Carnivore
Race Dog
“Say, Babe…” I said, tentatively.., “How about nipping up into the Longmore Forest tomorrow to watch some of the stages.. the Algoa Rally..?)
Bated breath… “Ok… as long as it’s not foul weather..” says my Honey.
(Now, contrary to popular belief, I cannot control the weather..!) But I said that it seemed like good weather for the weekend…
So, 7am Saturday the 11th July, and we mount up, with a small pack containing two rainsuits (just in case…!) two flasks of coffee (one milky, and one not) and some sarmies and harboylex inna tinfoil.
And so, with the help of some waypoints courtesy of the EP Herald newspaper supplement, and my friend Google Earth, a track was duly loaded last night in readiness. We were up on top the berg at 8:20 am, waiting for the first car through at 9:02..and we were not disappointed. I am not an avid motorsport fan, but do love the adventure of me and mommy getting out in to the countryside, and especially on the Horse. As you might know by now, I am s…l…o…w…l…y… training my wifey in the ways of bike touring. (Don’t say a word…OK?)
Settling down for a cuppa…
And an egg…
Good crowd turnout. The VW pro crews handed out green caps and green umbrellas… while stocks last. (We got some!)
Hendrik Verwoerd of SABS TV fame was the voice behind the PA. His usual professional style – he really is good
.
Some action shots, with a point-and-shoot Olympus. It’s tricky to get the shot right, because of the delay between pressing the button and the image getting captured.
Soooryy… but I can not laaik to know whose who in these shots..! All I can say is, the front runners are fast… VERY fast. The ripping, snarling of those motors, echoing off the hills, as two and three cars are all in ear shot, is brilliant to hear.
So, after a time at point F we backtracked to point E, where we could see stage 9 from that side…. And the end of the stage from the other side. Brilliant vantage point…
Well, “all good things…” as they say in the classics.. and we were on our way home. We took a scenic ride down the old Van Stadens Pass (the flood damage and upgrade is now complete) and had a friendly chap take a pitcher of us. That bridge still amazes us.. a truly brilliant engineering feat.
Popped in to Falcon Rock for lunch. Usually, I look at the menu, and end up with a steak anyway… but today, I had a Moroccan Lamb Shank… good grief! What a succulent tender tasty lump of fall-off-the-bone vleis… Really, PE dawgs… you gotta try it!
Sorry, no pic of the meal… I polished it off very fast!
>Edit.. see reply #21<
This is us!
And so, on to say a quick “Hi, howzit” to my Mom and Dad, we were off to Kings Beach parking area for the last stage. Some drivers really battled to keep it fluid, some were brilliant at keeping it tight and fast, and others were really ragged!
Horse enjoyed a few admiring glances from passers-by, as he chatted about his latest exploits with some other admirers of a lesser ilk. (I could see that they were pretty chuffed at the opportunity to share some tarmac with the wily old warhorse!)
And, so, another Saturday in my life, gone, never to be repaeated.. and I had an amazing time! Thanks, Babe, for joining me.
Bye..!
Bated breath… “Ok… as long as it’s not foul weather..” says my Honey.
(Now, contrary to popular belief, I cannot control the weather..!) But I said that it seemed like good weather for the weekend…
So, 7am Saturday the 11th July, and we mount up, with a small pack containing two rainsuits (just in case…!) two flasks of coffee (one milky, and one not) and some sarmies and harboylex inna tinfoil.
And so, with the help of some waypoints courtesy of the EP Herald newspaper supplement, and my friend Google Earth, a track was duly loaded last night in readiness. We were up on top the berg at 8:20 am, waiting for the first car through at 9:02..and we were not disappointed. I am not an avid motorsport fan, but do love the adventure of me and mommy getting out in to the countryside, and especially on the Horse. As you might know by now, I am s…l…o…w…l…y… training my wifey in the ways of bike touring. (Don’t say a word…OK?)
Settling down for a cuppa…
And an egg…
Good crowd turnout. The VW pro crews handed out green caps and green umbrellas… while stocks last. (We got some!)
Hendrik Verwoerd of SABS TV fame was the voice behind the PA. His usual professional style – he really is good
.
Some action shots, with a point-and-shoot Olympus. It’s tricky to get the shot right, because of the delay between pressing the button and the image getting captured.
Soooryy… but I can not laaik to know whose who in these shots..! All I can say is, the front runners are fast… VERY fast. The ripping, snarling of those motors, echoing off the hills, as two and three cars are all in ear shot, is brilliant to hear.
So, after a time at point F we backtracked to point E, where we could see stage 9 from that side…. And the end of the stage from the other side. Brilliant vantage point…
Well, “all good things…” as they say in the classics.. and we were on our way home. We took a scenic ride down the old Van Stadens Pass (the flood damage and upgrade is now complete) and had a friendly chap take a pitcher of us. That bridge still amazes us.. a truly brilliant engineering feat.
Popped in to Falcon Rock for lunch. Usually, I look at the menu, and end up with a steak anyway… but today, I had a Moroccan Lamb Shank… good grief! What a succulent tender tasty lump of fall-off-the-bone vleis… Really, PE dawgs… you gotta try it!
Sorry, no pic of the meal… I polished it off very fast!
>Edit.. see reply #21<
This is us!
And so, on to say a quick “Hi, howzit” to my Mom and Dad, we were off to Kings Beach parking area for the last stage. Some drivers really battled to keep it fluid, some were brilliant at keeping it tight and fast, and others were really ragged!
Horse enjoyed a few admiring glances from passers-by, as he chatted about his latest exploits with some other admirers of a lesser ilk. (I could see that they were pretty chuffed at the opportunity to share some tarmac with the wily old warhorse!)
And, so, another Saturday in my life, gone, never to be repaeated.. and I had an amazing time! Thanks, Babe, for joining me.
Bye..!
