Koffiefontein - was a blast

The trailer must have looked to anyone else like that of a band of gypsies on the move... Motorbike, 2 x bicycles, fishing gear, a 25lt. petrol tank... odds and ends.....

















Nearly in Koffiefontein - A salt pan next to the road. The land out there is very, very dry, and they better get rain soon or there could be a
bit of a disaster.....












The farm - dry.....














The boys took two friends with - what a ball they had. Here they are stuffing around on the water in a small rowing boat.....













Boiling water on the open fire at about 6.30 am down by the riverside....













The boys had to clear a large section of the water directly in from of the fishing spot of water grass. It's a bloody pest, and I don't think can be eradicated... They filled the boat with the stuff! and then we dumped it.









One of twins - very thin cause it's mother has rejected it, and is only allowing the other twin to feed on her. I actually saw her headbutt this one when it came too close. No fear though, the farmer will bottle feed him.....










The total catch for Thurs. pm, all day Friday, all day Saturday, ...... 2 fish, one normal carp, on large scaled / King carp. Not a bad size.......

















Sunset on the farm - beats anything you will see in the city. The colours are out of this world!













Salagatle!

Photo's from the farm

The name plate on the bench - edited to not show my family name












The bench - after assembly - ready for placment













The grave site - bench and tree behind the grave


















View - just a view....















The young man (35) that we had to bury this weekend. Like I said, a very sad day for everyone.
R.I.P. Johan, you will be sorely missed.
















Salagatle!

It was a hell of a weekend

And a hell of a funeral to boot.
We left home early Friday morning to take the long drive to Koffiefontein. Driving non stop to Bloemfontein, where we refeulled, and got some take aways, and then onto Koffie where we booked in to the B&B. By 2 pm we were on the farm, where we met with the parents of the deceased boy. Bliksem - man that's hard. He was 35 years old this year, their first born.

A standing statement from me is you should never have to bury your children, and in this case the truth of it was driven home. His mom and dad are broken. You don't begin to understand the effect on them, their family, their business, life in general.

Having done the necessary, I drove up to where the grave was being dug. He had wanted to be buried under a tree on the farm, and contrary to my expectations that he would be cremated and his ashes buried there, they were doing a full coffin burial. No problem, other than where the trees are growing, those that do grow in typical Karoo environs, are surrounded by massive rock, and rock formations. So a spot was selected a bit lower down, in open veld, with a view across the farm, down to the farm house, and the river. And an area was cleared, some labour sourced from the local populations employed for the task, and away we go. When I got there they had barely gone down 500mm, and struck rock. Not solid granite stuff, but a hard, dolomite sediment, which would not give too easily. I made it my task to supervise the labour, as, typically, when they not being supervised they tend to work slower, take longer breaks, not attack the task with any heart. By nightfall they had reached, probably 1000mm. A long way to go yet. There had been some discussion around getting a compressor and some pneumatic jackhammers in from Kimberly to assist in the progress, but as I had managed to get the guys down to 1m we believed more of the same tomorrow meant we wouldn't need the extra expense.

In the mean time, back at the house, more and more friends and family were arriving. The heartbreak continued, with fresh waves of tears and questioning with every new arrival. Slowly the story of the accident unfolded, and as usual, was very different from the one which I originally heard, suffice to say his death was quick, accidental (he rolled his bakkie) and his fiance is in hospital in an induced coma, and not doing very well.

That night, not too late, and after some beers and dinner, we returned to the B&B. There we got together with all the other living at the same establishment, and the one next door, and consumed a few more cold one's before retiring to a well earned, much needed bed, and rest for what we knew would be a long day to come.

Saturday morning - I was awake by 5am, up by 6am, only to find my Kombi battery had run down overnight! (I had left the camping fridge plugged into the cigarette lighter, and....) Anyway, got the keys to a buddies car and jump started the Kombi, and was out of there before anyone else had even woken up. I was at the farm by 8am, the guys were back, digging, but progress was dismal. By 10.30 am, there was panic and I took a decision to go to Kimberley, get the drilling gear and come back and finish the job. 2 hours and 15 minutes later I was back. A round trip of over 250km, and the return trip with a massive compressor in tow, doing 150km per hour, on some seriously questionable roads. Got the compressor running, did a 50 second instruction on how to use the rock breaker, and the man was in the hole, and broke all records. He didn't put the machine down for 2.5 hours! When u have the chance, pick one of these rock breakers up. Try and imagine working with this for 2.5 hours non stop! The man is a demon!

