Finally the holidays arrived, and our long awaited trip to the northern part of the KZN Midlands could kick off. We were going away for 7 days, sleeping over in Clarens for one night and then making a base at Bergville Caravan Park and Chalets from where we planned to do our day trips.
The wife and I left from our home in Johannesburg just after 0600 on the morning of the 27th of December. Our plan was to take the back roads road to Clarens and see where the road leads us. Our first stop was in Deneysville where we planned to have breakfast. I was quite unaware of the awesome bike museum which we luckily stumbled upon by chance. Although the breakfast was quite pricey, the visit to the museum was worth every cent. A gentleman (I wish I knew his name as I’m sure he is some kind of SA biking legend) took us on a tour of the museum, telling us the story of each bike. I was enthralled and would encourage every bike enthusiast to make a point of visiting that place to see all those beauties. Unfortunately no pics allowed.
From there we were on the provincial roads mostly with some gravel roads thrown in in between, going through Frankfort, Bethlehem, on the way to Clarens. On the road between Deneysville and Frankfort I fell in love with the TA once again. Two up, loaded, we were cruising at 140 with the engine not being stressed. The little twin just kept purring and there was enough left in the throttle to overtake where and when necessary. As I was riding, day dreaming and being in that “zone” I felt like I was on top of the world and just when I thought I was King of the Road, a Tiger came flying past us, also two up and loaded. I thought I’d try to keep up, but that was wishful thinking on my part. The TA’s got its own happy place, and 180km/h is definitely not it! So I settled back to cruising at 140, and everyone was happy. At Frankfort we refuelled and I noticed that although we weren’t stressing the engine, my fuel consumption had dropped considerably. I usually get around 21-22km/l. At Frankfort it had dropped to 17km/l!
Between Bethlehem and Clarens we stopped at the Lesotho highlands water project delivery tunnel. What an engineering marvel! The tunnel, which I think is something like 35km long is made up entirely of the tunnel structure in the pic below – 4.5m in diameter. I hope they got these guys to help with the Gautrain tunnels, because they sure know their business!
We slept in a guest house in Clarens and enjoyed some good food and wine that night. The little dorpie was packed to say the least. There I met Delport and we had a brief chat about pannier racks that he wants to build for his X-Challenge. The following morning before breakfast we took a little ride through the dorpie and had a look at the new development at the top of the town.
From there we rode through Golden Gate National Park and went up the mountains to enjoy the spectacular scenery. What a sight! Unfortunately my photography skills are limited and none of my photos does the park any justice.
Upon exiting the park on the way to Phutiditjaba, we visited the Basotho cultural village and bumped into mister and missus Delport again. A quick coffee, and next stop was Little Switzerland on Oliviershoekpas. On this pass Battlestar and I passed each other, only figuring it out some time later, Battlestar recognizing the panniers on the TA.
From there it was down into Bergville where we made our home for the next few days. Friends of ours own and manage the Bergville Caravan Park and Chalets on the banks of the Tugela river. They were two corporate junkies fighting it out in Gauteng and making a success of it, but decided that they were missing a serious component of quality of life. They discussed this over a weekend in 2008, handed in their resignations on the Monday, and was in Bergville a month later where the husband grew up. Now, over a year later, they are even more successful than they were in Gauteng, raising a child in a beautiful environment and enjoying life to its fullest. For me, there is a lesson in that...
Anyway, I digress. During the next few days we did a few trips in the surrounding area. The highlight was a round trip from Bergville to Geluksburg, up Middledale pass to the top of the escarpment and down Bezuidenhoutspas into the valley again. What a ride! If you are there with your adventure bike, do this round trip. We had one or two hairy moments going down Bezuidenhoutspass as it had rained a few days earlier and we encountered some serious mud. The views are out of this world and being able to do this with my wife made the experience so much more special. She is a great touring buddy and I am very fortunate to have such an awesome partner.
We also made a point of visiting some historical spots of which there are so many in that area. Our country has got a rich and diverse history and on many aspects of it we can be proud.
Ironically I got a puncture 500m from our chalet on the tar nogals! A fellow biker on a TA700 stopped immediately and offered help. So did another man in a bakkie, a biker I presume but no help was needed as I pushed the bike home. Just great to experience the willingness to help from the biker community. A big old rusty nail was the culprit and the tube was punctured quite severely on two places, rendering the sealant useless. Luckily I had a spare, but unluckily it wasn’t a heavy duty tube. Not in the mood to struggle with small tyre levers, I took the back wheel to the dorpies’ tyre mechanics who replaced the old tube with the new one. His assessment was that the tube was probably finished...
