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Radio West Coast 92.3Fm / Paternoster Hotel Treasure Hunt
Home RALLYSTAR ARTICLES Motorsport News Club Mykonos Gymkhana Series

Author: Patrick Vermaak

Publishing date: 21.08.2006 04:13

Marijke Kirchner
Nothing is of any interest without the individual people present to create something out of nothing. People form the foundation for any event and in sport these characters become the image projected to those not involved. If they project a positive image you would more than likely attract more of the same and therefore no club can survive without a few real “ken mekaar” events on it’s social calendar.

The Witzenberg Motorklub is no exception and have a number of these events inscribed amongst their annual activities.
Altus Meiring and Maureen Blanckenberg 1st







Die winkel op Paternoster
Being rally oriented those involved in the club have proven that they enjoy investigating new or lesser known areas and the concept of car treasure hunts allows the entire family to participate whilst visiting these interesting areas, which one would otherwise have ignored because you did not really have a reason to go there in the first place. Being a real “plattelandse” club sees the Witzenberg members convene on the West Coast annually and for 2006 the start and finish venue was set at the world renowned Paternoster Hotel.
Clueless Bossie










A walking talking Church named Peter
No jokes, just come and read the names on the walls of this little hotel to appreciate who had been here during it’s existence (it became a hotel in 1940) and if your are still not convinced just take note of who owns property here (especially those with motorsport connections).

Sadly, having grown up here, I do believe that “development” has done irreparable damage to the image of this little village. As time goes by even those real life characters, unique to the West Coast are passing away and visiting this hotel, Tietiesbaai and general area brings back many fond memories.
Altus Meiring and Maureen Blanckenberg 1st


Even Trekoskraal can be related to rallying through Ossie de Jongh, but that is another story. Paternoster really represents a rosary to all these wonderful characters!

Radio West Coast 92.3Fm opened new avenues through which to project this rich history and thanks to the dedication of Dirk Gallowitz in particular the station runs a weekly two hour general motoring and motorsport forum. Yes, we live in the modern era of the internet and DsTV, but never underestimate the value of good radio! It’s possibly the only medium that truly reaches each and every home and the response from the local community has been extremely positive.
Clueless Bossie














The Vorster Pathfinder
You guessed it, clues for the 2006 event were revealed via radio during the 2006 event and the Radio West Coast 92.3Fm Paternoster car treasure hunt will long be remembered for the interest it created. The only losers those who failed to participate.











Hoogwater by Trekoskraal
A brief interview with Vernon Vraagom during his afternoon Drive Times program set the scene on the preceding Wednesday, but fortunately nobody have actually as yet requested the name and number of the attorney thus we presume that everyone in this club is truly happily married. The threatening looks and comments purely on the spur of the moment.
Antie Poppie & Michael Vorster 2nd




The objective was family participation and the entry list certainly reflected just that with a 68 year old grandmother and ten year old child as extreme examples of just how popular these events can be. Blossoming flowers and superb sunshine made this the perfect day for a drive in the countryside even though the talking church at hoogwater provided a few frustrations. If the Groot Trek took place in 1938, how could that be related to a spark plug, was Vredenburg Twisfontein or Prosesfonetin – or both at some stage, how can Silverstone be found on the West Coast and what is a “padrag”? One team per car provides ample room for serious arguments, more makes it extremely challenging to catch important snippets on the radio.
Meiring Blanckenberg in the Cressida












Bossie Cecilia Bosman 3rd
Signatures were required, but nobody knew how many or by whom and then there were some very tricky instructions relating to direction through controls! Fortunately the Paternoster Padstal had some “dikbek pille” on sale and the friendly atmosphere at the superb venue soon had everyone relaxed and happy. How could one ever be serious with Bossie and Cecile Bosman present. Nico and Alfred Delport thoroughly enjoyed their first encounter with a car treasure hunt as did the many members of the Venter family.
Oep ve koep







Sarting as car number one Anette Vermaak challenged her own sanity by splitting her group into three teams. Living in limbo between Vredenburg and Kuilsrivier saw all the close friends together with Sumaré Matthews (11) and Tania Vermaak (10) combining to take on the twins, Marloui and Suné Nortjé (15) whilst mom teamed up with Dané Bester (10). After all, this is the family event of the year and what better way to introduce kids to the concept of navigating.
Suné & Marloui Nortjé 10th