I fed him cigarettes so he didn't have to stop to find and light his own. I fed him Coca C0la for the sugar, and spoke to him continuously. I was determined that we would reach optimum depth in time for the funeral.

I managed to get buy in to delay the start of proceedings for about 15 minutes, I needed every minute I could get. At a quarter to 3, I pulled them out, and handed the grave over to the funeral directors, who did the grass mats surround, and put the mechanics in place which would lower the coffin into the ground. We had made 1.5 - 1.6 meters. Typically 1.7 m is a good depth, but at least we wouldn't have to do a "mock" burial, come back to dig up the coffin after everyone had left, and then dig the hole deeper and rebury him.
The family would now be able to lay the boy to rest.
I made it back to the farm house for a quick shower, and was dressed and in place in the pews with minutes to spare. A Job well done - I felt really good as I added my effort to easing the family's pain, in my own way.

The service was well attended, by about 130 people. Short message, and we followedhthe hearse down to the grave, where every emotion known to man was exposed. They had a guy there with a falcon which took off from his arm and did a "fly by"! Very touching. Then the lowering of the coffin, spreading of petals etc. took place.

The family members then proceeded to fill the grave. Luckily I had got the laborers to sort the good top soil to one side, so the initial fill was 'silent". Once the coffin was covered the rougher stony stuff was thrown in, and the grave filled.

Once this was done, they dug another hole a few meters from the grave, and planted a wild olive tree there! Beautiful! This was done by the brother and uncles and cousins of the deceased! And finally, I placed a bench there, with a name plate, so any visitors to the grave can sit and chat for a while.
Over all a very touching event. Sad. So very very sad.

Salagatle!

Koffiefontein Photos

Part of the garden at the farm house.
A citizen of Koffiefontein - in the middle of the road....
The view on the road. This is Karoo territory - miles of fuckall - for as far as you can see. And everything that grows is only knee high, apart from the occasional thorn bush / tree...
Lamb Chops......
Beautiful display...
The lapa as you approach the river side. There is a tent erected under it.

Some of the kids on the boat in the river. See the masses of reeds on the banks.
Another pic of the same scene - more reeds.
part of the garden at the homestead. Takes daily watering to keep it in this condition in this adir land...
The catch. A hodgepodge of fishies, carp, kurper, barbel, a yellow or two..

Salagatle!

Koffiefontein - III

Koffiefontein - Day 2 (Pics to follow)

GMan and Nash were up and away at 4 am. They wanted to get into the fishing early. The rest of us were up by 7 am, except for some of the mom's who kinda came out by 8am. breakfast was
a eat what you can find affair, and the hosts domestic made a popular Afrikaans dish, "Vetkoek", with curry mince!!!

Got the rest of the kids down to the river, and we once again got involved in the game of " chilling, fishing, eating, drinking.....". The boys caught some fish, I never even got a bite. We took our pellet guns (air rifles) with (4 off them) and decided to try our skills. Filled a 2lt plastic bottle, filled with water, tied it to the fuffie slide (LIU),, and let it slide over the water. We now had a safe target to shoot at. The other 3, GMan, LuckyL and Alan had scopes on their rifles, me, I had my trust BSA Meteor, (35 yearsold!), and normal sights. I put my first 5 shots into the bottle! The other guys took a bit longer to hit it, but did eventually!
Later, I took out the Benelli 9mm parabellum! it has been a while since the Princess used the
gun, so I figured time she had some training, and I needed to get rid of the old bullets anyway. She took a couple of shots to get into it, and then hit a target at 10 meters, within 300mm. basically, she could hit a man at 10 paces no problem. Some of the others took turns to shoot. LuckyL was most impressive, hitting the 10m target spot on 3 times. He's got a natural eye, and holds the pistol well.

