Hilux 4x4 Forum

Although final arrangements are not yet 100% clear, Mark (OOOMS / 000DS & girls) will be coming down and spending the weekend with us at Hogsback. So far it seems that Mark & Danelle will travel down on Fri 22/04 ... will probably meet them in Cathcart. We will probably stay until Monday morning 25/04. Anyone is welcome to join us, or to just 'pop in' for a visit if you are in the area. Just let us know (you can post here). Although accommodations in the cottage are full, there is plenty camping place on the lawns (no cost of course) .... just bring along whatever you need.

Directions will be supplied if anyone is interested.

Pity I will be in CT but I have routes for you guys. Don't know much much of Hogsback you have done in a 4x4 Andy? But there is a lot! to be seen from the comfort of your vehicle and also interms of making the bigger/longer excusrions shorter especially with having little ones.... My trip report is nearly done. Maybe I will finish it tonight....

AM Racing wrote:Pity I will be in CT but I have routes for you guys. Don't know much much of Hogsback you have done in a 4x4 Andy? But there is a lot! to be seen from the comfort of your vehicle and also interms of making the bigger/longer excusrions shorter especially with having little ones.... My trip report is nearly done. Maybe I will finish it tonight....

That would be nice Dylan. Sorry no pressure...

Andy where the freak is Cathcart....?

Ah! Found it

Cathcart
S32 17.883
E27 08.702

As I said, if I meet you in Cathcart rather than East London, it'll cut almost 2 hrs off your trip.

Hey Dylan, I'm sorry that you won't be there ... but we understand that you have prior arrangements. That trip report would be nice. I've done all the hiking trails up there, but that's no longer an option with Sheridene's bad leg ... we have done a few of the scenic routes, but it would be nice to explore a few more.

I am busy loading pics onto photobucket at the moment it just takes so long. With more time there was far more to be seen.

AM Racing wrote:I am busy loading pics onto photobucket at the moment it just takes so long. With more time there was far more to be seen.

Dylan, why not upload directly from your PC to Forum? Much easier

Oh that is sooo tempting...we're going to PE round the 20th...with the platkar ! Would love to take the LTD but at about 240 litres one way that's R4800 I don't have

You're still welcome to pop on for a 'visit' Stef. The Platkar will get you there.

We'll see how it pans out...want to spend Easter with the family and also avoid the roads over the weekend

Stef wrote:We'll see how it pans out...want to spend Easter with the family and also avoid the roads over the weekend

Stef, geen platkar verskoning nie, sien julle daar

Wie gaan nog kom kuier?

Simon van Queenstown het aangedui dat hy graag 'n draai wil kom maak afhangend of dit hul planne sal pas. Sal my nog laat weet. Make a plan, Simon!

Mud Dog wrote:Simon van Queenstown het aangedui dat hy graag 'n draai wil kom maak afhangend of dit hul planne sal pas. Sal my nog laat weet. Make a plan, Simon!

Simon, 'the honey man'....hmmmmm, now maybe that's a plan, I can also take some back to Gauteng.... :wink2:

OOOOMS wrote:Stef, geen platkar verskoning nie, sien julle daar

Ja jaa!

Andy, would love to join/visit, but unfortunately gotta get the van finished first.

I've never been to Hogsback even though my wife's family owns a farm out there Somewhere :wth:

Will, hope you guys have a great time and looking forward to the trip report from Mark

Stef, are offering to lend a hand then round the 20th as I'm sure you'll be in the area

Its a pity you guys are only there for the weekend.i am taking the week following easter off and still contemplating where to go too.

george wrote:Its a pity you guys are only there for the weekend.i am taking the week following easter off and still contemplating where to go too.

BAVIAANS

Go look for RooiHoek under images and see the beautifull sites and river where you can camp. They have only a longdrop no other facilities, so you'll need to be self sufficient.

If you want I can send you all the info on the above, just give a shout.

