Star Trekking

When adventure calls, I camp on the escarpment, wait for darkness, and lie down with a pair of binoculars and a mug of whisky. I relive my boyhood fantasy: travelling between M-class planets, like a butterfly in a field of flowers.

Someone who did more than fantasize, and who entered Berg legend in the process, was Elizabeth Klarer. She was born in Mooi River in 1910, studied music and meteorology in England (a logical choice for a budding spacewoman), and learned to fly light aircraft (which, given later events, came in quite handy).

After reading George Adamski’s Flying Saucers Have Landed (1953) and Inside the Space Ships (1955), Elizabeth suddenly remembered that she’d been receiving telepathic messages from a friendly space alien called Akon since childhood. She at last replied, and arranged to meet him, riding her horse into our valley on 17 July 1955. She climbed over the Sphinx to Breakfast Stream, where she turned uphill to where the stream began.

You can still visit this rendezvous point today. When you reach a flat area, where the firebreak is burned every year, a 30- or 40-metre circle where nothing grows marks the spot. There are, of course, perfectly feasible geological explanations for the lack of vegetation, but let’s not spoil the story.

Akon allowed Elizabeth to take pictures of his spaceship. This was the start of a beautiful romance and, on 7 April 1956, Akon actually landed. He swept her up in his arms (or tentacles, or whatever) and carried her off to the mother ship, which was in earth orbit. In 1957, he took her back to his planet in the Alpha Centauri system, and they consummated the relationship. At the age of 47, she had a son, who stayed behind for his education while she came back down to earth.

The whole shebang – trip there, sex, pregnancy, delivery, and return trip – took a mere four months. Elizabeth took a little longer to publish the book, Beyond the Light Barrier (1980).

Just before Elizabeth died in 1994, Russell Tungay flew her to the spaceship’s landing site, free of charge, for one more look. Many would be surprised at the numbers who still visit the Berg every year, having met her or read the book, to pay homage to this strange place where Akon seduced his little earthling.

Whether or not you are a believer, the Galaxy has billions of stars and you too can enjoy a wonderful voyage, supine on your lawn with the lights out. Like Elizabeth, Ann Gray knows that the Berg is the perfect launch pad, and she has mooted an astronomy club. This is a glorious idea, so let’s support it: bring the binoculars, the Scotch, and your imagination.