18/06/2023
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Simola Hillclimb 2023: A whole weeks worth of Simola goodness
So, arguably the biggest achievement of my photography career, WE got featured in Top Gear Magazine South Africa for the first time 😄. Long Story short, I am blessed and beyond proud of what we have achieved going through as part of Simola Hillclimb media team for the 1st time.
Long story, not so short... Becoming part of the media team has one go through an accreditation process where you then get accepted to go through. I was eagerly waiting for a response after applying, only to be put onto a short list. Stress was high and I went through the best photos I had taken in the last few years. After sending through the photos another nerve wrecking wait started. What was probably a week and a half felt like months going by.
Then it happened. 02:00 in the morning I opened my email address to see if I've been accepted. With a scream of joy and massive excitement I read that I was accepted. I worked in weekends to be able to take off the Friday of the event. Thursday after a long day of work I could drive through with the work bakkie, with a few stops to get more gear, I only managed get to Knysna past 9 where Klipheuwel Media was waiting for me as we shared a living space. We prepared our gear with heaps of anticipation for the Classic Cars on Day 1 of the Simola Hillclimb.
Day 1 started well, up and till we accidentally locked ourselves out of our room with all my gear and a big part of Klipheuwel Media 's gear in the room. We phoned the owner of the premises and she was in Plettenberg bay. We explained the situation and we could manage to meet her half way. Got back, got the gear and went straight to the shuttle. When we approached the Hill we could hear the roaring engines, the hustle and bustle of the crowd and the commentators keeping everyone up to date with every lap, car and driver. I tried to meet as many people as possible. Day 1, great experience and I was in awe to see some of the old classics drive up that Hill.
After day 1 was finished we went to that parade, which was a preview of what was to come on day 2. I saw my first Nissan GTR R34 in reality. I could barely believe it to be true. Met the team behind the beast Speedy Car Sales . I took photos there without realizing my battery percentage. Needless to say, I could only take 5 photos of the actual parade, but damn was the GTR worth it 🤣.
Rest of the story coming with the follow up posts to this.
