Poodles...

Last night we took Pepper-Anne on an expedition to find poodles. She wanted to drive over, under and into them blasted poodles. Her underside was still a bit muddy (even the high pressure hose could not get this out!) We found a few good ones, especially the on-ramp at Princess Anne Road near UCT, and her mom and dad soon found themselves very very wet! Pepper is back safely in her garage and her dad starts exams on Friday, so there will not be to many stories in the next few weeks. Pepper might also be famous soon as her dad has just written an article for the Cape Times, so maybe that will be our next post.

Pepper's complaints.

Pepper quietly whispered in my ear last night when I brought her her milo that this was her website, not ours. She is upset that we have hijacked it and told me in no uncertain terms. So from now on all posts about Kate and Andrew can be found on atekandy.blogspot.com and the life and tales of Pepper will remain here. I might even move a couple of posts over to atekandy, which Kate thinks is a silly name, but I rather like it.

So I hereby do apologise to Pepper and promise never to do it again.

Bontebok Ridge

After all the excitement of the weekend it is probably now time to post a proper story of the outing.

We met at the Winelands Onestop on the N1, where about 15 Series Land Rovers invaded the parking lot.



There were two old restored VW Combi's there too which were really cool:



Kate and I got there quite early; our packing during the week helped us to leave on time for once. We could then sit down and have some coffee and breakfast with Gary (the organiser) and his daughter Nicola and Vicky who works for GQ, but used to work for SA 4x4 (all comments reserved).

Pepper packed and ready to go:



Nicola playing at the end of the weekend, she will make a mean little soccer player if she learns the hand ball rules:



We then trundled off in convoy to the farm which was about an hour away. A convoy of old Landy's arriving:



After setting up camp



and having a driver's meeting we went for a lttle drive. The little drive was lots of sun, there were log crossings, log inclines, dongs, dips and gulleys.

Buzzy in his Series 2 and the log crossing:



David brown piloting the Blue Smoker over the logs:



Dongas:



Dips



and gulleys



We all got stuck on one incline because we all decided to take the wrong line and test our incredibly flexible suspension, which was fun because none of us really have incredibly flexible suspension except Rambertus, and even he got a bit stuck, which is all part of the fun and the main purpose of some cars.

Notice the lesser spotted rock bokkie on the right hand side, perfectly camouflaged:



Pepper posing on a clay mound:



After playing for some time we all went on a game drive on a Series 2 SWB which was lots of fun, it belongs to the owners of the farm whose son decided to restore it after it had sat in a garage for ten years.



Some incredibly handsome guy pretending to drive the game viewer:



We listened to fish eagles, watched bokkies, looked at the sunset and took photo's! After that we went back to camp, started a fire, braaied, went to bed and woke up again!

Braai:



It wasn't nearly as cold as the weather report said it would be so we are all okay in the morning. We started the second part of the trail at nine, after working out why my CB radio wasn't working. The second half winds its way through a grove of wild olive trees, some over a hundred years old. There were lots of fun little obstacles, made even more fun by the fact that Pepper's starter motor has decided to pack up, making life very difficult. Whenever we stopped I couldn't turn her off, or if I stalled I had to make sure it was on an incline. I did stall once on a rocky incline, and then charged up in order not to stall again, but beat my gearbox crossmember up on the rocks:

Adam on the little rock climb, which he did with aplomb!



After all of that there was a little muddy obstacle, which Pepper didn't want to get out of, she even did it in two wheel drive but still didn't get stuck. It was fun but means that now she needs a full lube service, new wheel bearings and the starter motor needs replacing/fixing. The alternator bearing also needs replacing, all jobs for the holidays.

So we played



and played:



Adam played and sucked in water:



but that's ok because he has a T*y&t@ engine in his car so if he kills it he can put a real one in!

Yhen went to play some more while others went and did a little drive up the mountain.

Vicky piloting Rambertus over the dreaded logs, she made it look very easy:



A photo shoot was organised with Pepper and Adam's car, them being the youngest and the oldest respectively.