The next morning we went for a ride to Cathedral Peak, and on a gravel road over a rocky area the tube burst, not being able to handle the terrain with two up. The non heavy duty tube was beyond repair, and at that stage I was under the impression that the heavy duty tube was also useless. I had even left it at the tyre mechanic shop. And as luck would have it, there was no tube available in a radius of 200km. Luckily we had people coming in from Port Shepstone and a tube was brought in. I also asked the Wilddogs for assistance, and want to extend my sincerest thanks to all the offers of help that I received. This community is something special. Back to the story, taking a chance I went back to the tyre shop a day later and asked if the tube was still lying around. Low and behold, we found it on a heap of old tubes on its way to the garbage, and looking at the damage again decided to see if we could fix it. Many patches and some other mystical tyre goodies later, the tube looked good to go and we fitted it. And it two weeks down the line, it is still going hunky dory!
That afternoon I decided to go and test the tube on my own, not wanting to get another flat with wifey. I took a loooong trip around the area and had lots of time to think. There was only one negative aspect about the trip, and that was to see the very unfortunate raping of the countryside in the rural areas. The road to Cathedral Peak hotel is a prime example. The litter and filth lying everywhere is disgusting. I understand our countries’ complex history and take cognisance of the factors leading to the creation of many of the social problems. What I don’t understand is the total disrespect for the environment, and in some instances, for fellow human beings. My wife and I take extra effort to minimise our impact on locals and their land when driving through rural areas. We always wave and approach people with a friendly attitude, slow down where there are people or animals so as not to create dust and do not make a nuisance of ourselves. Despite this, a group of pedestrians tried to hit us with a stick while passing them on that road. This attack nearly cost us our lives. What happened after that wasn’t necessarily pretty but it ended up in them running into the hills for their lives like the cowards I experienced them to be. In discussion with some of the people in the hospitality industry later that day I gathered that Cathedral Peak hotel is actually losing business as a result of people not willing to travel that road anymore. The point is: you don’t need money to have respect for yourself, for others, and for the environment that you live in. I don’t know what the answer is to the lack of respect for others and for the environment shown by so many of our countries citizens, the pollution that is occurring and the litter that is strewn around killing land and wildlife. But I do know it makes me very sad to see it happen. In the meantime I try to do my part and to contribute positively and hopefully make a difference somewhere on some small scale.
Back to riding bikes. The road back home was interesting to say the least. As we left on the morning of the 2nd of Jan, rain was predicted all the way to Johannesburg. And the prediction was right. For the entire distance, we cast a shadow for only about 20km. The heated grips made the journey doable, and we arrived home soaked, but happy! We had a roaring time, saw some awesome pieces of our beautiful country and got back home rejuvenated.
Thanks for reading. Enjoy the roads. Ride safe.
PS – I am looking forward to the 2010 FS Bash, as I purposefully avoided that area hoping to do some good riding there during that weekend.
The wife and I left from our home in Johannesburg just after 0600 on the morning of the 27th of December. Our plan was to take the back roads road to Clarens and see where the road leads us. Our first stop was in Deneysville where we planned to have breakfast. I was quite unaware of the awesome bike museum which we luckily stumbled upon by chance. Although the breakfast was quite pricey, the visit to the museum was worth every cent. A gentleman (I wish I knew his name as I’m sure he is some kind of SA biking legend) took us on a tour of the museum, telling us the story of each bike. I was enthralled and would encourage every bike enthusiast to make a point of visiting that place to see all those beauties. Unfortunately no pics allowed.
From there we were on the provincial roads mostly with some gravel roads thrown in in between, going through Frankfort, Bethlehem, on the way to Clarens. On the road between Deneysville and Frankfort I fell in love with the TA once again. Two up, loaded, we were cruising at 140 with the engine not being stressed. The little twin just kept purring and there was enough left in the throttle to overtake where and when necessary. As I was riding, day dreaming and being in that “zone” I felt like I was on top of the world and just when I thought I was King of the Road, a Tiger came flying past us, also two up and loaded. I thought I’d try to keep up, but that was wishful thinking on my part. The TA’s got its own happy place, and 180km/h is definitely not it! So I settled back to cruising at 140, and everyone was happy. At Frankfort we refuelled and I noticed that although we weren’t stressing the engine, my fuel consumption had dropped considerably. I usually get around 21-22km/l. At Frankfort it had dropped to 17km/l!
Between Bethlehem and Clarens we stopped at the Lesotho highlands water project delivery tunnel. What an engineering marvel! The tunnel, which I think is something like 35km long is made up entirely of the tunnel structure in the pic below – 4.5m in diameter. I hope they got these guys to help with the Gautrain tunnels, because they sure know their business!
We slept in a guest house in Clarens and enjoyed some good food and wine that night. The little dorpie was packed to say the least. There I met Delport and we had a brief chat about pannier racks that he wants to build for his X-Challenge. The following morning before breakfast we took a little ride through the dorpie and had a look at the new development at the top of the town.
From there we rode through Golden Gate National Park and went up the mountains to enjoy the spectacular scenery. What a sight! Unfortunately my photography skills are limited and none of my photos does the park any justice.