Maddoglips wrote:
Stef, are offering to lend a hand then round the 20th as I'm sure you'll be in the area

Jaa boet...once a coastal boy (although born & bred a Valie) always a coastal boytjie...so that emoticon is very apt as that's where you'll more than likely find me...

Planning to drive down the 20th if possible but more than likely 21st...
If you have money for some LRP (this is a shoestring trip) I can bring the LTD & then we all drive up for a day or so...

How far is your Red Rover, I'm also heavy on juice...the Captain & I became very familiar again with all the GTG's

AM Racing wrote:I am busy loading pics onto photobucket at the moment it just takes so long. With more time there was far more to be seen.

Eish.... :roll:

Hi Andy

Many thanks for your help this morning. That was very kind of you. Hopefully in the course of time I am able to come to some of the meets far and explore the beautiful countryside. In the meantime I look forward to seeing it here from the reports. All the best. Phil

Phil!

Mark, I'm hoping that we find a few of these! ....... I'm talking about the mushrooms of course!

Lunch :!: :!: :!:

I'll bring the cheese and stuff

OOOOMS wrote:Lunch :!: :!: :!:

I'll bring the cheese and stuff

Breakfast! .... the smaller ones we can wrap in foil and gooi on the braai!

Directions:

When you come through Cathcart, as you exit there is a turn off to Seymour (to your right at 32°18'05.90"S 27°08'28.79"E)
which you will take. Very shortly after that will come to a turn off to Hogsback on your left at 32°18'49.62"S 27°07'36.68"E.
This is a gravel road (R345) ... follow it into the Hogsback area (becomes the main road throug Hogsback). Turn off to the
right at 32°35'03.83"S 26°55'32.72"E ............... follow that (steep downhill and then rising again) to a left hand turn at
32°35'09.70S 26°54'49.13E. That will lead you up to our place at 32°35'18.19"S 26°54'44.35"E. From the main road turnoff
in Hogsback you can follow the signs to "Starways Art Gallery" ..... he is Anton vd Merwe, our neighbour.

Just a quick update.

•We will be there from Thurs afternoon (21st) till Monday morning (probably till lunchtime 25th)
•Anyone is welcome to join us, even to just pop in for the day if you are in the area.
(Just let us know since we will out on trails / sight seeing most of the time ... cell 083 - 3521094)
•What to bring ... yourselves and whatever consumables you need. Your hiking boots. Camping gear if sleeping over.
Tabbard for ticks ... I've neverhad a problem, but apparently there are in some of the areas we will visit.
•Accommodation. Free.

So far
Andy (Mud Dog)
Mark (OOOMS)
Simon (Syron Conversions .... a couple of days, still to be advised)
Stef ?
Newbie AntonV6 would like to join us for the day (TBA).

Mud Dog wrote:Just a quick update.

•We will be there from Thurs afternoon (21st) till Monday morning (probably till lunchtime 25th)
•Anyone is welcome to join us, even to just pop in for the day if you are in the area.
(Just let us know since we will out on trails / sight seeing most of the time ... cell 083 - 3521094)
•What to bring ... yourselves and whatever consumables you need. Your hiking boots. Camping gear if sleeping over.
Tabbard for ticks ... I've neverhad a problem, but apparently there are in some of the areas we will visit.
•Accommodation. Free.

So far
Andy (Mud Dog)
Mark (OOOMS)
Simon (Syron Conversions .... a couple of days, still to be advised)
Stef ?
Newbie AntonV6 would like to join us for the day (TBA).

Daar issi 'n manier nie

Things very unsure at present...might only leave here after the long weekend... will hopefully know by Friday...

OOOOMS wrote:

Mud Dog wrote:Just a quick update.

•We will be there from Thurs afternoon (21st) till Monday morning (probably till lunchtime 25th)
•Anyone is welcome to join us, even to just pop in for the day if you are in the area.
(Just let us know since we will out on trails / sight seeing most of the time ... cell 083 - 3521094)
•What to bring ... yourselves and whatever consumables you need. Your hiking boots. Camping gear if sleeping over.
Tabbard for ticks ... I've neverhad a problem, but apparently there are in some of the areas we will visit.
•Accommodation. Free.

