Beer, beef at Ox-Braai

THE annual Bathurst Ox-Braai, to be held on Friday December 29, is a year-end meat-fest of note where boerie and beer join forces with sun, music and hormones for a day and night of revelry.

This year, as always, it will be held at the Bathurst Show Grounds, starting before lunchtime and continuing until sunrise on Saturday.

Fires are lit the day before to prepare for the thousands of people who descend on the village for the party. More than two dozen spit braais are generally on the go and cooking “ox” in all shapes and forms – some years as many as 70 beef hindquarters are consumed – continues throughout the night.

The Ox-Braai can draw up to 10 000 visitors so plan ahead to secure a spot. If you buy your tickets online they will be R180 per person plus R180 per car, but if you buy on the day they will be R200 per person and R200 per car.

Of course, this encourages party-goers to squeeze as many into their vehicles as possible.

National and local artists will be out in force to entertain till the wee hours of the morning

There will be food stalls, but for many visitors it is the two bars which are the main attraction.

By tradition, the Ox-Braai has the kind of vibe where you might see a guy with a hollowed-out watermelon on his head, stumbling around looking for his tent after one too many frosties.

To help keep it tidy, the organisers specify “no glass, no fires”. This means that if you want to bring your own liquid refreshment you must decant this into a plastic bottle or container.

More information from the Ox-Braai Facebook page or website.