Dear Members Our club is really growing amazingly and I think we fill the "spot" so to speak. Welcome to all the new members we hope you have a long friendship with the club. Our interest groups have become very successful with more and more people joining/participating in the various groups. Although we all have a common interest of 4x4 it is great to see the members persueing their other interests via the club. Times are changing - so the song goes, and we have had to say goodbye to Jan Joubert and Megan Herselmann, both people I had known for years and both of these people had only done good to and for everyone they met. Namibia has always been one of the safest countries in Africa and I have spent many night camping alone and have never felt uneasy.. I think we must all just be a little more cautious if we are going to sleep next to the road. Like the old diving saying "drive alone and die alone" I changed to ADSL a few months back and have had a lot of teething problems getting the system working so I must apologise for the lack of a newsletter. Happy 4x4ing Greg Founder 4x4 Offroad Adventure Club   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 Evening at Steve's Auto Clinic Breakfast Run Driver Training Basic Driver Training Sand Groot Toren Damon - Women's Day Advanced Recovery Course - fully booked Berg River rafting trip - fully booked On the cards for the next few weeks Club meeting at Outdoor Warehouse Wild Flower Trip Leeuenboschfontein Skoorsteenberg Matroosberg - Mountain hut Welcome to New Members Andy and Janine Faber Eric and Allison Wolhuter Mark Stephens John and Lynne Rutherford Bruce and Cathy Morgan Christo and Valerie Welgemoed Riyad and Moeneba Solomon Razeen and Nwaal Baboo Calum and Claire Wedge Peter and Paola Brand Vaughn and Annelize Jensen Congratulations Ian and Veronica on their engagement - well done!!! A belated Congratulations to Anre, Tani and Emma on the birth of Ben on 14th June Outings Reports Driver Training - Basic We had a great turnout for the club's annual Basic Driver Training Course with 15 members attending. The theory was presented at the Didata's board room (thanks to Christo and Christoph who organised the facility for us). The training was held at Philip's farm and as usual the river bed was the centre of the training. The group was split into three groups of five with Greg, Johann and Russell each taking a small group through each obstacle. In essence once you know the basics it is essential to get to know your vehicle and attend as many outings as possible. After the first attempt at some obstacles the participants conquered them second time around with a bit more confidence. Driver Training - Sand The Sand Driver Training Course was held at Atlantis Dunes and once again we had a great turnout. The training was done by Greg and Johann with Russell being ever present to assist. As dune driving is probably the most dangerous driving you can do we believe that it is essential to learn the basics with an expert like Johann who spends "half of his life in the dunes". The attendees had the opportunity to drive ascents, descents, obstacles do a bit of recovery and then follow Johann on one of his "follow the leader" routes around the dunes. Groot Toren 4x4 - 16th July 2006 Click Here for the Trip Report Biking Interest Group - 5th to 6th August 2006 Click Here for the Trip Report Contact the Organiser - PLEASE Once again we ask all members to contact the person whose name appears as the organiser of the outing. If it says Russell then CONTACT Russell, not me, not your Mother, your sister or anyone else. I might get the email late and when I forward it to Russell receives then the outing is full. Breakfast Group We have now been meeting every Thursday for 46 months and the group has grown to a nice size. 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 The next meeting of the Photographic Interest Group is on the 16th of August. Contact Don for more details. donh@hulley.co.za WEBSITE Members information Please send your details and pics of your vehicle to russdewet@icon.co.zaRussell for inclusion on the website. Announcements If you have something special happening in your life (wedding, arrival of a baby, etc.) please email Russell so that he can put it on the site. New T shirts The new club T shirts will be arriving soon... we will email those that ordered.