So far
Andy (Mud Dog)
Mark (OOOMS)
Simon (Syron Conversions .... a couple of days, still to be advised)
Stef ?
Newbie AntonV6 would like to join us for the day (TBA).

Daar issi 'n manier nie

Ok, well comfortable walking footwear then.

Things very unsure at present...might only leave here after the long weekend... will hopefully know by Friday...

No pressure Stef ... we just expect to see you! No, seriously, if you can make it that would be absolutely great, if not, we understand.

Tx Andy, we'll try our level best; would really love to meet you guys. Will keep ya posted as events unfold

Mud Dog wrote:Directions:

When you come through Cathcart, as you exit there is a turn off to Seymour (to your right at 32°18'05.90"S 27°08'28.79"E)
which you will take. Very shortly after that will come to a turn off to Hogsback on your left at 32°18'49.62"S 27°07'36.68"E.
This is a gravel road (R345) ... follow it into the Hogsback area (becomes the main road throug Hogsback). Turn off to the
right at 32°35'03.83"S 26°55'32.72"E ............... follow that (steep downhill and then rising again) to a left hand turn at
32°35'09.70S 26°54'49.13E. That will lead you up to our place at 32°35'18.19"S 26°54'44.35"E. From the main road turnoff
in Hogsback you can follow the signs to "Starways Art Gallery" ..... he is Anton vd Merwe, our neighbour.

Note:
These co-ords were pulled from Google Earth. They may not be in the same format as your GPS.

Hi Andy,
The kids are visiting so we are going down to Cintsa. They will not allow me to change venue

Thanks and enjoy the company.

Ben

No probs, Ben. There will be other times.

So Far its just myself & Swambs, OOOMS & Fam and Simoan & Swambo.

If anyone wants the GPS format co-ords, I have got them ... just let me know & I will post them.

Thanks for a great weekend. Nice to meet you & Sheri-dene in person.

Thanks ..... likiewise. I for one enjoyed it thoroughly, and believe me, the pleasure was mine. Glad you guys made it back safely. We were still up there when you guys got home ..... errr, what's the speed limit on our national roads? I had gone for a quick forest walk before leaving. Found as many fresh mushrooms if not more than we collected on Friday .... about 15 kg. (Will put up a pic later.)

"Glad you guys made it back safely. We were still up there when you guys got home ..... errr, what's the speed limit on our national roads? "

Andy ..... you know we had to make it back for Cryssies dance lesson , better yet, we also stopped for breakfast for an hour

I guessed you would ..... wasn't the padkos enough? Oh, I noticed that the time of an SMS reply from Mark's phone was 2 hours behind .... no wonder I though you guys were 'low flying'. (Your "Got home safe" message was 'stamped' for 13h30, but must therefore have been about 15h30 .... Mark, set the time on your phone! ).

(We left at 14h30 and were home at 16h15)

The pad-kos was 100% the bunns were crawling with m.....s, yuk!

The mushrooms I picked this afternoon .....

Yummy!!! Best mushies have tasted

On Thursday afternoon we got ourselves organised, chatted and caught up on old times. It was bitterly cold for this time of year and we all shivered to our boots. I did a Chow Mien for us all thinking that the OOOMS crowd would be tired after the long trip, but judging by the time we sat and chatted until, I must have been mistaken. We made a fire in the fireplace but we were getting smoked out, so we abandoned the fire after a while.

We all slept reasonably well and were up early to continue the chatting and banter before breakfast, after which we went on a mushroom hunt (took us the best part of the morning).

The ladies soaking up the sun while waiting to go looking for mushrooms.

Unbelievably clean vehicles ... (the gravel roads were still a little 'damp' after recent rains, so not so much dust).

