Ok – I am crazy, but to go solo into the Wildcoast is not on the cards!
And so the planning started from scratch. Immediately the Barley East 8 passes challenge came to mind !
The 8 passes consisting of Naude's Nek (Highest dirt road mountain pass in SA),
Joubert's Pass (3rd highest dirt road pass),
Volunteershoek (Tiffendell), Carlislehoek (Rhodes) , Lundean’s Nek (Lesotho Border – Telebridge),
Bastervoetpad (Technical) , Barkley Pass (Gods Artwork) and Otto du Plesssis (wild and un-spoilt).
I for one – really enjoy planning a trip. Looking at the highlights of an area, learning about the history,
finding out interesting places to see – it is half the fun and provide you different alternatives if need be! :thumleft:
And there is no better place to look for highlights of a particular area as at the geo-caching fraternity.
Normally these hidden “treasures” are placed in all the scenic locations. (
www.goecaching.com )
So this was going to be a trip where I can enjoy the trip and as a bonus find a couple of geo-caches.
The original Wild coast plan was over 6 days. . .
I still had the time, so the plan remained for 6 days.
Do as many gravel roads as possible and camp at night,
but now the road will lead me to the Northern part of the Eastern Cape close to Lesotho and the Orange River.
For a solo trip of 6 days like this, I put a little extra thought into the packing of gear
and if the bike looks like a pack donkey in the pictures, it’s because it was! :biggrin:
One thing that I found peculiar is. . . how many people tried before the trip,
to persuade me of a million reasons not to go! That just made me more determined to go!
So, on the Friday I joined the EC Wilddogs in PE for a “loop dop” and some dutch courage before setting off early Saturday morning. . .