Taking the scenic route from Cape Town to George

George, Garden Route (Jan 2020) Get on the N2, put your foot on the accelerator, don’t look further left or right than the strip of tar in front of you, and you’ll make the trip comfortably in three-an-a-half hours.

But at what cost? A hundred years ago, the trip took most of the day. You would possibly overheat or breakdown along the way. Mom packed a picnic basket which the family would enjoy somewhere near Buffelsjag.
So, which is more desirable? That probably depends on your perspective. Clearly those folks taking part in the 2020 VETTOER Tour believe it to be the latter.
Twelve vehicles, their drivers and crew will depart from Cape Town on Tuesday 4 February. The cars consist of six Model T Fords ranging from 1909 to 1926; a 1926 Lancia Lambda; two Austin 7’s; a 1911 EMF (which was the forerunner of the Studebaker); a 1916 Dodge Brothers, and a 1912 Rover Colonial (boat tail) that was completely hand-built from scratch with spare parts.
The cars will meet at Gordon’s Bay Harbour before traveling to Honingklip Brewery at Botrivier which is owned by one of the members. Their first overnight stop will be in Gansbaai. On Wednesday, they travel to Baardskeerdersbos where they will have breakfast before heading for Bredasdorp for lunch. Then the brave will tackle the gravel road via the Pont over the Malgas River and on to the Buffelsjag Dam for the night. The not-so-brave will travel straight to the Dam along the national road. Thursday morning will see the entire tour travel up the N2 to Heidelberg for breakfast and then on to Albertinia where they will spend Thursday night.
Here they will be joined by three others from the Southern Cape. On Friday morning they take the back road to Herbertsdale, through Gondwana Game Reserve and on to PetroSA, reaching George in time for lunch.

So, who are these folks?
Two of them, Eric and Linda Edwards, will be traveling from Canada to take part in their 1911 Model T Ford. Another is 82-year-old Gert Albertyn who will be joining the tour at Bredasdorp in his 1928 Model A Ford. All of them are bound by their love for veteran motor cars.
This will be the 15th tour of its kind, this year proudly sponsored by Gapp Café which is located at the Garden Route Mall outside George, and where the drivers and crew will enjoy lunch on arrival on Friday 7 February.
The vehicles will be on show at Gapp Café from 1 pm.
The drivers and crew will be treated to dinner at the Die BENZ on Friday evening, sponsored by Scribs BENZeum, the sponsors of the 2020 George Old Car Show.
The tour culminates on Saturday & Sunday when these vehicles will be the stars of the 24th George Old Car Show taking place on 8 & 9 February at the Eden Technical High School (formerly known as P.W. Botha College).

This year’s event will feature a special exhibition of ‘bakkies’. Valiant will be celebrating 60 years in South Africa at the show. There will also be a special exhibition of muscle cars.
Regulars include Foxy Lady from AutoPavilion (a VWSA project) and an auction of old cars by Trader Auctions
More than 5 000 model cars were on display last year. These perfect replicas of their real-life counterparts are definitely a must-see and will take you on a trip down memory lane.
In April 1946, the amazing Vespa was presented to the general public for the first time in a Golf Club in Rome. The show will again host a sizeable collection of these functional and innovative motorcycles.
The George Old Car Show is the perfect family outing with lots of entertainment for all ages.
So, whether you take the short route or the scenic one, get to George for the Old Car Show. It’s well worth the trip.
Tickets are available at Computicket. For more information on the Show, please contact Klaus Oellrich @ 076 764 0897, or visit the website www.scocc.co.za . Online tickets can be booked at Computicket.