Last weekend we hosted the 5th Rattrace - we had a smaller field this year but nonetheless everyone had a great time, no injuries, no punctures and a beautifully cool day. The winner of the bike this year was Thabani Ximba. Craig Carter was pipped at the post by his friend Klaas Meintjies (extraorindary win considering he took a wrong turn and caused a pile up near the gate!) and Tanya McKenzie, heroically retained her title. Tanya's win was dedicated to her beloved son Tegan who died tragically 3 weeks ago.
Brian Green and Andrew Murray, clearly needing more exercise than the rest of us rode to Isandlwana and back - and still managed to come in 5th and 6th! Not bad for two middle aged chaps!
Chris Harvie in his inimitable style managed to part people with their money during the fining ceremony in such a way that they were more than happy to do it! Thank you all for entering into the fun of things and for your incredible generosity. We raised just over R30 000 for The David Rattray Foundation.
Unfortunately the Quarmby's were not here to witness something that they instigated and that will probably never happen again - and that was me cycling the Rattrace. Yes I did it, along with Marian Myers and most importantly finished it. Contrary to my expectation it was much more fun than I thought it would be. Our pelaton brought up the rear, well, I guess someone has to do it! It was recommened and very quickly finalised during the fining (I hasten to add recommended by Patrick's friends not by us ... although maybe the finalisation part was helped along by us ....) that the Quarmby's be severely fined in absentia for not being here to witness the bet they laid last year!
1st - Klaas Meintjies
2nd - Craig Carter
3rd - Rob Godlonton
4th - Thabani Ximba
5th - Brian Green
6th - Andrew Murray
7th - Dedrich Eicker
8th - Sandile Magwaze
9th - William Murray
10th - Tanya McKenzie
11th - Matthew Howarth
12th - Chantal Carter
Thank you to all of you who participated this year, we really appreciate your support
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Fugitives' Drift - Newsletter August 2011
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August 2011 After 11 happy and highly successful years at Fugitives’ Drift, Rob Caskie and Karen de Haan will be moving to Howick in October, but I am pleased to say that Rob will still be available to us on a freelance basis and that he will be continuing with his own inimitable battlefield tours in KZN. We shall miss them both enormously for many reasons, not least for their overriding passion for Fugitives’ Drift and all it stands for. Rob’s ability to fix anything and his wicked sense of humour will be hard to replace as will Karen’s extraordinary attention to detail and her organizational skills. They have been an invaluable and integral part of this operation for many years and never more so than in the past four years. We shall look back, as I am sure they will, on their long period of service here with great warmth. At this crucial time in the development of our business, I am therefore very pleased to be able to announce that David’s and my eldest son, Andrew, joined the team at Fugitives’ Drift in July along with his partner Anel de Kock.
Andrew has a B.Comm. degree, is passionate about all things wild and especially about our beloved Fugitives Drift, where he grew up, and its flora and fauna of which he has an intimate knowledge. He is a fluent Zulu speaker, an enthusiastic fisherman and a not-very-enthusiastic horseman! Andrew spent his childhood sitting at David’s feet and listening to his stories of the Anglo Zulu War and has always shared his father’s enthusiasm for the history of our area and for the Zulu people. Indeed, at the age of nine, Andrew took his first ‘tour’ to the site of the skirmish at Fugitives’ Drift when David had to rush off unexpectedly to fight an out-of-control veldt fire! Following a ranger training course at Phinda, Andrew spent 14 months at Kwandwe Game Reserve, near Grahamstown. He loved his time as a guide there and will bring this invaluable experience with him as he returns to the fold at Fugitives’ Drift and follows in his father ‘s impressive footsteps. Anel is a highly-qualified chef and was Executive Chef at Kwandwe. It will be a huge bonus for us be able to benefit from her many years of experience and an injection of her new ideas and flavours into our cuisine. These are exciting times for us and we look forward with great confidence as a new generation of Rattrays begins to make its mark on Fugitives’ Drift and to welcoming both new and old guests to the Lodge as we embrace the future with relish, whilst continuing to honour the past with our unparalleled history tours and exemplary hospitality.
