Doringboom
Race Dog
Hallo everybody,
The past weekend was a long weekend here in SA, with Monday being National Braai Day ;D For quite some time I have planned something biking related for this weekend. As the time came closer, Memel in the eastern Free State as destination won the toss. Lately Memel and vicinity seem to feature more and more in magazines of all sorts as a worthwhile outdoor destination and also on this Forum (Mr Adventurer and Co., if I think quickly). On Saturday morning Alet and I departed from Pretoria on a loaded Tiger:
Day 1: Pretoria â?? Delmas â?? Leandra â?? Standerton â?? Vrede â?? Memel (310 km)
Here is our accommodation in Memel for the weekend. There are a fare number of B&Bâ??s in Memel.
Then there is the hotel, with the outside verandah recently blown off by a strong wind. The bar was packed to capacity with a loud crowd cheering the Springboks against Tonga. Apart from the odd DS bikers we saw coming and going, there were a few resident superbikers at the hotel for the weekend. Over the evening braai they told us about their plans to ride to Clarens the next day.
Memelâ??s beautiful Dutch Reformed church forms a focal point on the far end of the main street.
After having a beer on the hotelâ??s stoep and exploring the little town on foot, we went for a late afternoon ride halfway on the tar road to Newcastle, over the Bothaâ??s pass. Over the crest of the pass and into KwaZulu Natal (KZN) there is this lookout point. Like in case of so many other similar sites in SA, some people rather consider it as a refuse dump :'(
Day 2: Memel â?? Mullers pass â?? Normandien pass â?? Verkykerskop â?? Memel (176 km)
After breakfast we headed off on the S17 dirt road in the direction of Mullers pass. Cattle farming is big in this part of SA.
The area has recently experienced some big veld fires due to the long dry season and some strong winds.
Even without any rain, the vegetation on the older burnt areas has recovered remarkably well.
Just over the crest of Mullers Pass we stopped on the inside of this horseshoe shape the road makes. From here one can see for miles over the outspread KZN in the distance.
When I climbed over the barrier on the outside of the turn, I made this find
: A bikerâ??s bum bag, containing amongst others some emergency tools, medical utilities and almost R400 in cash. Unfortunately I could find no trace of a name or number which could be helpful in finding the owner. I guess the owner had a smoke at the spot and, in an absentminded state, just got on his bike or quad and rode off ???
I closed the bag and loaded it on the Tigerâ??s carrier. I left the bag, with everything inside as I found it, in the possession of the owner of the B&B where we stayed. He has promised to spread the word among all the accommodation establishments in Memel. I hope the owner of the bag make the effort to enquire, as I believe his realization of his loss must have been a severe shock.
The view from Mullers pass, with the road for us to follow.
After following the Newcastle â?? Normandien tar road along the southern foothills of the Drakensberg mountains for just over 20km, we turned northwards again. This time we were heading back to the Free State via the Normandien pass.
The Normandien pass is a horse of a different colour > â?? much more challenging than the Mullers pass.
Mercifully the steepest slopes are paved with cement, otherwise the loose rocks that are dug up by 4X4â??s would have created a severe obstacle. From here we could see the water of the Chelmsford dam in the distance.
Still further up we had to go!
The road surface looks much worse at many places, but I did not risk the chance to stop for a photo. You have to keep going!
Ditto. Like on Mullers pass, we did not encounter a single vehicle on the whole of the Normandien pass. For a long weekend within the school holidays it was almost too good to believe
With the Normandien pass behind us, we were back in the Free State with its beautiful weeping willows.
For quite a distance I was a bit uncertain about exactly whereto we were going, but eventually these road signs gave some idea.
We turned right for Verkykerskop. It is then when you see this flattop mountain in the distance.
After about 12 km we arrived at the Harrismith â?? Verkykerskop tar road. The flattop mountain then looks like this.
After another 5 km we arrived in the mighty metropolis of Verkykerskop
On enquiry at the local restaurant about the prospect of us having lunch there, we were told that they are fully booked. So we had to settle for takeaway cooldrink and cookies on the stoep. Just when we were about to leave for Memel we saw the first motorbikes for the day: Two KZN couples on 1200 GSâ??s pulled in from Memelâ??s direction.
The road from Verkykerskop to Memel is quite scenic at places. It has bits of tarred surface here and there.
Day 3: Memel â?? Vrede â?? Standerton â?? Leandra â?? Delmas â?? Pretoria (310 km)
After breakfast it was time for us to leave Memel and its people were very kind to us. Thank you
Thatâ??s all folks! I hope we will see some more Memel photos here from Wilddogs that will be taking part in the Steve Swanepoel memorial ride the middle of October. Maybe it will be mud and green veld for you lot and not dust and burnt veld like we experienced!
