Crossed-up
Pangaman
Enjoying this immensely. Thank you.
A PIECE of PONDOLAND
- Thread starter wildside
- Start date
Lou1
Pack Dog
:thumleft: :ricky:
wildside
Pack Dog
DAY 3:
MBOTYI – MAGWA FALLS – FRASER FALLS
We were rudely awakened by someone knocking on the door at about 7 am. Some campers had just arrived and didn’t like where my bike was parked and demanded that it be moved in case it got in their way. This really got me revved up but Kingsley politely rolled it back a meter. She continued to pace up and down the driveway wanting attention from the gate attendant, demanding that their campsite be changed. This was an abrupt ending to the tranquillity of the campsite.
We calmed ourselves with coffee and breakfast and took a stroll down to the beach. Fortunately it was low tide and we were able to cross the shallow river and get onto the beach. I believe one can’t cross over once the tide comes in. It was a lovely big beach and at this time of the morning the cattle had already found their spot in the sun and were lazing around along the shoreline. They looked so healthy and well cared for.
This old cow was cooling its hooves.
Cottages on the far side of the beach.
Looking onto the front of Mbotyi River Lodge.
Lovely view looking up the river,
MBOTYI – MAGWA FALLS – FRASER FALLS
We were rudely awakened by someone knocking on the door at about 7 am. Some campers had just arrived and didn’t like where my bike was parked and demanded that it be moved in case it got in their way. This really got me revved up but Kingsley politely rolled it back a meter. She continued to pace up and down the driveway wanting attention from the gate attendant, demanding that their campsite be changed. This was an abrupt ending to the tranquillity of the campsite.
We calmed ourselves with coffee and breakfast and took a stroll down to the beach. Fortunately it was low tide and we were able to cross the shallow river and get onto the beach. I believe one can’t cross over once the tide comes in. It was a lovely big beach and at this time of the morning the cattle had already found their spot in the sun and were lazing around along the shoreline. They looked so healthy and well cared for.
This old cow was cooling its hooves.
Cottages on the far side of the beach.
Looking onto the front of Mbotyi River Lodge.
Lovely view looking up the river,
wildside
Pack Dog
On the way back from the beach we crossed paths with the mussel ladies and of course we couldn’t resist temptation and promptly bought some for our lunch, despite having been advised not to by the receptionist at the lodge on arrival. When he saw the fishing rod he warned us against fishing and purchasing of crayfish and mussels without a license. So no fresh fish for us!!
Kingsley following close on their heels....scheming about buying some mussels.
After munching our mussels we set off to ‘chase waterfalls.’ For years I had been itching to see the Magwa falls and with checking the map and doing some ‘googling’ I discovered quite a few falls in this area. The turn off to Fraser falls was shortly after heading up the concrete road and through the forest...easy to find, easy to ride to and probably only 1 km off the road.
We followed the tracks to the point where it loops back, stopped here and went to look for the falls. We only saw lovely views and the stunning Fraser gorge.
We retraced our tracks and on looking back we could see the beautiful view of Fraser Falls, Mkhozi river and gorge. Apparently many species of birds, Chacma baboons, Samango monkeys and even the odd leopard are still to be found in amongst this unspoilt terrain. Obviously these highlights would only be visible to those doing the challenging 12.5 km hike up the gorge from Mbotyi. For some strange reason I am unable to find a height for these falls.
I think you've got the idea of what the falls look like.
Now for a bit of pretty flora
Kingsley following close on their heels....scheming about buying some mussels.
After munching our mussels we set off to ‘chase waterfalls.’ For years I had been itching to see the Magwa falls and with checking the map and doing some ‘googling’ I discovered quite a few falls in this area. The turn off to Fraser falls was shortly after heading up the concrete road and through the forest...easy to find, easy to ride to and probably only 1 km off the road.
We followed the tracks to the point where it loops back, stopped here and went to look for the falls. We only saw lovely views and the stunning Fraser gorge.