Mark & Danelle, a little blurred ..... pine needles can be slippery especially when not watching one's footing while taking pics.

Kristen was no different from normal young teenagers when it came to climbing trees.

Dunno what I did with the camera but the pics from this point were not on the memory card. Only once we got back to the cottage to relax, did I get pics again. The gas fridge was turned up a little high and everything was starting to freeze, including the refreshments.

Instead of having a late lunch, we snacked and cleaned mushrooms for an early braai. Kiara was very much a part of the action trimming the fungi ..... and very, very keen to taste the end product. Poor Danelle was sporting an oversized plaster (all we had on hand) on a small wound to her jaw.

Mark showing off his braai skills.

The smoke from the fire made for some interesting scenes with the sun going down below the trees.

Hot refreshments were preferred as the evening temps started to drop.

Again the chatting after a scrumptious dinner as well as a little card playing took us up to bedtime. Although not as cold as the previous night, it was still chilly enough with a little intermittent rain to ensure being well tucked in.

On Saturday we decided to go into the state forests behind our place ... there are a few places with stunning / breathtaking views. Besides one particularly muddy and slippery area, we had no need to engage 4x4.


A lone hawk flies overhead with rain falling in the distance.

If the sign says "don't", then ..........

The dam was hand built by locals.

The area is criss-crossed with all these little mountain streams and falls all over ... some small, some big.

These three dead, moss covered pines stand like sentries overlooking the ravine.


On our way back out. And then the rain started to catch us ... but had to get a snap of the green and Autumn shades on this young oak.
Then we headed back into the village and had a late lunch at "Nina's".
Someone was cold, but too thirsty to wait for the hot MILO.
Before heading back, we made a detour past the historic chapel "St Patrick's on the hill" .... the one that recently sustained fire damage but has since been restored.
To the left of this pic one can see the edge of the "Wall of Remembrance" .... the ashes of my late dad and nephew are interred in the wall.
The chapel is a popular venue for small weddings in the chapel and larger ones outside in the "Garden of Love" ... the girls made quick use of this sign for a photo opportunity.

Thanks for the pics Andy, nice

Looks familiar??? But you guys didnt even play. Unless those mushrooms were of the magic variety

True, Dylan, but one can play anywhere and I wanted our visitors to experience some of the Hogsback enchantment. We did have a little 'play session' planned whereby the local forester would have taken us along some of the restricted trails, but that unfortunately fell through. Next time!

On Sunday morning we went to the "Woodland Walk" and "39 Steps" falls which is close by. It's a pretty venue with easy walks and many photo opportunities.

Was a great weekend, here are some more!

Andy, simply beautiful scenery you have down there! Seems you guys had a whale of a time.

Somehow, in spite of how nice your old 'Lux was, the new one just blends in "Oh, so nicely!". It has "Andy" written all over it, beautiful car!


-F_D

The EC has a lot to offer, and a scenery that we take for granted. Thanks for the compliment Eric, but the car's beauty is however 'skin deep' so to speak. Both Sher & I still miss the old one and we'll still get this one to a similar standard though .... just a matter of time.

After the Woodland walk and 39 Step Falls, we headed to Madonna & Child falls since it was only a 500m walk from the car park and one of the 'toppies' (myself excluded) was starting to show some wear & tear. In fact he complained no fewer than 4 times on the way down into the gorge that we would have to come back out up the same descent ..... fair comment, considering that some of the inclines were close to 40°. There were however walkways to assist us, a somewhat recent improvement (I can remember crawling up and down there on all fours on a few previous occasions). I'd like to think that weariness gave way to wonder and appreciation when we emerged from the canopy into a small clearing that was the falls.



After a decent length of time to admire the scene and to catch our breaths, we set about the return trip.

