Four Frozen Foreskins do Lesotho 2014

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Mikie

Grey Hound
Joined
Oct 24, 2008
Messages
8,456
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2,731
Location
Hoekwil / Wilderness
Bike
BMW R1200GS Adventure
Ginger bread man aka Gail, had been nagging me for ages to go on a trip through Lesotho, the plan was to go up Sani pass and out through Caledonspoort,
I kept putting it off, using finances as an excuse, but eventually I gave in, realising that there was a public holiday in June, I told him I was in and that was our weekend to do it, the fact that it was winter didn’t even cross my mind.
We tried to round up more friends to join us but I suspect they all thought we were mad, all except 2, Orko was the first to jump at the invite and immediately book his place, JMass aka Machete, after reading about our intentions wished us well, I asked if he wanted to join and there was no hesitation from him. Four guys, only I knew them all, the others had never met, but with the banter on a closed facebook group and a whatsapp group chat they rapidly got to know each other and what a perfect match we all are, same sense of humour and all not even realising that it may be seriously cold up there….
Weeks of planning, what to take, where to stay, routes to take, places to see, what to avoid, what ifs and the warnings from fellow bikers that we are insane, Sani pass is incredibly difficult especially on bike Dual sport bikes, that if it snows we could face slippery roads covered with ice, if it rains the mud will make any progress through the tough Lesotho terrain treacherous and near impassable.
But we all urged each other on, gathered warm thermal gear, space blankets, a satellite phone, waterproof matches and water purification tablets and we were ready for the travels ahead…. How could I forget, we had a Machete as well.

A logo was even designed
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The week leading up to the trip brought the first cold front and snow on the Maluti Mountains; predicted temperatures were predicted down to -12 Deg Celcius. Honestly I thought the possibility of death was very real.

Off road rubber is required
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Home made Hippo Hands, it’s the new black
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The day finally arrived 12 June 2014 and we met at a busy petrol station along William Nicol road just before the morning rush hour, 2 BMW R1200GS Adventures, 1 Triumph 800XC and a bright orange Oros bike, a KTM 950 Adventure.
We had only just met up and immediately Gail proceeded to climb under his bike to make adjustments, it is a KTM after all, was this a sign to come? Should he rather have brought another BMW rather? One of my American friends did have his own version of this scene, “Phil Breakwell:  He's probably making sure the towing points are secure....for dragging those German pigs out of the first sand wash”, this was however not to be.

But I think there is an oil leak
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Ready to roll
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We set off just before 8am through rush hour traffic, much to the dismay of our fellow riders who don’t usually commute, tar the whole way to Harrismith. We had 464km to cover and no clue what the roads were like after Harrismith.

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Stopping for breakfast before hitting the short section to Van Reenens where we got off the N3 and hit the dirt, the old railway service route and tunnel was our first attraction. Perfect little dirt road with the occasional cow that had to be avoided, the ruts carved in the dirt by car tyres gave a good indication that this road wasn’t really bike friendly in the rainy season, it looks like it could be very muddy. Finally reaching the old tunnel and in a flash it was over, pitch black inside and an impressive bit of architecture from days gone by.

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Boys weekend!!
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The rest of the day continued uneventfully until we reach Winterton, hungry and thirsty, so The Bridge Lodge was out next stop. Those beers were like mother milk.

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Looks like a bird to me
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Midlands taxi
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Koek?
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Two beers and a good meal later and we headed to our first nights’ accommodation Inkosana Lodge \ Backpackers, ( https://www.inkosana.co.za/ ), armed with 2 two litre cokes and a bottle of Captain.
On route, with Orko behind me, he claims to have seen A ufo, apparently it was the most spectacular thing to see, I still think it would have been funnier if the ufo had flown in his direction.
The lodge is a nice little spot with lots of German tourists, we almost thought that it could even be a movie set and we had only been extras for the night. Captain Morgan joined us that night and helped us stay warm, we were all so knackered that by around 21:30 we were dead to the world…..
 
Jis that Triumph is nice  :tongue3:
There's no machete icon  ???
 
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