Then it was time for me to show off. I put 2 slugs into a 44 gallon drum at 150 meters+!!!!!! Not
bad for an old timer hey? Rest of the day was spent chilling, then up to the house for supper which was more lamb chops and the ribs. Wow, what a meal!

Brian shared with us that he had taken a drive around the place to look at the sheep and the
Springbok. Found an ewe giving birth and sat and watched her for about an hour and a half.
Took a lot of photo's. Figures he's now a proud dad, and has the son he always wanted! After dinner a round of Texas Hold'em poker, which GMan won. He took away ZAR250 for his troubles! Took the kids back down to the river for their last overnight there, and for late night fishing, and we retired back to the homestead, warm comfortable beds, etc.

Salagatle!

Koffiefontein - II

Koffiefontein - Day 1 (Pics will follow once this stupid application decides to down load them....)

Up early, as I don't sleep late anymore anyway, and we went down to the river to check on the kids. They were all ok, but the girls were keen to get back to the farm house for the ablutions. There is nothing at the river. It's a bush toilets, and these city girls, well, they just can't!

Breakfast was a big thing, with lamb's liver grilled or fried and onions, and scrambled egg, and great bread... pot's of coffee.... aha.. all good! The rest of the day is a bit of a blur, as it was spent fishing, snoozing, driving around on the farm, fetching and taking kids and food and women, and just chilling and drinking a couple of beers and talking shit and resting and life was just good.

That night, a curried lamb neck, pap, and other good Afrikaans dishes were consumed. Brian was the chef of the day with the curried neck stew, and he did a good job. We got to bed very late, but a storm had come up so everyone was sleeping at the house. However, many of the mattresses were down at the river, so the kids were all over the couches, sharing cushions and stuff. No problem though.

Salagatle!

Koffiefontein - I

Koffiefontein - Day 0

A few weeks ago, when we had out "Xmas braai" with some friends, we decided that it would be a good idea if we could go away for a long weekend together. We used to do so often until a few years ago. Anyway, I suggested the farm at Koffiefontein, cause it's a really remote location, where the kids could just be outside all the time - safely, and the is minimal / no cellphone signal to be had. Also, there is fishing in the river, and space for the kids to ride the motorbike, and so on and so on.Everyone agreed that if we could go it would be great. I called our friends who own the place, and they confirmed no one else had indicted they would be coming down for the weekend, and we were all welcome! Great!
I also asked them to slaughter a lamb for me then, so we would have good, fresh Karoo lamb (LIU) for the weekend, and didn't have to take our locally bought meat with us. Anyway, their price to me is way lower than the butchers price, in fact 55% less!!

Saturday morning, and we got away as early as we could, which in this household was 8am! It's over 600km to this place, and at least 6 hours driving.... We were in contact with the other two families by cellphone. One of them had left their home at the same time, and our paths would converge about 100km down the highway.

Anyway, Koffiefontein is / was a little diamond mining town down in the South West of the Free State. It's semi desert / Karoo country, where you are guaranteed to get some of the best lamb anywhere! if you search for Koffiefontein on Google Earth, it's there.....The town was also the site of a 2nd WW concentration camp, and many Italian soldiers (among others) were incarcerated there. Unfortunately not much remains of the camp, apart from these two murals (which I really would like to steal!) and this "Guard Room", which is unaccessible. I have, once before, managed to get through the gate and had a look through the windows and there are some photos and letters / notices / posters on the walls. But overall very badly looked after. I'm surprised it hasn't been turned into some bushy's home!

On the way down we go through a couple of toll roads, and we always stop at one of the big roadside filling station to get fresh / colddrinks. It was at the first stop that we waited for the first of out friends. And from there we rode the rest of the way in convoy. (I suppose 2 cars a convoy does make...?!)

On arrival at the farm, our "Hosts" were very glad to see us, and we quickly unloaded the cars and trailer and stuff and got settled in.
The farm house had been added to over the years, and modernised, and so on. It now has 4 big bedrooms, and a seperate "flatlet" / 4 sleeper room. But only one bathroom! But thats ok. It has a nice big kitchen, and after the last extensions, a massive lounge / dining area, with big sliding doors which open all the way which makes it look even bigger.
The other family left after 1.30pm, as the wife had to work the morning. They kept me upto date with their progress, and when they were 10km from the town of Koffie, I drove into town to meet them and bring them out to the farm. It's 10km to the farm from town, and it's a tar road (only been tarred in the past 3 or 4 years), so it's a quick drive.