I purposely took a fork in the trail that would lead us to the Big Tree, but Mark & Danelle were too 'wakker' not to have noticed. They immediately voiced their concerns, questioning my schooling in the subjects of mathematics and geography, but I assured them that it really wasn't far and that it was an easy, fairly level walk since we were already on the floor of the gorge ... they reluctantly followed. Looking back at one point I decided to take a pic of the family. Crysten decided to reciprocate by taking one of me and as fluke would have it, we both snapped our pics at the exact same split second .... what are the odds of that!
Crysten being a keen dance student, was without doubt the fittest amongst us and would regularly take the point, leading the way from a little ahead of the group. At about 200m along this fork in the trail, Crysten & I were walking a little ahead of the Schubert clan when we came to a sign that indicated another 2.2km to the Big Tree. Giggling, Crysten wanted to wait a little past the sign and see their reaction when they came upon it .... I too was interested to see that reaction. We were not disappointed! Again my knowledge of maths and geography were brought into question. I laughed and reminded Mark of a comment I made earlier on this forum in response to his teasing ... "*a* sal jy nog *a*" ..... this was pay-back! To cut a long story short, after another 20m or so, they decided it was a bad idea and turned back, using little Kiara as an excuse! (But seriously, I didn't blame them ... I've had to carry kids along those trails myself.) Crysten on the other hand was still keen so it was just the two of us that went on to the Big Tree.

Bear in mind that this tree is a Yellowood, and they don't have thick trunks like baobabs etc. The tree is estimated to be about 800 yrs old, but that sign said the same thing when I was an 8 yr old child .... it should be updated, but even at 800 yrs that tree would already have been about 450 yrs old when Jan van Riebeeck landed at the Cape!

Back at the car park we sat and had some finger snacks, courtesy of Mark / Danelle (thanks guys), after which we headed back 'home' to make our last braai together. Looking at the smoke across the valley it seems that a few other residents had a similar idea.


How quickly the time had passed with the weekend drawing to a close. After dinner we sat and chatted again for a while before the Shubert's had to start packing up. We were all up early the next morning and got in a few last cups of coffee before they headed out on the long trip back home. We were sad to see them go, we hadn't done all the things I had in mind for the weekend, but I wasn't disappointed .... I enjoyed every minute of our time together. Thanks guys for a great outing and the memories that will be cherished and remain with us forever!

As I stood outside in the still darkness listening to the sound of the Fortuner descend into the valley and rise out on the far side, I caught an occasional glimpse of the headlights along the road before all was quiet again. My mood was reflected in that scene ..... dark, but peaceful and serene. I sat and watched as the dawn broke over the mountain, the promise of another bright day ahead.

I waited a few minutes till the full force of the rising sun restored some bodily warmth. A spider crawled out from under it's glistening web in the grass at my feet ... as I watched it I thought how we were both blessed with another day.

Lovelly photos! Thanks for sharing them.
We were there 13 years ago, on our honeymoon. Nice to see the photos and bring back some of the memories.

Royco wrote:Lovelly photos! Thanks for sharing them.
We were there 13 years ago, on our honeymoon. Nice to see the photos and bring back some of the memories.

I think you guys need a second honeymoon so we can show you....



how to 4x4 in the EC!!!

Mud Dog wrote:The EC has a lot to offer, and a scenery that we take for granted. Thanks for the compliment Eric, but the car's beauty is however 'skin deep' so to speak. Both Sher & I still miss the old one and we'll still get this one to a similar standard though .... just a matter of time.

Hi Andy,

Ek stem saam met oom Eric,daai bakkie van jou lyk mooi.Teen die tempo wat jy nou aan hom werk het jy hom een van die dae op die dieselfde vlak as jy vorige een.Dit bly immers tog nog steeds lekker om aan n sfa hilux te werk.

Jou fotos is baie mooi,dit lyk asof jy en Mark en familie julle gate uit geniet het.

Hoggs was regtig 'n stil spesiaale plek, daar was redelik mis op pad uit

Mark,Dit is n baie mooi foto daai.

Good thing thing we didn't go...weather really bad in the EC...would have had 2 x sick puppies by now...

Pity though, looks like we missed a lot