Middelpos - April 2009 This trip was squeezed in between all the long weekends in April and was not well supported, unfortunately. Barry and Margaret Noble, in their Nissan joined me and Susan in our Pajero and we were also accompanied by my folks, Bill and Julie. We met at the Coffee shop in Matjiesfontein on Saturday morning at 09h00 where we enjoyed a quick breakfast. Thereafter we took a slow drive along the back roads and eventually climbed the Ouberg Pass to reach the plateau. The pass was badly washed away in places but was definitely worth the drive, if only for the magnificent views over the Tankwa Karoo. At the top of the pass we stopped for a short tea break and then continued on to Sutherland. After a brief stop in the town we continued north on good gravel roads to the small village of Middelpos. We spend the rest of the afternoon at leisure, exploring this quaint little town with its donkey-car as local taxi and where the hotel owners run a breeding facility for beautiful bull-mastiff hounds, amongst other things. That evening we had the privilege of joining in the local community fund raising event at the local hotel hall. We were treated to perfectly-done T-bone steaks and chips at a very reasonable price. We spend a restful night in the hotel and for those that have been there before, the water doesn't smell of sulphur any more. After a typical traditional breakfast we bade our farewells and took a drive down the Gannaga pass into the Tankwa Karoo. For anyone who hasn't done this pass or traversed the Tankwa, I would really recommend it. We stopped for lunch amongst sandstone rock formations of the Koue Bokkeveld before descending down the Katbakkies pass and eventually arriving at Op-die Berg. We continued with the tar road to Ceres and the end of a very pleasant weekend. Regards George and Susan