SGB
Race Dog
Lekker storie, geniet om te lees. Dit kan vir julle goeie discount verdien op die Moolmanshoek kursus in Maart - praat met my.... Groete S
Over the Hills and Far Away (Complete)
- Thread starter HennieF
- Start date
HennieF
Pack Dog
SGB said:
Dankie vir die aanbod. :thumleft:
Maart is dalk so bietjie gou op ons en dit gaan maar kwaai druk nou hier op site. Sal dalk 'n plan kan maak. Ek wou oorspronklik eers vir Augustus geboek het vir die Moolmanshoek kursus.
Kan dit dan maar net sowel vroeer doen. Sal jou laat weet.
HennieF
Pack Dog
Day 8.
Planned route: Maclear to Queenstown. 330km
Actual route: Hobhouse to Rhodes. 270km
Schedule: Behind 1 day.
Free balling all the way to Vleesbaai.
As per our original plan yesterday the 22nd was supposed to be a rest day. With all the misfortunes that we had so far we decided to push on and see if we can win back some of the time we lost. We wanted to leave Hobhouse as early as possible but first we had to pay for our accommodation. We only knew of one ATM in town but it only opened up by 8h00. So while we are waiting for 8h00 we had breakfast and started chatting to Francios the owner.
What an interesting fellow. He left the rush of Gauteng behind him bought the old Hotel and settled in Hobhouse with his whole family to enjoy the quiet peaceful country side. Twister and Dust Rat found us still sitting there when they came for breakfast. They were surprise to still see us there since we wanted to leave so early. Hey we were enjoying ourselves too much to leave. Meeting new people is what this trip was all about anyway. It was not suppose to be the race it had become.
When we finally manage to get going we headed first for Wepener to fill up our fuel tanks. We were still worried about Jaun’s engine and oil filter since it was still running on the wrong grade of oil and we could not find the right grade of oil in Wepener. So we made a bee line for Zastron and found the correct oil at the Midas in town but we could not locate a new filter. We also bought a 12mm and a 24mm socket to be able to remove the sump plug and bash plate and made the decision that we would change the oil somewhere on route as we were already stopping too much today.
We left Zastron behind us and followed the tar to Tele bridge border post. It is here that we met up with our planned route again. I did not feel that great seeing the border post coming from the wrong side. On our original plan Tele bridge border post would have been our point of exit from Lesotho. As we are now riding next to the Lesotho South African border we would often find pedestrians on the road that were crossing the border illegally. For them it must be easier this way as the road on the Lesotho side is so bad and their homes are so close to the border anyway.
Near Upper Tele we passed a couple of kids carrying empty beer cases. If there are empty beer cases here then there should be full cases as well. Taking a break at a tavern would be the perfect opportunity to change the oil on Jaun’s bike again. I stopped a couple of times to pick up empty plastic containers that was lying next to the road to keep the old oil in as I had no intention to dump it on the ground. We stopped at the last tavern in Upper Tele and asked for some beers while we change the oil. They did not have any beer only some warm Sketchers. It is some vodka ale mix type of thing that tastes like ginger beer. I wanted cold ones so now the land lady and the bar man is fighting because she got a fridge and he does not. At the end I got my cold Sketchers.
Only now we realized that we made a mistake. The bolts on the bash plate are 13mm and not 12mm as we thought. So once again we have to borrow tools. The friendly barman sets of into the village to find us a 13mm socket and return soon afterwards with the required item. He gets a Sketcher for his efforts. The not so old oil gets drained for the last time and we are pleased to see that it comes out clean and not brown from water contamination. An old madala asked if he can get the old oil and we were just too pleased to part with it.
Satisfied that we now have the correct oil in the bike we continue up Lundeans neck. The going is quick and easy and we stopped to take a picture of the twisities at the top. Here we meet a couple also on an 800 that is staying in Rhodes for the weekend to ride all the passes in the area. I know the 800 is not the best bike to pillion but it does not seem to bother these two.
Going down the other side of Lundeans neck I almost have my first serious incident of the trip. The roads here are not that wide at all so passing oncoming traffic can get a little tricky. Both vehicles need to give a little bit of way for both to pass each other safely. Now one idiot in a white bakkie decides fark this. I am one a bike and small so he does not have to give way at all. He pushes me right off the road and I get the fright of my life. I manage to save it next to the road in the ditch missing rocks and boulders with pure luck. Stupid idiot.
The views make up for my slight mishap.
For the first and the last time on this trip we keep to one of our rules. By 15h00 every day we would stop and start looking for accommodation. Rhodes was the perfect place to stop and some exploring needed to be done in this little old town. We had to explore the hotel and especially the bar first of all places.
Rhodes is famous as a tourist attraction so finding accommodation could be expensive with the silly season at hand so we opted to do the camping thing again.
Decent meat for the braai was hard to find as all the tourists have raided the shops before we got there. The owner of the general dealer just as you enter Rhodes offered me some meat from his house. I declined the offer as I did not want to take food from his table. At the end we had some lamb neck for the braai. It was a very old lamb I believe. Should have packed my extra set of teeth. At least we could make some coffee again with cream this time. Could not find any milk. Life is just so hard.
