Western Cape region

Swartriet Tour

By Dirk van der Westhuizen

Due to the accommodation restriction, I could only provide lodging for 24 people, that was booked up many months in advance. We all gathered on a cloudy morning in Darling for breakfast, and from there through the West Coast National Park to view flowers, with a good range of classics and some modern classics. Unfortunately, when we got to the National Park, it was drizzling. The only flowers to see were those on the Park’s brochure ... That however did not put a damper on our high spirits and our eagerness to kuier. After a lovely lunch, we only had 1 km to drive to arrive at Swartriet, which is a private resort on a farm, right next to the sea. We all got together in front of one house, caught up with months of news, and had the most delicious steaks, which you could cut with a MasterChef Steak knife that was provided in your goody bag. Before we knew it, it was way past midnight, and time to recharge.

Our second day’s outing was to visit the quaint little West Coast village of Aurora for breakfast, and then off to Elandsbaai. We chatted and played frisby with the resident dog on the lawn in front of the Elandsbaai Hotel.

For lunch, the seafood platters were large enough to feed the crew of a small navy ship. The drive back to Swartriet was casual and quite a few of the Namaqua flowers could be seen. The second evening at Swartriet was a burger braai, which involved a lot more storytelling.

A special thanks to Waldo and René for joining us on the trip.

Club run to Under Oaks Pizzeria near Paarl

By Hanjo Stier

On Sunday 31 July, Western Cape Club members took advantage of the cold but sunny weather to congregate at Under Oaks Pizzeria near Paarl for a casual brunch.

Some vehicles met up at our favourite meeting point, the Engen Winelands 1-Stop on Cape Town’s eastbound N1 highway, while others made their own way to the picturesque venue on the northern outskirts of this booming Boland town. Paarl is currently experiencing a strong influx of upcountry folks looking for holiday and permanent residences alike, thereby leading to increased activity on the classic and exotic car scenes. See also: our August club meeting at Supercar

Cellar Storage in Paarl.

By mid-morning, about 15 Mercedes-Benzes were parked on the lawn in front of the restaurant which – despite one temporary disruption by a Toyota – made for the most amazing display of variety from the three-pointed star. The oldest vehicle was a beautiful ivory Ponton 220S flanked by a first-gen B-Class, clean pre-facelift W210, the Laenen’s lovely R107 500SL and Jasper Schutte’s R230 SL65 AMG. How’s that for a wonderful mix?

Other noteworthy vehicles included another AMG R230 (the thunderous SL55), W123 280E, W116 350SE, CLS Shooting Brake, Jean Le Roux’s stunning 114 Coupé and a few other two-door cars like a white R129, red 300CE and Jimmy Visser’s R171 SLK55 AMG.

Western Cape chairman and organiser of this run, Zillen Venter, refused to divulge how many pizzas were consumed on the day but confirmed that a great time was had by all attendees around a crackling fire place.

August club meeting at SCS in Paarl

By Hanjo Stier

The Western Cape’s monthly Club meeting for August 2022 was kindly hosted at the brandnew premises of SCS near Paarl. This state-of-the-art luxury and performance vehicle centre is the brainchild of three avid supercar owners in the area who wanted to create a petrolicious haven in the Winelands.

Situated in Zandwyk Park, an upmarket industrial and commercial area behind Mercedes-Benz Paarl, a large warehouse contains the multiple sections of SCS (Supercar Cellar Storage) since its official opening in August of this year.

Combining vehicle storage, maintenance and detailing with various automotive lifestyle aspects such as memorabilia, coffee bar or whiskey lounge with a view, racing and golf simulators, exclusive club membership and bespoke lockers, SCS also claims to be the largest luxury car storage and detailing facility in the southern hemisphere.

About 25 club members happily occupied their fullyequipped conference room for our monthly meeting which included a short presentation by an SCS representative followed by a detailed tour of the many facilities on offer. Vehicular highlights included Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren, as well as a classic BMW and Ferrari Formula 1 car. You can find more information on www.scs-storage.co.za