Border Outdoor Adventure Association
For the sake of the record.......(Written and submitted by - Geoff Waugh, 2000)
Club Origins & Founding History (Established 1978)

In 1978 three friends of mine, Andy Staines, Aubrey Van Breda and Frank Ford, and I decided to get imto hiking. We decided to attend the AGM of the Boarder Outdoor Adventure Association and, with others, became members. The association, at that time, had 14 members of whom only 5 were partially active.

We voted at the AGM as follows: Geoff Waugh - Chairman, Jenny Staines - Secretary / Treasurer and two others as committee members. We allowed three of the original members to be on the committee. We were encouraged to get hiking promoted by the Department of Education Sport Advancement through their representative Johan Lombard. The Department offered us the use of their postal and secretarial facilities. We declined, preferring to establish our independence.

As Chairman I decided that we needed a programme and, because there were virtually no funds, I guaranteed as overdraft at First National Bank to the tune of R3,000 - well over R14,000 in today's money. With that money I booked a number of trails, including The Otter Trail and The Cradock Mountain Zebra Trail, and the club was on its way. There were a number of principals which we decided were worthwhile:

• we encouraged family membership.
• from the outset we never used titles - always first names.
• we introduced the grading of trails so that we were able to warn members in advance of tough trails.
• we tried to introduce a varied programme. We aimed to appeal to all ages by organising day walks and hikes on recognised hiking trails in every single month.
• we introduced the checklist, modified from others available at the time, to assist our members.
• we tried to have social get togethers as often as possible - aiming at once every two months. We promote our activities as widely as possible to build the club.

Our first meeting place was at the Holiday Inn. A lovely venue but the drinks were expensive. We very soon relocated to the Old Selbornian Club. We not only met there, had our pr-trail meetings there, but our trails used to start and end there.

I knew that our only serious opposition in East London was The Friends of the Museum Hiking Club. They invited me to one of their meetings and, during the evening, invited our club to join them. I was very ambitious for our club and politely declined. Within four months they decided to join us and we got some really terrific members like Rinus and Margie Van Lier, Kenny Montfoort, Barbara Snyman and others. This was a major boost for the club.

The first newsletter was a one page affair written reasonably quickly and recounted mainly the happenings of a highly enjoyable weekend spent at Hogsback! I produced another 35 newsletters over the next six and a half years. I always tried to produce a newsletter which was better than the one before. Newsletter number 9 included photographs for the first time mainly from a hike in the Fish River Canyon organised by another club stalwart, Boet Rabie. We used a typewriter - PC's were still in the future - but never did we roneo off our newsletter - we always Photostatted it to the highest quality we could manage. Newsletter number 35 includes photographs of a much younger Bob Nel and his schoolboy son, Roy, on the Langeberg. The newsletter of today follow quite closely the format we set out so long ago.

Very early on I decided that we needed a badge. I chose the eagle, rather than the Aloe, because it represented the freedom hikers have to go wherever they wish and, most certainly, go where the majority of the population don't go. A very good friend of mine, Andy Tattam who now lives in Australia, owned Screenpress and so our badge got printed onto tee-shirts. Another friend, Ronnie Kann, owned Self Seal Labels and I had a thousand labels printed of our badge. The badge / logo was stuck onto letters, trail visitors books and on anything we remotely considered as worthy of carrying our badge.

I had a very simple philosophy. To promote the club at every opportunity and in every conceivable way I could think of. We had a number of articles published in the Caravan and Outdoor magazine. We had presentation boards in the two hiking shops at the time run by Andre Kipling and Trevor Sanan. I also tried to recognise achievement within the club. The Male Hiker of the year , The Female Hiker of the year and Most Promising Hiker were awards which were set up. I had a lovely shield with our badge on it, with an engraved inscription as the prize for each section.

The 'Day-Oh' call was developed on a pre-Christmas hike in the Outeniqua Trail in 1978. We thought that it had real value and introduced it into the club. Andy Staines and his friends can take the credit for this.

We were joined by Jimmy Baker and his hiking club from Coopers after we had been going about two years. Jimmy can confirm the date. In Jimmy we acquired a man of rare energy and commitment. There can be no doubting the contribution made by Jimmy to our club over a long period of time - real committed member. Jimmy and Ann took over production of the newsletter from me and continued the improvement.

Bob Nel was a member from very early on but, for two years, did not participate on any hike. But when Bob did participate the club gained a highly motivated member and leader. Bob proved his enthusiasm by going on more hikes than anyone else.

On one of the hikes in the early days we met up with Jaynee Levy. We decided to go on a weekend hike with her from Chalumna to Fish River Mouth. We played a little joke on her at the start by each member of the party starting the hike with a fold up chair under his arm. Jaynee tried not to notice or to comment but her face gave her away. We could not keep a straight face either and we had to return the chairs to the combi before we set out in earnest!

A real character from the early days was a man called Jan Steyn. One could not wish for abetter friend. One Saturday Jan interrupted my Saturday morning with a request to come and have a look outside. There stood a Toyota Hi-Ace, brand new in the colours of our club - light brown and orange. Our badge was produced in those colours. Jan made his vehicle and his next one available for many hikes. Often he was not fully compensated from a cost point of view but was never put off!

I think back and the faces come back to me. Apart fom those mentioned above I would like to pay tribute to the friendship of: Ron Adams, Peter Bowden, Pat Jonstone, Frans & Roline Meisenholl, Penny Stevens and many many others. The club was my life for seven years which I would not trade for anything. The club recognised my efforts by awarding me honorary life membership - something I value and treasure.

I am very proud of the way the club has been run since I left the scene. I know what it costs to be a committee member and leader. The club has established a fine record stretching over twenty-two years - a truly fine achievement! To all those people who so readily give up their precious time and who take on the responsibility of others, I salute you!