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My yearn for a 4×4 partner to go play with resulted in a long weekend away with about 20 chaps up the West Coast in the middle of winter.
In speaking to a work colleague of mine, he mentioned that he and a group of guys go camping in the middle of winter each year. Legend has it that a few chaps wanted to go camping without the families and they thought long and hard on how to get this right.
The solution? Go camping in the middle of winter! And so Ysbeer was born.
I was a tad apprehensive considering I only knew one bloke but the group of guys I met over this weekend at the end of July 2023 made me feel right at home.
I counted the days down and on the evening of Thursday 27 July, I was packing the Tuna (Fortuner) save for my meat and toiletries. I felt like a child on Christmas eve and couldn’t wait to get my head down, eyes closed and bring the morning on faster.
After dropping my youngest off at school on the Friday morning just after 7am, I headed out of Durbanville with my first stop being the West Coast farm stall on the R27 outside Yzerfontein where I would meet up with Richard (my colleague) and head off in convoy towards our breakfast halt at Soverby Beach Lapa in Veldrift.
Considering that Rich does not spend his days on the road like some of us, he did not anticipate the traffic from Monte Vista and said he would be a half hour late – so I grabbed a Powerade, slinked down some tabs (my finger had been paining from the cold after my op) and hit the road towards Soverby.
I arrived at Soverby around 9h20 in the morning, parked the Tuna, pulled down my beanie and trotted off to the entrance of the restaurant. I walked in with faces staring at me as if I was some alien from Venus but the faces brightened when I introduced myself as the newbie.
Meeting Jonno (the organiser), Shawn, Steven (also a newbie), Jacques, Matthys (Met-Ys) and so on, was a blast. Having two cups of coffee was the first order of business to try and take the chill out of my aging bones.
Once Richard arrived, with his mate Jeremy, we hovered around chatting until business was called to order as breakfast was laid out before us. Scrambled egg, fried tomatoes, chips and bacon, along with a Mimosa, Jonno welcomed the group. JC then proceeded to hand out our Ysbeertjie 2023 shirts along with some hoodies for the new guys.
Once breakfast had been wolfed down, we headed off to Lamberts Bay in convoy to our campsite, Malkoppan, which is opposite the famous open-air seafood restaurant, Muisbosskerm.
Once we arrived at Malkoppan, we all chose our spot, pitched our tents, hoisted the gazebos and promptly opened some beers. Friday afternoon and evening was mostly about relaxing around the fires, throwing some meat on the coals, having a few doppetjies and preparing ourselves for what lay ahead.
Our original plan was to walk across the road to Muisbosskerm on Saturday for lunch and then do some 4x4ing on the Sunday but thanks to Mother Nature and her sarcasm, we switched things around.
Saturday morning we all headed out towards Doringbaai, where we stopped to admire the mud all over our cars from the drive in. Thanks to the rains it had made the dirt roads all the more fun as we were slip-sliding all over as the bakkies and SUV’s struggled to find some traction in the mud.
In Doringbaai, we stopped at a small pub called The Cabin, a quaint local establishment which provided us with some refreshments, while one or two pretended to be on the front of the Titanic.
We headed off to a remote spot along the shores of the Atlantic ocean, which included a half-secluded cave where we stoked some coals and braai’d some meat. The route down to the spot took us along a narrow strip which I though, “if this gives way, we could be rolling down towards the waves”.
When we headed out, we took “the high road” which was an exit point that required four-wheel drive. Being the last car in the convoy, and watching the vehicles ahead of me dancing up the hill, bouncing left and right and up and down, I prayed that I would not be the one to stuff up. But I didn’t – thankfully. In fact, the Tuna made easy meat of the attempt.
We headed off back to Malkoppan so that the gents who were making potjie dinner for us all could get ready, and the Springboks were playing Argentina at 5pm – so we had to get back!
The owners of Malkoppan opened up their little pub area for us. With the fires lit, the potjies on the go and the raining bolting down, we settled in to watch the Boks scrape home by 1 point.
Sunday morning we prepared our stomachs for the feast that awaited us at Muiboskerm. Some of us walked there while some others decided their bakkies would be better suited in avoided the muddy puddles.
We had Bokkoms, Snoek, muscles, Paella, angel fish and a whole host of others along with some homemade bread. Ending off the meal with some koeksisters and some more wine.
Stumbling back to the tents, stomachs full and eyes heavy, some of us decided to have a lay down. I did, and promptly nodded off for about an hour I think.
Once we got the fires going in the late afternoon, we all sat around feeling truly relaxed. My stomach felt as if it was going to burst – but I had a rump steak in my cooler box which I was intent on cooking that night. So, I waited for the evening to pass by, grabbed the salt and black pepper, Olive Oil and began my preparation.
I placed the steak over the coals for a few minutes before moving it over the flames. Once satisfied, I grabbed my plate, slapped the piece of meat onto it, added some baked beans, pickled onions and gherkins and wolfed it down like I hadn’t eaten all day – although I would pay for this over the following two days!
Monday morning arrived and we all mulled about, packing up slowly and forlornly. Once packed up, we all said our goodbyes, making mention of next-year’s possible destination of Sutherland, and went our separate ways.
I did not have the most comfortable trip home thanks to all the mud I had collected on my tank-slapper, and the balancing on the wheels was atrocious. But I got home safely, unpacked and longed for next year!
The group of guys I met are wonderful chaps. Full of jokes, sarcasm and jolly-good fun. I look forward to Ysbeertjie 2024!