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 Fugitives' Drift Lodge · Rorke's Drift · KwaZulu-Natal · South AfricaReservations: Tel: +27 (0)34 642 1843 / 271 8051 Fax: +27 (0)34 271 8053 Email: reservations@fugitivesdrift.com | ||||||
The purpose of the book is not just to raise funds for the Foundation, but also to raise awareness of the Foundation’s origins, goals and methods.Monday, August 29, 2011
BATTLEFIELDS BY BIKE - sent by Lauren Lowry,one of our guests who did the ride
August 29, 2011 by laurenlowry http://wp.me/pHN5V-fP
A while ago I received a brochure for a Mountain Bike Cycle Tour starting at the Fugutives Drift Game Reserve to Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift. As you know, my 2 passions are travel and mountain biking so this immediately ticked both boxes. And so it was with very little hesitation that we set off this last weekend for an area of KZN not that well known to myself. Fugitives’ Drift is renowned for its battlefield tours to all the Anglo-Zulu War battle sites in the region. Their flagship tours to Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift are led by registered tour guides Rob Caskie and Joseph Ndima and the weekend accomodation was in the Lodge so no complaints there! The Lodge is gorgeous and provides spacious, luxury en-suite cottages each with a private verandah affording views over the plains flanking the Buffalo River Gorge.
The riding was tough to say the least and we had a few very interesting crossings where its fair to say, I said my prayers and hoped for the best! That aside – it was a great weekend and one I’d recommend to any MTB rider looking for something a little different. The beauty of this weekend is that non riders are welcome too. A support vehicle meets the riders with refreshments before the lectures begin so for those of you who are keen on history but dont fancy being in the saddle – its still a great weekend!!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
FAIRVIEW IN JULY
While parts of the country were under siege by unusually low temperatures and snow earlier this week, we were housebound at Fairview for two days in driving rain. We weren't complaining however, the fire was warm, the coffee hot and the conversation good! Lucikly the third day dawned clear and sunny and we were able to get out and show my American friends the sights which prior to that were invisible!
DAWN AT FUGITIVES' DRIFT
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Aloes
July is a fabulous time of the year to visit KwaZulu Natal and Fugitives' Drift in particular. Escape the dreary Cape winter for our warm, dry, sunny days. Chilly mornings and evenings remind us that it is in fact winter! Most importantly the hills are ablaze with the colour of flowering aloes. It's amusing to see the monkeys scampering about with bright orange faces!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
BIKES AND BATTLEFIELDS
Following on the success of last years mountain biking weekend, at the instigation and with the help of David Evans who recruited his fellow bikers,we decided to hold another one, but this time to do the whole battlefield tour by bike- on Saturday morning at 7.30 49 lycra clad men and women under the able command of Rob Caskie, who had plotted and planned a fantastic route, set off from the Lodge to cycle to Isandlwana and back, predominantly on single track. It was a chilly winters morning, but the first hill banished all feelings of cold. Crossing the river at Masondo was an interesting challenge, and very cold for those gallant enough to get into the water to help ferry bikes across (not many volunteers for this job!).
Everyone made it safely across the ladder bridge. After the Isandlwana lecture the group headed off again on single track to Rorke's Drift where a picnic lunch awaited them, followed by the Rorke's Drift lecture. Some chose to ride home along the road while those who still had the energy took the single track around the back of Shiyane Mountain to get home.
A great evening followed - many restorative drinks and lots of banter about the ride, and in the morning a few heads were taking more strain than the legs!
The weekend was a great success, best described by comments we received from the guests:
Memories of last weekend are etched into our souls and include the most humbling and thought provoking lectures by Rob, the warm and genuine hospitality at both Kwa George and the lodge, the great riding, and the wonderful bunch of people we got to do it all with.A roaring success and one which will fly your flag in many places. Already this morning I have had calls from people who have heard from others. We already have another trip for 2012 one which will be similarly full.
Thank you all for coming and we look forward to doing this again next year!
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