Sterkfontein Dam January 2010

[Sinisa]

The trip to Sterkfontein Dam started nice and early, picking Schalk up from Ballito at 6am, we were on the road to Sterkies. The drive seemed to go by really quick and before we knew it we were approaching the final trek up Oliveershoek Pass towards the dam.

We arrived at Caterpillar and Catfish to a wall of mist and we were stuck in the clouds with about 3m visibility and no wind!!! Every trip to Sterkies we have been on has produced wind; I was starting to think otherwise for this trip!

We checked in and met up with the rest of the guys and we decided to head down to the dam and show everyone around. Well... to our surprise, as we passed through the boom gate of the dam, we were greeted with the sight of an abundance of white horses. We drove down to the point and decided that Schalk would go for a kite and meet us at the next point up-wind where we would be doing the lessons.

The wind was in a perfect direction for attempting to kite across the dam, and before we knew it Schalk had disappeared in the mist and was heading towards the mountains on a 12.5m Ion 4. It was really cool to watch, as the wind is not often strong enough in that direction to have the opportunity to kite across to the other side of the dam.

We had a great afternoon flying the small Flexifoil Quark and everyone was flying perfectly by the time we packed up and headed back to get the braai going.

The braai that evening was very interesting as it was raining and we could not braai outside, so off we went to the farm house to see what alternatives we could organize! The staff at Caterpillar and Catfish were extremely helpful and let us have full use of their kitchen and dining area. I think we could have taught old “Jamie Oliver” a thing or four!!!

Day 2:

Day two started off a bit cold and misty, but seemed to be clearing fast. By mid morning we already started to pump up and run through safety and flying. Everyone did well over the day and were in the water body dragging by the time the wind was getting really light towards the late afternoon.

By the end of the day the wind had slowly dropped as a nice electric storm was building over the Berg. We decided to end off the day with a session of Bakkie Boarding! Everyone had a great time being towed behind a bakkie along the water’s edge and practicing their board work.

Day 3:

Day three was perfect! We had the most amazing weather and good wind. Everyone seemed to learn quickly and by mid day some of the guys had already started on the board work lesson. Unfortunately I did not get any pics of the day, but I can say that we had some ear to ear smiles with the guys experiencing their first ride.The rest of the guys that joined us for a fun weekend away had a good day on the water, and took full advantage of the conditions and kited till the very last minute that was the cut off time to be packed and hit the road back home.

Well done to everyone for progressing so quickly. Next time we will see you guys up and riding on your own and be joining you for many more sessions at the dam and down at the coast.

All in, it was another fun filled weekend at the dam. What a way to spend a weekend away, get out of town, kite and meet new mates... PERFECT.

Thanks for the great weekend guys and gals.