"Kalanamaroo" - Kalahari to Coast & Back

[Peter Vee]

Last year my son JP and I had done a super trip down to Kenhardt and back, added here somewhere as a RR called "Kalahari Surfers", this year we decided to extend the trip with a few pals, my son however  could not join this year due to work commttments.  Herewith then the RR covering what became a Tour d' Attrition across the Kalahari, Karoo and Namaqualand down to the West Coast including a stop over with our Kenhardt pals for a quick KLRClan Bash.

The trip was planned over a number of legs as follows..

Day 1 = 389 km
Day 2 = 394 km
Day 3 = 434 km
Day 4 = 160 km
Day 5 = 403 km
Day 6 = 276 km
Day 7 = 487 km
Day 8 = 534 km
Day 9 = 546 km



Starring a motley crew made of KLRClan and WD members.. from left to right.. DieselDawie, DocKlr, Baksteen, Porra, McSack, and Peter Vee



An amazing bunch of balance talented riders who do their own stunts... in bars and beyond









And featuring the trials and tribulations of our machines..

 

[Peter Vee]

Pre-trip preparations

The route was to cover approx 4000km split over an average of 360km per day, the majority of which would be on gravel and sand, from desert highways to two spoor tracks and several mountain passes... the group decided to overnight at a variety of B&B's so as to allow us to travel without the extra weight associated with self catering camping kit.

With much excitement we all started our independent preparations given we were setting off on a 10 day trip across varied terrain with little to no support in places... routes were pondered and debated over and over again, planning braai's were held and enough shopping was done to boost the local ADV market for at least a day or three.

I spent a fair bit of time procrastinating over which bike to take, in the end I opted to take my green donkey given it would be the best compromise for the trip... new Michelin T63 rubber was fitted along with a custom fork brace, full service, new brakes, new shock and heavier spring, and a proper tightening of every bolt and fixture... I also faffed around with luggage options till comfortable with the bike's set up... my JP and I had done most of this route last year and knew what kind of hammering the bikes would have to endure.

As with most tours, the prep and anticipation of things to come is as enjoyable as the event itself.









My pal Graham (DocKLR), equally amp'ed for the trip, sent me this pic to show he was almost ready for the ride...



I designed a logo for the event and Dave had some t-shirts made...






Our arrangements were concluded in due course and we eagerly anticipated the trip, specifically the section across the Kamiesberg to the coast (marked in red below)...



Despite our thorough preparations, detailed planning, sorted logistics and properly ready bikes, the trip was to take its toll in more ways than one... it was to turn into a real tour d' attrition... right down to the last man standing!

 

[Peter Vee]

Leg 1 - Base to Bloemhof - 387km

I had plotted this section of route in Basecamp to run from Joey's to Bloemhof by following the Vaal river from Lindequesdrif, Parys etc... Abre and I had done a recce of this part of the overall route a few months earlier and it is a pretty tame section for getting back into gravel mode.

Our agreed meeting point was on the Randfontein / Fochville road... Baksteen had ridden up from the eastern Cape so as to be able to ride down with us, he along with Doc, Dave and Porra eventually met up with McSack and myself after they had frustrated Porra with a demo of how not to apply our pre-agreed buddy buddy system...







Happy to eventually be on our way, we set off at a brisk pace on the gravel towards Parys, the group soon settled down and before you could blink we were forced to stop at the little pub in Venterskroon for breakfast and beers...





Suitably refreshed, Doc and I rode up front and had great time dicing over a long stretch of "whoop de whoops" that required some focus till we realised we were all alone... on turning around and backtracking we found that Baksteen had sat all the air out of his rear tyre... the first and only flat for the trip... after some needle and encouragement (and about 20 Co2 bombs) we were back on our way towards Bloemhof...



Our first overnight was a the "Why Not" B&B in Boemhoef.. nice biker friendly place with nice digs, on site bar and grill with attentive staff... it did not take us long to settle in and find our way to some steaks, beer and rum..





The food was really good... we all agreed that this would make for a lekker overnighter on future weekend rides..



True to form, Porra soon found the biggest oke in Bloemhof to have a rum session with...



The lads in high spirits and showing real support for each other before eventually retiring for the night...