We retraced our tracks and on looking back we could see the beautiful view of Fraser Falls, Mkhozi river and gorge. Apparently many species of birds, Chacma baboons, Samango monkeys and even the odd leopard are still to be found in amongst this unspoilt terrain. Obviously these highlights would only be visible to those doing the challenging 12.5 km hike up the gorge from Mbotyi. For some strange reason I am unable to find a height for these falls.
I think you've got the idea of what the falls look like.
Now for a bit of pretty flora
woody1
Bachelor Dog
- Joined
- May 21, 2012
- Messages
- 13,417
- Reaction score
- 2,459
- Location
- Riversdal Weskaap
- Bike
- Yamaha Super Tenere
All those places brings back fond memories of my childhood.
My dad passed away when I was a little boy.
My mom married again when I was about 9 years old.
My step grandfather had a Handelstasie (shop) between Flagstaff and Lusikisiki called Bukhazi.
Spend many a December holiday down in Pondoland.
Thanks for sharing
My dad passed away when I was a little boy.
My mom married again when I was about 9 years old.
My step grandfather had a Handelstasie (shop) between Flagstaff and Lusikisiki called Bukhazi.
Spend many a December holiday down in Pondoland.
Thanks for sharing
ianhogg
Race Dog
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2010
- Messages
- 1,510
- Reaction score
- 31
- Location
- 34 Stanbury Street, Proserpine, QLD
- Bike
- Kawasaki Versys
There is a member of this forum who sliced his arse up like it had been in a bacon slicer after inadvertently finishing up underneath the outboard of his rubber duck launching from Mbotyi beach. After a miserable ride being tossed around in the back of a Cortina leisure bakkie he spent the next few weeks with his face in the pillow and his arse sticking up in the air at Lusikisiki hospital.
woody1
Bachelor Dog
- Joined
- May 21, 2012
- Messages
- 13,417
- Reaction score
- 2,459
- Location
- Riversdal Weskaap
- Bike
- Yamaha Super Tenere
So Ian, how is your backside these day's ? :laughing4:
wildside
Pack Dog
Now off to find the Magwa falls. The GPS indicated for us to take a left turn into the Ntsubane State Forest. I knew this was incorrect and that the correct turnoff was in fact a few kilometres further on. But Kingsley was gone and in his element negotiating these well used forest tracks, so there was no stopping him. After a few kilometres we came across a vehicle with three locals loading logs. After greeting them I asked about the falls and they promptly encouraged us to continue. After a few more kilometres and some turn arounds we eventually got onto the main tea plantation road to the falls.
It was here that Kingsley got a rear wheel puncture and we pulled over and dreaded the repair and wasted time. Fortunately we had a can of puncture fix and decided to try that first. Within a few minutes we were on our way again with a rock hard back tyre.
On arrival at the parking for the falls we were enthusiastically greeted by several little tour guides who willingly posed for a few photos.
They spoke very good english and made us feel most welcome and were very excited about showing us where to go. We couldn’t let any of them down so took on the whole little group. They were so caring about me crossing the river and would indicate a safe spot for me to place my next step and stayed close to me the whole time in case I slipped. They chatted continuously as we crossed the wide and slow flowing Mzizangwa River.
Just in front of us is the edge of the waterfall.
To get a good view of the falls it was necessary to cross the river and get to the other side of the gorge. We edged closer to the dangerous and unguarded cliff and these youngsters were fearless and posed for photos right on the edge. I was forever calling them back but they had done this many times before and displayed such confidence.
The view was spectacular and breathtaking. These Magwa Falls, second highest waterfall in South Africa, in the middle of the 1800 hectare tea plantation was so impressive as the curtain of water plummeted 142m down into a narrow canyon formed many years ago by seismic movement –‘a sudden movement of the earth’s crust along geologic faults, or volcanic activity.’
It’s also said to resemble the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, but on a much smaller scale. I was blown over by this view and couldn’t believe that a thing of such beauty was on our doorstep and only now was I privileged to see it. Thank goodness for motorbikes and the need for adventure.
Kingsley is so afraid of heights and he just hung back and worried about all of us getting too close to the edge. The kids took great delight in telling us a story about a stolen car that had been pushed over the cliff edge into the gorge and we could just make out the wreck at the bottom of the canyon.
