The instructions from our team leader, Mary Willemse, were clear: “Meet us at our house in Kempton Park, from where we’ll leave to rendezvous with the rest of the group at Alzu, on the N4, east of Middelburg.” I don’t do well with instructions, so I was late. I arrived at the Willemse residence in a tizz and was met by a stern-looking boss lady with a stack of luggage that included a huge cooler box, goodie bags, snacks, camera kit and other paraphernalia. Fortunately, Anton Willemse Snr is a practiced – and impressively quick – packer, so we were soon on our way.
Thankfully we were first to arrive at Alzu. It had started raining along the way and it was now coming down in buckets. It was cold and miserable, and we scurried inside for a warm cup of coffee and to await the arrival of our guests. Mary took the opportunity to run through the sequence of events – which she had e-mailed to the two Antons and I beforehand, but none of us had apparently read – and handed me a printed copy.
We were to drive to Dullstroom, where we would overnight at the Highlander Hotel. On the cards for that evening was a whisky tasting, a scrumptious dinner, and some time to get better acquainted with the rest of the group.
