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Well somebody had to start it

Just got to get through this day at work and we will be on the way.

The other participants will be doing more or less the same.

Barcud arrived last night, and we are raring to go.....

Thanks guys and gals from BB and me,

we leave in just under an hour.

BB has just tested his traditional weapons on me and I can assure you they work

OK, I'd better give BB a lift with packing the fire truck....................

Here is how it all started Hope you all have the very best time...

Well here we are... some of us are back from the 2011 Nossob Eco 4x4 trail. Although some of the forumites are STILL in Kgalagadi, feedback will surely soon start to trickle in. I'll set the stage...here is a teaser :



Sorry, I had to remove the original music - copyright issues.

I'll try and post pictures some time today - I've had a case of food poisoning to deal with yesterday... Must have been that Chicken Mayo Sandwich at St**rs in Upington...

Love the video Weskusklong

BBand the team got back to Cape Town last night.

All I can say for now is that KTP is

WOW!

The two hunts we witnessed from start to finish were simply breathtaking...................................???





But you will have to wait a while as I need to get home and download the photos .

Maybe I must threaten to post a video clip of THE DUNE (Bertha) results if the reports doesn't start rolling in.

It will come Dreamer, it will come... but since I would like to be in sync with the other, and since Bertha happened on day 2, I don't want to jump the gun (for the time being in any way). In any way the results were not what some hoped (and claimed) it would be.

Ok, Ok.....some of us are still trying to get sand out of our ears........

Great video WKK -



So where to start ......was thinking of waiting for Scouter et al to join us again....... ........ ........ .......I'm sure you guys won't mind waiting another week or so.......

Aaa... welcome on board Jo... First night at Swartbas! This waiting thing is really tiring! I'm starting to feel like KG junior .

OK, let's roll.

We arrived at 2R at about 4h30, and beat Switchback by about 3 minutes. The drive up was largely uneventful, which is how I like it, except that we could not fit another thing anywhere in the vehicle. Barcud had left his ironing board at home, otherwise he would have had to hold it outside the window...

In the unseasonally chilly pre dawn, KG appeared and told us that he had been summoned to the Kudu awards for Monday night and would not be able to lead the trail until Wednesday morning. I thought that there was a good reason to insist that he was present there, but you never really know.

With the presents dropped off, and feeling a bit deflated, we set off for Nossob where we were to spend 2 nights before the trail, but that will be covered elsewhere.

On Monday morning, we went for a gate-open-time drive, and were ready at the appointed hour of 9h00. As we waited, we met the people behind the forum handles and their companions.

We met the jovial Aubrey, who was to substitute for KG, whose family decided they were going along with or without KG!

With WeskusKlong as the official movie maker, the column set off north towards the trail start near Polentswa.

Now I pass the baton for the next reporter....

The first bird to be seen out of the gate was a Greater Kestrel and the first mammal a Blue Wildebeest. As we drove up towards Polentswa and the 4 x 4 trail proper, I was searching the ground and skies for birds. "Kori" I shouted, but it turned out to be a fallen log. OK then, it's a Korioakie I said, which had the inside of the bakkie laughing hystericaly for several minutes (or was that groaning I heard???). This set the tone of the trip for the gang in the big red fire truck, which was just as well, as we would need that humour later on when things turned pear shaped for our little group, crammed as we were in BB's bakkie.

Several other species were seen on the way up to Polentswa, with Lanner, Pale Chanting Goshawk, and Bateleur adding to the raptors seen and a solitary Lion at Kwang only twitched an ear as we passed.

We parked in line at the start of the trail and after a quick briefing from Aubrey, we were off.................

So with the column - yip, 9 cars - moving up to Polentswa, we got a few curious looks from the other road users! At Kwang, we had a distant sighting of a lioness resting under a tree. At this stage, Scouter had caught a wopper of a stomach bug, which her son had had the previous night.......so with Scouter looking very pale round the gills, with her barf-bag held close by, we pulled onto the road that marked the start of the trail......

It was with great excitement that we left Nossob. Finally the time came that we all planned for. Sure everything did not workout as planned, but hey it is not a perfect world and we can adapt. It was a great pity that KG could not make it on the first 2 days. I find it amusing 'cause I'm sure all the forumites on the Eco voted for him to get the award he deserves, and now he had to go and collect it during the Eco - really funny in a way!

On the up side, I enjoyed Aubrey a lot. He is assisting rangers in all the major camps in Kgalagadi, had lots of stories to tell about his experiences "working lions", as he said. The utmost respect he has for Albert came through clearly.

The group dynamics was interesting. We had participants from all walks of life - not something that will normally contribute to cohesion, but we had a glue that made things kinda work - everyone had a true love for the Kalahari. Some snapped at every bird within a km, others charged every dune as if it was the most important thing in life, and others just chilled. Here's an early shot of the convoy from my viewpoint. There are a few cars behind us as well:



It was hot! Really hot! My Isuzu's temperature gauge hovered around the 40degC mark. Aubrey had us stop for our first morning break:



Thanks for all the kind comments on the teaser. Maybe I must explain my efforts with the video camera. I'm a part time videographer and was looking for moments to capture - to create a production KG may use as he pleases. Maybe a DVD that can run at reception in TR or maybe just something to cherish. We will see what comes out of this and decide then. I'm doing it because I want to, there is no money involved.

At first I wanted to include daily clips on this forum as well, but I have my second thoughts now. Not everybody likes to be videoed, so I will have to choose my material very carefully. I have no desire to offend anybody, so I'm reviewing close on 2 hours of footage to see what to keep and what to delete. However I will post a few clips. Watch this space!

And along came a lady named BERTHA...........



She surely opened a can of worms and then everything went silent.



And some Toyotas of Bertha