Time was running out so once again it was necessary to tear ourselves away from this geographical wonder and get back to our bikes.
After ‘googling’ some You tube footage on the falls we came up with ‘The most insane rope-swing bungee jump ever,’ video. I can’t believe there are such adrenalin junkies out there, but definitely worth a look at.
We gave our tour guides a generous payment for their super efforts and said our farewells.
It was decided that we should go to Lusikisiki and refuel for the following days ride. On arrival back at the campsite we were greeted by quite a few other campers that had arrived during the day. We continued to enjoy the space on our huge veranda and spent the evening relaxing and reading.
This is the link to that video I mentioned.
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2ahagb
It was here that Kingsley got a rear wheel puncture and we pulled over and dreaded the repair and wasted time. Fortunately we had a can of puncture fix and decided to try that first. Within a few minutes we were on our way again with a rock hard back tyre.
On arrival at the parking for the falls we were enthusiastically greeted by several little tour guides who willingly posed for a few photos.
They spoke very good english and made us feel most welcome and were very excited about showing us where to go. We couldn’t let any of them down so took on the whole little group. They were so caring about me crossing the river and would indicate a safe spot for me to place my next step and stayed close to me the whole time in case I slipped. They chatted continuously as we crossed the wide and slow flowing Mzizangwa River.
Just in front of us is the edge of the waterfall.
To get a good view of the falls it was necessary to cross the river and get to the other side of the gorge. We edged closer to the dangerous and unguarded cliff and these youngsters were fearless and posed for photos right on the edge. I was forever calling them back but they had done this many times before and displayed such confidence.
The view was spectacular and breathtaking. These Magwa Falls, second highest waterfall in South Africa, in the middle of the 1800 hectare tea plantation was so impressive as the curtain of water plummeted 142m down into a narrow canyon formed many years ago by seismic movement –‘a sudden movement of the earth’s crust along geologic faults, or volcanic activity.’
It’s also said to resemble the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, but on a much smaller scale. I was blown over by this view and couldn’t believe that a thing of such beauty was on our doorstep and only now was I privileged to see it. Thank goodness for motorbikes and the need for adventure.
Kingsley is so afraid of heights and he just hung back and worried about all of us getting too close to the edge. The kids took great delight in telling us a story about a stolen car that had been pushed over the cliff edge into the gorge and we could just make out the wreck at the bottom of the canyon.
Time was running out so once again it was necessary to tear ourselves away from this geographical wonder and get back to our bikes.
After ‘googling’ some You tube footage on the falls we came up with ‘The most insane rope-swing bungee jump ever,’ video. I can’t believe there are such adrenalin junkies out there, but definitely worth a look at.
We gave our tour guides a generous payment for their super efforts and said our farewells.
It was decided that we should go to Lusikisiki and refuel for the following days ride. On arrival back at the campsite we were greeted by quite a few other campers that had arrived during the day. We continued to enjoy the space on our huge veranda and spent the evening relaxing and reading.
This is the link to that video I mentioned.
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2ahagb
Fudge
Race Dog
:thumleft: Loving the trip and the way in which you folks go about it! Less is more.
This brings back so many fond memories. Looking forward to the rest.
This brings back so many fond memories. Looking forward to the rest.
kevin
Race Dog
Enjoying this RR, hope there is more to come.
Crazy rope swinging bungee is insane!
Crazy rope swinging bungee is insane!
Slim Jim
Race Dog
loving this RR
Nice RR . Good to see you on the road again. Bikes sorted. :thumleft:
wildside
Pack Dog
Day 4:
MBOTYI – ANGEL FALLS – PORT GROSVENOR – LUPHUTANA
We weren’t in a hurry this morning as we didn’t have far to ride, so we just did a slow pack up. Our plan was to head straight for Msikaba for a quick visit as we just wanted to remind ourselves what it was all about as we had last camped there 26 years ago. Then we would head back to Port Grosvenor to say ‘Hi’ to a friend whom we had promised to visit and then head back to Luphutana. So in total this should have been roughly 100 km’s. For some reason we always seem to underestimate time in the Transkei...things don’t happen quickly, riding is always a lot slower and time just seems to run out!
