Groot Marico "Advance Party" report back 2008-07-27

[GundaGunda]

Hi Folks,

The fearless advance party scouting trip is back safe and sound

(at least I hope - Parted ways with Malgat at Wickers in Magalies and JustBiking on the N14)

What a seriously enjoyable and good trip, and what a lovely part of the world -  I am now itching for the main ride ! 

This is just to kick of the report thread - Details, photos, feedback and routes to follow.

Found a few possible places for the main weekend - each with pros and cons.

My problem is that I would like to stay at all three - I see three trips there in my future  :ricky:
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The Main Ride Planning Thread link

https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=20017.0

 

[GundaGunda]

Okay, some pics ready to post.

Spoke to Malgat and he is collating the info on Accom and pricing and will add later, but thought I could post some pics as a "voorsmakie" and to get the thread rolling.

The three places we went to eyeball were:-

"The River Still" - A self-catering place on the Marico river
- Has chalets
- Camping allowed only if we take the whole place. No ablution block

"The Marico eye"  - at the Eye - source of the river - well known Scuba-diving spot
- Chalets (just a couple)
- Camping and ablution block - donkey water heater.

The "Croc Farm people"
They have :-
- a restaurant and pub at the croc farm.
- A guest house about 1Km North
- A camp in the Game farm 2Km south with :-
--chalets
--Two permanent tents.
--a "Russian Army Tent" - dorm with 8 beds
--Outside shower/donkey and "loo with a view" 

Will post a map with locations later

 

[iep_kruger]

as we are awaiting the photos from Justbiking i think i should add my opinion as well,,,,,

im looking forward to this ride and have huge expectations that its gonna be just the greatest ride/bash of them all,,,,

with blazes arranging and i have ridden those roads a lot it is simply ds/wd heaven out there...

nobody should miss this ride,,,,,what i noticed is the fact that everyone wants different accomodation and im scared we end up being split up and in some ways we miss each other,,,also its an oppurtunity to have one mother of a jol on satday nite all together,,,,

so my idea of the scout trip was to find a place that will keep everyone together and satisfy al their needs,,,,,we've been to gr marico and looked at what i would call budget, normal and a upmarket accomodation...

here follows the details:

the budget accomodation is at the "eye" itself,,,,

the place has a nice grassy lawns and lots of space for camping,,,also included is two bungalow (and maybe a 3rd one which is being built),,,the bungalows are R200pn  that sleeps 5 and R150 pn that sleeps 3,,,it doesnt matter how many we sleep there and the owner says he can also bring extra mattresses if we want,,,there is also a caravan for R50 pn,,for the campers there is enough space under lawn and has ablutions blocks with electricity, toilets and showers....

so cost wise everybody pays R40 for the weekend wether you come on friday or satday,,this includes the campers and the bungalow people

the bungalow is R200, R150, R150 and the caravan is R50 pn irrespect of how many sleep there,,,also the rooms have big stoeps where more can bunk underneath the thatch roofs

Pro's:

its cheap
great setting as the "eye" is amazing and we can also swim, dive or snorkel there,,,
also spear fishing on the bass is allowed
lotsa space for camping and has a swimming pool and slide and volley ball spot
its far away from anybody else and no other people around
each bungalow has its own toilet, shower washbasin

con's:
its bit rustic (beemer man),
the bungalows have no bedding, cuttlery or any servicing,,,
the bungalows are one roomed buildings where the beds, kitchen and lounge is the same area,,,thus no privacy
no fridge or stove but hot water
the nearest shop/bottle store/petrol is 40kms away
there wil also be some day visitors there during the day time

 

[iep_kruger]

the next place is "river still"

it has 4 spacious and nice houses with fridges, stoves, bedrooms and bathrooms
each house also has a great stoep and a fireplace inside,,they all have electricity and geysers
the houses are in sizes that sleep 7, 4, 4 and 2 persons
house costs R180 pppn
campers are R50 pppn,,
a river flows through it as well as a mountain where walks?? are abundant

pro's:

its 3,5 kms from main road and obviously close to all shops and petrol
it has a lekker communial gathering place under roof with braai's and lotsa chairs and tables outdoors,,,
even has a dance floor
price includes bedding, utensils serfvicing etc
drumming nite can be arranged
beautifull setting
has the river with canoes and or fishing, swimming etc
lush gardens and lawn for the campers

cons:
no outside ablutions for the campers,,,
no restaurant/pub
shitty and dusty entrance road of about 5kms

 

[iep_kruger]

the croc farm:

this farm is on the otherside of the dam and is very very upmarket,,,its right next to the main road and is broken up in 3 parts,,,one being a game reserve, one the croc farm with restaurant and pub overlooking the croc dam and lastly the main farmhouse itself which has 2 on-suite bedrooms for those smarty couples or lovers,,,

the crocfarm itself is a restaurant and pub with a great deck area overlooking the crocs right against the main road
the game farm has 2 very upmarket houses, which are beautifully decorated and each has 2 bedrooms which sleeps 2 people as well,,,apparently the 2 x lounge couches can also sleep children.this is situated on the game fence

inside the game farm, there are  2 x tented rooms which is built onto a deck and covered by a roof sleeping 2 persons each
also is a russian tent??? that sleeps 8 people,,,,,

they will allow campers with there own tents but no bike riding inside the game farm

then the main farm house which is grand and majestic situated amongst the 0live and nectarines orchards has 2 en-suite bedrooms , luxuriously decorated with a double bed and opening out onto the verandah and the pool

costs:
game reserve chalets are R1000 pn irrespective how many sleep there
the tented rooms are R180 pppn and the russian tent is R150 pppn
the farmhouse rooms are R500 pn irrespect of how many are sleeping there
they are willing to negotiate a better price if we take the whole place and also allow us some camping space

pro's:

very upmarket and majestic,,,
game drives are included and they animals are abundant
bedding, utensils and servicing included
lekker restaurant and bar with a view deck over the croc dam
right onto the main road

con's:
but stiff upper lip but they are willing to negotiate better prices and allow us the campers???
they place is big and one has to drive to the 3 settings, main house, game farm and croc farm,,,not much abour 3 kms

 

[Frog]

Thanks for the report. Since you guys were the ones there, I think you are the most qualified to choose a spot. I will be camping and will be happy to go with your decision.

