East Coast “Bike ‘n Surf” trip (Cape Town to Maputo and back)
- Thread starter MellowJo
- Start date
White Stripes
Pack Dog
Kom nou, waarvoor wag ons?
Cool so far. :thumleft:
Cool so far. :thumleft:
fat b
Race Dog
:happy1:
Baches
Race Dog
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- KTM 1290 Super Adventure
Cool report !!! So far !!!
MellowJo
Race Dog
OK, here goes .... this part was not as exciting as the first part ....
Day 9: Witrivier to Tugela Mouth (600km)
We were spoiled rotten by the Wiid family at Witrivier but we had to start turning back towards Cape Town some time and the only question was the route. Over the braai of the previous evening we decided that it would be better to stay on better roads until we could get a new front air spring for the Audi fitted. It was Sunday, so it was better to start our southward journey and aim to get the part flown to Durban where we could get it fitted early in the next week.
With all the above taken into account, we planned a route around Swaziland from Witrivier, Nelspruit, Barberton, Badplaas, Amsterdam, Pongola, Emphangeni and eventually on to family’s house at the Tugela River mouth.
As we set off it was drizzling but it soon became a steady rain with fog in places. It was lovely to cool down and not to eat dust for a change. It was a beautiful route through the plantations and grass plains of Mpumalanga which we Capies don’t often see ….
We stayed in the log home at the top ....
Day 10: Tugela River Mouth rest day (0km)
It was Monday and the car part would only arrive in Durban the following day. After all the excitement of the previous week we also needed a break and the surfers were keen on some time in the water, so we decided to stay put for the day.
Some people had to explore the area with a local for directions …..
Day 11: Tugela, Durban, Hibberdene (200km)
We had to pick up the car part from the couriers in Durban, next to the Rugby Stadium and then proceed to Hibberdene where we would stay with Ouma Bessie (Nadine’s grannie). We took a leisurely drive down the M4, all along the beach till we got to Durban and then on to fetch the part. No problem there, and onto the N2 down to Hibberdene.
From Hibberdene I quickly drove the car to South Coast Audi at Margate. They fit the new spring in no time and our car woes were something of the past, yeeehaaa.
Day 12: Hibberdene, Port Edward, Port St Johns, Mthatha, East London (400km)
It was a nice cool day and a short scenic hop to Port Edward where we heard that Lighthouse Keeper was in hospital. Hope you are OK now mate!
From Port Edward we continued on the R61 via Bizane, Port St Johns, to Mthatha. Along the way we found this guy who takes ATGATT very seriously.
From Mthatha we drove south on the N2 towards East London. The Great Kei River pass was beautiful and magic to drive. At East London we again abused Archangel’s friend’s hospitality for accommodation. After a quick surf, Christy also took us to the waterfront restaurant for a great meal.
Day 13: East London to J Bay (300km)
On this morning, we headed off on the R72 into a light drizzle. Half way to Port Alfred the heavens suddenly opened and we were found ourselves like riding in a washing machine. There was 100mm of water running over the road and visibility was less than 3 m. Archangel saw a little shop along the road and ducked in and parked on the stoep under the little veranda. I followed him gratefully and we joined a few locals also hiding from the rain. We were drenched and compared the in-effectiveness of our rain suits.
The crew also pulled off and upon further investigation we found that we stumble onto MJs roadhouse, famous for magic food for hungry travellers. This lead to a breakfast while we waited for the downpour to subside.
When we got to the same road works where we sped along the gravel road a week ago, it was now a lot muddier then before, as Archangel found out.
We were scheduled to camp at J Bay, but the rain had us opting for the J Bay Backpackers. Archangel and Jacques went for a surf and returned with cuts and bruises from the reef. Sorry no pics.
During the night, the Nordic guests in the house really got partying by midnight and by 4am the manager came around to quieten down the lot. Amelia did not like her bed and we swopped during the night. Half of me got carried away by fleas but I don’t know if it was while I was sleeping on the floor or the bed.
Day 14: J Bay to Mosselbaai (200km?)
We were all glad to get up and go from J Bay Backpackers. Again we followed the R102 instead of the usual N2. We stopped at Bloukrans bridge for a bite and at the Big tree for some education.
At the house at Klein Brak (Mosselbaai) we had a great braai.
