Klein Tafelberg 4x4 2nd to 4th March 2007 This was going to be another full weekend's camping. We met at the one stop on the N7 except for Peter and Eduard who were coming through the next morning. I got to the one stop early to have some lunch, only to find the Wimpy is closed - they are busy with renovations. The plan was to leave at 4.30pm, but we only got away about 15 minutes later. Our little convoy was, George & Susan, Greg & Karen & Andrew, Warren & Emmelene, Werner & Liezel, Martin with Peter & Joan bringing up the rear. There were also a bunch of kids, from little to big. We arrived at the campsite just after 7pm and everyone rushed to get camp set up before dark. George had a bit of a mission as he had to do everything himself while Susan enjoyed sitting there watching. She'd had an operation on her foot the day before the trip, and was immobile with her foot in a cast. It wasn't long and her son Gerhard and his wife arrived to help set up "Chateau Warren". That evening, it was amusing to watch George drive the 50m from their campsite to the lapa. The combination of crutches and soft sand would have taken Susan far too long to get there. The evening around the campfire was very pleasant and a few souls stayed up 'till almost midnight. The last 2 vehicles joined us at about 08h00 the next morning, Peter, and Eduard with his family. There was enough time for them to get their camp set up before it was time to go. Albert Smit, the owner, met us and after everyone had completed his indemnity list and collected their sticker, we got started at 09h30. Joan had decided to spend the day relaxing in the campsite with her book instead of going on the trail, so that left Peter alone in his Landy. Normally Albert would have joined us, but he had another group that was going in after us, so he sent us off on our own. As the day heated up, the soft sand started to catch out a few of the vehicles - but everyone made it under their own steam. At the start of the Adoons section, this is the difficult part, George decided they would skip this part and wait at the lunch stop around the corner. Little did they know how long they would wait! Last time I was here, it took the group about 45 minutes to get through Adoons. This time it was a bit tougher, and it took us 3 hours before we joined up with George, Susan & Adele. We did a fair bit of road building, and had some interesting recovery work. Luckily the only damage was a couple of running-boards scratched and a mud flap that fell off. Oh, and my nerves were shot! By the time we got to 'Heartbreak Hill', it had started rain softly. Some of the cars didn't make it (just adding to the very long list of victims for 'Heartbreak Hill'). From here the drive back to the campsite was uneventful, just wet as it had started raining properly now. Thank heavens for the lapa, at least this gave us some shelter. Peter decided he was going home, as he did not have a tent and had planned on sleeping in the back of his Hilux with the doors open. Not a good idea with the rain. The rain slowed down enough to light the fires. The kids even decided to have a swim. When it was time to braai, the weather let up for long enough so everyone could cook. Martin got the girls involved in making 'Stokbrood' and I think most folks got a taste - very nice! The rain then settled in again, and by now we realized the chances of seeing the eclipse were small. Everyone was in bed before midnight. The next morning we had to pack up - at least it had stopped raining, but the tents were still a bit wet. We left the campsite at 10h00 leaving Werner to follow at his own pace as he was not feeling well and was not sure he would be able to stay with us. It was a short drive to the Rocher Pan nature reserve, where we were met by Janet Van Der Vyver from Cape Nature Conservation. She gave us the history of the reserve, and told us what they do and what is going on there. Unfortunately the pan was dry, and there were not that many birds, but this is a favorite spot for twitchers. From here, we followed a few back roads home, and purely by co-incidence, found the Hildebrand memorial just outside Darling. The last farewells were made just before we joined the N7 after going through Atlantis. Once again, I had a great weekend - even with the rain. It also looked like everyone else enjoyed themselves. I definitely recommend this trail to everyone - however, if you do not have at least a rear diff-lock, then I would suggest you bypass the Adoons section. It is also great to see that Klein Tafelberg 4x4 also has a "Top 10" rating from Drive Out.