At the celebrations held at the southern tip of Africa it was only love for Landies that was going around the whole weekend.  Everyone was discussing and checking out other Land Rovers, smiling and waving the Landy wave to your fellow stalwarts.  Make no mistake there were also the “no lover of Land Rovers” that were curious (and maybe envious) who made their way to the festival to have a look at the goings and doings of the Landy lovers.

What an iconic weekend it was!  Sharing your story  (everyone who drives a Land Rover has a story), sitting around the camp fire, listening to other people’s stories, seeing great sunrises, making new friends, strolling through the campsite to see what fellow Landy owners has figured out to make life easier, lining up and driving in convoy to another icon where two oceans of the great African continent meet for a short church service in the open air and take the obligatory pictures, of course.  And one night when we looked towards the skies we  also saw a beautiful moon rise.  What more can you ask for?  Life is good when you drive a Defender.

Of course there was the odd Land Rover that had its usual niggles to arrive in time, but then the inspirational stories surrounding it, how friends supported him, and made a plan, so that he can arrive and attend the bash.  The camaraderie within in the Land Rover fraternity is amazing – you are not alone;  someone is looking out for your all the time.

We also had the privilege to drive on some stunning super white, unpolluted sand dunes on a private farm where we visited one of the oldest water aquivers in the region where the San collected their fresh water from.  As part of my New Year’s resolutions of 2018 I also did my duty and picked up my five pieces of plastic that washed up on the beach.  (Feeling proud of myself!).

The festival was also honoured to have the very first Land Rover that was imported to South Africa on the show.  It was still in mint condition and attracted lots of attention, poses and pictures taken with it!  Some of the very latest models were also present and then, of course, an array of models that fits into the Land Rover range, even a forward control that served in Afghanistan as an ambulance – you see there is the story!

When you follow the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_RfMbfaIss&feature=share  to Youtube you will catch a bit of the vibe that was going around during the weekend.

And a final picture, for those of you who are not familiar with the Landy wave,  to demonstrate how it is done!

We as a family are proud to own one of the collectable icons of the motor industry.  I am raising my glass to Wallace (as our Landy is aptly named) and many more happy hours and kilometres that we will spend in him.  Being on the topic of names, I still need to do a blog post on Landy names in the future, because I noticed some interesting ones at the bash.

—ooo—

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We took the gravel road up the historic Montagu Pass. –  It is one of the four passes that traverse the Outeniqua mountains. You will stumble upon the old Toll House.  The gravel road leads up the 8km long pass and is signposted from the N12 towards Oudtshoorn.  Starting from the George side and travelling up the incline, it is the first and only building that you come across.

Until the building of the Outeniqua pass as we know it today, the Montagu pass was the main route between Cape Town and Grahamstown.

The Toll House dates back to the year 1855.  According to old records the toll was as follow:

During the winter of July 1855 the toll house was all but destroyed in a forest fire.  It was later repaired, and its thatched roof was replaced with corrugated iron. The corrugated iron is still visible today.   However over the years the stone work started to show its age. The Friends of the Old Toll House stepped in, got a stone mason, and restored it to what it is today.

On Saturday mornings The Friends of the Old Toll House sell pancakes and coffee to raise some much needed funds. The funds goes towards the upkeep and ongoing restoration of the old building and to preserve history.  Make the effort and stop for a traditional pancake and at the same time support a good cause!

—oOo—

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Since Wallace arrived in our family there was some minor changes to it.  First of all we had to change the number plates that it does not read “GP” anymore.  Second major thing that needed to be done was to fix the oil leak (of course!).  Then we started to fit some smaller things from our previous vehicles – an awning to one side for some protection against the harsh African sun and the unpredictable rain when we travel.  Wallace’s story starts under the post: The Life of a Landy Wife

First things first.  A list of “essentials” was drawn up versus a list of “nice to haves” as our budget is not unlimited at the moment.  Now everyone has a different “essentials” list and a different “nice to have list”.  Our lists at the moment look something like this, but it is constantly under reconstruction (as any good list should!):

ESSENTIALS                                                                                     

• Dual battery system to run the fridge and all other chargers and lights (an interesting plan and new project is coming up here!)
• A spare wheel carry to preserve Wallace’s back door on those rutted gravel roads
• Gas bottle holders as we do not like to carry the gas containers inside the car
• Spot lights for night driving as Wallace only have candle issues, but with that comes a bulbar ……
• Jerry can holders for the extra fuel load on a long trip, and
• To get the heater system working – at the moment we have to wipe manually with an ever ready shammy!

NICE TO HAVES

• Extra fuel and water tank to take the weight off the roof
• Checkered plating on the front fenders
• Mellville & Moon Seat Covers – who do not want a set of it?
• A drawer system (never had that before in any pick-up we owned)
• The list can be elaborate and detailed, but I will not bore you with all of it

But then unexpectedly the scales get tipped as some bargains pop up on Gumtree or on the Defender site on Facebook and the list needs to be adjusted one more time.  You see a Land Rover requires constant loving care and adaptations …………. more the reason why we love Wallace!

As they say watch this space as Wallace gets transformed and kitted over time to our perfect overlanding vehicle.  In the meantime we love Wallace just the way he is, including all the Landy niggles that it throws at us.

If you need some advice, please feel free to ask questions – I will gladly help!  And if you have some advice – please share!

—oOo—

Adventure is out there!

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If you like to explore the back roads of South Africa the route through the Overberg that will take you to the pont at Malgas across the Breede River is a worthwhile, one of a kind experience.

What makes the Malgas pont rather special?  It is the only remaining hand-drawn pont of its kind in the country. There are at least two other pontoons that comes to mind when writing about this topic, but they are not hand-drawn – the one over the Kei River in the Eastern Cape and the one at Sendelingsdrift in the Richtersveld crossing the Orange River in the Northern Cape but it is not the same as the hand-drawn one at Malgas.  I am adding these two pontoon crossing to Wallace’s travel list!

The service begun in 1860 and is still operational today from sunrise until sunset, weather permitting. It will take you about 10 to 15 minutes to cross the river.  Just enough time to take the compulsory pictures of the Land Rover on the pont and have a chat with the friendly operators of the pont.  As they were walking up and down on the pontoon I was wondering what is the total amount of paces that they take every day.  Surely, during the holiday season and over weekends they walk further than during the week when there are less visitors.

The village of Malgas peaked during the year 1860 when it boasted a hotel, shop, boarding house, school, church, goal and a powder store.  During this period fresh water was also transported in flat bottomed boats down river to Port Beaufort and Infanta at the mouth – a distance of about 40 kilometres.  However, today all the hustle and bustle are gone and you will find mostly accommodation, a couple of holiday homes and a little country store along the shores of the river.

Malagas was the name of a Hottentot chief, whose kraal was situated near the site. The name of the village was changed to Malgas because in the olden days, post for the village ended up in Malaga Spain!  Today both versions of the name are still in use.

If you are willing to travel on gravel you will find this unique experience at: S 34° 18.132′ E 020° 35.410′

NEED TO KNOW: 

They take only cash – no card machines in this part of the world.  The fee we paid during April 2018 was R55 per vehicle.

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