Ou Heks
Newcomers from Velddrif, Danie Richards and his fiancé Sonica Schutte, found going slowly rather frustrating in the black Fiat Uno Pacer 1.4. Club Mykonos recently saw their competitive debut and it's great to see them support the social activities with equal enthusiasm. Nico Delport at first nominated wife, Veronica, as navigator but she in turn had eldest son, Alfred, take over the role as navigator in the family Ford Focus. Nico a member of the SAAF at AFB Langebaanweg and Veronica a member of AMG at the same base.
Pierre & Beatrice van der Westhuizen 6th






Pierre and Beatrice van der Westhuizen had grandchild, six year old Jené, along as moral support in the family Ford Ikon and as always the Witzenberg Motorklub honorary President / Chairman started the event in confident mood. André and Beverley Dreyer swapped the Audi A6 for their VW Citi Golf in anticipation of some wet gravel, sacrificing radio reception in the process. If only they knew how much they would regret this decision at the end of the day. Louise Hattingh and hubby, Joe, won the recent treasure hunt at AFB Ysterplaat but with Joe on course in Bloemfontein she joined the fun with Denise Vorster as navigator. Dad, Drikus, another member of the SAAF at AFB Langebaanweg had wife, Suleen, strapped in as navigator in the red Audi 500. Showing serious commitment the driver was dressed in red with red cap!
Bossie Cecilia Bosman 3rd











Preparations
Altus Meiring was making his debut with mother-in-law, Maureen Blanckenberg, in the sedate Toyota Cressida station wagon and though never making any waves this Langebaan entry were considered outside favourites. Bernadette Gildenhuys had invited all her family to compete, doing such a stirling job that she eventually had to resort to having a doll, named Drie, as navigator in her Hyundai Atos. “Bernie” also a SAAF member and fast becoming a regular on this type of event. Estelle Venter Jnr had “Aunty” Ann Venter (a spritely 68 years old) as navigator whilst the senior versions of Nico and Estelle Venter, from Melkbosstrand, made their debut in the family Toyota Tazz. Owen Venter and Nico Venter Jnr combining their efforts to take on the Venter clan.

Kilian and Marijke Kirchner, Vredenburg based father and daughter, are also becoming a regular feature at treasure hunts. Malcolm and John Swift represented Paternoster in their Mercedes and they had David Lawson and Bruce Clarke assisting in the red Jeep Cherokee. Dennis Vorster and Boxer Kotzé represented Radio West Coast 92.3Fm in a beautiful Nissan Pathfinder and really looked like a potential threat. Vollie and Petro Louw arrive as innocent spectators but soon decided that this could be fun, entering the neat looking BMW 328i Cabriolet. Final team away was the one and only Bossie and Cecilia Bosman combination in the family Opel Corsa. Ever enthusiastic Bossie and Cecilia deceide to leave their sons at home so that they could actually try and be serious on this event.



Anette Vermaak Dané Bester 13th
At exactly 13h00 Anette Vermaak and her entourage set off from the Paternoster Hotel with the field following at two minute intervals. Pieter Swanepoel had already moved on to his control point at Soldate Pos and Radio West Coast started revealing critical clues over the airwaves from 13h10. The pre event briefing had stated that the event will not cover more than 150km and that a time limit of 3hrs should see everyone back at the hotel. To put it mildly, this was a waste of breath as every team became so involved in finding answers to these cryptic clues that time had absolutely no influence on them! It was quite a shock to find most of the teams just past the halfway mark at the projected 16h00 finish time and the three hours eventually totalled some 5.5 hours average with the average distance covered 150km for the 113km route.
Vollie and Petro Louw




First to enjoy the fun and games were Peter Church at the Hoogwater Pub on the Trekoskraal road. As you can imagine a walking talking church influenced by the tide on a road frequented by oxen could provide great laughter when assisted by a witty radio announcer. All but one team made it past this point with a signature and piece of dried wors. The luckless combination being André and Beverley Dreyer who did not have radio reception in the blue Golf! Some failed to get both wors and signature first time around and had to make the 6km detour a second time. We will not mention names but Nico and Alfred Delport were just one to make this mistake. Bernadette Gildenhuys went one better when after having circled Pieter Swanepoel from every possibly direction she headed for Stompneusbaai with borther Nico in hot pursuit. Moving on to his second control point Pieter eventually located the very lost family effort and assisted them in finding the correct route towards Paternoster. Malcolm and John Swift unfortunate not to make the Hoogwater section when their Mercedes developed a thirst for water.