Now you are wondering why free balling to Vleesbaai and why the smile. Well traveling by bike and a sadistic seat on the 800 does not allow for the rider to wear underwear. The strings in the underwear make for a very uncomfortable ride. So sitting in Rhodes on that cement bench I could feel that a slight chill was creeping up my leg and for the first time in 8 days I felt the need for underwear.
Planned route: Maclear to Queenstown. 330km
Actual route: Hobhouse to Rhodes. 270km
Schedule: Behind 1 day.
Free balling all the way to Vleesbaai.
As per our original plan yesterday the 22nd was supposed to be a rest day. With all the misfortunes that we had so far we decided to push on and see if we can win back some of the time we lost. We wanted to leave Hobhouse as early as possible but first we had to pay for our accommodation. We only knew of one ATM in town but it only opened up by 8h00. So while we are waiting for 8h00 we had breakfast and started chatting to Francios the owner.
What an interesting fellow. He left the rush of Gauteng behind him bought the old Hotel and settled in Hobhouse with his whole family to enjoy the quiet peaceful country side. Twister and Dust Rat found us still sitting there when they came for breakfast. They were surprise to still see us there since we wanted to leave so early. Hey we were enjoying ourselves too much to leave. Meeting new people is what this trip was all about anyway. It was not suppose to be the race it had become.
When we finally manage to get going we headed first for Wepener to fill up our fuel tanks. We were still worried about Jaun’s engine and oil filter since it was still running on the wrong grade of oil and we could not find the right grade of oil in Wepener. So we made a bee line for Zastron and found the correct oil at the Midas in town but we could not locate a new filter. We also bought a 12mm and a 24mm socket to be able to remove the sump plug and bash plate and made the decision that we would change the oil somewhere on route as we were already stopping too much today.
We left Zastron behind us and followed the tar to Tele bridge border post. It is here that we met up with our planned route again. I did not feel that great seeing the border post coming from the wrong side. On our original plan Tele bridge border post would have been our point of exit from Lesotho. As we are now riding next to the Lesotho South African border we would often find pedestrians on the road that were crossing the border illegally. For them it must be easier this way as the road on the Lesotho side is so bad and their homes are so close to the border anyway.
Near Upper Tele we passed a couple of kids carrying empty beer cases. If there are empty beer cases here then there should be full cases as well. Taking a break at a tavern would be the perfect opportunity to change the oil on Jaun’s bike again. I stopped a couple of times to pick up empty plastic containers that was lying next to the road to keep the old oil in as I had no intention to dump it on the ground. We stopped at the last tavern in Upper Tele and asked for some beers while we change the oil. They did not have any beer only some warm Sketchers. It is some vodka ale mix type of thing that tastes like ginger beer. I wanted cold ones so now the land lady and the bar man is fighting because she got a fridge and he does not. At the end I got my cold Sketchers.
Only now we realized that we made a mistake. The bolts on the bash plate are 13mm and not 12mm as we thought. So once again we have to borrow tools. The friendly barman sets of into the village to find us a 13mm socket and return soon afterwards with the required item. He gets a Sketcher for his efforts. The not so old oil gets drained for the last time and we are pleased to see that it comes out clean and not brown from water contamination. An old madala asked if he can get the old oil and we were just too pleased to part with it.
Satisfied that we now have the correct oil in the bike we continue up Lundeans neck. The going is quick and easy and we stopped to take a picture of the twisities at the top. Here we meet a couple also on an 800 that is staying in Rhodes for the weekend to ride all the passes in the area. I know the 800 is not the best bike to pillion but it does not seem to bother these two.
Going down the other side of Lundeans neck I almost have my first serious incident of the trip. The roads here are not that wide at all so passing oncoming traffic can get a little tricky. Both vehicles need to give a little bit of way for both to pass each other safely. Now one idiot in a white bakkie decides fark this. I am one a bike and small so he does not have to give way at all. He pushes me right off the road and I get the fright of my life. I manage to save it next to the road in the ditch missing rocks and boulders with pure luck. Stupid idiot.
The views make up for my slight mishap.
For the first and the last time on this trip we keep to one of our rules. By 15h00 every day we would stop and start looking for accommodation. Rhodes was the perfect place to stop and some exploring needed to be done in this little old town. We had to explore the hotel and especially the bar first of all places.
Rhodes is famous as a tourist attraction so finding accommodation could be expensive with the silly season at hand so we opted to do the camping thing again.
Decent meat for the braai was hard to find as all the tourists have raided the shops before we got there. The owner of the general dealer just as you enter Rhodes offered me some meat from his house. I declined the offer as I did not want to take food from his table. At the end we had some lamb neck for the braai. It was a very old lamb I believe. Should have packed my extra set of teeth. At least we could make some coffee again with cream this time. Could not find any milk. Life is just so hard.
