The Ox-Braai for 8000

Roxy Neubert sits among the debris of the Bathurst Ox-Braai. Picture: David Macgregor

More than 8000 people descended on sleepy  Bathurst on Tuesday for the mother of all parties  at the annual Ox-Braai, writes David Macgregor.

From humble beginnings 28 years ago, the  legendary bash at the local show grounds has become world  famous – attracting revelers from all over South Africa and even  overseas.

Organiser Bill Harvey – who is also treasurer of  party hosts Shaw Park Country Club – yesterday  said one reveler flew in from London especially for the Ox-Braai  and left for home yesterday – when the “jol” ended.

Another group – wanting to avoid traffic jams and police  roadblocks – made the 40 odd kilometre trip from nearby  Kenton-on-Sea to Bathurst in a helicopter.

According to Harvey, the record crowds were “extremely”  well behaved – with the only “major incidents” being cut hands  and feet from broken glass.

A total of 7000  meal vouchers were sold and  more than 100 Shaw Park club volunteers spent hours preparing 65 ox “buttock” cuts weighing more than 2.5 tons and other  food.

Harvey said more than 400 loaves of bread, 100 pockets of  potatoes weighing a ton, 50 boxes of tomatoes and a “truckload  of pineapples” were consumed by the hungry revelers.

Started in 82/83 “on the beach in Kleinemonde” when 1000  people pitched up, the annual Ox-Braai bash has become a  major cash cow for raising funds for the Shaw Park Country  Club and other rural sports clubs that battle to survive  financially.

Besides the struggling sports clubs, the annual throng of  party goers has also become a major money spinner for local  businesses – especially food shops, bottle stores and petrol  stations.

Alan Malan,  manager of popular Port Alfred pie  shop Beavers, yesterday said the day after Ox-Braai was their busiest of the year. The second busiest was the  day of the party.

“This year we sold more than 3500 pies in five hours and  thousands of cups of coffee to people nursing hangovers. The  queues stretched out the shop into the car park and we had to  use all 47 of our staff to cope with the crowds.”

Malan said the revelers were “extremely well behaved” this  year.
“We normally have two or three guys walking into the shop  the day after Ox-Braai without any clothes on and asking for  ‘sausage rolls’ and others passed out in their cars. Fortunately  it did not happen this year.”

One reason could have been the presence of a police road  block outside the popular roadside eatery yesterday morning.

By yesterday morning at least 10 revelers had been arrested  and appeared in court for alleged drunk driving.

Prosecutor Paul Rossouw  said another par tygoer had been arrested for alleged possession of “two  bompies” of dagga. All the cases were remanded until next  week.

Shaw Park Club members and party volunteers Warren Tarr  and Richard Muir said organizers tried their best  to prevent people from trying to drive after drinking alcohol.

“A lot of parents phone and say they are worried about their  children drinking and driving…we try to keep people here until  sunrise before they leave. The police also have a road block  outside the party to try stop them from driving drunk.”

Stuck next to her car after losing the keys during the night  time partying, Roxy Neubert of Port Elizabeth,  said she had spent five hours worrying how she would get  home.

“It was my first time here and it was excellent.”
Neubert and her friends later found the keys stuck in the back  shock absorbers of her car – after they fell off their “hiding  place” – on top of the back wheel.