Upon exiting the park on the way to Phutiditjaba, we visited the Basotho cultural village and bumped into mister and missus Delport again. A quick coffee, and next stop was Little Switzerland on Oliviershoekpas. On this pass Battlestar and I passed each other, only figuring it out some time later, Battlestar recognizing the panniers on the TA.
From there it was down into Bergville where we made our home for the next few days. Friends of ours own and manage the Bergville Caravan Park and Chalets on the banks of the Tugela river. They were two corporate junkies fighting it out in Gauteng and making a success of it, but decided that they were missing a serious component of quality of life. They discussed this over a weekend in 2008, handed in their resignations on the Monday, and was in Bergville a month later where the husband grew up. Now, over a year later, they are even more successful than they were in Gauteng, raising a child in a beautiful environment and enjoying life to its fullest. For me, there is a lesson in that...
Anyway, I digress. During the next few days we did a few trips in the surrounding area. The highlight was a round trip from Bergville to Geluksburg, up Middledale pass to the top of the escarpment and down Bezuidenhoutspas into the valley again. What a ride! If you are there with your adventure bike, do this round trip. We had one or two hairy moments going down Bezuidenhoutspass as it had rained a few days earlier and we encountered some serious mud. The views are out of this world and being able to do this with my wife made the experience so much more special. She is a great touring buddy and I am very fortunate to have such an awesome partner.
We also made a point of visiting some historical spots of which there are so many in that area. Our country has got a rich and diverse history and on many aspects of it we can be proud.
Ironically I got a puncture 500m from our chalet on the tar nogals! A fellow biker on a TA700 stopped immediately and offered help. So did another man in a bakkie, a biker I presume but no help was needed as I pushed the bike home. Just great to experience the willingness to help from the biker community. A big old rusty nail was the culprit and the tube was punctured quite severely on two places, rendering the sealant useless. Luckily I had a spare, but unluckily it wasn’t a heavy duty tube. Not in the mood to struggle with small tyre levers, I took the back wheel to the dorpies’ tyre mechanics who replaced the old tube with the new one. His assessment was that the tube was probably finished...
The next morning we went for a ride to Cathedral Peak, and on a gravel road over a rocky area the tube burst, not being able to handle the terrain with two up. The non heavy duty tube was beyond repair, and at that stage I was under the impression that the heavy duty tube was also useless. I had even left it at the tyre mechanic shop. And as luck would have it, there was no tube available in a radius of 200km. Luckily we had people coming in from Port Shepstone and a tube was brought in. I also asked the Wilddogs for assistance, and want to extend my sincerest thanks to all the offers of help that I received. This community is something special. Back to the story, taking a chance I went back to the tyre shop a day later and asked if the tube was still lying around. Low and behold, we found it on a heap of old tubes on its way to the garbage, and looking at the damage again decided to see if we could fix it. Many patches and some other mystical tyre goodies later, the tube looked good to go and we fitted it. And it two weeks down the line, it is still going hunky dory!
That afternoon I decided to go and test the tube on my own, not wanting to get another flat with wifey. I took a loooong trip around the area and had lots of time to think. There was only one negative aspect about the trip, and that was to see the very unfortunate raping of the countryside in the rural areas. The road to Cathedral Peak hotel is a prime example. The litter and filth lying everywhere is disgusting. I understand our countries’ complex history and take cognisance of the factors leading to the creation of many of the social problems. What I don’t understand is the total disrespect for the environment, and in some instances, for fellow human beings. My wife and I take extra effort to minimise our impact on locals and their land when driving through rural areas. We always wave and approach people with a friendly attitude, slow down where there are people or animals so as not to create dust and do not make a nuisance of ourselves. Despite this, a group of pedestrians tried to hit us with a stick while passing them on that road. This attack nearly cost us our lives. What happened after that wasn’t necessarily pretty but it ended up in them running into the hills for their lives like the cowards I experienced them to be. In discussion with some of the people in the hospitality industry later that day I gathered that Cathedral Peak hotel is actually losing business as a result of people not willing to travel that road anymore. The point is: you don’t need money to have respect for yourself, for others, and for the environment that you live in. I don’t know what the answer is to the lack of respect for others and for the environment shown by so many of our countries citizens, the pollution that is occurring and the litter that is strewn around killing land and wildlife. But I do know it makes me very sad to see it happen. In the meantime I try to do my part and to contribute positively and hopefully make a difference somewhere on some small scale.
Back to riding bikes. The road back home was interesting to say the least. As we left on the morning of the 2nd of Jan, rain was predicted all the way to Johannesburg. And the prediction was right. For the entire distance, we cast a shadow for only about 20km. The heated grips made the journey doable, and we arrived home soaked, but happy! We had a roaring time, saw some awesome pieces of our beautiful country and got back home rejuvenated.
Thanks for reading. Enjoy the roads. Ride safe.
PS – I am looking forward to the 2010 FS Bash, as I purposefully avoided that area hoping to do some good riding there during that weekend.
