Manny's Jaegermiester Tour Trip Report

[Mad Manny]

BackGround:
After a tough first 4 months of 2025 I decided I to take a break.
In fact, with the my brother passing, the catching up of the fleet maintenance, assisting my brothers widow & that frivolous court case - I needed to getaway.

However, due to all the above I was forced to leave bookings to the last minute, but I had a plan & the day I was able, I got the trip organised.

The Trip:
The Refugee Camp:
On Good Friday, 18 April Tanya Tammy & I headed down to the Afrikaner Refugee Camp of Orania.
This was one of only 3 long drive days - 640km.

We were told we were silly to start a trip on the Easter Weekend - but the roads were quiet.

We arrived & met up with Christo (Grips) & Karin, as well as Frans R (who arranged the Orania part of this trip.)
With FranR was Rowan (both from Gatstad) the man who coined the phrase 'Whooopah! in reference to the Whooopah Northern Cape Trips of years gone by.
We set up camp & had a braai, Frans brought out the most delicious curried 'skaapstertjies' - awesome!

On Saturday we took an official free tour of Orania, the tour guide was very entertaining.
They call everyone who is not a refugee (White Christian Afrikaner Boer) a VolksVreemde.

A brief comment on Orania - politically:
It's a nice place, clean, well-run & safe. Probably the least racist place in SA purely because they know that's what you think & endevour to prove you wrong.
The population of Orania expands by 15% per annum - which I feel will, in time, cause problems.
We went for lunch, damn these Afrikaners have a lot to learn about service.
There was a table near us, 6 large Afrikaners, there was a young, maybe 6 years old, black child at the table. No one batted an eye.
We spent 3 nights in Orania.
Overall a interesting place, everyone greets you. Hope it persists.

BTW: Frans made us each a Coffee Mug - they are brilliant! - he changed our names to be more Afrikaans.
My name was changed to 'Manie De Vries'.
I can't post a pic here - but they were very cleverly thought out!

[Mad Manny]

Ernie:
Ernie is a Farmer/Father/Husband/Coxswain/Professional Hunter/4x4 Trail Owner who farms in Donkerpoort near Gariep.
Some of you may have4x4'd on his farm during the 4x4Community National GTG years ago.

A few weeks earlier I told Ernie that Tammy & Manny and Christo & Karin wanted to Come visit.
Ernie was happy to see us but! He was doing a PH (Professional Hunter) course in the week before we arrived then had only 5 days to get ready to receive overseas guests.
He also has a farm to run a wife & kids to look after & he is very involved with Gariep dam & the CSIR at Gariep.
He just doesn't have time to receive us.
So I gave this some thought....
...and decided we will just pitch up anyway.

We arrived & minutes later Ernie pulled up in his bakkie, two Hunter is Camo got out (but despite the Camo - I saw them).
Ernie jumped out & started hosing blood off the bak - you know you are visiting a farmer when...

We all greeted & set up & sat down, then Ernie asked if we could help him pull his Trekker out the mud - you know you are visiting a farmer when...

That night we had a braai, Ernie made the most fantastic Springbok Carpaccio I have ever tasted.
Thinly sliced fresh springbok, Tabasco, Parmesan brought from Italy by a guest, Balsamic reduction - it was awesome!
There was also Springbok fillet - just fantastic.

We tried to impose on Ernie as little as possible, clearly Ernie & Mariska had a lot on their plates.

Ernie has two kids, Tammy gave them a gift bag each. These are just two amazing kids.
Brought up on a Farm. No screens. So well mannered. We gave the boy, Jean-Barrie a knife.
This guy had it with him constantly - but so responsible with it.
So lekker to see lekker kids brought up in the right way.

After two nights at Ernie, we left on the next leg of MannyToer 2025..

[Mad Manny]

Calvinia, Jaeger & the Leg of Lamb:
The 2nd long leg, Gariep to Calvinia 650km.

I'm going to double back a few times in this post.

We had seen a bit of rain on this trip & even packed up with damp tents when leaving Ernie.
But from JHB to Orania & while at Orania & at Ernie the rain had not distracted from the trip.
So too was it on the drive to Calvinia - There was some light rain, but that just made it a nicer drive.

Now we'd camped 3 nights in Orania & 2 nights light camping at Ernie - I say light because although we slept in the tents we used Ernie's house & kitchen etc.
But I;d decided that for one night stays we'll Lekker Slaap it - so I booked us in at Carmel Villa in Calvinia.
The place is run by a guy who must have been a Drill Sergeant in his youth - Military precision & that ram-rod spine.