 

[GundaGunda]

Map with the tracks and places visited.

The croc farm people are up north next beyond the dam.

River Still is about 4Km due South of Groot Marico

"The Eye" is at the bottom of the map

Regarding tracks, most of the south loop is gravel. Road on the West of the dam is Tar, East is good gravel.

 

[Malibu]

Wow guys, you've done a lot of work while there... and yes, we do trust your judgement on this...  :thumleft:

 

[GundaGunda]

The "raw" GPX file.

Beemer Man expressed a little concern that the roads had become dry and sandy and a bit treacherous.

These roads were not a problem at all - and this is me.

Couple of slightly sandy bits, but nowhere as bad as the Road to Jericho.

Couple of places where there are slaty ridges that look quite sharp.

Looked at my Siracs when home - no serious cuts at all.  

Road down from Groot Marico to River Still is a bit steep, stony and dusty, and may be fun after rain. I would not ride it after a mampoer or two.

How the rest of the roads behave after rain I dunno. Not many places that show signs of mud-rutting so I suspect not too bad.  

 

[Ama ride ride]

Thanks for the update.

Years ago MP's complained to the then Min of Transport, Hendrik Schoeman, about the awful food being serviced on the SAA.

He then asked themâ?¦â?wil julle vlieg of vreetâ? (English translation roughly to â??Do you want to fly or eatâ?

So with this in mind I askâ?¦Does it matter where we sleep? The ride and the party afterwards is what its about. Iâ??m a bean counter so I will go for the cheapest.

 

[GundaGunda]

I'll go with a majority decision, but this would be my vote:-

My heart would go with the eye, simply cos it is such an amazing sight.

But my vote (among the three we visited - may be other places ) for the group would be River Still. I would base it on:-

- Variety of accom types from reasonably larney to camping.
- Closer to town.
- All together at one spot.
    Although if someone wants to stay elsewhere and commute we could do but would, to me, detract from the fun.
- River and walks would be great for the "non-riders"
- The whole place would be ours. No reputational risk ! 

The issues would be the lack of ablutions for the campers but a suggestion was made to reserve the smallest chalet as a "base" for the campers for a shower, chairs and kitchen, and just use tents for sleeping. Sure it may be cost-effective depending on numbers. If anyone wanted to sleep in this chalet it would be on the basis that they would have to go to bed last and tolerate people using the shower and toilet at wierd hours.

Also it is all or nothing - we must take the whole place or camping would not be allowed. I can understand that from the boss-man's perspective.

The other places - eye, town, croc-farm & pub & dam could form the basis of the riding trips from the base.

I like Blazes' idea re the riding that it would be up to us to decide where to ride and what to see - not a mass ride.

Happy to help merging and editing the tracks. 

 

[GundaGunda]

And on a more lighthearted note, someone was heard to make a comment re this weekend :-
"What happened at Groot Marico, stays at Groot Marico"

So I really can't really tell other than to say that on Sunday morning my KLE started just fine.

As for the rest . ..      :bueller:

 

[GundaGunda]

Wow guys, you've done a lot of work while there...

This is the kind of "work" I really like . . . wonder if I can get paid for riding a bike  :

 

[Malibu]

Wow guys, you've done a lot of work while there...

This is the kind of "work" I really like . . . wonder if I can get paid for riding a bike  :

Stand in the que on that question....  >

 

[GundaGunda]

A quick work of thanks to JustBiking and Malgat for a really nice ride and time.

But one little thing I never got a chance to thank you for. May seem like a little thing but it means a lot to me

On the way up from the "Oog" I was having trouble keeping up as I could see next to nothing. The sun was low, my visor and specs had dusted up, and I had my sunglasses on and needed to switch to normal. I was scared I'd miss the riding line and go down.

So I stop to sort it out. Not more than a minute or two later I see both JustBiking and Malgat coming back to see what's wrong. I explain I had stopped to dust off. No problem to them. Cool. Off we go and I can see again. 

Thats the kind of guys I find it reassuring to ride with. Blokes who think about the rider behind even if they are tired and thirsty and it's been a long day in the saddle.

Thanks guys. 

 

[KiLRoy]

How far??

h

 

[ActionAnt]

Great work chaps.
Can't wait.

 

[iep_kruger]

dont get al soppie on me,,,ok???

next thing you know the ladies want me to ride sweeper for them

 

[Malibu]

dont get al soppie on me,,,ok???

next thing you know the ladies want me to ride sweeper for them

We always like having you around....  ;D

 

[JABO]

WOW really admire the effort you guys have put in

I will be camping and will only be there for the late night bash. Sleeping is a minor.

Maybe a vote so we can get sort of an idea of what direction to go and then close the vote and work from the results?

like i said maybe a vote.