Relationships are the bonds we form, the connections we make, and the experiences we share. That is what a weekend away from everyday life helped us to achieve, but in truth we just wanted to have some fun. Last year we, The Automated Deployment team, organised our first fishing expedition. Although it was a lot of fun, the fishing wasn’t what one would call a huge success. The spirit building on the other hand was!

Did you know that the “monk” aka Buks prefers Havana Club if he does not have his own personally distilled rum on hand or that Naresh makes a killer curry from scratch? He lives by the motto “Keep the customer happy”. What does Stevie and Cindy have in common with Sidney (the guy who’s always on top of things)? The beauty of just letting your hair down (Jorrie can really let his hair down) while there is nothing that could stop the team from getting closer – no curfews, no drinking and driving, and absolutely no chores that needed attention… 

So, on Friday we set out with our fishing rods, food, and something for the dryness in the throat. We were upgraded from last year’s tents to chalets and from a leaking non-existent dam to a real one.

Without delay we cast our lines the first time. It was perfect. Buks caught the first fish and we knew that this was going to be a champion weekend for fishing. Not long after Buks, Naresh caught his first one, or was it the same one? The fires were started while casting an eye on the ominous looking clouds. Fortunately, we had a few gazebos handy and covered the fire before the braai began. 
Unfortunately, the weather did not play along, and everything changed quite suddenly when the wind started howling and the rain came down in torrents. We all ran for shelter under the gazebos and started cooking. When the storm subsided, the river had disappeared. In its stead was a valley of hyacinth as far as the eye could see. 

Even though things did not work out as we planned in the fishing department, we still had a great weekend, especially with Gerdinand joining and taking awesome pictures to make memories. Shikaar is the quintessential Indian laaitie, complete with a souped-up Citi Golf with performance sound to dream of.

Jorrie is the best conspiracy theorist I have met, and a great story teller. He mesmerized Sidney and me for hours on the previous trip. Christo is an old car enthusiast, you know the car with the rear windscreen that a bird just cannot hit? Niel is the new guy on the block, as techie as they come. He has shown me (I thought I knew everything about Android) how to prohibit Google access to your microphone so that they don’t kill you with cat food ads, should you mention cat food a couple of times for cheap kicks. We also got to know one another a bit better and appreciated our homes when we arrived there on Sunday after all the rain.