the_wes
Grey Hound
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2007
- Messages
- 8,751
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- Brackenfell, Cape Town
- Bike
- Harley Davidson (all models)
So usually we get ride reports without pics, and the pics follow later, right? Well, I've never been one for tradition, so here are the pics, report to follow later ;D ;D ;D
...and so follows the report...
The plan was to go to Knysna for the Oyster Festival (even though I don't like oysters much. Or at all for that matter). My folks went last year and loved it, so this time they invited us with. As such accommodation, meals, booze, etc was all paid for, we just had to sort our own transport. Easy enough 8) We left on Thursday morning, and returned yesterday (Monday).
As an added bonus, all our luggage went in the support vehicle:
With the Dakar sporting a mere top box and tank bag:
Nature called in Robertson:
On the road:
While approaching Mosselbaai/Hartenbos, we decided we had had enough of tar, and tore ourselves away from the beaten track.
Posing at the roadsign that reassured us we were on the right track:
The road to Hartenbos:
My wonderful wonderful wife. This picture speaks volumes. It means we'd made it this far without incident. Had there been an off on the way, this picture would have been very different, but luckily for me it was mostly dirt highways all the way. And magnificent scenery:
Day 2 - Friday
While enroute to Knysna, Lawrence (Hermanator) gave me a call. As it turns out he was in the area (by car), and proceeded to relay the following information to me:
1. "this riding in cars business is for the birds"
2. "there's a lovely road running out of Knysna called the R339, and I simply have to ride it"
Since the only dirt I had planned on riding (I wanted to ride as much as possible but don't know the area at all) was the 7 passes between Knysna and George, I thought to take the man's word and go ride it. I was sceptical, as he had informed me it was roughly 85km of dirt, so I could bargain on a long ride, but boy am I glad I put my scepticism aside. What a beautiful world.
At the start of the dirt:
At the top of one of the sections, looking back at the road we'd just travelled:
We found a little road that led off to the entrance to someone's farm, so we stopped off for some scenery and pics. The view was incredible:
Traffic on the roads:
One of the many reasons to own a DS bike, this area is just magical. All our riding on these roads made me so glad I took Lawrence's advise, this is truly some of the most incredible land I've had the priveledge to ride through:
We then stopped off in "Die Vlugt" for some coffee at the local "tea garden". It's incredible how life slows down in these places. It's simply magical, and I plan to return as often as I can:
I hate riding the same road twice. So, rather than turn around, or head on to Uniondale (we'd been taking it very easy and had been riding for over 2 hours on dirt already) I decided to head off on another dirt road that headed off to the left, which would eventually bring me back to tar (effectively a shortcut), which would eventually take me to George. I know, the long way round, but hey, I'm stubborn.
At the end of the much-longer-than-i-thought-not-a-shortcut-at-all dirt stretch:
Coming back into George we took the Outeniqua pass. My word. I love South Africa. I honestly can't tell you how beautiful this area is. Go ride it. We would have taken Montagu Pass, but it was getting late:
Day 3 - Saturday
No riding. We took a boat ride to The Heads with the family, had sushi at 34 Degrees (nice spot, hopelessly too busy), chilled.
Day 4 - Sunday
We decided to ride the 7 passes, except backwards effectively - from Knysna to George. Since I was in no mood for the long road from George back to Knysna, and we wanted to catch the F1, we decided we'd head out as far as we could and then try cut back to Wilderness. So off we went, and again, stunning riding. I can't say it enough. Just before Hoekwil Pass we turned left, and found tons more dirt taking us past the back of Sedgefield and all the way to Wilderness. Just 1 pic:
On the way back, we decided to try look for Belvidere Church, which we'd heard about. But we took the wrong road, and ended up in Buffalo Bay:
Eventually we found the church. Nothing much to write home about really, just a quaint little chapel:
After that we headed back to "HQ". This is the view from our room (we were staying in a self-catering apartment at the Knysna Quays):
Day 5 - Monday
The road home - we decided to head back via Outdshoorn, purely just to see more of the coutry. What an experience - going from the forests of Knysna and the surrounds to the open plains of the Karoo.
Our final stop, lunch at the Dros in Robertson:
Parting thoughts? I'm going back. There are tons of roads I still need to ride, and this part of our country, like so many others, is simply breathtaking. The Dakar handles the open road 2-up, but your butt will ache. I married a good woman, she tours with little complaint. I do, however, have to buy a new Wild Dog buff, as she tried mine after the Oxford one she was using didn't work so well, and then proceeded to like it so much I never got it back. All in all, 1410km in 5 days. Not bad at all
...and so follows the report...