What is nice about all these outings is that kiddlywinks come too. There is something strange about it all because all the kiddlywinks are girls, but here is a picture of a little monkey endemic to regions that contain Land Rovers:



And that was the end of that, a good trail although quite short. Broken: starter motor. To do: service, engineering work on bumper, spare wheel carrier and other stuff. Move: aerial mount, it gets in the way. Till next time!

We are alive! Well, only just...

We had a wonderful weekend at Bontebok Ridge and Pepper-Anne got her shoes nice and muddy. The rain and cold behaved and stayed away from us even after the warnings below. We will post a long story about it this week, but in the mean time I will post some pictures below so you can be envious of us!
These are some pictures of Pepper and her friends:

















and no, this is not Pepper-Anne on steroids, this is her friend Rambertus








and as for the ..well, only just... part, we will have to put a story together about how pepper was out looking for robbers and baddies last night, but that is a whole nother post...

It's been a long time

It's been almost 3 weeks since Pepper got her paws muddy. Which means that she starts to shake and has little fits and her bottom starts to get wrinkly. Luckily for her there is a Series outing planned for this weekend at Bontebok Ridge, which Pepper is taking us along on. It looks like this:

TRAIL
The trail is mostly sand and promises to be very interesting especially if the rains of two weeks ago repeat themselves before the weekend. - Pepper should enjoy that.

CAMPING
Special permission has been obtained to camp at the trail - this is normally not allowed so please make use of this opportunity as it may not be available again. There will be wood and washing water provided, as well as a pit latrine. There are no other facilities so this is 1 notch up from a total bush camp. - That's fine for Pepper, but not for some of us!

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Wild Olive 4x4 Eco Track and Bontebok Ridge Reserve
Wild Olive Eco Track is part of a 600 hectare working farm set at the foot of the Limietberg Mountains. The farm is divided into two sections; the lower section, comprising of a 100ha of arable land which is dedicated to livestock and vineyards.
The grapes grown are wine varieties, with the red cultivars: Pinotage, Ruby Cabernet and Cabernet Sauvignon and the white cultivars Clairette Blanche and Chenin Blanc.
The upper section of the farm has been set aside for ‘Bontebok Ridge Reserve’ which forms part of the Renosterveld Conservancy, to preserve the endangered Renosterveld and its indigenous animals within the Cape Floral Kingdom. We have reintroduced several species of antelope to the reserve, such as eland, wildebeest, hartebeest, springbok and bontebok, the latter of which until a few years ago, were
critically endangered.

Another exciting development on the reserve is the quagga breeding project which is being run in conjunction with South African National Parks and Iziko. The aim of this project is to recreate a species which was once thought to be extinct, but recent research has established that it is in fact the same species as the common planes zebra but with a paler rump. Through selective breeding the aim is to
achieve a replica of the quagga and then reintroduce them back into Karroo and Mountain Zebra National Parks.
The 4x4 trail has been built on the lower section of the farm, utilizing an area which is populated mainly with exotic vegetation, with a few pockets of indigenous flora which we’ve been careful to avoid! Our aim is to in time remove all alien vegetation to enable the natural flora to re-establish itself. The trail is not over commercial and retains a quite and tranquil outdoor feel. The use of the track is normally by invitation only or used under supervision by a trainer.

Which is all fine and dandy for Pepper, but for us it is a different story. The weather forecast looks like this:

Forecast: Friday, 13 May 2005
Min: 12°C Max: 15°C
Weather: Cloudy, general rain (100%)
Wind: fresh north-westerly

Forecast: Saturday, 14 May 2005
Min:8°C Max: 13°C
Weather: Cloudy periods, widespread showers (80%)
Wind: moderate south-westerly


Forecast: Sunday, 15 May 2005
Min:4°C Max: 19°C
Weather: Partly cloudy
Wind: light north-westerly

Advisory
VERY COLD AND WINDY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED ON THE HIGH GROUND OF THE NORTHERN AND WESTERN CAPE ON FRIDAY, WITH SNOWFALLS LIKELY ON FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING. THESE CONDITIONS WILL SPREAD TO THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS OF THE EASTERN CAPE BY SATURDAY MORNING, WHEN CLEARING WILL TAKE PLACE OVER THE WESTERN AND NORTHERN CAPE.

Which is scary.

