schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
Hi Ian thanks and I forgot to mention that you paid for brunch. Enjoy and I hope you and your dad will have many good times together still. Kind regardsIan in Great Brak River said:
Living the Dream Solo Around the World Trip
- Thread starter schalk vd merwe
- Start date
Hi Schalk - just spent the last three days reading the whole thread. What an awesome trip!! One day i hope to have the time/money/guts to follow in your tracks - the scariest part for me is being solo!! Well done on making it to Egypt and back - although I feel sorry that you weren't able to cross into Europe we need to remind ourselves that these things happen for a reason and that He lines each dark cloud with silver......
I'll definately take a book......looking forward to Part II :ricky:
I'll definately take a book......looking forward to Part II :ricky:
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
Hi Ventana-Thanks for reading. With hind site I am not sorry that I had to come through Africa again. I saw some more countries and also met some interesting people in those countries. Once you are used to solo it is not so bad. I of cause love the unknown and normally don't even want to know where I am going to sleep for the night, it must be a surprise. Also like you say things happen for a reason and that I experienced many times through out the trip and I am going to elaborate a little more about that in my book. Enjoy.Ventana said:
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
Thanks for kilo's and I also can not wait for it to start again-all the best my friend will let you know when the book is ready.Skaiidawg said:
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
To every one who read my thread over the last seven months I want to say thank you all. It was was the comments that kept me going through Africa and back. Thanks to you all and due to your interest we will hit the 30 000 hits on this thread within a day or so. May you all have a prosperous new year and there are more to come within the next couple of days till the first phase of the trip end in JHB.
- Joined
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Thanks Schalk, a great 2016 to you too! Reading your thread was an inspiration to all and you were truly living the dream for us all.
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
Capetown and the Karoo
The next morning I left Coxwains place and went to meet up with old friends from Johannesburg who now lives in Cape Town. We met at a coffee shop in Sea Point and we had a nice chat and it was good to see familiar faces again.
From there it was off to beautiful Camps Bay and I was amazed to see they even have dedicated parking for motor cycles there. After another coffee and a chat there with the people at the table next to me who are currently doing motor cycle training I was off again. I travelled all along the sea and past Llandudno. As I came into Houtbay another motor cyclist on a BMW with a lady riding pillion on the back was riding next to me. When he saw all the sticker on the bike he shouted to me that we must go to a coffee shop together. As I know Houtbay well I pointed to a coffee shop in the harbour. David and his wife were from Johannesburg as well and ware touring Cape Town and back to Johannesburg by bike. They wanted to hear about my travels through Africa and after a nice chat and coffee we promised to meet up in Johannesburg again.
I was going to sleep at the house of an old friend in Welgelegen that night. Eugene van Niekerk and I met in the 1970 at Technicon and from day one we chatted about bikes. We later travelled all over South Africa together on bikes. He later relocated to the Cape but we always kept contact a friendship that has been going for 45 years now.
When I arrived at Eugene house he had a Suzuki DR 650 ready and we tackled the west coast first to Bloubergstrand for some photos with Table Mountain in the back ground. After that it was off to Melkbosstrand for lunch, then inland a bit on some farm roads which he knew well. That knight it was out to dinner again to catch up on old times.
The following day the plan was to go to Koedoeskloof Country Lodge just off the R 62 close to Ladismith. I decided to go over Worcester. At the Huguenot Tunnel I decided to rather take the old and more scenic road over the Du Toitskloof Pass. Everything was so green and my country was still twice as beautiful as before I left on my Africa trip. On top of the passes I turned off towards Rowsonville and stopped in front of a shop to buy a cold drink. One of the “Kaapse Manne” came to talk to me. Sir he said to me in Afrikaans, “ I don’t want to lie but I am really thirsty”. Now I know I have been really “thirsty” in my life before as well especially in a Moslem country like Sudan. I gave him R8 and he was off across the road. He came back with a small bottle of wine. I could not believe it, he only paid R6 for it. I felt great and at least I helped a fellow citizen out of his misery and the Cape humour was worth more than the small donation.
Rawsonville was so beautiful I stopped all over next to the road to take photos of the rows of wine lands. Then I was off on to the Route 62 a beautiful road which I never get tired of. At Barrydale I pulled in for breakfast. There are so many coffee stops here it is hard to decide which one is best. Every time I come this way I try a new one. The service was good and the food was good as by now I have worked up a bit of an appetite.
