So the dynamics of our bookclub have changed a lot over the last year. We are all busy moms, most of us working full time too and sometimes financial constraints put a damper on things. So I think bookclub lost a bit of its "shine" for some of us.

Yesterday I decided to revamp our blogsite and then sent out a reminder to the ladies to send me snippets/pics etc so I could add more. That's when we started remembering what it is all about. We have something very special between us, something worth nurturing and looking after. Jo reminded me that I had not yet uploaded the story of our 2010 trip quad biking near Houw Hoek. I wrote up the events and never published them, but I think these are memories worth hanging on to, so here goes:

Each year the Princesses go away for a weekend in November as a sort of end of year function. Each year we say that we could not possibly better the last one, and so far, each year it gets better.


I am sure this has a lot to do with our being such a close group of bright, funny and adventurous girls, but personally I think we just outdid ourselves.

We left Cape Town early Friday morning 20 November, our first stop being the Engen 1 Stop on the N2, where we had coffee and toasted sarmies for breakfast. We were on our way to the Grabouw/Elgin area to go quad biking in the mountains. Whilst chomping we grabbed some poor unsuspecting soul to photograph us just before we left. If we look slightly bemused in this pic it could be because Inge advised us to peek at the poor man’s “package” (not actual word used) just before he shouted “smile!”

Grabouw is just the other side of Sir Lowry's pass, and the base camp we were heading for was just the other side of Grabouw.

Base camp is on the edge of the forest and a beautiful lake immediately named Lake Placid by those of us that had recently seen the movie. Well, we only left base camp around 10h00 after being briefed and given some background to the Grabouw area. I had no idea we are sitting on such a richly diverse and beautiful eco-system, this even after terrible fires ravaged the area late last year. The devastation is still very evident, but people like our guide, Brian, are very committed to bringing the area back to its full beauty.

Now, if I had known before just how hectic the biking and terrain was going to be, I might have thought about it a bit longer. But now that we have done it, I feel immensely proud of us. We tackled very harsh conditions, dangerous terrain and it was extremely hot. Only Sandy thought to wear a long sleeve top and we were quite badly sunburnt, in spite of layers of sun-block, and the dust, well, let’s just say the term “another one bites the dust” took on a new meaning for us.

The first day we rode for about 4 hours I think. It was very rough in places, high up in mountains so rocky and very, very hot. We stopped along the way to admire the views, have water and refreshments, and also rest. The bikes are very heavy with no power steering, so it is pretty hard work navigating some of the pathways. We had to make sure to leave at least 10m in between each bike as there is no room to swerve should the person in front run into problems, as did happen, unfortunately.

Our guides were telling us that they can’t allow children under 16 on this sort of thing as it takes a lot of focus and concentration. Jax managed to roll her bike, perhaps due to a loss of concentration. She grabbed at bushes and managed to stop herself falling too far, but the bike rolled over her, which is where most of her injuries came from. Jayni was right behind her, and we laughed at her version of the whole thing, ‘cos she stood there shouting to Tash, who was next in line, to go down and fetch Jax, while she waved her arms in the air in distress. I got there after Tash and the two of us managed to haul Jax up, very slowly and painfully. The guides had to try to bring the bike back up which was hectic, and they also got a bit hurt. Never a dull moment when it comes to the princesses. After that Jax rode in the jeep, and where Kerry and Charms were riding in the small funny car-like goodie, Kerry then rode the bike.

Around 2 ‘o clock we stopped and had a bit of a hike, where we ended up at the most beautiful waterfall. They provided each of us with a snack box, and we sat in the cool with our feet in the river. It was divine. Sandy and Arlene even swam. We got back to base around 3/4, then went on to our cottage.

We were completely alone there, and cleaned up and made a fire, whereupon the wheels came off slightly. I mean, picture 10 women on a complete adrenalin high, with no husbands or kids to hold them back, and a whole campsite all to themselves. Oh, and plenty of booze which to this point we had not been allowed to touch. Hmmmm – good fun. The guides came to join us later that night – all I can say is we were all a little shame-faced the next morning, but we had such a good laugh. Those boys never knew what hit them. I think men underestimate women, in so many ways!

Poor old Jax had trouble breathing, much less laughing or coughing. She spent the rest of the weekend clutching her left breast in an attempt to prevent her ribs from breaking completely. Of course we were of very little help, as the evening drew on so the drinks flowed, as did the laughter. We managed to catch our guides out with a little game of “what I am taking to the picnic” – the poor guys got quite drunk trying to figure out what the hell we were doing.

Day two saw us heading in the opposite direction where our destination was pretty much the top of Sir Lowry’s Pass. This time Jo managed to get stuck in the mud and had to be towed out. By this time we had all grasped this whole quad biking thing and looked like a real biker gang.

Our main guide, our Steve Austin (Brian actually) – was so proud of us and what we achieved. He said we were the best group he had ever taken out.

All good things must come to an end, and that afternoon we headed out to Houw Hoek hotel, a little further down the N2. We had an amazing lunch and then spent the afternoon lazing around.

From around 17h30 onwards the two rooms we occupied were turned into beauty salons. Hair straightening, waxing and make-up became the order of the day. Eventually 10 beautiful princesses emerged from the chaos to venture down to the sit down dinner.

Mel spoiled us again by decking the table with a bunch of Christmassy decorations and it looked beautiful, thanks Mel. We swapped pressies for a while, then tucked into a 5 course meal. By 10h30 the music was pumping and our evening was in full swing. We danced the night away, while our DJ got drunker and drunker.

Poor old Jax really just shuffled from place to place, electing to go to her room early to try to rest her aching body. As the good friends that we are we had a really good laugh watching her try to navigate her way across the courtyard while attempting not to laugh or cough. The suggestion that she begin making her way to the car rather, so that she would be in time to meet us there in the morning when we were ready to leave was met with rather unenthusiastically, I thought.

Jo managed to scare the living daylights out of some poor unsuspecting Sanlam staff who had the misfortune of holding their annual office party at the same venue as ours. She attempted to break into their room at some early hour of the morning, convinced that it was her room - all the while dancing and singing like Gary the Toothfairy. I was terrified, I can only imagine what the guests thought while she banged away on their door demanding access.

Breakfast was a treat, although the “stupid buffalo” holding things up at the buffet tended to put a small damper on things.

And so we came home from another absolutely fabulous weekend away with the best ladies in the whole wide world.