Skurweberg - June 2009 My First Camping Trip To Skurweberg near Sutherland - by Thomas (10 years old) Our first night was very cold. It was not easy setting up camp - but that does not mean it was not fun. The first trail was a muddy car wash. It was awesome! The farmer Wit Jan was cool. He said we were going to stop for a picnic camp and then he whipped out a braai and made us some yummy home made bread and Springbok boerewors. There were some very steep trails! There was a lot of slipping and sliding, but it was awesome. After 4x4 we came back and freshened up and had some coffee. We made our food that we were going to eat that night and we took it down to the fire, were we all sat around the fire and ate and told stories. The next day we went to Sutherland. We stopped and looked around in few shops. We stopped at a restaurant for lunch. The food was very nice. That night back at camp I saw a white spotted Genet. The next day we went to the observatory. It was awesome being in the world's biggest telescope S.A.L.T! I pushed a few buttons on the telescope to make it move. I really enjoyed my trip to the Skurweberg. If you have children and a 4x4, get Russ to lead the trip and take them there in summer when its not so cold. They will love it.   Trip report by Doug Reid When Russell called over the radio for a volunteer to write the trip report someone replied "Cold and wet!". "Cold, wet, cold!" someone else countered. I called out "Cold, wet, cold and great, great fun!" . . . so we got nominated as the volunteer to do the report! My wife, Vanessa and my two wonderful children Mikayla (9) and Dylan (4) and our newly built up Triton are very new to the off road life style and this was only our second trip with the club. Since our first trip to the Namaqua Eco trail was a different kind of trip, Skurweberg was to be our first exposure to a "real" 4x4 trail on a farm, with a trail managed by a trail owner. As such this report cannot compare this trail to others as we have not done any, so take it from the perspective of rank newbies! The other members of our band of merry men and women were: George and Susan in their Pajero (great brand that Mitsubishi!), Robbie and Ursula and their grandson Tom(10) in their trusty Isuzu double cab, Aleksandar and Duska and their lovely children Sarah and Fillip in their stalwart Land Rover Defender, Carl in his ever robust Land Cruiser pickup camper and of course our fearless leader, the ever entertaining Russell in his ever strong Cruiser station wagon. Day 1 (Saturday 13th June) We all meet in the cold and drizzle at the Engen Winelands one stop. After brief introductions and some take away coffee and breakfast, and the convoy briefing from Russell, we depart at about 9:00am for Matjiesfontein. We arrive at Matjiesfontein at about 11:30am to find the restaurant full and move to the pub for a pub lunch. It is about 10 degrees with occasional drizzle! The pub is an old rambling pub with historical artefacts and photos. The pub starts filling up and lunch eventually arrives. After lunch the kids explore the old London double-decker bus and old fire engine and some go to the museum for R5.00 each. We eventually depart for Sutherland for a quick refuelling stop after which we backtrack slightly to the turn-off to Skurweberg and our first taste of the gravel back roads in the area. After quick tyre deflation we set out along the 40 odd km trip to the farm. The weather worsens to heavy rain and we arrive at the lovely farm with the usual misgivings about pitching camp in the rain. It is 6-7 degrees. This is where the group splits into Russell's so called "haves" and "have nots". The "haves" are my family and Aleksandar's family who have been allocated the 8 sleeper chalet to keep the young children warm and dry. The children, who became great friends on the Namaqua Eco trail, reunite with glee and the young boys run amok in the chalet, so happy to be together again. After hastily unpacking in the rain a fire is soon roaring in the Jetmaster and a braai is done outside on the patio. The "have nots" have to rough it at the campsite. Fortunately the generously hospitable host, Witjan has lit a fire in the lapa for the campers. What a great touch! Rooftop tents are erected by Russell, Carl and George. But Robbie, Ursula and Tom have to pitch their rooftop tent and their ground tent to accommodate the three of them. Tom joins the "haves" to meet the other kids and get some warmth and later Robbie and Ursula come to collect him. Then Russell and Carl visit the haves to share some of Russell's awesomely brilliant Gluwein and some coffee for Carl. We start to realize that Russell's resourcefulness extends way beyond 4x4 driving and trip leading. Russell announces the planned start of the 4x4 trail the next morning has to be shifted to 7:00am due to our host having a later engagement. Unfortunately for Aleks, he is fooled by this announcement and hastily sets his alarm before finding out this is some of