Kate will end up looking like this:



Although without the smile.

and Pepper will end up looking like this:



or like this:



Although without the monster tyres.

I AM VERY SCARED. IF THERE ARE NO MORE POSTS AFTER THIS ASSUME WE NEED RESCUING.
images courtesy http://fuerapiche.eresmas.com/fotos3.html

Pepper and her aunt 2

Pepper's aunt had just told me that she hates 4x4ing. Which reminded me of the time we went to Zevenwacht wine estate. The trail has some steep gravel inclines and declines, a couple of tricky rock sections (difflock needed for some) and a sand pit to play in. The views of Cape Town are spectacular, and it is only 45 min from town.
You can taste wine at the wine cellar if you are so inclined, or laze on the grass and have a picnic.



Or go offroading ith 2 crazy guys, one in his 110 2.8 (fast, big) and one guy in a little Suzuki SJ410. These guys were crazy crazy. At the end of the day, when they were a bit bored, they decided to make their own trails.

Crazy guy Jacque



Crazy guy Gary



And then drive up them.

Katherine has a photo of the Landy with its two front wheels in the air. We all got a turn to accompany the crazy guys as they tried this obstacle, fast and faster until they made it. Which generally entailed a lot of wheels in the air at once, or a lot of dust. I have a video of Kate getting the dust treatment, which is very funny.

But the whole point of this story is that Katherine actually drove. And enjoyed it. Even though at most times she didn't know where the front wheels were pointing. Here is Katherine hanging on for dear life while crazy guy Jacque pilots crazy guy Gary's jeep around and around the sand pit. The screams could be heard for miles...



One last picture of the cutest car in the whole world, before her little makeover, although she was wearing her new shoes:

The next day

On Sunday we went to a farm in Phillipi to play with the Cape Land Rover Club. You might ask what type of farm and my reply will be "I don't know." All I saw was sand. And no, you cannot farm sand. You can mine it, which is what they do, but not on Sundays. Otherwise there would be a conflict of interests. "I want to drive over that dune!" vs "I want to put that dune into a truck!"


vs


After that philosophical debate, lets get down to the nitty sandy. We deflated right down to 0.5 bar after a test run of that pressure at Melkbos the day before. We made one long convoy, with a brand new Discovery Series 3 driven by the chairman Pietie leading the way. The first hill was attacked by many and conquered by all, with one or two requiring more than one attempt. Space!: The Final Frontier being one who's captain needed to re-aquaint with the instrument panel and maximise the nebulising space-time froggle womp. In other words, "Put foot George!" "Again, this time in second!"

Here is an oh-so-pretty collage of Space! doing what it does best - driving over, down and up sand dunes.

Clockwise from top left: - Looks like you should have gone right George!
- Sand.
- Look at that awesome car. I mean the Discovery 3 sneaking its bottom into the picture. That little hill was actually really steep, so Pepper went down it in reverse!
- A view of Space! from outer space.





Here is Adam and his Series 1 being piloted over through the galaxy of sand.
If anyone wants to moan about the non-original tyre and rim setup then they should know this: Adam searched high and low and eventually found some original 1953 rims with the date stamp and everything. His car just doesn't have them on for two reasons: He doesn't want to damage them playing, and two, that original skinny tyre setup is rubbish in sand.



Pepper's little boots walked over everything with consumate ease, the very low pressure helping a lot. She attacked and conquered all the obstacles that the other newer cars did, and so she got a bit cheeky and decided to blaze some trails. Which ended up in:



And:



The long, ropey like things attached to various parts of Pepper are not there because she is pulling someone out, it's because she got stuck. Again and again. Which is fun!

The captain of Space!: The Final Frontier decided to jump ship and pilot a far more technologically advanced universe conqueror. This was done with gay abandon, resulting in the co-pilot fleeing for his life; he was found much later in a foetal position, muttering something about roll bars or something.



Actually all I did was steal Space!: The Final Frontier while everyone was busying themselves with food. I took Adam for a drive where we both marvelled at how comfortable the vehicle was. At 100 km/h. On a sand dune! Ha ha.

One last (badly composed) photo of all the vehicles that had fun that day:



All in all a fun day, no breakages (I think) and cheap too (R0.00).