The plan was to go to Knysna for the Oyster Festival (even though I don't like oysters much. Or at all for that matter). My folks went last year and loved it, so this time they invited us with. As such accommodation, meals, booze, etc was all paid for, we just had to sort our own transport. Easy enough 8) We left on Thursday morning, and returned yesterday (Monday).
As an added bonus, all our luggage went in the support vehicle:
With the Dakar sporting a mere top box and tank bag:
Nature called in Robertson:
On the road:
While approaching Mosselbaai/Hartenbos, we decided we had had enough of tar, and tore ourselves away from the beaten track.
Posing at the roadsign that reassured us we were on the right track:
The road to Hartenbos:
My wonderful wonderful wife. This picture speaks volumes. It means we'd made it this far without incident. Had there been an off on the way, this picture would have been very different, but luckily for me it was mostly dirt highways all the way. And magnificent scenery:
Day 2 - Friday
While enroute to Knysna, Lawrence (Hermanator) gave me a call. As it turns out he was in the area (by car), and proceeded to relay the following information to me:
1. "this riding in cars business is for the birds"
2. "there's a lovely road running out of Knysna called the R339, and I simply have to ride it"
Since the only dirt I had planned on riding (I wanted to ride as much as possible but don't know the area at all) was the 7 passes between Knysna and George, I thought to take the man's word and go ride it. I was sceptical, as he had informed me it was roughly 85km of dirt, so I could bargain on a long ride, but boy am I glad I put my scepticism aside. What a beautiful world.
At the start of the dirt:
At the top of one of the sections, looking back at the road we'd just travelled:
We found a little road that led off to the entrance to someone's farm, so we stopped off for some scenery and pics. The view was incredible:
Traffic on the roads:
One of the many reasons to own a DS bike, this area is just magical. All our riding on these roads made me so glad I took Lawrence's advise, this is truly some of the most incredible land I've had the priveledge to ride through:
We then stopped off in "Die Vlugt" for some coffee at the local "tea garden". It's incredible how life slows down in these places. It's simply magical, and I plan to return as often as I can:
I hate riding the same road twice. So, rather than turn around, or head on to Uniondale (we'd been taking it very easy and had been riding for over 2 hours on dirt already) I decided to head off on another dirt road that headed off to the left, which would eventually bring me back to tar (effectively a shortcut), which would eventually take me to George. I know, the long way round, but hey, I'm stubborn.
At the end of the much-longer-than-i-thought-not-a-shortcut-at-all dirt stretch:
Coming back into George we took the Outeniqua pass. My word. I love South Africa. I honestly can't tell you how beautiful this area is. Go ride it. We would have taken Montagu Pass, but it was getting late:
Day 3 - Saturday
No riding. We took a boat ride to The Heads with the family, had sushi at 34 Degrees (nice spot, hopelessly too busy), chilled.
Day 4 - Sunday
We decided to ride the 7 passes, except backwards effectively - from Knysna to George. Since I was in no mood for the long road from George back to Knysna, and we wanted to catch the F1, we decided we'd head out as far as we could and then try cut back to Wilderness. So off we went, and again, stunning riding. I can't say it enough. Just before Hoekwil Pass we turned left, and found tons more dirt taking us past the back of Sedgefield and all the way to Wilderness. Just 1 pic:
On the way back, we decided to try look for Belvidere Church, which we'd heard about. But we took the wrong road, and ended up in Buffalo Bay:
Eventually we found the church. Nothing much to write home about really, just a quaint little chapel:
After that we headed back to "HQ". This is the view from our room (we were staying in a self-catering apartment at the Knysna Quays):
Day 5 - Monday
The road home - we decided to head back via Outdshoorn, purely just to see more of the coutry. What an experience - going from the forests of Knysna and the surrounds to the open plains of the Karoo.
Our final stop, lunch at the Dros in Robertson:
Parting thoughts? I'm going back. There are tons of roads I still need to ride, and this part of our country, like so many others, is simply breathtaking. The Dakar handles the open road 2-up, but your butt will ache. I married a good woman, she tours with little complaint. I do, however, have to buy a new Wild Dog buff, as she tried mine after the Oxford one she was using didn't work so well, and then proceeded to like it so much I never got it back. All in all, 1410km in 5 days. Not bad at all