Da Gama Padrag
Regular updates curtiousy of radio West Coast 92.3Fm eventually saw almost all the competitors reach Pieter Swanepoel at his second control point next to the R27 heading towards Velddrif. For some time simply ran out and Danie Richards / Sonica Schutte called it a day as did David Lawson and Bruce Clarke and Vollie and Petro Louw. Returning to base they now had the secret code at the St helena Hotel to keep them busy. IYBMADIWTY does not make much sense when seen against the beautiful bar counter but ask the question and the answer is simply If You Buy Me A Drink I Will Tell You! Finding the “padrag” proved another stinker until they drove past the Da Gama monument near the sea.
Die winkel op Paternoster



The final stretch back to Paternoster provided little difficulty and though most comments would not be acceptable in the printed media it would seem that protection services would not be required and that most had indeed enjoyed the day immensely.



Koue Bier
The concept of providing clues on radio was unique and with some streamlining could really be fantastic in future (that is if everyone listens to their radio) and most requested a second event per annum. Final classified finishers in fourteenth spot were Owen and Nico Venter on 69 points but they also won the accommodation voucher from Paternoster Hotel in the lucky draw. Anette Vermaak and Dané Bester thirteenth on 81 points and simply happy to reach home. Newcomers Nic and Estelle Venter scored 84 but consider themselves hooked and they will be back. Also on 84 but completing the route quicker was Kilian and Marijke Kirchner with the twins, Marloui and Suné Nortjé tenth overall on 86 points.




Sumaré Matthews & Tania Vermaak 9th
Sumaré Matthews and Tania Vermaak tops of the youngsters in ninth spot with 87 pints on their debut. Estelle and AnnVenter eighth on 89 seventh going to Nico and Alfred Delport on 91. Pierre and Beatrice van der Westhuizen slotting in at sixth also with 91 points but a quicker time. Bernadette Gildenhuys and “Drie” taking fifth spot on 93 with Louise Hattingh and Denise Vorster fourth on 94 points. Bossie and Cecilia Bosman proving their worth by taking third spot also on 94 points but the quicker time. This their best ever result.

Second overall went to Drikus and Suleen Vorster with 95 points. Still cannot prove where they had cheated but we will keep searching, that Audi cannot do this well in any event! Heading for a superb result was André and Beverley Dreyer on a superb score of 96, but having failed to hear the radio cluse they never made the detour to Hoogwater Pub and as a result they dropped to status of hard luck story of the day. Now just because you did not want to wash the A6, sis on you André. Dennis Vorster and Boxer Kotzé was another team starting as possible winners but they decided they wanted to see what this Pathfinder could do and got so involved that they passed both Anette Vermaak and the control point of Pieter Swanepoel. So sorry chaps!
Youthful adventurers










Start Venue Paternoster Hotel
Overall victors for the day were Altus Meiring and Maureen Blanckenberg in the Toyota Cressida with a superb score of 98 from a possible 122. Sad part is this also proves that you can get along with your mother-in-law, but hopefully nobody will acknowledge this statement. Prizegiving was held on the “stoep” of the Paternoster Hotel (much later than anticipated of course). Pieter Swanepoel could not stop chuckling at the antics of how the various teams approached his Soldate Pos control and some truly classic answers made scoring the event an absolute pleasure. Clearly everyone learned more about the West Coast and nobody needed the rather appropriate “dikbek pille” on sale at the roadside. Roll on 2007, it's going to be even more fun!
RAV by Padrag


A special word of thanks to :

Dirk Gallowitz and announcers Radio West Coast 92.3Fm
Johan and Elmaré Carosini Paternoster Hotel
Allan and Ettiene du Toit Wimpy N1 City and Canal Walk
Theo Lötter Bugaloo Adventures
Jehan de Jongh Ouens Racing / Bottelary Winemakers

Thanks to the superb support of the above sponsors everyone left the venue having been awarded something in recognition of their participation. To those not present, you really missed out!

André Beverley Dreyer at Padrag
Female driver

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