 

[JonW]

Wow, this looks like it's gonna be awesome  :thumleft:

 

[Peter Vee]

Leg 2 - Bloemhof to Kuruman - 361km

Following a fair night's rest (in between Porra and Doc's snoring competition) I woke at 5am out of habit and started scratching about which got Porra up... we decided to prank Doc (the night stalker who only rises when the sun is well up) by shaking him awake and telling him it was way past time to depart... he made a stout effort to get going at which stage Daisy's alter ego, the Spandex Ninja, arrived to encourage proceedings.

Doc's response on finding out what the real time was is not suitable for polite company.



After breakfasting on a pile of toasted Bacon & Egg sarmies organised by McSack the night before we refueled, did oil and tyre checks before setting off at the crack of dawn... the new day was beyond crisp and I guess most had numb fingers as we crossed the Vaal and set off towards Christiana and Warrenton..



The route quickly became more interesting with a mix of surface marbles and corners that cleared the heads and kept us focussed as we tracked along the Vaal, the dust was hectic and the group was soon spread out over a few km's which forced us to stop at junctions, re-group and re-organize kit...





Ja... don't ask



Beyond Warrenton we started getting into real open country and the joy of being free and on the road again manifested in spades...




Roadworks in the general vicinity of Pudimong provided for some unexpected "round the houses" MX style riding before a stop off at a local dam for a leg stretch and war stories of close falls along the roadworks..





At points it became somewhat tiring to wait for the group to catch up and we took time out to chill every so often...



After covering some of the first sandy sections of the tour we soon arrived on the outskirts of Kuruman and opted to take the longer route around by cutting through the Kuruman hills before heading into town for re-fuel and some shopping... on the way to Red Sand Lodge I was blissfullu unaware that my tool tube lid had come off and my toolset had been ejected into the roadside bush and was not recovered despite a search by Porra and Baksteen who were following behind me.





On unpacking our kit and sorting our chalet Porra and I were treated to a visit by
"Klont Oosthuizen".. Safrica's own version of Clint Eastwood..



Eaton and Suzette Wickers, our good friends from the Kenhardt Hotel also surprised by popping in to say hi and bye before we waddled down for rum & beers and looping Polka music while we did justice to the German Buffet dinner on offer...







Found this in the bar... couldn't help but think it would make the perfect "top box" for my JagerBomber Africa Twin..

 

[Peter Vee]

Leg 3 - Kuruman to Kenhardt - 441km

After the first two easy legs, our third leg was going to be a longer one so we assembled for breakfast at the crack of dawn.. again it was cold and the effects of the first two days of riding started becoming apparent and requiring a strong coffee jump start...





Worried about fuel range on Baksteen's bike, we stopped off at Kathu for fuel and then opted to slab it to Postmasburg...



Tar is really so frikken boring but some times you just have to do it...





fter another fuel up in Postmansburg we were back onto the gravel in the direction of Groblershoop, the plan being to cross the mountains by means of a pass I had found on GoogleEarth,and then travel past Witsand and onto Putsonderwater...







After this stop it was on to and over McSack's pass... a mini Sani excursion complete with rutted switchbacks, the sign was warning enough to get the blood up...





Yours truly starting the run up to the first switchback...



What goes up must come down...







After the pass we were treated to some serious sand over long stretches that had us all properly "thrilled" at times... what started with this innocent section of sand soon regressed to much thicker state that impressed Dave so much that he was at pains to point out some sadistic / masochistic streak in his navigator..



After a short stop at Groblershoop for refuel we were to set of for Putsonderwater... here McSack showed that he had enjoyed his pass so much he had added some of it to his kit to take along as a souvenir ...



After jolling through tons of sandy stretches we re-assembled and were back on the hard before the run into Putsonderwater...




It's a special place, full of melancholy that always has me wondering what it was like in it's heyday...









An that put is really sonder water..



After that it was a sprint into Kenhardt as the weather was building to the point we expected rain and snow.. the 75km of dirt was sorted in 45 minutes flat and we happy to be at the Clan's northern Cape base.. and one the reasons for heading out on tour in the first place.

 

[Peter Vee]

Leg 4 - The Kenhardt Bash - Monday / Tuesday

Eaton and Suzette assisted by their staff are truly great hosts and we were all very chuffed to be back... even the local wildlife, fondly remembering last year's antics, were please to see us...



We settled in for a few few quiet drinks (before the 100 rowdy ones later) to await the arrival of the Cape Clanners...



