Beaver Rally 2005
Cassie and Maret Koen just have to be the most gracious hosts I’ve come across in a long long time. I’d spoken to Maret telephonically and on meeting her, she immediately fitted the voice on the other end of the line. Cassie and Maret are the house proud proprietors of Oppie Hoek B&B in Heidelberg. After celebrating years and years of rallies in Barrydale the Italian Motorcycle Club decided to relocate to Heidelberg and in my humble opinion, a very good move indeed. And in case you didn’t know, Heidelberg, the western gateway to the Garden Route, lies at the foot of the Langeberg. The town dates back to 1855 and combines a rural atmosphere with modern facilities. A prosperous farming community produces wheat, wool and citrus. The coastal town of Witsand/Port Beaufort, at the mouth of the Breede River and 40 km on tar from Heidelberg, is a fishing paradise and well-known whale watching point. The river is navigable for 35 km to Malgas where the only remaining pont in the RSA is in operation.
Being avid Nomads, there are two rallies which we attend every year. My all time favourite, the Buffalo Rally and of course the family do, the Springbok Rally, but somewhere in between I get a sudden craving for the sound of revving bikes, the smell of mass barbeques, the sight of two wheeled machinery and just the very camaraderie of being in a damn good crowd! Having been to the Beaver a couple of times before, this rally would fit the bill and so it was off to Heidelberg to do just that.
So our route would be pretty straightforward taking the du Toitskloof Pass, through Worcester, Robertson and taking a right just after Ashton passing Buffelsjacht and finally reaching our destination Heidelberg. Sounds great in theory but no so good in practise, as on arrival at du Toitskloof Pass we found the road to be closed for the weekend – and that was that! The alternative was either riding through the tunnel or travelling all the way through to Wellington to take Bainskloof Pass? It didn’t take too much time to decide – the tunnel it was. So after paying R18.00 per bike one way only, we were just a little closer to the Beaver Rally. One can gripe and complain until the cows come home, but the fact remains that the road was closed and little compensation was offered because of that – simply take it or leave it.
The weather on Saturday morning was really superb. Not much wind with a promising day on the horizon. Within a couple of hours we were pulling up outside Oppie Hoek B&B, parking the bikes and joining other ralliests on the veranda for a midday meal and as Ferdie used to say – a wettie. Thank goodness we’d taken a change of cooler clothes in preparation of a heat wave which the five day forecast had predicted. After lunch it was back on the bikes and on to the rally site which was about 5km’s from the town centre at the showgrounds. Just a tiny bit of dirt road John Lee and one was home and dry – literally, as they hadn’t seen rain for quite some time! We were met and welcomed at the gate, collecting our braai pack coupons having had pre-entered some weeks previously.
Not too far into the campsite we parked our bikes under the shadiest tree we could find – directly opposite the clan of Nomads boasting the club flag – from home to home. The showgrounds is a perfect venue for any rally – it offers large wooden shelters with plentiful ablutions offering toilets and shower cubicles. But after a walk around the campsite it became apparent to just how quiet things actually were. Relaxing in the afternoon sun and chatting away, there was no background music – either live or pre-taped? It seemed to be a rugby rally instead of a motorcycle rally with the emphasis being on the television sets arranged in the bar area. That’s all good and well if one is a rugby fan (which I’m clearly not) because I could quite frankly have done the very same thing at Seagull Street? Even the games were put on “hold” because of the heat but had I not overheard someone saying that the games were taking place, they would have come and gone without me even knowing.
The prize giving went without a glitch and no time was wasted in choosing Miss Beaver either. This Miss Beaver refused to bear all (good on yer girlfriend) but was voted to have the very best bottom – whatever!! All in all a very pleasant little rally, a time to relax, chill out and mingle with friends and meet new ones, fill up on home made cookies and laugh at those who dared eat them, take best represented Club (as usual??), see the look on Devin’s face when he saw his Cowasaki, watch Mike Hair ripple his six pack, listen to Di snore away the afternoon and generally remind myself why it’s good to be a NOMAD.
Well the weekend flew by. Sunday morning we woke a little later than usual and pottered through to breakfast just after 09h00. I found the ride back a little tiring as I faced a fierce headwind and simply dread Sir Lowrey’s Pass at any cost. I’d rather eat green beans than ride that mountain, but sometimes a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do! And so it was that I survived the ride and pulled into the driveway just after one. Tell you what – it didn’t take long after lunch to find that sofa with my name written on it. Gee, I look forward to the Buff!!
