Atlantis's back entrance and Bokbaai's thick sand track with a pillion.

[Michiel]

My brother came to visit me all the way from Johannesburg and what better way to show him
some interesting sights along the West Coast than to take him to Atlantis and Bokbaai.

Getting into Atlantis via the back roads was easy enough thanks to a moist surface.

Leon, although not really a biker and with only farm riding experience, proved to be a natural.
Or maybe the KLR just made it easy...?

I've never carried a pillion in sand and as sandy tracks go the one to Bokbaai is infamously tricky.
Needless to say even though I pulled out all the skill I had and dug deep into my energy resources
we still fell no less than 5times just making our way to Bokbaai.

Finally we got there and it was all worth it since my brother really enjoyed the beauty of this little place.

On our way out we only fell twice regardless of the added tracks we left coming in. I congratulated
Leon on being a good pillion and he just remarked that as I stood in front of him sitting it helped
for him not seeing the road ahead and just holding on to me for dear life.

This poor little Muskruiertjie had a tough time rolling the dung over hundreds of tiny dunes left by a tractor.

 

[MrBig]

Michiel, sometimes I wonder about you sanity
Nou waneer vat jy MY n slag na jou secret Atlantis hideouts toe?
Net nie as pillion nie - ek sal self ry!

 

[KTM BIGGER]

where is bokbaai??

 

[Gee eS]

Lekker :ricky:

 

[chicco]

lekker...what tyre you running on the green machine?

 

[GO GIRL]

Hey thats really cool Michiel....the sand you were on was also quite hard excepting the tracks.. :

What fun would sand riding be if we didnt take a couple of tumbles :biggrin:

lots of fun :ricky:

 

[Tuareg]

where is bokbaai??

Latitude: -33.566667 / Longitude: 18.333333

 

[Marc Puzey]

Bokbaai looks cool. Which Track did you take going in looks like a couple of ways on Google earth. thx

 

[Christian Kuun]

By back entrance do you mean the one where you dont pay?

If so, just hear my view. If an oke cant afford to pay the R100 entrance fee, you cant afford to ride. They will close down the dunes for everybody because of a few that dont pay. Look what happened to the beaches- a few people couldnt behave and now they are closed to all.
We are not like all other things "african" where tapping off powerlines and jippo-ing phone lines is considered as right. The honourable thing to do is to pay for the use.

NITPAO (Not Intended To P1ss Anybody Off). Just raising an opinion and hoping it could make a difference.


Otherwise, nice reportand sounds like fun. :thumleft:

 

[MrBig]

By back entrance do you mean the one where you dont pay?

Well firstly the point needs to be made that you have to get 'the permit' in person at either the Cape Town or Atlantis office during the week. This in itself is a complete impossibility for some of us. So it might lend one to slip in the back when required.

Further more - I'm not too sure one can equate an illegal power connection to a 'free' jaunt through the dunes?
Let's get real here. It's just another way to milk the have's as far as I'm concerned..
It's got fark all to do with conservation so we shouldn't compare it to beach riding?
It should be my RIGHT to ride there!
Granted that I should also understand and respect conservation principles.

 

[Michiel]

When it comes to riding enjoyment and challenge, not sure if one should put these two things together,
the back-road to Atlantis beats the conventional entrance by a long way. That's all I have to say about that.

I used to run a Michelin Sirac on the back, not much good in the sand, unless you really hammer it. Now I have
a Michelin T63 on and it makes a hell of a difference. Deflating to pressures less than a bar also helps a lot. I regurlarly
run at 0,5 of a bar but one must be careful when you get back on hard stuff.

The entrance to Bokbaai is about 15km further down the West Coast road from Atlantis. It's a stones throw before you
get to the Grotto Bay turn-off. I noticed afterwards that there is another road going to the bay but this one probably
won't pose the same challenge. Leon and I took the direct track that is marked as "deep sand" on Google Earth.

Be ready to pay R20 for parking at Bokbaai. Leon and I stopped 500m short of the Bokbaai "parking lot" to escape this
"tax" as I think it's unfair to charge a bike with one, in this case two riders, the same as a 4x4 with 5 people in it as was the
last time I visited the bay.

 

[rubiblue]

Nice dude, looked like fun!

 

[Christian Kuun]

Atlantis permit office is open on Saturdays too. Just saying, whether it is milking or not, our right or not, whatever, they will close to all it if one doesnt pay. You know, the typical "we have the power so we can and we will" mentality.

Honestly not having a go at anybody....

 

[MrBig]

.. they will close to all it if one doesnt pay. ..

sounds like you've been brainwashed 

 

[Marc Puzey]

Can you mark the track you went on please. Really wanna go there some time. thx

Couldn't see "deep sand" mark.

 

[EtienneNXR]

It's not like the dunes in a commercial property thing? No farming etc. going on there...why should we pay to go ride on a piece of land that they didnt d evelop?

 

[Tuareg]

....... why should we pay to go ride on a piece of land that they didn't develop?

To prevent it from being developed

 

[EtienneNXR]

hehe good answer

 

[Michiel]

The track is basically right in front of you as you come down the path, so much so I didn't even realise there are so many
other tracks there. Although it's as near as straight the tweespoor consists of deep lose sand and as the middelmannetjie
is slightly more firm, but not enough to sustain riding on it, the trip down this track makes for a lot of sideways fun.

 

[Marc Puzey]

Thanks Michiel. I do like the sand so its gonna be fun!! Ill maybe take pillion as well  ;D