Not much later the hotel's courtyard was full of our bikes and all settled into their rooms before meeting up in the bar for a bash of note...



Our chilled Cape Clanners, it was great to get to meet David, Angela, Lilly and Jorg...



And our rowdy crowd, complete with host Eaton, making ready for the evening's festivities...



Proceedings kicked off with an "ïn-bar braai" with tons of succulent Karoo chops...



Kenhardt first nights are usually when all go big... chief cheerleader Eaton aka Kraai always helps to set the mood...





And later, the bikes simply had to be included in the party...









While the bikes that could not fit through the door had to be content in the foyer... lekker hotel this!



And another truly great Kenhardt Bash just happened, as they do....

 

[Peter Vee]

Leg 4 - Verneukpan - Tuesday

Given the magnitude of the first evenings festivities (9.8 on the Richelieu scale) all surfaced late and we managed to assemble around mid-morning for the day's outing to Verneukpan... Porra and Kraai were to do the "Rum Run" in the Bluebird express and cart along the neccessary for a post "pan-drag braai"...









Jorg's good lady, Paparazzi Lily, took the better and panoramic photos below...



The Zen of the Pan...











Power play on the pans were followed by boerie braai of note, it was good to see that the camp facilaties had undergone a major upgrade since we had last visited, now complete with decent bathrooms and concrete braai ...

My son had done some power slides on this KLR last year so I felt obliged to do a few for him in his absence...



While Jorg set out to show off some real horsepower...





After burning off a few liters of fuel and our hooligan needs now sated, it was time for rolls and rum...












After a ton of fun it was time to head back to the hotel and re-do the gate open and shut routine at each of the many gates on the gravel back to the tar... Dave demonstrated a novel way to deal with the more stubborn gates however I was not around to capture the moment for inclusion here.





Doc's bike had started leaking oil from the rear shock which was shot and he had made arrangements with Kraai to do a shock swop back at Kraai's house... unfortunately in the middle of proceedings the bike toppled and fell onto top of Doc.

This did not stop the old fart from enjoying himself during the evenings party but he was to opt out the next day and he realised he had stuffed up his ribs/ shoulder to the point that subjecting himself to a pounding on the technical bits still to come would not be a good idea.

 

[W1P30UT]

SUB!!!  :thumleft:

 

[Peter Vee]

Leg 5 - Kenhardt to Loeriesfontein - 401km

The time had come for the Clanners to part company and complete the rest of the trip via different routes back to their respective bases.. Baksteen and McSack joined the Cape Clanners while Doc stayed behind to recuperate some... our intrepid and motley crew was now down to three.. Porra, Dave and myself.

The next leg was going to be a real schlep across the vlaktes via exotic places like Soutdwaggas Plaas, Tierkolk and Granaatkloksbos before stopping off at Brandvlei for fuel ups and then onto Loeriesfontein, our planned jump off point to the coast via the Kamiesberg.

After bidding all farewell we set off, the morning was bleak, cold and cloudy which soon forced us to stop every time we found a "kol"of sunshine so as to thaw out some.. even though each had their own cold hand solution, we were all to find it more than a bit uncomfortable as we raced parallel to an incoming front...







After what felt like forever the skies started clearing and in turn we started warming up while continuing across the long salt flats and Karoo vlaktes..





Caught while taking the above..



Close to midday we changed direction towards Brandvlei from Granaatbos and Tierbos and soon had to deal with the mother of all corrugated roads... certainly some of the worst I have ever experienced.. this was to shake and partly break off my chain guard and, I'm sure made a contribution to the challenges Porra would experience later...

Tierkolk..



Granaatkloksbos



The start of those corrugations..



I soon called time out to try and fix the chain guard while be showered in dust kicked up by passing trucks from the local mines... this was to prove futile as it fell off a while later and was not recovered... item 2 lost thus far.





Shortly after that it was into Brandvlei for fuel and lunch.. past this interesting sign somewhere along the Brandvlei road.



Dave making a somewhat dusty entrance to the "Wind Pomp" a local Brandvlei diner and dive...



The 3 "Dustkateers" ...



From this stop it was on to Loeriesfontein, the road started showing signs of some earlier rains and it was clear that we had just missed the rain associated with the front we had seen earlier in the day.. on arrival at Loeriesfonetin it was off to the Co-oP for fuel following which we had to track down the hotel owners to open up for us...









