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REPORT WEEKEND AWAY MAGOEBASKLOOF 2015

On a Saturday morning, 31 members in 14 Porsches and two other luxury German Cars arrived at the Star Shop along the N1 to Polokwane, after dodging the numerous silly men dressed in brown sitting in bushes behind small tripods.

After the compulsory “Drivers Briefing” where drivers were given some rules, the most important was “NEVER PASS THE LEADER” and the next was “NEVER BE LATE”, we headed out to our destination, being Magoebaskloof Hotel, in the Land of the Silver Mist.

On arrival, we enjoyed a finger lunch prepared by the Hotel, and we all had time to Check In and freshen up for the Sundowner Cruise on the Sunset Queen on Ebenezer Dam.

 At exactly 3pm, all were assembled in the parking area, (the rule “NEVER BE LATE” had been observed, did the participants know something about the organizer???). Engines were started and the Convoy of Porsches and two others rolled out of the Hotel Grounds to the launching area of the Sunset Queen.

For two and a half hours of cruising, the group got to know each other better in the captive environment of being onboard the boat. We were advised that the temperature would drop on the dam, but it was never unpleasant, and most jackets were left over the back of the chairs. Soon after sunset the cruise ended, and the convoy headed back to the hotel in the dark, dodging potholes.

The hotel prepared the evening meal, a braaivleis, and we sat down in the King Makoba Room to partake of this. After desert, it was “game time” The format of the game (around the world) was explained to the group, where teams of 4 were to find clues which would take them around the world. The clues were listed at six stations around the room.  Confusion reigned supreme, but soon all were well on their way to visiting 70 different cities around the world.  After an hour or so of organized chaos, a team, “Spyder” consisting of Gerrit and Ronell Roux and Martin and Cindy Venkov was declared the winner.

The next morning, early, saw Dave Parratt, Willie van Zyl and I in the parking lot cleaning our cars for the Shine and Show. Much later the rest of the group joined us, even the “other” cars were cleaned and prepared. We all left our cars, neatly parked in the parking area, for judging by some of the hotel staff and headed off for breakfast. The results of Shine and Show were 1st Albert Du Bois, 2nd was Vanessa Cuhna, and 3rd was Willie van Zyl.

At exactly 10h30, the convoy, now free of luggage and the threat of silly men dressed in brown sitting in bushes behind tripods, headed briskly down Magoebaskloof pass, one of the best mountain passes in the country, to a parking area overlooking Magoebaskloof Dam.    The oldest car, a 1970 Porsche 911 S, and the youngest car, a 2015 Porsche 991 Turbo S, were used to frame the group for a group photo session with the dam as a backdrop.

Now it was time to eat!!  So we all headed up the winding road to Peko Tea Garden,  the view from here was breathtaking, and we dived into the House Specialty, the Peko Lime Punch, which was followed by tea, scones and pancakes.

Soon we were hungry again, and we raced down the mountain to our next venue, Crawdaddys  in Tzaneen. Some decided to take another route to the venue, maybe they thought the drive was to short!!

After a long lunch in the Sauna of Crawdaddys (sun and plastic curtains on a closed patio kinda generates a lot of heat), we left our prize possessions in the parking lot and climbed into two Taxis and were driven to view the “oldest living organism on the planet”, NO!! Not Brian White, it was in fact a 6000 year old Baobab tree situated in Modjadjiskloof. It is also the widest of its species in the world.  It is 22 metres high, and is some 47 metres in circumference. Another group photo was taken at the base of this magnificent tree.  With all this activity, it was apparent that we needed to eat again. Final farewell photos were taken, and we climbed into our Taxis and raced back to our cars.  With the promise of a Xmas Dinner at the hotel, the convoy sped up the mountain, as if the group had not eaten in the last 2 hours!

King Makgoba Room was again the venue for our Christmas in June dinner. Gammon, roast chicken and veggies were the order of the day. in one corner, a tree was decorated with Christmas decorations and the presents that were brought by the participants were placed under the tree. After the dinner, it was time to play the Brian Viljoen modified Xmas Game. Presents were opened, swopped and hidden.  Johnny Black, a pair of scarves, a set of expresso coffee cups and a ladies handbag were the sought after items, while a chamois and a pair of oven gloves were items that drew no interest in the game.

One of the emails I received from one of the guys on the weekend was

“We would like to thank you for the great weekend at Magoebaskloof. We absolutely loved every part of it and look forward to partake in future events.

Money could not have bought better entertainment to the Christmas dinner.  

Thank you very much.”

This says it all!

Next morning, it was time to depart the hotel. Some deciding to head for home after checkout and others extending the weekend by visiting the quaint town of Haenertsburg.

The War Memorial in the town was our next stop to see the remnants of the last Long Tom Cannon, which was destroyed in the town in the second Anglo-Boer War.  Thereafter, some decided to walk up the hill to the view the historic graveyard. After all the visiting, we all gathered in the town, to  test The Stocks at one shop and having a cold one at another.

Again, hunger got the better of us and we crossed the road and enjoyed our final lunch at the Lekwar Restaurant.

All to soon the weekend was over, and after our final goodbyes, it was time to head for home and dodge the silly men in brown sitting in bushes behind small tripods.

Brian Viljoen 

 

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