There is nothing more pleasing for a man when he gets together with his mates for a long weekend, no stress, no worries, just pure unadulterated fun.


I started this journey in 2023, when I was invited to a gathering called Ysbeertjie - a bunch of guys that go camping in winter without the families. It was cold - it was wet - as it should be.


In 2023 we drifted up the West Coast to Malkoppen and in 2024, we landed up at Leeuwenbosch - a farm just north of Montagu. Last year, due to the heavy rains and storms, we managed to secure a farm house just outside Robertson. We were jested that we were warm when we should have been cold and wet - yes, we camped in our tents and only used the farm house to cook, shit, shave and shower.


This year, our worries were fronted again with the massive storms the Cape faced, knowing that the Cederberg was cut off from the rest of the world. But, as time drew nearer for our departure, we were informed that the roads were open again and we could head off to Nuwerust. We noticed the carnage the storms had wreaked on the community as there were quite a few stop-and-go's were roads and bridges were being repaired.


Friday, 31 July 2026 at 6am was the call time to climb into the Tuna and hit the road - all the way to the Engen One Stop on the N1, where we would meet most of our fellow travelers. We grabbed some famous Wimpy coffee, some grabbed some early food, while I grabbed a whole bunch of snacks, before heading off into the sunrise towards Paarl.


https://youtu.be/SbnaSLaR4Tw


We headed off past Wellington to Tulbagh where we stopped at Kole en Deeg for Breakfast. Here we were presented with our special "10-year" tops. White....for camping.....WFT? Anyway, we looked quite spiffy. The grub was divine as always, and the roosterkoek was very filling.


Once breakfast had been wolfed down, we climbed back on the road towards our destination. Hitting the dirt road off the R303 was quite a trip. The dust meant we had to keep our distance from the car in front - well at least I had to - because I couldn't see the road in front of me at times. At one point, Jeandre had to stop and let his automatic coolbox cooldown before heading up the steep hill to the top of the pass. Kwagga also had some issues with his RAV4 but I was quite amazed at what it was capable of.


Upon arriving at Nuwerust, we began the fun task of setting up. The weather was quite warm and once the tents and caravans were done, we parted with our jeans and donned some shorts while some guys headed off to the river for a dip.


Friday evening was spent with "wine tasting" and potjies. As is customary, we flattened the pots, got through half the wine and burned a lot of wood. The last of us drifted off to sleep just before midnight.


Saturday morning was spent lazing around before climbing into a few of the cars and heading off to Matjies Rivier to have a look at the awesome rock formations, followed by a quick stop at Truitjieskraal before heading back to the camp for some wors rolls.


https://youtu.be/KY694uRHutk


Once we lined our stomachs, we headed off to Cederberg Brewery for some tastings. This was awesome to see a relatively small brewery and what and how they make their beer.


I, of course, had forgotten my glasses at the camp, which meant that either I looked like a gangster with my dark glasses on inside or half-blind like a bat with straining eyeballs.


The beer was good, the tour was informative and the rugby was fun. Heading back home, I decided to take a scenic route with Chris and Johan in the Tuna. Instead of turning into the campside road, I decided to carrying on, thinking I was on the right path, only to realise when we got to the top of the pass, that we had gone waaaaay too far. Anyway, we headed back, had some laughs and then settled down for an evening of fun, food and folly.


At this point, professional chef, Craig, decided to enlighten us as to the gameplan for Sunday. He was providing all the ingredients, utensils and recipes and the whole herd of us would be split into teams to make lunch.

When I heard that one of the dishes would be lamb, I got excited but landed up on desert, making peppermint crisp tarts.


https://youtu.be/FFaF5U_GNVc


Sunday was spent making food, eating, and taking shots of wine, brandy and tobasco sauce.


It was fun. It was teamwork. It was absolutely delicious. Early evening saw the old man, Stephen, come and complain that we were burning all their wood and that the music was given them cause for concern - noting that his business partner wanted to throw us out - yet we were the only people camping there.....go figure.

Anyway, a bunch of of decided to go and do a proper Ysbeertjie by going for a swim in the river. Man that water was cold. But it was fun and refreshing.


Sunday evening was calm - as we had no more wood to throw on, and we thought about having to pack up on Monday morning.


The trip home was uneventful, although I did have to wait for 3 minutes at a drift for a whole herd of sheep and lambs to come past - made me hungry again.


And so another Ysbeertjie has come to an end, we spoke about going to Sutherland next year, as we do every year!


But all I can say is that every year, I look forward to spending three nights with a bunch of good okes, eating good food and enjoying absolutely brilliant company.


Bring on 2027.....