We left home just after nine, dropped two unhappy Kits at their "hotel" and filled up in Kabega before getting onto the N2 travelling west. Paul Martin caught up with us at the new Shell Ultra City called the Windfarm and we drove together to Joubertina where Paul and Petra Schoeman were waiting for us. We had thermos coffee there, chatted about Land Cruisers with a fellow who had a 1989 bakkie and then went to try to get the keys to the gates on the road to the Hoeree farm. Paul had arranged with the owner of the farm to collect the keys in Joubertina, but when he had phoned the business where they were supposed to be, the person he spoke to had not seen them. (He brought his mountain bike in case he had to ride to the farm to get them). But, hallelujah, the keys were there and we could drive through to the farm. Paul and Petra got a bit lost, but we collected them at the turn-off, locked the front hubs and continued towards the Kouga. The road (or rather track) to the farm was very rough and bushed in with black wattle. We stopped at the Kouga drift for lunch. There was a deserted holiday cottage here and we borrowed their plastic chairs next to the river. Paul and Petra went for a swim, but the water was very cold and they did not stay in for long. From here the road followed the river to Hoeree farm where we greeted the owners before getting onto the jeep track that went into the mountains. There were a couple of cottages occupied by holiday makers, but it was most interesting to see and ex-army Series 3 Landrover (without number plates) driving around. Obviously farm use only! The jeep track was steep and rough so it was low range (sometimes first gear) to crawl up the rougher bits. The drive to our campsite (Dial's Camp) was very beautiful, with range after range of mountains coming into view and it was just difficult enough to be fun to drive. There were large tracts of protea (here mostly repens), but Paul could not find a Cape Sugarbird! The 8 km took about one and a quarter hours, though we did make a few stops. Dial's Camp was at a T-junction in the jeep track on a very exposed neck, but the weather was perfect. The cars were organised and a substantial fireplace was built. Then we settled in and got the braai fire going. It was ready for braaiing at about 18h00 and wors and steak were soon sizzling away. Paul had brought some excellent red wine that he generously shared and we enjoyed a superb braai. The moon was almost full and incredibly bright. Lights were hardly necessary. We walked back up the jeep track we had driven down to another potential campsite and then it was time for bed. The last night of my 69th year. Tomorrow I would be in my seventies - quite a thought!

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