I've just noticed that I've incorrectly marked the first Port Grosvenor turn off.
We eventually left Mbotyi (Place of beans) on our planned route that would cut through the MAZIZI Tea Estate as I was keen to find Angel Falls (on the Slingsby map it’s referred to as Alice or Picnic Falls). We found the turnoff (see purple route on above map) which was shortly after Fraser Falls turn off. This road led us through the tea plantation, but as you can see on the first photo the tea bushes are too tall. Tea crops must be kept pruned to a specific height to ensure a profitable harvest. These are now overgrown with other invasive plants growing in between.
Approximately 3km down this narrow road and before the little bridge there is an unmarked, and not very clear, turning to the right. We rode along the track for several metres and we could see the lovely Angel Falls over our left shoulder. We spent a bit of time here just relaxing and enjoying the lovely view.
Why the need for ugly boots in the photo...I'm not sure :
As we continued on our way through the estate the plantations were better manicured and it was a pleasant ride along this quiet road.
A few km’s after turning left onto the Drewe’s Camp road we turned right onto the main Lusikisiki/Msikaba road. This wide road is part of the proposed Toll road I was telling you about earlier.
After 6km is the turnoff to where we were spending the night but we continued on another 13km’s where we came across the second turnoff and the upside down Port Grosvenor sign which would take us to the northern side of the Tezana River Mouth. Instead of continuing on to Msikaba we decided to get the visit over with first so turned off to take the 7 km of 4x4 track to the coast. The road wasn’t too hectic and the last 3 km’s was a bit rocky and muddy in patches...so the going was slow with lots of concentration required. It was a bit tricky finding the cottage and Kingsley ended up stuck in a ditch. We eventually found the cottage tucked away in the trees.
MBOTYI – ANGEL FALLS – PORT GROSVENOR – LUPHUTANA
We weren’t in a hurry this morning as we didn’t have far to ride, so we just did a slow pack up. Our plan was to head straight for Msikaba for a quick visit as we just wanted to remind ourselves what it was all about as we had last camped there 26 years ago. Then we would head back to Port Grosvenor to say ‘Hi’ to a friend whom we had promised to visit and then head back to Luphutana. So in total this should have been roughly 100 km’s. For some reason we always seem to underestimate time in the Transkei...things don’t happen quickly, riding is always a lot slower and time just seems to run out!
I've just noticed that I've incorrectly marked the first Port Grosvenor turn off.
We eventually left Mbotyi (Place of beans) on our planned route that would cut through the MAZIZI Tea Estate as I was keen to find Angel Falls (on the Slingsby map it’s referred to as Alice or Picnic Falls). We found the turnoff (see purple route on above map) which was shortly after Fraser Falls turn off. This road led us through the tea plantation, but as you can see on the first photo the tea bushes are too tall. Tea crops must be kept pruned to a specific height to ensure a profitable harvest. These are now overgrown with other invasive plants growing in between.
Approximately 3km down this narrow road and before the little bridge there is an unmarked, and not very clear, turning to the right. We rode along the track for several metres and we could see the lovely Angel Falls over our left shoulder. We spent a bit of time here just relaxing and enjoying the lovely view.
Why the need for ugly boots in the photo...I'm not sure :
As we continued on our way through the estate the plantations were better manicured and it was a pleasant ride along this quiet road.
A few km’s after turning left onto the Drewe’s Camp road we turned right onto the main Lusikisiki/Msikaba road. This wide road is part of the proposed Toll road I was telling you about earlier.
After 6km is the turnoff to where we were spending the night but we continued on another 13km’s where we came across the second turnoff and the upside down Port Grosvenor sign which would take us to the northern side of the Tezana River Mouth. Instead of continuing on to Msikaba we decided to get the visit over with first so turned off to take the 7 km of 4x4 track to the coast. The road wasn’t too hectic and the last 3 km’s was a bit rocky and muddy in patches...so the going was slow with lots of concentration required. It was a bit tricky finding the cottage and Kingsley ended up stuck in a ditch. We eventually found the cottage tucked away in the trees.
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