He suggested we take a walk to the Blou Nartjie for dinner & highly recommended the Leg of Lamb.
He wasn't impressed when I deliberately kept getting the Restaurant name wrong.
He asked me if he may book us a table, I said 'At the Pers Piesang?'. Not amused.
Later I called in the Groen Guava - still not amused.

Anyhoo, the 4 of us strolled down there & decided to take his recommendation & have Leg of Lamp.

Another double back, there are very few people in life you have the privilege of spending time with.
To me, one is Ernie and another is Christo. Salt of the Earth people.
Now Christo, I know Christo, if Christo, who works way too hard, is starting to relax & have fun he does two things:
Orders lots of Jaegermeisters.
Gets too generous.

I did my best to plan a trip that we'd all enjoy. I purposely made it as relaxed & easy going as possible.
I know Christo deserved it & God knows, so did I.

So I had a warm glow when Christo turned to our lovely little Karoo Coloured waitress & with a naughty look on his face, said "Hoeveel bottles Jaegermiester het julle?"
She said "Genoeg meneer!" & he laughed.

Now, Frans' Curried Skaapsterjies were awesome, Ernie's Carpaccio was out of this world & a few other meals at Ernie were fantastic - but the Lamb at the Blou Nartjie was just outstanding.. The most tender, tasty leg of lamb I'd ever had and I live me a good Kleftiko!

I slept well that night. Trip had been great so far, A few great meals. A great evening & waaaay too many Jaeger's.

BTW: Calvinia is a nice clean pleasant little Hantam Karoo town.

After the Drill Sergeant's over-hyped, but still good, breakfast - we headed out.

[Mad Manny]

8 8Yzerfontein:
After leaving Calvinia we headed to our main stay - four nights in Yzerfontein.

I have never been there, but Christo's son Ignus & his wife had done a trip there recently.
I got all my info from Ignus.

En route we stopped in Van Rhynsdorp & then had breakfast in Clan William as I really wanted Tanya to see it.

A theme on this trip that Tanya & I discussed at length is how many towns are lovely, clean quaint little towns & how many are absolute sh!tholes.
Being Gautengers we are exposed to how our corrupt & incompetent meritless political leadership is stuffing up JHB & PTA.
So seeing the various towns & what state they are in & who runs them (& who lives there) was very interesting.
Orania - nice.
Van Der Kloof (next to the dam) - Nice.
Colesberg - Mmmm OK
De Aar - Sh!thole.
Calvinia - Nice.
ClanWilliam - lovely!

Anyhoo, Calvinia to Yzerfontein was only 400km & we took it easy. Stopping at VanRhynsdorp & ClanWilliam.

We arrived at the Yzerfontein Municipal Camp Site - clean, well-run & nearly empty.
Set up camp, had a braai & went to bed.

Just a thing about Jaegers - Christo brought out a tray of shooters, repeatedly, every night.
Jaeger Meister German for Hunting Master was invented in Germany in 1933.
Adolf Hitler, an animal lover, disliked hunting.
His right hand man, Herman Goring, was an avid hunter.
Goring was at pains to explain to Adolf how ethical hunting aids conservation.
Something we are all aware of today.
So Adolf appointed Goring as Riech's Jaeger Miester to ensure hunting was not cruel & done ethically.
Goring found out there was a drink called Jaeger Miester & loved it.
He drank so much of it that people in Germany in the 1930's called it Goring Schnapps.
I think I should start calling it Christo Schnapps!

[Mad Manny]

Darling:
The next morning we walked to the beach & let the girls take a walk on the beach.
Weather was crappy though.

Tanya & Karin went to get tokens for the washing Machines & Driers in the ablutions.
But then Tanya found out that for a little more money you can drop you laundry in town & they fold it nicely for you.
Far better than sitting in the ablution block for an hour.

Tanya & Karin wanted to see Darling. It's famous for Eva Se Peron.
The Theater & shop/museum/curio place made famous by that gay Afrikaner.
No not Nathaniel.
Not Casper De Vries.
Pieter-Dirk Uys!
We also bought the fudge (fudge! ).