The last two days will follow soon .... nice surf pics and excitment with the ostriches
Day 9: Witrivier to Tugela Mouth (600km)
We were spoiled rotten by the Wiid family at Witrivier but we had to start turning back towards Cape Town some time and the only question was the route. Over the braai of the previous evening we decided that it would be better to stay on better roads until we could get a new front air spring for the Audi fitted. It was Sunday, so it was better to start our southward journey and aim to get the part flown to Durban where we could get it fitted early in the next week.
With all the above taken into account, we planned a route around Swaziland from Witrivier, Nelspruit, Barberton, Badplaas, Amsterdam, Pongola, Emphangeni and eventually on to family’s house at the Tugela River mouth.
As we set off it was drizzling but it soon became a steady rain with fog in places. It was lovely to cool down and not to eat dust for a change. It was a beautiful route through the plantations and grass plains of Mpumalanga which we Capies don’t often see ….
We stayed in the log home at the top ....
Day 10: Tugela River Mouth rest day (0km)
It was Monday and the car part would only arrive in Durban the following day. After all the excitement of the previous week we also needed a break and the surfers were keen on some time in the water, so we decided to stay put for the day.
Some people had to explore the area with a local for directions …..
Day 11: Tugela, Durban, Hibberdene (200km)
We had to pick up the car part from the couriers in Durban, next to the Rugby Stadium and then proceed to Hibberdene where we would stay with Ouma Bessie (Nadine’s grannie). We took a leisurely drive down the M4, all along the beach till we got to Durban and then on to fetch the part. No problem there, and onto the N2 down to Hibberdene.
From Hibberdene I quickly drove the car to South Coast Audi at Margate. They fit the new spring in no time and our car woes were something of the past, yeeehaaa.
Day 12: Hibberdene, Port Edward, Port St Johns, Mthatha, East London (400km)
It was a nice cool day and a short scenic hop to Port Edward where we heard that Lighthouse Keeper was in hospital. Hope you are OK now mate!
From Port Edward we continued on the R61 via Bizane, Port St Johns, to Mthatha. Along the way we found this guy who takes ATGATT very seriously.
From Mthatha we drove south on the N2 towards East London. The Great Kei River pass was beautiful and magic to drive. At East London we again abused Archangel’s friend’s hospitality for accommodation. After a quick surf, Christy also took us to the waterfront restaurant for a great meal.
Day 13: East London to J Bay (300km)
On this morning, we headed off on the R72 into a light drizzle. Half way to Port Alfred the heavens suddenly opened and we were found ourselves like riding in a washing machine. There was 100mm of water running over the road and visibility was less than 3 m. Archangel saw a little shop along the road and ducked in and parked on the stoep under the little veranda. I followed him gratefully and we joined a few locals also hiding from the rain. We were drenched and compared the in-effectiveness of our rain suits.
The crew also pulled off and upon further investigation we found that we stumble onto MJs roadhouse, famous for magic food for hungry travellers. This lead to a breakfast while we waited for the downpour to subside.
When we got to the same road works where we sped along the gravel road a week ago, it was now a lot muddier then before, as Archangel found out.
We were scheduled to camp at J Bay, but the rain had us opting for the J Bay Backpackers. Archangel and Jacques went for a surf and returned with cuts and bruises from the reef. Sorry no pics.
During the night, the Nordic guests in the house really got partying by midnight and by 4am the manager came around to quieten down the lot. Amelia did not like her bed and we swopped during the night. Half of me got carried away by fleas but I don’t know if it was while I was sleeping on the floor or the bed.
Day 14: J Bay to Mosselbaai (200km?)
We were all glad to get up and go from J Bay Backpackers. Again we followed the R102 instead of the usual N2. We stopped at Bloukrans bridge for a bite and at the Big tree for some education.
At the house at Klein Brak (Mosselbaai) we had a great braai.
The last two days will follow soon .... nice surf pics and excitment with the ostriches
Sprocketbek
Race Dog
Great stuff!
popipants
Race Dog
Don't know if I'm more impressed with the Pig or the Audi
Great report
Great report
Martin-DR650
Race Dog
Joh! Dis nou lekker!
Nice foto's en report!
Nice foto's en report!
cloudgazer
Grey Hound
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2007
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- BMW F650GS / Dakar
Awesome.
Looks like a dream trip.