In town I agreed we would meet at the only filling station. i got there, bought 11 bags of fire wood (all they had) and met with the other lot, and 10 minutes later we were on the farm. The road from the tar road to the house is not so good, but then, it it is a farm road. And this is Africa. So take it or leave it.

So, there we all were, on the farm. We took the kids down to the river to show them what was there. A lapa, nice and big, with a tent under it. And the Lean to at the water front. It's a very very safe location, and immediately the kids all decided they wanted to sleep there. Much to GMans dismay, as he and his friend had decided the two of them wanted to stay there so they could fish through the night, and now with this lot there would probably be such a disturbance... But they didn't know the effect all that fresh air has on one, and how tiring it can be, and how you just seem to doze off..zzzzzzzz.

Back at the house we had a braai with the first of the lamb chops. And everyone was blown away. I mean this meat is really tasty. it's because of the food they eat. the veld grasses and shrubs in the Karoo are, well... herbal, and so this has a very positive effect on the sheep / lamb meat. In fact, for some people it's too herbally!!
Anyway, it was all good, and some beers and other forms of alchohol were consumed, and the kids were all at the river and we just chilled....

It was Alan, and his wife Margie, and their 3 kids, Bronnie,Dylan & Tristen.
And Brian, and his wife Michele, and his two kids Simone, and Sasha.
And me and the Princess and GMan & LuckyL & GMan's friend Nash.
And our hosts Fanie & Marlene!
A couple of dogs, plenty sheep, and a herd, about 120 strong of wild, roaming Springbok.

Salagatle!

Koffiefontein

We were planning a trip to the farm in Koffiefontein (LIU), see the attached link,(http://www.places.co.za/html/koffiefontein.html), for the next mid term break (that's when the schools close for a week), and we were hoping that my brother and his family would join us. Now it seems they can't. Pity, it could have been a lot of fun.

We have friends who own a farm there, and it's a great place to just chill. Fishing in the river is good, plenty space for the kids to ride their quads / scramblers. Plenty space to shoot with the air rifles... just a great getaway with nothing really to do.

We've been a few times, but never with my boet and his brood, and I think it would have been so much more special if they came with.

So, we might just not go either. It's not that much fun alone...

Salagatle!

Koffiefontein

So we spent the weekend in Koffiefontein! (Look it up). Went there for a farm wedding.

Well, if you consider that the average annual rainfall for the area is about 250mm, and on Saturday we had 12 mm, we had about 5% of the annual rainfall in one day, on the day of the GARDEN WEDDING!!! What's the odds?

Friday we arrived at the hunting lodge at about 5.30pm, where we were booked to stay for the weekend. Clear blue skies, and that night sitting around a fire, clear black, star filled skies. In fact, you will be hard pressed to find a more star filled sky.
Saturday am - looked like rain. By midday, it was rain.
Sunday am - arose to a clear blue, sun filled sky!!!

Now I know that the saying goes "If it rains on your wedding it's good luck", but this was ridiculous. As it happened, we had to cram 120 - 130 guests into the farmhouse, no mean feat. But we did, and it was great fun, and amusing.

The bride was lovely. I've known her since she was born, and it was a privilege to be invited to her wedding. The groom is a good, Afrikaans boy. Good family, hard worker.

The band / entertainment was first class. I don't think there was one instrument these two guys couldn't play, and there were some played I have never seen before. Brilliant stuff, there is some serious talent out there, especially in our Afrikaans population.

The food was great. Typical Afrikaans farm cuisine, but then what would you expect. Two sheep and on piglet, all on the spit, complimented by some fresh salads, potatoes done in garlic and parsley and butter, chunks of real home made bread, butter, and jam....

The people present were great, real salt of the earth type of "boere"!

Funny part to the whole affair was that the bride, a van der Merwe, will retain her surname, as she married a van der Merwe!! Incestuous I hear you say? Not at all. This family name goes back a long way, and is quite common here, and chances are they could be related, but so many generations back it wouldn't matter anyway..... would it?

Salagatle!