Evita se Peron is, to me, boring - so while the others were browsing I googled 'Craft Brewery Darling'.
And found Darling Brewery (Who would have thought! ).
We got stuck there.
Darling is a poor basic town, but clean & well-run like most Western Cape towns.

We had to rush back to fetch the laundry before they closed!!!!

[Mad Manny]

Yzerfontein & Langebaan:

So the one day we walked through the town of Yzerfontein - really nice & clean.
Then went for breakfast in Langebaan - Tanya noticed many people stopping, running into the coffee shop, buying Boerewors & leaving.
So we decided to find out why & bought some - it was very good!

The girls wanted Oysters. so I'd booked a table at RocXiBeach.
When we walked in I thought it was a Gay bar. two fruit cakes with a puppy at one table, four big dykes at another.
A gym boy in tight black shorts & vest covered in tattoos.
But then we realised - it was weekend & with Cape Town 80km away - they had all pulled in.
What with this taking a little dog with you to restaurants & bars?

Had a laugh, on arrival this young waitress came to take our order & Christo ordered a J&B.
She said 'A what?'
Christo said 'A J&B!'.

She turned to me & asked 'How do you spell that?".
This is what happens when guys usually order Mimosas & Shandy's or a Soy latte.

Christo then ordered around of Jaeger;s, all the barmen shouted Woohoo when we drank them.
They did it again the 2nd time.
They did it the 3rd time.
But by the 4th we'd broken their spirit & they gave up!
By the 5th our dim waitress had gone home & we'd been given a new waiter!

Anyhoo we had a great lunch!
In fact we had a few good meals during our stay in Yzerfontein & neighbouring towns...

[Mad Manny]

Malmesbury, Riebeeck Kasteel & Niewoudsville
Christo had to rush back home & left at 05:00 in the morning - doing over 900km nonstop.

Tanya & I packed up in misty/damp weather & headed out.
As soon as we crossed the R27 (the Marginal) running down the coat to GayTown, the weather was clear & lovely.
We drove through Darling, again noticing howdifferent the Western Cape is to Gauteng.
Clean, all sign posts perfectly straight (unlike the Cape Townians) everything in good working order etc.
We then reached Malmesbury, same - clean & in good order. Also, no vagrants.
Next we reached Riebeeck Kasteel, we spotted a breakfast spot & swerved in a U turn to enter.
Parking wasn't trailer friendly, but I parked so I could reverse into an opening in a wall & then drive out.
It was a lovely spot, we had a lovely breakfast in a wine farm setting....

We then noticed it was filling up & I said to Tanya that we should leave before some Cnut parks me in.
Tanya paid & we rushed to Fearless only to see some SoB in a grey GD Fortuner had parked in that gap in the wall & there were now cars each side of me.
The gap between the back of Gearless & this grey Fortuner was about half the length of my entire rig, so when I reversed right up to his Fortuner the front half of Fearless was still between two vehicles.
My moer meter shot into the purple, it took a 16 pot turn to squeeze out.
That Fortuner twot has no idea how much he owes Tammy, because, once out, I was going to go key his doors & it was only Tammy's pleading that stopped me - he did get a note on his wiper saying "You Park Like a Cnut'...
We then headed to Niewoudsville.
Tammy had booked the B&B, it looked great on Lekker Slaap & had good reviews BUT...
Niewoudsville is a small dusty little poor village with F-All. So we had our doubts.
Even the name 'Linda se Dop' wasn't appealing.

We turned off the road with much trepidation, but damn was this place fantastic. Lind
A thoroughly modern beautifully recently refurbished mansion with white wood paneling etc.
Was really, really nice.
We had dinner & then tried to watch TV for the 1st time in weeks, but gave up & went to sleep.

The next morning up early & off to Keimoes.

Two things:
1. Fearless was parked with the fridge connected from about 17:00 - no dual battery, just straight off the cranking battery.
After an hour, as the sun set & it cooled I went & unplugged the fridge in Fearless.
But the Trailer was still connected with it's fully stocked fridge running, yes, the trailer has a battery, but as it dropped it would draw from Fearless' cranking battery.
The next morning I plugged in the fridge in Fearless, it was up to 7*C.
45 minutes later I started up & drove off.

2. The trip did NOT include Augrabies, but Tammy had never been & asked if we could go.
I said that we could certainly go to Augrabies, but she must do the booking.
I doubted we'd get into Augrabies National Park as it was Easter & with all the rains the falls were a huge attraction.
Even Peet who doesn't believe you should pay to see natural attractions was heading there.
But Tammy managed to book easily, which I found strange, she also said she booked through Lekker Slaap, which was even stranger - but who am I to 2nd guess Tanya...