Then it was off to Koedoeskloof a country lodge which belong to Eugene and Debra. Eugene is also a member of the Wilddog forum. 5Km before Ladismith I turned left and followed the road according to the GPS co-ordinates. Arriving at Koedoeskloof Country Lodge the place immediately impressed me. It was neat and the surrounding area was really beautiful. I decided to stay overnight. There were two other bikers there also from the wild dog forum and I hope they forgive me as I forgot their names and I hope they will post their names here on this forum as I would like to make contact with them again. Eugene and Debra made us a nice dinner that night and the red wine and company was also top class.
NEXT UP-GRAVEL ROAD TO MOSSEL BAY AND ON TO ORANGE ELEPHANT AND OTHER WD’S
The next morning I left Coxwains place and went to meet up with old friends from Johannesburg who now lives in Cape Town. We met at a coffee shop in Sea Point and we had a nice chat and it was good to see familiar faces again.
From there it was off to beautiful Camps Bay and I was amazed to see they even have dedicated parking for motor cycles there. After another coffee and a chat there with the people at the table next to me who are currently doing motor cycle training I was off again. I travelled all along the sea and past Llandudno. As I came into Houtbay another motor cyclist on a BMW with a lady riding pillion on the back was riding next to me. When he saw all the sticker on the bike he shouted to me that we must go to a coffee shop together. As I know Houtbay well I pointed to a coffee shop in the harbour. David and his wife were from Johannesburg as well and ware touring Cape Town and back to Johannesburg by bike. They wanted to hear about my travels through Africa and after a nice chat and coffee we promised to meet up in Johannesburg again.
I was going to sleep at the house of an old friend in Welgelegen that night. Eugene van Niekerk and I met in the 1970 at Technicon and from day one we chatted about bikes. We later travelled all over South Africa together on bikes. He later relocated to the Cape but we always kept contact a friendship that has been going for 45 years now.
When I arrived at Eugene house he had a Suzuki DR 650 ready and we tackled the west coast first to Bloubergstrand for some photos with Table Mountain in the back ground. After that it was off to Melkbosstrand for lunch, then inland a bit on some farm roads which he knew well. That knight it was out to dinner again to catch up on old times.
The following day the plan was to go to Koedoeskloof Country Lodge just off the R 62 close to Ladismith. I decided to go over Worcester. At the Huguenot Tunnel I decided to rather take the old and more scenic road over the Du Toitskloof Pass. Everything was so green and my country was still twice as beautiful as before I left on my Africa trip. On top of the passes I turned off towards Rowsonville and stopped in front of a shop to buy a cold drink. One of the “Kaapse Manne” came to talk to me. Sir he said to me in Afrikaans, “ I don’t want to lie but I am really thirsty”. Now I know I have been really “thirsty” in my life before as well especially in a Moslem country like Sudan. I gave him R8 and he was off across the road. He came back with a small bottle of wine. I could not believe it, he only paid R6 for it. I felt great and at least I helped a fellow citizen out of his misery and the Cape humour was worth more than the small donation.
Rawsonville was so beautiful I stopped all over next to the road to take photos of the rows of wine lands. Then I was off on to the Route 62 a beautiful road which I never get tired of. At Barrydale I pulled in for breakfast. There are so many coffee stops here it is hard to decide which one is best. Every time I come this way I try a new one. The service was good and the food was good as by now I have worked up a bit of an appetite.
Then it was off to Koedoeskloof a country lodge which belong to Eugene and Debra. Eugene is also a member of the Wilddog forum. 5Km before Ladismith I turned left and followed the road according to the GPS co-ordinates. Arriving at Koedoeskloof Country Lodge the place immediately impressed me. It was neat and the surrounding area was really beautiful. I decided to stay overnight. There were two other bikers there also from the wild dog forum and I hope they forgive me as I forgot their names and I hope they will post their names here on this forum as I would like to make contact with them again. Eugene and Debra made us a nice dinner that night and the red wine and company was also top class.
NEXT UP-GRAVEL ROAD TO MOSSEL BAY AND ON TO ORANGE ELEPHANT AND OTHER WD’S
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
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- I would rather be in Great Brak...
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Nice place the Cape is.
8)
8)
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
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