Chasing the light

[Noneking]

Anxiously waiting for the rest Kobus san

 

[BullSmit]

Come on!!!! Where is the rest???

 

[Ian in Great Brak River]

Ok, I’ll spill the beans ... Its the new Honda XL185S, been waiting for it since 1979.

8)

 

[Slainte Mhaith]

.

 

[Kobus Myburgh]

Mark and Hennie flew to George airport from Durban and Johannesburg respectively where Kobus waited for them. The Iveco was with Kobus, and it had to get to Cape Town. As mentioned previously, Hennie does have a code 14 licence, and he was the designated driver of the Iveco.
Kobus recently bought himself a Cruiser double cab, and he was bringing it with on the trip. Gary(also code 14) was going to drive the Hino and finally, Kamanya (code 14 too) was in charge of the VW Crafter. Both the Hino and the Crafter was going to transport the bikes.
Kamanya left his car at the airport in Cape Town and took a taxi to the warehouse where we were busy un-crating the bikes.
After I introduced our team to the Honda Europe officials, we got stuck in.

Honda is particularly cautious when it comes to new bikes, as they suffered severe losses in 2002 with spy images of the (then) new Africa Twin, which caused a major drop in sales on the current AT model available at that stage.

Even the warehouse camera's had to be shut off in my presence, and no warehouse staff was allowed in the warehouse during this whole operation.
It is amazing to see the pull a big corporate has in cases like this.
At this point I got a call from Honda Japan and I was informed that Kobus and myself had to re-format the software on the bikes.

And of course Hardy was driving the ultimate in 4x4 vehicles - the Unimog!


The next morning we started packing in all earnest.  Mark and the Iveco was supposed to leave to Cape Town to load all the camera equipment.  There was however a delay in the customs clearance and we were happy to have the extra hands to assist with the packing.

The two bikes already at Kaleo was retrieved and then it was checking and double checking that all the correct bikes, accessories, clothing and spares were correctly allocated to the two vehicles.  For those not having dealt with temporary imports before:  A commercial invoice is generated for the goods, which also serve as the packing list.  This packing list is specific to certain items and also specific to the vehicle transporting it.  Misallocation of goods in transit could cause substantial delay at the border, or worse, refusal to enter Namibia.  Any goods unaccounted for and/or not declared on your return could also result in full import tax levied opposed to temporary import tax, which in this instance, was in the form of a surety bond by the clearing agent.

The majority of the day was spent making sure all the tools, camping equipment, food and sundries were fully functional, packed and secured for the next couple of weeks.  In between all the packing, Gené and Chantal found the time to keep the whole group fed and hydrated. 

Not long after supper, everyone retired after a busy day, content with the day's achievement.

 

[Wolzac]

:sip: looking forward to this.

 

[Kobus Myburgh]

Just after breakfast on the morning of 15 May, Mark and Oubones left for Cape Town to load all the filming equipment while we got ready to take the road to our overnight stop in Springbok.

Although we were one short, a 6 vehicle convoy harmoniously travelled past Op die Berg, glancing in the direction of Katbakkies and the Tankwa on the other side of the Swartruggens mountains before traversing the Buffelshoek pass ourselves.  If you have not driven this pass, do yourself a favour and do so.  The views either way is simply magnificent.

The pace was moderate and we stopped at short intervals to ensure our loads were properly secured.  This was the first of many gravel roads to come and we wanted to be 100% certain that our strapping and tie downs will stand the test of time.

In Citrusdal we refuelled and got onto the N7, heading north towards Springbok.

All vehicles are equipped with two radios.  Those in the hired vehicles were issued with handheld units to ensure communication throughout the convoy.  While the primary use of the radios are to ensure safety of the convoy, it also lends itself to a lot of banter and information sharing.  Hardy and Kamanya knows the area well and they always share new information every time we drive this road.  Well, that's if Kamanya answers his radio.  Many conversations were nearly finished when you suddenly hear a distant "Was someone looking for me?".  Always some lame excuse of the aircon not working and the window being down and and and ..........  ot:

We managed a steady pace and before long stopped for lunch and fuel at the Engen at the turn off to Klawer.

This route to Springbok will always remind me of Quest 2018 and as we drove we saw the familiar turn offs we took at Gharies and Kammieskroon.

Eventually we arrived at our overnight stay just before Springbok, a proper old school Motel and by now a familiar place to everyone.

Mark and Oubones had some delays with the loading of the camera equipment in Cape Town and that meant that they left quite late.  Late enough that Hardy proposed that they stay over in Vanrhynsdorp.  Mark however, true to his nature, wanted none of that and him and Oubones convinced Hardy that they were good to go the full distance.  I don't remember what time they arrived at Kokerboom, but it was long after we went to bed.

I woke up when the Iveco pulled in and was thankful that everyone was together and safe.


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[Kobus Myburgh]

And of course Hardy's little 'trokkie' deserves a post all on its own:

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[Noneking]

And of course Hardy's little 'trokkie' deserves a post all on its own:

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Ek dink ook so....

 

[katana]

And of course Hardy's little 'trokkie' deserves a post all on its own:

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It can have a whole thread  ;D

 

[LanC]

The moment of truth arrived and we pried open the crates to reveal the new ................................. (Sorry, more on the model a lot later)  :sip:

Excellent!  :sip: though I hope we don't have to wait for EICMA .... and will get to see the bike before November.

 

[Black_Hawk]

Ek loer ook hier  :sip:

Dankie vir die deel Kobus  :thumleft:

 

[ROOI]

eepwall:

 

[Matewis]

:sip: atch:

 

[punisher]

O0 :thumleft:

 

[Kobus Myburgh]

We woke up the next morning well knowing the importance of what this day would bring.

We had to get a truck load of camera and filming equipment through the border on a carnet de passage, five unregistered bikes in two trucks/van, boxes full of accessories, spares, wheels, clothing and a whole of people of varying nationalities and vehicles through the border post.

What could go wrong?

I guess when you wake up to a sunrise like this, you just know that all will be well.

Our convoy left after breakfast and Hardy arranged that we meet some of the filming team, who was on route from Cape Town, at Vioolsdrift Lodge to finalise the border crossing strategy.  Not too long after our arrival, a part of the Band Originale team arrived.  Band Originale was the company undertaking all the photography and filming.  An incredibly creative, hardworking and professional outfit with a list of credentials and an impressive Client list.  For more on them, see the link below:

https://www.band-originale.com

We didn’t want to overwhelm the border officials and hence crossed the border in 4 defined groups:

1 – The Timeslice camera car and trailered buggy.

2 – All the Specialised Adventures vehicles with camping and backup equipment.  This included the Unimog and the 3 Cruisers.

3 – The Hino and Crafter with all the bikes and associate equipment.

4 – The Iveco with all the camera equipment and the expats in three separate Fortuners.

This little exercise took us just short of 5 hours if I remember correctly.  It became clear very quickly why Hardy only had +-261km driving distance planned for the day.  We arrived in Grunau long after the sun has set.

After a good supper around the fire, everyone retired to bed relatively early, satisfied with a problem free border crossing.


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[LRFan]

Ons wag vir die res??

 

[Kobus Myburgh]

Ons wag vir die res??

Promise to start spending some time on this tonight again.

 

[0012]

Sub!

Okay nou kan julle gooi  ;D  :thumleft:

 

[BikerJan]

Weer n mooi storie Kobus, kan nie wag vir die res nie!