[Mad Manny]

Some pics.
The first picture is the Koeksuster 'monument'; in Orania.
If you are Afrikaans you'll know the history of Koeksustersfor fund raising while the rooinekker were incarcerating die Volk.

The 2nd pic is the Yzerfontein beach.

The last two were taken in Calvinia - so clearly not in Chronological order!

[Mad Manny]

Keimoes, Kakemas & Augrabies:

We drove through the Hantam Karoo & arrived in Keimoes.
That town seems to be deteriorating.
On a privious trip Andreas took us to Keimoes Vleismark - it was a vibe & had great meat.
This time it looked a little dreary & the shelves were partially empty.

After Keimoes - Kakamas.
On a recent camping trip, a mate of mine Rupert, poured Tammy & I a snifter of DeMas Potstill Brandy in appropriately warmed glasses (not with Coke & ice likethe Refugees take it) it was delicious.
When he heard I was passing through Kakemas he asked me to pick up a few bottles - Tammy also wanted.
So a quick stop at De Mas in Kakemas, aquick shopping stop & off to Augrabies we went.

About 14km from Augrabies, the Garmin & Tanya;s Google maps said we stop, on this road, in 11km.
I told her that is not correct as we have to turn right, drive a few km, go through the National Park gate,, then head to reception.
I was very confused, until we discovered Tanya had accidentally booked us in at a place called Auygrabies Falls Lodge & not the Augrabies Falls NationalPark!

Anyhoo, we checked in, & set up - nice spot with private ablutions.

The next morning we headed into the Augrabies National Park to see the falls.
The water was pumping! Most times the Falls have flooded over the past 60 years the water flow has been between 2 million liters & 3.6million liters per second! Only one flood, at 4.4 million, had more.
However while we were there flow increased from 3.4 million to 3.6 million.
This means there was more water flowing over the falls then, than during all but one of the floods in my lifetime!
We were very fortunate to see the Falls like that.

[Mad Manny]

Sh!tholes, Kathu & the end...
After two nights we headed to Kathu to stay with Christo before heading home.
The days of driving through nice clean well-run towns were over.
Upington is OK, but Olifantshoek is a mighty sh!thole.
Kathu isn''t too bad. We checked in at Chez Christo, had a lekker braai & drank far too much.
Ignus has this gift of keeping your glass full without you noticing - he also pours Jaegers as fast as his father.
Tanya & I were not in good shape & we felt it the next morning.

Christo took us for breakfast, so I felt half human & then we took the long drive home with hangovers.
Driving through sh!thole after Sh!thole - Kuruman - Shithole, Vryburg - sh!thole, Sannieshof - sh!thole & so forth.
But other than the sh!tholes & my hangover - the trip back was pleasant (well, as pleasant as can be, all things considered)...

[Mad Manny]

Conclusion:
Overall a fantastic trip.
The high-lights were:
The stand out meals, seeing Frans R & Rowan & their families, visiting Ernie & Mariska & their fantastic kids, the great little towns, touring with Christo, seeing how well-run the northern Western Cape is.
Tanya & I make an awesome camping team, full set up in under 45 mins & to clean & pack up everything takes under an hour.
Fearless & Gearless performed faultlessly.
Covered about 4000km & averaged about 7.7km/l (just under 13L/100km).

I really enjoyed it.

The End.

[Dirk Schubert]

Thanks for your delightful trip report.
Pierre and I also ended up at Die Mas and both spent a small fortune on excellent dop.
Pierre and I also attended the VW Syncro Saamtrek (40 Kombis) at the Gariep dam and also did the 4x4 route on Donkerhoek which was a lekker outing.
Glad that you enjoyed your trip.

[LX]

Yerrr!.
Can't imagine you narrating that trip report...in person

[jakeslouw]

Bottom line: the NC and NW are shitholes, so make that mental adjustment before you do a trip.

There are SOME gems amongst the turds, but in general, it is sad to see how our country is falling apart from theft and neglect.

Luckily Manny didn't try and camp in Bloemhof: when we went through there on 1 May, it was under water.

[Jadranko]

Conclusion:
Overall a fantastic trip.
.........
.........
I really enjoyed it.

The End.

all that matters