Russell's unique and funny brand of humour. Then they are gone and the "haves" retire to their heated rooms and electric blankets. Sigh! We hear the following morning that when Russell turned out the light in the lapa, he also turned off the electricity powering his own electric blanket. Day 2 (Sunday 14th June) Fortunately the young kids of the "haves" do not wake us too early and we sleep in a bit, have a leisurely breakfast and prepare for the trail. The others are kept busy packing the roof top tents. At 10:00 we all meet with Witjan and ensure out tyres are correctly deflated. The weather is overcast and cold - 8 degrees. And before we know it we are off. This is a moment I have been waiting for - my first real trail. I had done the suspension before the Namaqua trip but have had Cooper STTs fitted just 2 days before. We slowly climb higher and higher and eventually reach mound of rock, which afterwards seems like Witjan's way of testing our mettle. We first descend what, to us newbies, looks incredibly steep and then we all have our turn to ascend. Aleks gives it a bit too much gas and for a moment his two front wheels rise skywards, but then he is over safely. For me, it looks almost impossible but encouraged by Russell I give it a go. Not enough gas and I stall, but soon I am over. What a thrill for my first real test. All the others seem to take it in their stride and we move on. We soon stop at a gate and walk through to look out over the escarpment. Wow, this is truly beautiful. A 700m drop! We continue and come to a fairly bumpy, rocky descent with some loose rocks to test us. We all get down ok and the trail tracks the edge of the escarpment for a while. Then Witjan leads us down a muddy slope to a tiny ledge just large enough to park the seven vehicles. There is a sign there that says Banggat and the trail leads from there down the escarpment. Unfortunately due the mud on this slope and the mud caked on our tyres, Witjan wisely decides we will not continue there. What happens next is quite a surprise. Witjan and his daughter whip up a braai and make us all boerewors rolls with some really delicious home made rolls (baked by his wife Elsa). This is a great gesture by our generous hosts. After scoffing the rolls and admiring the fantastic views, we begin the careful process of getting all the vehicles turned around and back up the tricky muddy slope. We all make it with only one or two slipping a bit and having to try over. We retrace our route to that bumpy rocky slope with the loose rocks. This is a bit trickier than coming down and we have to do a bit road building with a few rocks. Soon we are all up and the hardest parts are over. We go down a different route which has some very muddy, slippery steep descents, but nothing too much for our intrepid group. We soon arrive back at the farmhouse with no damage done to any vehicle and an experience to remember. I feel like going and doing it all again! Russell and George tell me the trail was mostly grade 2 except for the rocky, loose and muddy ascents and descents which were a maximum of 3. The day ends with Witjan kindly building a great fire and he and wife Elsa sharing a small drink and a story or two. Aleks and I come down from the "haves" warm chalet to braai with the "have nots" Then Witjan unbelievably hands out Skurweberg caps and stickers to all the drivers and a bottle of something for Russell. This, and his other generously hospitable acts, I am told, really sets him apart from other trail owners in the Western Cape. Mikayla and Sarah join us at the fire and we share a great braai with lots of red wine, stories and Russell's brilliant Gluwein. Soon the meat is done and the "haves" take it back for those at the Chalet to eat. And so ends another wonderful day. Cold but no rain, and Russell having worked out how to keep his electric blanket powered for the night. Day 3 (Monday 15th June) After another leisurely slow start, in the "haves" chalet, Russell leads us to Sutherland on a long loop of interesting dirt roads. We try and drive through all the puddles to wash some of the trail mud off from our wheel arches. We arrive in town with the plan to explore it and have lunch before going to the Observatory. It takes less than 45 minutes to explore in the cold before meeting for lunch. Russell buys a great thick warm shirt for next to nothing. We enter the warmth of the Sutherland Hotel and are immediately asked to order our food. It becomes apparent that they get quite busy and don't have that much help on the day. The food is really not bad for this kind of establishment, worth another visit. After lunch we head on to the observatory, which is surprisingly quite far out of town on quite a high, exposed ridge. We arrive a little early to a howling, cold wind but are soon ushered into the little reception where we meet our knowledgeable guide Dave. He tells us some interesting astronomical facts about the tour we will be doing and shows us a short DVD to