Johan van der Merwe taking aim in the rain.

A still fairly dry Yolande Steenkamp ready to shoot.

Johan Smit taking aim in the pouring rain.

The author having coffee at the de Wet clan’s camp.

At the prize-giving.

Nadia, who won the junior girl section.

Jaco Wessels, the overall winner of Sterkrivier 2010.

Karla Steenkamp, the winner of the girls’ cup section, receiving her prize.

Victor Kühn carrying Marelize through the water.

Ivan Smit, who won the junior section.

The well-known Dennis Kamstra was one of the section winners.

Viktor Kühn describes this year’s Sterkrivier shoot – which is the annual event on the calendar for the traditional archer.

The annual traditional bow shoot held at Henk du Plessis’s farm at Sterkrivier is easily summarised by a few extracts from a poem in the book “The Witchery of Archery” by Maurice Thompson:

“The joy is great of him who strays
In shady woods on summer days
With eyes alert and muscles steady
His long bow strung, his arrows ready

His greatest grief, his sharpest pain,
Is when the days are dark with rain
That for a season he must lie
Inert while deer go bounding by;

But when the sky is clear again,
He sloughs his grief, forgets his pain,
Hearing on gusts of charming weather
The low laugh of his arrow feather…”

The month of April arrived, and the red crosses on my calendar moved closer to my yearly leave – earmarked for attending the pinnacle of traditional archery get-togethers, the Sterkrivier shoot. The archers arrived from all the corners of the compass, but the guys coming from the south brought a guest along: rain…

In most sports, rainy weather is synonymous with words from the commentator like “cancelled due to rain” or “event delayed due to rain”. At the Sterkrivier shoot and amongst the stickbow shooters it just meant bring more braaivleis, brew more coffee, have more of a party, and – worst-case scenario – pitch up a bigger gazebo.

We arrived on the Friday, guiding our vehicles through the small muddy creek to the camp site on Henk’s farm. There you were greeted by Henk’s wife Gerda, who may just have stepped off a page of Fair Lady magazine. Already there were fires and lanterns burning, with boerewors rolls, curry and rice, and coffee at the ready.

Tents and gazebos were rapidly erected and bows were oiled, and then we ran to join the guys at the practice butt. The weather was still holding, with the rain not having arrived yet. We hoped it would stay clear as we did not want to shoot with wet feathers on our arrows, and Henk mumbled something along the line of “as dit nou reën dan vrot die blerrie mielies”.

That was still no reason for anyone to be deterred from attending the event. All the big names in traditional archery, benefactors of our sport, and regulars arrived during the day. Such people as the whole De Wet clan from Cupido Bows, Jaco Wessels from Timberpoint Archery, Brian Dean from TASA, Eleanor and Grant Adams, Johan Smit, and Rean and Yolande Steenkamp – who did not come alone, but brought the whole family tree along. A number of members of Elgro Traditional Archers made the trip up all the way from Potchefstroom. Everyone brought news of rain that was on the way, but still no one was really too troubled. The only sign of mild worry was that extra wax was put onto the bowstrings and wellington boots were taken out of the boot of the car.

The first night was spent roving around camp visiting groups at braai fires and looking up old friends and acquaintances, and they were all there. Even if people were not known by name, they were known by their equipment, abilities and reputation. For example, “the guy with the 70- pound bow and the 30-inch draw and the funny accent” and someone would say, “Aha! That is Eric our Frenchman!” And then the girls would giggle, blush and roll their eyes, or “the guy with the camo Combretum longbow who never misses at long distance” and someone would know and say “Yes! Lute Vink! He is like that, never misses a long shot!” The strong man with the 85-pound Heartwood Scythian was Nelius Mostert and so on. I was probably known as “the man with the empty coffee cup who instinctively knows that your kettle has just boiled.”

A few of the prominent guys were missing, such as Derek Nourse of Norseman bows, and Johnny Snyman from Heartwood bows, but no one could blame them for being absent as they would have had to drive up all the way from the coast, fighting their way through the long-weekend traffic chaos caused by all the Transvalers who were congesting the toll gates and highways en route to the coast. They were nevertheless well represented by their bows, which were widely used at the event. There was a mild panic when it was thought that Johan van der Merwe of Combretum bows may not have made it. He was there all the time, but was not immediately recognised as he had shaved off his moustache.

The event started on Saturday morning with the usual round of archery golf – in a mild drizzle. It was and is still the best way to start an archery event, with everyone having warmed up their shooting muscles, and having a ball and not really worrying about the scores too much. Just as with normal golf every­one was happy if they did not lose any arrows and stayed out of the rough. Everyone was in high spirits when the 3D target shoot started. The mild rain was regarded as a minor inconvenience. The archers were divided into teams according to their ability, and new friends and acquaintances were made.

The next day was overcast, and the start of the next shoot was heralded with Henk whacking his gong (hung in a tree). After a quick scurry around camp to see whose kettle had boiled and a visit to the “mall” at Jaco Wessels’ tent to buy new fletching and field points, we were ready. The 3D targets and pegs were moved and the shoot was repeated. By this time everyone was really muddy and dirty, but it seemed to lift the spirits of the contestants even more! The girls, who shot on the same team, could be heard like a flock of mousebirds as they roved through the range, rummaging through bushes, digging in the mud and climbing trees looking for their “flyers” that did not hit home.

The guys were doing the same, joking, admiring each other’s bows and handmade arrows, and cutting “flyers” from the trunks of trees...

There was an atmosphere of camaraderie, family and fun throughout the event, which the overcast weather could not dampen. Everyone knew that regardless of how wet and muddy you get, tonight there will be a hot shower, dry clothes, warm food, and good company. And I knew that the Steenkamps had filter coffee. The evenings were spent around the bonfire having a communal braai, with all the side dishes and homemade bread supplied by Gerda and her team. There we were enthralled by our American visitors Dennis Kamstra and his wife from Mc Donald Pro Hunting International, with their big-game hunting stories. The visits continued later on in the evenings at whoever had the biggest gazebo. There we were entertained by Johan Smit and Rean Steenkamp on their guitars.

The prize-giving on the final day was again an excuse to get everyone together around a bonfire, to engage in idle banter and freshly-baked farm bread. The prize-giving was not confined to the winners of the individual events, as there were enough lucky-draw prizes for everyone to feel like a winner.

The shoot was such a success that a lot of us did not return home on the Monday, but elected to stay for another day and do another fun shoot on Tuesday morning. We all agreed that the worst part of the long weekend was packing up our tents and driving home, so any excuse to stay on the farm for more shooting and socialising was welcomed with open arms.

So when you do next year’s planning, take your calendar, mark the month of April, wax your bowstrings, pack your tent, get the mothballs out of your sleeping bag, pile your whole family into the car, and come join us. Even if it is just to have a great time and make even better friends.
I dare you.

(The full results of the competitions are available at www.adventurousheart.co.za/Archery/competitions.php)