On the night of 28 February 2009, EC Offroad Adventures had our first night event, which was also a first for the Eastern Cape. When ECOA was formed in October 2008, a night event was high on our list of priorities and we knew the best place to hold it would be the beautiful Baviaanskloof. Planning of the route already started in November 2008 and a lot of effort was made by us to show the Baviaanskloof to people in a different way, but still make sure no damage would be done to the environment at any stage.

Everyone gathered at the Kouga Dam wall outside Patensie at around 17:00. There were a total of 11 vehicles taking part including teams from PE, Humansdorp, Grahamstown, Cradock and East London. Everyone were welcomed by Chris and Barto went through the rules and instructions, while Bernadette was happily snapping away to get photos of all the worried and excited looks on the faces of the participants.

The rules were set up in such a way that it was ensured that the participants and their vehicles would be safe and no harm would come to the environment. This included maximum speed limits, how to stop to get answers, engaging four wheel drive when going up and down the passes to avoid wheel spin and what to do when dangerous animals were encountered. An important point highlighted was that the event is not a race against time and it is all about paying attention to find the answers to the questions. The instructions explained to the participants how the competition would work and what they needed to do. They had to follow the main road through the Baviaanskloof and find answers along the way while staying on the main road.

At around 17:30 the participants set off with their first set of questions to the picnic site where they were questioned about the rules that they were briefed on and then given the rules sheet as they left. This little event was purely there to get everyone to think about the rules again before heading off. They then made their way from the dam to the main road into the Baviaanskloof. Along the way they were asked a variety of questions. They questions was aimed at teaching people more about the Baviaanskloof and what it has to offer.

A few of the questions were:
In what year was the Kouga dam built?
How long does it take to drive from the Komdomo camp to Rooihoek camp?
What is the number on the lock at the Weir upstream from Komdomo? (The weir is hidden and not many people know about it)
They were asked the phone numbers of a few different lodges and camp sites.
A question was asked at the World Heritage site, also something not many people have seen.

Along the way they were also asked to take pictures of various items, and this was actually to serve as a memory of the event afterwards than for actual points.

After making their way along the main gravel road, the participants entered the reserve gate. From here the instructions were not to leave the vehicles unless instructed to do so. This was not only for safety reasons but also because even though the road is open like any other public road, you are not allowed to enter any camp sites without a permit.

From here they started up Combrink’s Pass and at the entrance to Bergplaas the participants had to write down the rules that are used at all the camp sites and take a photo of the sign as well. This will remind them of the strict rules applicable in the reserve when they do ever make use of any of the reserve facilities.

The next stop for the participants was at the parking space next to the road at the top of the Holgat’s Pass. This parking space is there for the viewing of the steel cable stretched across a valley by a farmer many years ago. At this point we gave them a task to do. The participants had to go down to the edge of the cliff and take a picture of the cable over the valley, then come back, remove one wheel, roll it around the vehicle and refit it, time was stopped when everyone was back in the vehicle and the tools were packed away. This event provided for a lot of excitement as by this time it was after 8pm and already dark. Some of the teams really put their hearts into this event and posted some really good times. Other teams on the other hand realised that their wheel changing equipment was insufficient and the event actually helped them realise the shortcomings of their equipment in a controlled environment.

After the wheel change event everyone was given the next set of question and they carried on with the road down Holgat’s Pass. They were given plastic trash bags and were instructed to pick up any rubbish along the road for phantom bonus points in an attempt to leave the area in a better condition than we found it. The pass is in a very bad condition and the going was very slow. The instructions took them past the Doodsklip and Rooihoek camp sites up to the Smitskraal picnic site, with a few questions in between. At Smitskraal the participants had a long code to decipher with a clue found at the Smitskraal picnic site. The deciphered code then told the participants to head back up the Holgat’s Pass.

At the same place as the tyre change event the participants were again met by us for another little event. This time it wasn’t as hard work and they had to reverse with a sinker hanging from their rear tow ball up the a given point. The idea here was to get as close to the given point as possible while everyone remained in their vehicles. The event went a lot quicker and everyone was given their final list of questions and instructions to go to the Komdomo camp site.

The first few vehicles had no problem making their way down Combrink’s Pass, but the last few vehicles were met with very thick mist and were slowed to walking pace. Since there are sheer drop-offs next to the road, everyone took a lot of care and drove very slowly.

At the end point the first participants arrived at around 23:30 when it just started raining. By the time the last participants came into the camp site at 2:30 it was still raining. The amazing thing was that everyone was still positive and full of smiles after the very long evening. Some people chose to drive back to PE and others set up their tents in the early hours of the morning in the rain and went to sleep.

Everyone was up by about 8am and got themselves ready to go home. The prize giving was held at 9:30 and after that everyone went their separate ways.

The top 3 positions were as follows: Mike Rybnikar, Bresby Du Preez, Gordon Nolan

We as the organisers really enjoyed setting up and running the event, and every one’s positive attitude throughout the event made it all worthwhile to us. We would like to thank everyone who made the effort to be there and also 4×4 Megaworld PE who sponsored a few prizes for the top 3 positions.