Regards
Doringboom 8)
The past weekend was a long weekend here in SA, with Monday being National Braai Day ;D For quite some time I have planned something biking related for this weekend. As the time came closer, Memel in the eastern Free State as destination won the toss. Lately Memel and vicinity seem to feature more and more in magazines of all sorts as a worthwhile outdoor destination and also on this Forum (Mr Adventurer and Co., if I think quickly). On Saturday morning Alet and I departed from Pretoria on a loaded Tiger:
Day 1: Pretoria â?? Delmas â?? Leandra â?? Standerton â?? Vrede â?? Memel (310 km)
Here is our accommodation in Memel for the weekend. There are a fare number of B&Bâ??s in Memel.
Then there is the hotel, with the outside verandah recently blown off by a strong wind. The bar was packed to capacity with a loud crowd cheering the Springboks against Tonga. Apart from the odd DS bikers we saw coming and going, there were a few resident superbikers at the hotel for the weekend. Over the evening braai they told us about their plans to ride to Clarens the next day.
Memelâ??s beautiful Dutch Reformed church forms a focal point on the far end of the main street.
After having a beer on the hotelâ??s stoep and exploring the little town on foot, we went for a late afternoon ride halfway on the tar road to Newcastle, over the Bothaâ??s pass. Over the crest of the pass and into KwaZulu Natal (KZN) there is this lookout point. Like in case of so many other similar sites in SA, some people rather consider it as a refuse dump :'(
Day 2: Memel â?? Mullers pass â?? Normandien pass â?? Verkykerskop â?? Memel (176 km)
After breakfast we headed off on the S17 dirt road in the direction of Mullers pass. Cattle farming is big in this part of SA.
The area has recently experienced some big veld fires due to the long dry season and some strong winds.
Even without any rain, the vegetation on the older burnt areas has recovered remarkably well.
Just over the crest of Mullers Pass we stopped on the inside of this horseshoe shape the road makes. From here one can see for miles over the outspread KZN in the distance.
When I climbed over the barrier on the outside of the turn, I made this find
: A bikerâ??s bum bag, containing amongst others some emergency tools, medical utilities and almost R400 in cash. Unfortunately I could find no trace of a name or number which could be helpful in finding the owner. I guess the owner had a smoke at the spot and, in an absentminded state, just got on his bike or quad and rode off ???
I closed the bag and loaded it on the Tigerâ??s carrier. I left the bag, with everything inside as I found it, in the possession of the owner of the B&B where we stayed. He has promised to spread the word among all the accommodation establishments in Memel. I hope the owner of the bag make the effort to enquire, as I believe his realization of his loss must have been a severe shock.
The view from Mullers pass, with the road for us to follow.
After following the Newcastle â?? Normandien tar road along the southern foothills of the Drakensberg mountains for just over 20km, we turned northwards again. This time we were heading back to the Free State via the Normandien pass.
The Normandien pass is a horse of a different colour >
â?? much more challenging than the Mullers pass.
Mercifully the steepest slopes are paved with cement, otherwise the loose rocks that are dug up by 4X4â??s would have created a severe obstacle. From here we could see the water of the Chelmsford dam in the distance.
Still further up we had to go!
The road surface looks much worse at many places, but I did not risk the chance to stop for a photo. You have to keep going!
Ditto. Like on Mullers pass, we did not encounter a single vehicle on the whole of the Normandien pass. For a long weekend within the school holidays it was almost too good to believe
With the Normandien pass behind us, we were back in the Free State with its beautiful weeping willows.
For quite a distance I was a bit uncertain about exactly whereto we were going, but eventually these road signs gave some idea.
We turned right for Verkykerskop. It is then when you see this flattop mountain in the distance.
After about 12 km we arrived at the Harrismith â?? Verkykerskop tar road. The flattop mountain then looks like this.
After another 5 km we arrived in the mighty metropolis of Verkykerskop
On enquiry at the local restaurant about the prospect of us having lunch there, we were told that they are fully booked. So we had to settle for takeaway cooldrink and cookies on the stoep. Just when we were about to leave for Memel we saw the first motorbikes for the day
: Two KZN couples on 1200 GSâ??s pulled in from Memelâ??s direction.
The road from Verkykerskop to Memel is quite scenic at places. It has bits of tarred surface here and there.
Day 3: Memel â?? Vrede â?? Standerton â?? Leandra â?? Delmas â?? Pretoria (310 km)
After breakfast it was time for us to leave
Memel and its people were very kind to us. Thank you
Thatâ??s all folks! I hope we will see some more Memel photos here from Wilddogs that will be taking part in the Steve Swanepoel memorial ride the middle of October. Maybe it will be mud and green veld for you lot and not dust and burnt veld like we experienced!
Regards
Doringboom 8)
