an area that I am passionate about and I love to share my experiences of this great Mountain dessert with others. Despite this, the elements are always something to be respected. One of the locals told me that a certain area in the Richtersveld had experienced 100mm of rain in an hour during December last year and that the road had been washed away. That news was just too much for me; I cannot avoid a challenge like that and could not wait to put the report to the test. In January, I decided to visit the affected area hoping that it would provide the challenge of building roads that I so enjoy, and of-course the resultant challenge of being able to take my car through the sections now rebuilt. In my case this usually involves taking my trailer through it as well. This is usually a good test, because if I can pull my trailer through the section, then anybody can do it with a 4x4. It is difficult to describe the damage that a flashflood of these proportions has done. What I can report is that the stretch of river from Peace of Paradise to the junction of the Xaimanip River with the Orange was so badly washed away in places that there were some dongas created by the flash floods that could hide a Landcruiser from sight. The dongas were some 3-4 meters wide and 3-4 meters deep. What a lot of fun! A section of road that usually took me 20 minutes, took us 2 and 1/2 hours to do, this included 4 adults road-building skills, in order to cross about 8 wash-a ways that varied from about a meter by a meter in section to the one described above. Instead of driving over the sand at the top as we always did, this section now involved driving 2 meters down into the donga, then driving down the donga for about 12 meters and then up and out of the donga a bit further down. Loads and loads of fun was has by each of us as we tumbled rocks and shoveled sand to rebuild some form of track. Then with great excitement, I put my vehicle to the test and conquered each obstacle. Then Greg asked me if I would guide a trip to the Richtersveld over Easter. And so it was that I carefully planned a route that I know well. This would be a route that I knew would provide everybody with some excitement, not too much driving, and would give us 2 nights on the river. And if the group behaved well and could quicken the pace, I may have even been able to throw in Smith's Pass as well. But alas, no body told me that the route we were about to tackle, had also suffered damage due to flash floods. Anyway, the flash floods made a really exciting route-awesome! Our group of 5 vehicles took to the challenge, like ducks to water. And so it was, section by section that we worked together as a team to get each vehicle through. Some times we started off building roads before we tackled a section, other times the capable Land-cruiser blazed the trail, then some modifications were implemented to the track and then the rest of the vehicles were brought through. This included a Nissan Sani, 2 Discoveries and a VW Syncro. The one Disco winning the prize for the most weight I think you can possibly put on a roof-rack with out rolling the vehicle. Precautionary measures were taken wherever needed by placing additional counterweights in the doors. To sum up this particular day's activities, would be to liken this section to the Rubicon. And so I have now dubbed this section as the Richtersveld Rubicon. One of my friends who has done "The road to hell" with me a few times said that the road to hell was a walk in the park compared to this route. So our planned lunch stop became our evening camp stop. Having completed a section I have recently done with a group of 11 vehicles in 3 hours, we took 9 hours to complete. Worthy of note, was that the Syncro completed the route ably, its only limitation being its soft suspension and its poor approach and departure angles. This did mean we had to choose softer lines and take more care over the really rough sections. Fortunately the approach line I could choose, but unfortunately, the limited departure angle left the exhaust with a "dented ego". The following day, our route took us through Exsteensfontein and on to Rooiberg with the customary stop at the Halfmense. The trip down the the Xaimanip riverbed was a very pleasant one and signs of serious water having flowed recently was also evident. The track has also been washed away in certain areas, but not so seriously that it needed rebuilding. When we reached the Orange River, it was in full flood. Usually we can't wait to take that first dip after 2 days of dusty driving, but due to the rain and the mud that has been deposited by the floods, the swim in the river was a non starter. Then we proceeded through the section along the Orange River . This was the section that I had rebuilt in January and described earlier. This section was enjoyed by all and still provided enough of a challenge to get the adrenaline pumping. The vehicles were guided over the difficult sections through the rocks and some of the dongas. By now each driver was richer for the experience and more familiar with their vehicles capabilities. The overall experience afforded most of us the opportunity to get to know each other better. We had a quite a team of young adults and they surprised me with their enthusiasm and ingenuity to participate in the challenges that the seriously eroded track posed. Well done to each of you for the spirit in which you participated. So it was that on the last evening our trip, we arrived at what remains of Peace of Paradise and set-up camp in the pouring rain. It was an evening to be remembered, as we all pulled together. We pulled cars together and placed them so as to make maximum use of each of our tiny awnings. We spanned the gaps between the cars with some groudsheets, that were now put to use as extra overhead shelter. Managing to make enough shelter for us all to huddle together around the fire, and enjoy a braai together. It was a trip filled with pleasant memories to be remembered for a long long time. The rain rained for 36 hours non stop and did not dampen our spirits at any stage. The rain finally stopped sometime between midnight and morning of our last day. Luderitz Departing on the 27th of April