put the size of things astronomical into perspective. Then we head up to the top where we stop at one of the many buildings housing telescopes. Many of the observatories are booked by astronomers around the world and there are some buildings belonging to other countries. The inside is fascinating, but we soon move down to the SALT (Southern African Large Telescope) installation. This is the big daddy and uses a honeycomb of highly specialized hexagonal mirrors to magnify the heavens. There is only one other like it which is in America. Finally we go back down to reception and buy some interesting books and memorabilia from the little shop. Shortly we begin our journey back to the farm where we have a virtual repeat of the previous evenings' braai, sans the Gluwein as Russell had used up the red wine on the previous evenings. All in all a nice relaxing, interesting day. Day 4 (Tuesday 16 June - Youth Day) Sigh, the last day and alas we are on our way back home. The "have nots" once again have driving rain in the early hours and some have to pack in the rain! Russell gets us all going a little earlier as he plans to show us lots of interesting roads. After being disappointed to be heading home, we are very surprised to find the route home is a fantastic journey in its own right. Unfortunately for Robbie, Ursula and Tom, this is missed by them, as they decide to head back to Cape Town the way we came on the highway. If you have never done Ouberg Pass, it really is something. The road winds down the escarpment, dropping about 1000m in just a few kilometres. It is incredibly beautiful and a really great track. Once again, I find myself disappointed to reach the bottom and feel like turning around and going back up again. Russell then leads us to a very interesting rock formation on Tankwa river where we stop for some coffee and photos, before heading on to some really fun dirt roads towards the Cederberg. Russell warns us that a section of the road is marked on Tracks For Africa as having the potential for tyre damage. So what happens, Russell ends up with a nasty stone embedding itself in his tyre leaving an ugly hole. We all stop to help and Russell initially struggles with the lock on his spare wheel. After getting all back together, he discovers that his second swing arm is very loose and upon wiggling it, it comes away in his hand. Thank goodness this happens then and not whilst we are driving. Not only could he have lost it, but it could have become a dangerous missile! We soon stop for lunch at great little picnic spot call Skitterykkloof on the Peerboomkloof pass. We then follow this up and pass the turnoff for Kagga Kama and onto the great Katbakkies pass. We join the tar road at Op Die Berg where we re-inflate tyres and Russell talks of his idea to go over Du Toits kloof pass instead of through the tunnel. We stop for Aleks to refuel in Ceres and then drive to the tunnel on the N1 where Russel, Carl, George and Susan go over the pass and Aleks and I head home through the tunnel. Overall impressions. What an incredibly relaxing and fun long weekend. Despite the weather we all enjoyed it immensely. Russell's itinerary was never rushed and always interesting. Skurweberg: Witjan was a fantastic host and has a really great farm, campsite and trail. Although the chalet was really simple, typical of a rural farm setting, it neat and extremely comfortable, with a spacious kitchen, 4 bedrooms, one with double bed and on-suite bathroom with kitchenette. This could be locked and used a separate flatlet. The rooms all had heaters and electric blankets and the cozy lounge sported the welcome Jetmaster. The campsite was picturesque with a shade cloth lapa including a bar and large communal braai with comfortable benches. There was a river running through it, which in summer would be really fun to swim in. We will definitely be going back to camp there in summer. There is also a small obstacle course for those wishing to try their vehicles or learn a little. The trail itself was highly enjoyable. I would return in summer, just to drive the Banggat section to the bottom of the escarpment so that we could return up Ouberg pass. But I must hastily add that the mud was fun too! Sutherland Observatory: This is worth a visit. Very interesting indeed and the guide was interesting and humorous. Return trip via Ouberg pass, Peerbookkloof pass, Katbakkies pass: Wow is all I can say to this great return trip. I was so sad the weekend was over but the return route extended the fun for another day. Ouberg pass is really special! Thanks Thanks to all those who took part. As usual the fine company on these trips is what really makes it all so great. And a special thanks to Russell, our fearless leader. If this is your usual standard for trips, we will be joining you on many more. The relaxed, unrushed schedule was just what we needed to recharge our batteries. And your unique brand of humour and practical joking brought many a smile to our lips.