Looks like a dream trip.
MellowJo
Race Dog
Last installment ....
Day 15: Mosselbaai (Klein Brak) to Stilbaai (100km?)
It was again just a hop from Klein Brak to Mosselbaai, then turning off the N2 towards Fleesbaai, via Gouritzmond and eventually onto the gravel towards Stilbaai. I really like these good gravel roads.
At Stilbaai we split into two groups, a young group and an old group, that stayed at different houses. At last there were very good swells and the guys got in a long surf session before the locals woke up to the good conditions.
Our house had a good braai and turned in for the last night of our Moz trip.
Day 16: Stilbaai to Melkbosstrand (350km?)
Archangel had an early quicky (surf session) and by 9h00 we regrouped for the last day’s stint. From Stilbaai we travelled towards Jogensfontein until we turned towards Vermaaklikheid onto the gravel.
The road was freshly gravelled with course gravel. This was not a big issue but I did get one or two knocks on the rims and the belly plate. Just before Witsand I stopped at a T junction to wait for the crew. As they came over the crest I heard that something was wrong. They had a puncture.
No Problem!! We have a puncture kit and I started to inflate the tyre to see where the hole was. Oh **** it is in the side wall. Well plug it anyway. The car moved 20 meters and lost all the air each time the wheel turned pass the hole.
OK, so it was down to the space saver spare tyre. This thing has a very narrow tread and was screaming to be punctured by the sharp gravel. But the crew drove slowly until we reached the last tar section to Witsand without incident.
At Witsand we wanted to put our proper spare tyre onto the proper rim for the last stint, but it was Sunday. So we stopped at Nella-se-winkel and Archangel proceeded with the job with all his internet knowledge.
We drove over the tyre to ‘break the bead’ and then used his bike tyre levers to pull the tyre off.
Great, now we started to pull the new tyre on. A stranger looked us up and down, commented on ‘city slickers’ and told us how to get the new tyre on. Once on the rim, we connected Nella’s air hose, but it did not have enough flow to pop the tyre onto the bead.
Again Archangel came to the rescue. He demanded Jacques’ aerosol spray, filled the tyre with spray and lit the lot with a lighter. BANG !!! We all fell over backwards from the bang, but the tyre was on. A few minutes later we could carry on with the last leg of our journey.
At another T junction, waiting for the crew, us two bikers were very interesting to a huge flock of ostriches. They all came to admire the pig of course. Anyway, one took a bite of my peak and another to a shot at the helmet cam. We have these filmed and I will eventually get around to edit the video, it is seriously funny!!
From Witsand we charged up to the Malgas ferry, our third ferry crossing of the trip.
Giving a hand with the passage ......
From Malgas it was a last few gravel kilometres to Bredasdorp and then on to the N2 and eventually on to Cape Town.
Finally, riding off into the sunset, .... with a new friend ....... :angel7:
Conclusions
1. Archangel did a fantastic job to navigate us all the way on his Blackberry !! :thumleft:
2. Amelia and the crew brought the Audi back home through some very difficult patches, with no prior experience!! :thumleft:
3. We travelled 5500kms, while I did close to 6000 with all the fuel fetching etc.
4. The bikes did not miss a beat on the whole journey!! :blob7:
And so, the definition of “Adventure” includes the elements of ‘unknown’, ‘risk’, ‘danger’, ‘unusual’, ‘stretch’, and so on. We went to places where we have not been, with vehicles not optimal for some parts of the journey, stayed in places that we would not normally choose to stay at and did all this on a very limited budget.
Hey, it was an great Adventure !!
Day 15: Mosselbaai (Klein Brak) to Stilbaai (100km?)
It was again just a hop from Klein Brak to Mosselbaai, then turning off the N2 towards Fleesbaai, via Gouritzmond and eventually onto the gravel towards Stilbaai. I really like these good gravel roads.
At Stilbaai we split into two groups, a young group and an old group, that stayed at different houses. At last there were very good swells and the guys got in a long surf session before the locals woke up to the good conditions.
Our house had a good braai and turned in for the last night of our Moz trip.
Day 16: Stilbaai to Melkbosstrand (350km?)
Archangel had an early quicky (surf session) and by 9h00 we regrouped for the last day’s stint. From Stilbaai we travelled towards Jogensfontein until we turned towards Vermaaklikheid onto the gravel.