The very friendly couple who own the place soon had us in newly revamped rooms following which we were off for drinks and dinner.. being the only guests combined with a talkative barman we were soon to be engaged in some interesting conversation with him before turning in for the night... I guess the photo shows how enthralled we really were!



Anycase, the rooms were great, the food good and all are biker friendly so it can be recommended as stop over for future use.

 

[Malibu]

*sub*  

Can't wait for more....

 

[Peter Vee]

Leg 6 - Loeriesfontein to Hondeklip Baai - 283 km

This section, via Garies, had been eagerly anticipated we were all really looking foward to it as promised to include some technical bits and a foray in the mountains of the Kamiesberg.

Notwithstanding the day's riding distance would be relatively short, we opted for an early departure so as to allow time to pick up supplies in Garies and arrive at the coast with enough daylight left to do some exploring..

Ready for departure at sparrow's from a damp Loeriesfontein.. the first of the spring flowers were already making a showing following the early rains...





The section immediately after Loeriesfontein included some cool sweeping tar corners before turning off onto the R355, a great gravel road.. the damp conditions had compacted the more sandy bits and we made good time before arriving at the junction towards Garies.. Dave and I stretched our legs while waiting for Porra to join up with us...



Porra wa soon to arrive and promptly dropped his bike..



On getting it back upright he complained about experiencing steering issues, closer inspection revealed a serious problem...





After much scheming we ended up fitting a spare 8mm bolt through the original which, along with the judicious application of percussion (moered met n groot klip), allowed us to get Porra's bike in a state ready for him to limp back to Loeriesfontein (given we were out of cell reception) from there he would call Kraai for help; his tour was clearly over!





Despite repeated offers to escort him back he set off alone and it made for a sad and dissapointing departure all round... we were now down to 2 men standing.

Dave and I continued on our way through the last section of Karoo landscape and were soon into more interesting scenery as we approached the mountains.. (Porra... the following bits are just for you mate! so sorry you missed some of the best parts of the ride.. and that Kreef you were so looking forward to)









Studers Pass...









After this stunning section it was down and into Garies amongst plenty of Spring bloemtjies...





Once in Garies we filled the bikes to the brim and stopped in at the local OK and Off sales for a re-supply.. all my pre-trip research had suggested that nothing was available in Hondeklip Baai so we made sure we were sorted...



Back on the road again we followed a two spoor track up to the intersection with the road to the coast via Skurfberg and Wallekraal...





After another lekker section we crested a rise to be afforded our first view of the Atlantic on the distant horizon...



From there it was a short run into this tiny coastal hamlet, we did a quick recce to find the lay of the land...







On arrival at the Honnehokke it was a case of doing a speedy booking in and unpacking so we could go explore and play...



With the bikes somewhat lighter we set off along some of the plentiful coastal footpaths... this provided for some fun in the sand that had me take an unintended detour and gave Dave an opportunity to really get down and play in the sand, the photos speak for themselves...













Tired of sand we headed down south to find the more rocky sections mentioned on local website and to get a better view of the coastline..









Properly hungry and thirsty we set off to try out the local watering holes before selecting one to have some seafood at...



The Rooi Spinnekop looked promising however we had missed the pre-order cut off so we settled for a few frosties with some the locals.. included a nice gent doing a solo trip on 650 GS...



And then moved on down the road to the appropriately name "Dop en Kreef" for crayfish with a view while watching a great sunset...

 

[GIDEON]

Just great, one of those hope they never stop reports  :thumleft:

 

[Peter Vee]

Leg 7 - Hondeklip Baai to Augrabies - 438 km


Hondeklip Baai was a key milestone on the trip as the point at which we turned our bikes round back north for the three return legs. Again we were up early and set off after a breakfast made up of an eclectic mix of Garies sourced rations...



We headed out early via Koiingnaas along the Spoegrivier towards Springbok... I was really looking forward to this section as well in that it included 3 mountain passes..





The section along the Spoegrivier got more and more interesting as we got closer to the mountains and included a number of short but very steep uphills.. after passing a herd of Gemsbok enroute we soon arrived at the base of the Wildeperdehoek Pass.. this was to turn into another stunning section to ride through...







The first viewing opportunity on the ascent provided a great view back over the sections of Namqualand National Park we had just ridden through..



