Scheppie Saus - 29th June 2008 The two intrepid bachelors, Russell and Andy decided to travel together in the Cruiser and met early at Russell's place to beat the morning rush at the meeting place for a cup of Wimpy coffee. Imagine our surprise on arriving more than 30 minutes early to spot George and Susan's Pajero in the parking bay !!! We went into the Wimpy to find Susan and Eric having coffee as George had unfortunately been called out to surgery. As we enjoyed the coffee, the crowd arrived in dribs and drabs and made their way inside to get warm !! We hit the road at 7 sharp and headed North for Piketberg - enroute we were treated to a stunning sunrise in the winter sky - the type you see in postcards !!! We stopped in Piketberg for a quick pit stop and made contact with Fanus who had overnighted in the area with his family and were waiting on the outskirts of town for us. The convoy then headed out of town to the farm hosting the trail. We arrived at 9 sharp at the farm to find the trail owner coming out to chat to us ! After some friendly banter from the farmer and a brief description of the route we deflated tyres and headed out on to the trail ! The trail started off gently leaving the farmyard and headed up a rocky slope. We progressed over the rocky terrain where the trail made a sharp left turn which would take us through a gap between two large rocks - the Cruisers approach was too low and we had to reverse and take a higher route to make the sharp turn, it was here that the bearings inside the front left ball joint decided to disintegrate ! This disabled the steering and the Cruiser could not turn - Russell pulled over and we guided the rest of the convoy through the gap (ensuring Susan did not scratch the Pajero!) Russell decided to limp back to the farmyard to assess the damage and do makeshift repairs while we went to the halfway braai site - he would join us later for lunch ! I now had the privilege of riding shotgun in the rear with Susan (Could not find any Prozac in Doctor George's medical bag !) Clive took the lead in his Cruiser and we headed on - Susan managed the few interesting river crossings and descents quite well with a few unlady like expletives! Just before the braai site was an interesting little climb in loose sand and Clive practised a few recoveries here. We all got to the neat braai site and picked a spot and made fire. The farmer had been up to mischief the night before and for our consumption were two bottles of Witblits - a clear one (Sugar Free or Witblits Lite) and a murky brown version with sugar (Witblits Superior) After a brief taste I was of the opinion they would be better bottled and marketed as Octane Booster's or a Fuel Additive of sorts ! Clive and I then went to see how the apprentice bush mechanic was fairing with the Cruiser. We found Russell where we had left him as he had no turning ability at all to negotiate out of the obstacle ! He was doing well with temporary repair and was reassembling on our arrival - he had the advantage of a helpline (Thanks Johann Tyres!) due to limited cell phone reception. After helping Russell get it all together we proceeded to the braai site. After sorting ourselves out for food and having all relaxed in the fresh winter sun we proceeded to do the second half of the trail with Russell taking the service road back to the farm (as he no longer had four wheel drive) - and I climbed in with Susan (on second thoughts the Witblits would have been a good generic for Prozac ?) The trail had a few descents over rocky terrain and a river crossing on the second half - the scenery and surrounds were stunning and unspoilt - this trail is definitely worth a second visit !!! At the farmhouse we grouped and inflated tyres, ragged each other and then hit the road with a few with commitments rushing ahead as we took the going nowhere slowly approach in the Cruiser and took a relaxed drive home with Susan following us as back up !!! A great crowd with a great day been had by all !!!!!!!! Andy Faber