The road was freshly gravelled with course gravel. This was not a big issue but I did get one or two knocks on the rims and the belly plate. Just before Witsand I stopped at a T junction to wait for the crew. As they came over the crest I heard that something was wrong. They had a puncture.
No Problem!! We have a puncture kit and I started to inflate the tyre to see where the hole was. Oh **** it is in the side wall. Well plug it anyway. The car moved 20 meters and lost all the air each time the wheel turned pass the hole.
OK, so it was down to the space saver spare tyre. This thing has a very narrow tread and was screaming to be punctured by the sharp gravel. But the crew drove slowly until we reached the last tar section to Witsand without incident.
At Witsand we wanted to put our proper spare tyre onto the proper rim for the last stint, but it was Sunday. So we stopped at Nella-se-winkel and Archangel proceeded with the job with all his internet knowledge.
We drove over the tyre to ‘break the bead’ and then used his bike tyre levers to pull the tyre off.
Great, now we started to pull the new tyre on. A stranger looked us up and down, commented on ‘city slickers’ and told us how to get the new tyre on. Once on the rim, we connected Nella’s air hose, but it did not have enough flow to pop the tyre onto the bead.
Again Archangel came to the rescue. He demanded Jacques’ aerosol spray, filled the tyre with spray and lit the lot with a lighter. BANG !!! We all fell over backwards from the bang, but the tyre was on. A few minutes later we could carry on with the last leg of our journey.
At another T junction, waiting for the crew, us two bikers were very interesting to a huge flock of ostriches. They all came to admire the pig of course. Anyway, one took a bite of my peak and another to a shot at the helmet cam. We have these filmed and I will eventually get around to edit the video, it is seriously funny!!
From Witsand we charged up to the Malgas ferry, our third ferry crossing of the trip.
Giving a hand with the passage ......
From Malgas it was a last few gravel kilometres to Bredasdorp and then on to the N2 and eventually on to Cape Town.
Finally, riding off into the sunset, .... with a new friend ....... :angel7:
Conclusions
1. Archangel did a fantastic job to navigate us all the way on his Blackberry !! :thumleft:
2. Amelia and the crew brought the Audi back home through some very difficult patches, with no prior experience!! :thumleft:
3. We travelled 5500kms, while I did close to 6000 with all the fuel fetching etc.
4. The bikes did not miss a beat on the whole journey!! :blob7:
And so, the definition of “Adventure” includes the elements of ‘unknown’, ‘risk’, ‘danger’, ‘unusual’, ‘stretch’, and so on. We went to places where we have not been, with vehicles not optimal for some parts of the journey, stayed in places that we would not normally choose to stay at and did all this on a very limited budget.
Hey, it was an great Adventure !!
GO GIRL
Race Dog
Gee it feels just like yesterday that I was reading about the proposed trip..... :
Now you have been there and back ???
Where has the time gone...
Well Super trip love all the sandy parts.... and its so good to see that you guys let the tired horses lie down now and again...
Oh BTW lets see some more "surfs up" pics.... :thumleft:
Well done to Amelia for her first time....
So what happened to all those lekka prawns and the laid back evenings ....
C'mon you guys I detect some censoring going on here..... > >
Nice RR I think a very special time experienced ....
Now you have been there and back ???
Where has the time gone...
Well Super trip love all the sandy parts.... and its so good to see that you guys let the tired horses lie down now and again...
Oh BTW lets see some more "surfs up" pics.... :thumleft:
Well done to Amelia for her first time....
So what happened to all those lekka prawns and the laid back evenings ....
C'mon you guys I detect some censoring going on here..... >
>Nice RR I think a very special time experienced ....
Beagle Boy
Race Dog
Lekka man ... I'm envious :biggrin:
White Stripes
Pack Dog
Thanks for posting, J. It is wonderful to do these things with your son. I hope my day will come. Great trip, great report, thanks.
Lighthouse Keeper
Pack Dog
Great RR and thanks for sharing - glad you got back safe and sound and looks like more glue that keeps a family bound together.
IceCreamMan
Grey Hound
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2006
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- 9,490
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- 1,024
excellenta !! :thumleft:
not something i would do with that kinda audi though :biggrin:
not something i would do with that kinda audi though :biggrin:
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