The pass became more and more interesting and easy on the eye with a number of corners, combined with descents and switchbacks that required some concentration... I stopped at every opportunity to take pics while Dave went ahead to give his Mitas E07's a proper workout...







This pass soon connected up with the Messelpad Pass creating an experience of riding through what felt like a non-stop pass that bikers dream of...





At one point I stopped of at one point to look down on what turned out to be the ruins of the prison that used to house the convicts that built pass.



After really enjoying the passes we connected up with a short section of the N7 for the run into Springbok for refuel and leg stretch, just outside Springbok, Dave was happy find his Guest House's advert was still in good nick...





After our Springbok pitstop, Daisy Dave and I headed out on the road towards VanZyl's Rus via Okiep... again we were back into the flatlands with pretty decent gravel highway towards the Richtersveldt/ Poffadder turn off..







After this junction we turned east and into some Kalahari Sandveldt... the initial sandy sections had us very busy including some stop-starts to open and close gates... however we were soon taking it in our stride until later when the sand simply got thicker and thicker while the road narrowed with a hectic berm...





Soon after passing through a desolate farm yard and closing yet another gate, Dave had another slow off in thick sand on the verge and I thought to myself that this is going to get real interesting going forward...



Once Dave was back upright, I accelerated past and started building up speed with a view to "plane" on the sand as done so many times before... all to soon I had a tankslapper of note that sent me from berm to berm before having a pretty decent off.. I can clearly recall feeling something break on impact and was properly freaked out to see my arm flapping about and thinking now you are in deep shite and have compromised the ride properly.

The farm that I bought...



The rest is all confused and busy.. after Dave got me out from under my bike which had landed on me and was leaking fuel everywhere, I started off on a long walk back to the farm buildings while Dave recovered the bikes.

I then settled into a long wait in this ruin while Dave set off to look for help...



This was to be my view for the next 3 hours or so before Dave returned with a local Farmer and his bakkie... the local Ambulance service had simply laughed Dave off... I felt like of those "Americian Pickers" after a while.



Man was I ever happy to see them arrive and they soon had my bike loaded and we headed back to Springbok... an unbelievable storm overtook us and the bakkie made one or two unintended departures from the now very snotty road that scared me silly... I sat thinking that this would be hell for Dave to ride through and trusted that he would take it slow.



After getting no joy from the local clinic it was off to a session with the Cubans at the State hospital who did Xrays etc and remorsefully pointed out that my shoulder was fractured but that the dislocation had relocated itself while removing my jacket for the Xrays... after dispensing a few pain killers it was off to a local B&B to wait for my son JP and my b.i.l Peter Karner who had set off from Joburg to come and pick me up on the morning of the 9th.

We bade Dave farewell and set off for Joburg... my leg was now in a sorry and swollen state... and Dave was left as the last man standing!

 

[Peter Vee]

The Post Mortem

Needless to say I was pretty peeved at not finishing the route as there were may interesting points ahead that we missed out on and, that I had compromised the trip for others. Dave had to slab it back alone while Porra and Doc did pretty much the same thing from Kenhardt.

I got decent medical attention 3 days after the fall and was diagnosed with a shoulder fractured in 3 places, a broken leg along with a fractured ankle and a compressed LC6 disc, it could have been worse so I am not complaining though I do have a few new bling bits with which to entertain airport security in future...



I have spent a week in this ward and a few more on my back at home and it has made for a good opportunity to finish this RR and plan some new excursions...



Writing this RR had made me all the more determined to get back to where we left off and have already started planning a re-run from Hondeklipbaai.

In the meantime, this is the closest I am going to get to 2 wheels for a while.... frikken frustrating and boring!



A big thanks to the guys and gals who rode along on this trip, it was truly an adventure of note!

Also a big thanks to all the Clanners and Dogs who offered help fetch me, we have a special community that is great to be part off!

And Dave... thanks for being there mate

See ya all soon.... keep the rubber down and ride safe!

Pete

 

[edgy]

Awesome!! :thumleft:

 

[Dutchman81]

Baie mooi RR die , wel gedaan julle  :deal:

 

[DRAZIL]

Awesome RR and photos

 

[Dorsland]

Great RR, very nice areas you guys rode through.  Sorry about your off though.

I really enjoyed this chirp:  "Given the magnitude of the first evenings festivities (9.8 on the Richelieu scale) "  :imaposer: :imaposer:

 

[Jag man]

Very Awsome ,good pics .