The spectating trip to the Rally of South Africa went very well. After collecting all the passengers we got on to the N4 at 04h45 and saw the sun rising just before we got to Hendrina. With enough to eat and drink in the bus we went straight through Ermelo to the Panbult service park where we collected two more passengers. Although it was overcast, windy and cold we had a good time spectating most of the stages. It was clear that there was a great battle on between Jannie Habig and Johnnie Gemmell. The end result of a 0.7 second between first and second speaks for itself. To my passengers, THANK YOU for a great day of spectating and lots of laughter.

The spectating trip to the Rally of South Africa is planned.
We will leave Pretoria at 05h30 on the 28th of May 2010 and arrive in Ermelo around 8h30.
After a hearty breakfast we will be off to find a good spectating point on the first special stage.
After the day’s spectating we will sleep over at a guest house, rise early to have breakfast and follow the rally for the rest of the day. We will leave Ermelo for Pretoria after the prize giving.
Judging by the previous tours and the feedback from the pace note crew this rally spectating trip is again going present us with a lot of fun and excitement.
The cost of R650 per person includes travel and accommodation.
Food and drink is for your own account.
Call 0827727331 to join in the fun and excitement of this rally spectacle!!!
The provisional itinerary will be posted shortly.

The planning for the spectating trip to the Rally of South Africa is underway.  Several venues for accommodation for the Friday evening are being looked at for the best deal.

Should you have any suggestions regarding accommodation, please forward us the details. (Click Here).

The UkuVeza Rally Spectating Team left Pretoria at 05h30 on Friday for Sabie.

Pieter Smith and his son agreed to drive the Zero Car while I worked the controls of the bus. Although it was overcast and misty we managed to get to Sabie in 3h30min. All in good time to off load luggage and prepare the Ford Ranger for its role as Car 0 on the event. The spectator team braved the cold weather and made their way to SS1 in good time to see all the cars and stayed there until the leading cars passed for the re-run which was SS3. SS5 was next on their agenda and I saw them briefly on the slopes of the hill side as I passed them while navigating Car 0.

The Sabie town stage was once again well attended and all the cars were seen going through with no serious incident occurring in that stage.

The team hit the sack early in order to get an early start to enable them to travel to Nelspruit to find a good spot from which the Spaghetti stage could be spectated. The spectating  point they  wanted was found and they promptly ordered me to bring them coffee from the Wimpy, which I did despite many offers from co-spectators to relieve me of the burden of carrying the coffee all the way.

The next stage to be spectated was SS10 and they stuck to that point until the last car passed doing SS15.

Back at their lodgings the day’s action was discussed and the subsequent braai together with the Keith Delport rally team was great fun. As every party has a clown Ettienne did his bit to keep us entertained until late.

The following day was cold and very misty but we decided to do some scenic traveling after a quick breakfast at the Sabie Wimpy. The first stop was at the “pinnacle”

which was shrouded in mist but still visible from the vantage point. This sight made the decision for us that we need to get to places where the objects we wanted to look at were much closer considering the prevailing weather. We left for Pilgrims Rest and looked at the Natural bridge just outside of Graskop and also visited the Bonnet Herb Farm on our way there. The visit to Pilgrims Rest was all too brief and we only managed to work our way through a few of the shops and museums in the allocated 45 minutes.

The trip back was difficult in the beginning through the Long Tom pass as mist made the going tough. The condition of the road surface between Lydenburg and Dulstroom  was bad and missing potholes was the main objective along that route.

The rest of the journey to Pretoria was uneventful and we got back at 18h30. My heartfelt thanks to all my friends who supported the tour and helped me to make a success of it.

Check out the Pics here