Have Airhead, will travel ...

[DirtyHarry]

Since finishing my airhead project I promised myself to have a bike trip at least once a year. Last year I went up to the Kalahari and this year the GKG was leading me to Wild Coast.
My bike was parked in my workshop for almost a year because of a broken drive shaft and final drive. It was only at the end of February that my bike was running again. There was no time to test the bike properly, so I took off hoping for the best.

My bike is packed and ready to go. With all the camping equipment my bike looked like I would go on a world tour.

The plan was to have enough time before the GKG to be able to see a lot of places along the way, especially on the Wild Coast. On Monday I left quite early as they forecasted some rain.

It worked out quite well as I was ahead of the rain all the way.
The first pic of the day, Du Toitskloof Pass.

Small back roads take me to Montague and from there on the Karoo Highway to Ladismith.

I was not in a hurry as I did not have a fixed plan where to stay for the first night, so I followed some nice loops around Ladismith.

I also went up to see what the road to the Gamkapoort Dam looks like.

Along the Swartberge it’s a very scenic ride.

I noticed that my front fork was losing oil and the front brake stopped working. Some oil must have gotten on the disc or brake caliper. Left with only a rather blunt rear drum brake on my bike I was not keen to go up the Swartberg Pass.

Superfoxi kindly gave me the direction to the next KTM shop in George and instead of Die Hel I went to George. It was a great plan but the Pure Orange shop in George was not existent anymore. The guys at the Yamaha dealership in town went through a great deal and tried to locate new fork seals for my bike in George. They phoned around for at least ½ hr but could not find the right seals. The next shop having the seals in stock would be KTM in PE. So off I went to the direction of PE. As it was late in the day, I decided to stay at a Backpackers in Knysna. 700km for the first day on my bleeding old lady seemed to be enough.
My bike was parked right in front of my room and I did not have to unpack everything.

 

[gser]

DH , I like !

 

[DirtyHarry]

The next morning I am on my way along the Garden Route. One highlight was to go along the closed R102 to avoid the Toll Road at Titsikamma. The road was blocked but otherwhise in good state despite a few rock slides along the way.

The highest bungie jump in SA happens on this bridge.

Nice forests along the way.

The road through Natures valley is also quite scenic and the corners invite for spirited riding, nice.

Next stop was Jeffreys Bay to check the surf. Wasn’t big but it is always nice to see that some guys are having fun. I did surf Supertube 10 years ago during a decent swell and since then can’t get the picture out of my head. It is a great spot when it gets big.

KTM in PE. I had to convince the workshop manager that my bike has got priority to all the other bikes in the work shop due to a tight travelling schedule. In the end I paid 3hrs labor for a job which I could do in half the time. New brake pads and new socks to protect the new oil seals rounded it up.

Kenny was doing a good job as far as I could see.

Then I choose some nice back roads towards Port Alfred along a nature reserve at the coast.

I decided to spend the night in Grahamstown to avoid the busy roads towards the Wild Coast. Luckily there is a camp site in town to save some money after I have drained my travel kitty due to the rather expensive repair in PE.

 

[stan1975]

Nice part of country - Port Alfred is an awesome little town!

 

[Chairman Meow]

:happy1:.....Very Nice, knowing us Aireheads being quite a lazy bunch regarding RR.... :lol8: ..... :sip:

 

[Capitan]

Glad you were sorted in PE, sorry we couldn't help.  I have some seals on order, so we'll start stocking the odd sizes for dogs that needs help... Lekker report!!

 

[Hinksding]

Hallo Freund. Es ist gut, von Ihnen zu lesen. Ich freue mich schon sehr auf die Fahrt Bericht.
Sie müssen sich für die Bushman Land zu retten später in diesem Jahr. :thumleft:

 

[DirtyHarry]

Glad you were sorted in PE, sorry we couldn't help.  I have some seals on order, so we'll start stocking the odd sizes for dogs that needs help... Lekker report!!

Thanks a lot for your help  KH :thumleft: I wanted to send you an sms but I lost your card, shame on me.
Next time I am in George I will come around to say hi.

 

[DirtyHarry]

Hallo Freund. Es ist gut, von Ihnen zu lesen. Ich freue mich schon sehr auf die Fahrt Bericht.
Sie müssen sich für die Bushman Land zu retten später in diesem Jahr. :thumleft:

Hey Stoffel, your German is a lot better than my Afrikaans.
Louries is defenitely on the cards later this year.

 

[zacapa]

Harry! good to see you made it back home safely, bike and rider in one piece. That rear shock of yours had me worried.
Cool RR :thumleft:

 

[DirtyHarry]

Harry! good to see you made it back home safely, bike and rider in one piece. That rear shock of yours had me worried.
Cool RR :thumleft:

After I saw you riding a road bike through the Transkei I was not worried about my blown rear shock any more.
You could give all of us some riding lessons  :deal:
 

 

[DirtyHarry]

The next morning I went on nice dirt roads towards Stutterheim along the Double Drift Nature Reserve.

Funny trees along the road.

 

[DirtyHarry]

The rolling hills are still covered with trees.

The scenery looks like Switzerland.

No settlements only nature on this stretch of road. I like.

 

[DirtyHarry]

After Stutterheim the landscape became open grassland again.

On route on the R349 towards Morgan’s Bay I came along that rather large aircraft parked on a smallholding. The owner surely wanted to draw attention towards his establishment. It serves as a museum and they offer accommodation and a crafts market.

At Morgan’s Bay I reach the ocean on the Wild Coast for the first time.

 

[BMWPE]

Enjoying the report  :thumleft:

 

[DirtyHarry]

It is only 14h30 when I reach Kei Mouth. I decide to cross the river with the little ferry to carry on towards Coffee Bay to meet the other airheads coming down from Pietermaritzburg the next day.

Now I am officially in Wild Coast country.

Stupidly I didn’t fuel up at Kei Mouth. Now I have to do a great detour to Butterworth to get some fuel.  I don’t waste much time in that busy and dirty town and head straight back to the quieter dirt roads towards Dwesa Nature Reserve.

I play around with my camera but the day is running out for me. I have to hurry up to reach the gate before 18h00.

I just make it before sunset and the fast and efficient office at Dwesa handles the paperwork. I had to fill in 3 different forms for that  :

My tent I have to pitch in the dark, thanks to the rather long stay at the office. There is not a soul on the campsite and I start to get my tent sorted. Unfortunately my blow up mattress suffered a bit. I try to fix it with my tube repair kit.

Camp is made.

Then I scratch together all I have to dish something up for dinner. My emergency tuna tin that I find deep in my bag comes handy. At least I don’t have to go hungry to bed.

When I retreat into my tent, the mattress is flat again. I chuck that useless piece of shit into the bin and sleep on the grass instead. I was so tired that I fell asleep quite quickly, even without the used comfort of my mattress.

 

[gser]

Still , I like HD !

 

[Freak]

SAA business class toiletry bag. Love it.

Nice pics!!

 

[Mof]

Always cool Harry, thanks.

I'm listening to Tom Waits while reading this and it seems to work really well with the airhead.  ;D

 

[wooly bugger]

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