Now you are wondering why free balling to Vleesbaai and why the smile. Well traveling by bike and a sadistic seat on the 800 does not allow for the rider to wear underwear. The strings in the underwear make for a very uncomfortable ride. So sitting in Rhodes on that cement bench I could feel that a slight chill was creeping up my leg and for the first time in 8 days I felt the need for underwear.
SGB
Race Dog
HennieF said:
Leer vir JvC die eerste grondbeginsel van projekbestuur....
Hoe gouer jy agter raak, hoe meer tyd het jy om op te vang. :mwink:
HennieF
Pack Dog
Day 9.
Planned route: Queenstown to Baviaanskloof. 510km
Actual route: Rhodes to Queenstown. 330km
Schedule: Behind 1 day.
A not so lekker Christmas Eve.
Today is the first day that we manage to depart reasonably early. We said good bye to our new friends but not before we had our group photo taken. Sorry I can’t remember your names guys but I am sure our paths will cross again. I can recall that they are from Ficksburg and that he is in the IT industry and she breeds horses. Remember the pic of the spotted horse on day 4. It is she that identified it as an Appaloosa.
First we had to go to Walkabouts inn to pay for our nights stay in the Rhodes caravan park. We paid R45 for the both of us so today we would keep to our budget as well. Today our route would include three passes. Naudes neck, Bastervoet pad and Otto du Plessis pass. I was particularly worried about Bastervoet pad as we were warned that the route could be in a very bad state and it would not be easy with the heavy bikes at all. I had no route information on the Otto du Plessis pass so we would just have to go and see for ourselves.
The road from Rhodes to the top of Naudes neck is absolutely amazing. With the rain the last couple of days there are still a lot of water in the mountains and with the number of fly fishermen next to the streams is would seem that we are now in a trout area again.
When this trip was still in the planning phase the idea was to do a couple of mountain passes but at the end it would be all the water crossings that I will remember the most. We took a lot of pictures of water crossings but this one would be one of my top five favorites. There were the easy water crossings like this one to the famous ones in the Baviaanskloof and then there were the challenging ones in Lesotho but at the end none of them would come close to the nearly impossible ones that we faced in the Karoo.
At the top of Naudes neck the strong wind was making riding very uncomfortable for us so we did not hang around for long.
I stopped at the monument to admire the view and Jaun decided not to wait for me and continued down the pass. Another rider on an 1150GS came passed me and yes we greeted each other by waving like true BMW riders do.
The wind was still a problem so I kept to the inside track on the pass. After my accident in 2008 I am not a big fan of riding in strong wind especially on a steep mountain pass. I take my time going down the pass and hoped Jaun would wait for me at the bottom. As I came around a bend I get the second fright of the trip. Juan has hit a bakkie head on. He is standing next to the bike but the front wheel is stuck underneath the bakkie’s fender. He is trying to push the bakkie off the bike but the fender is hooked onto the bike’s mud guard. Together we manage to free the bike from under the bakkie.
It seems that he also stuck to the inside track coming down the pass. As he came around the bend the bakkie was right on top of him and he slammed on the brakes. The only option he had was to put it down. The bakkie came to a standstill almost on top of him and suffered no damage but the bike was not that lucky. The crash bars did their work but was slightly bend. The handle bars were also bent and had to be fixed before we would be able to continue. The left indicator lost its glass but with isolation tape we could do a temporary repair. Juan got a small gash in his leg just on top of his boot where the peg caught him. It could have been much worse so next time take it slow and rather take the outside track around the bends.
We lost about an hour getting the handle bars straightened out and I could see that Juan was not a happy chappy. Heading towards Maclear he was racing far ahead of me and I had trouble keeping up so at the Elands height T-junction I gave up and let him go. He was waiting for me in Maclear with a smile on his face. It seems that in the crash he lost some confidence in his abilities and he was only trying to get it back.
Maclear was a mad house with people doing last minute shopping for their Christmas Eve celebrations. We filled our bikes and left for Ugie which was not any better so we pushed trough as well. There will be no lunch today. The turn off to Bastervoet pad is not that well marked and if it was not for the GPS I would probably have missed it.
Jaun did miss the turn off and as he was still racing in front building his confidence level back up. I decided that it would be better if I wait for him to turn around than race after him. I turned around and saw a familiar mountain that I have seen a picture off on the forum before.
Jaun is not one that stick to the five minute rule that well so he took quite a while to turn around. I had my doubt if we were on the correct route as we followed the track into what looked like state forest. There were still a lot of water around and the path was badly washed away in some places.
We passed a farm stead and the route started to climb.
I battled my arse off to get up that track. The washed out places with the heavy bike made for some interesting riding. I remember telling Jaun half way that I think I bit off more than I could chew. There were a few instances where I lost my momentum as the rocks would move from under the back wheel and the bike would come to a standstill. After a couple of “o fok” incidents and lots of wheel spin we finally manage to make it to the top.
The clouds were moving in fast just like the days before and we did not want to get stuck up there so we had a quick rest stop and moved along. The route down the other side was actually very easy.
Our last water crossing for the day came as a surprise to Jaun but by now when he saw me sitting next to the road he knew something was up. It still came out as a spectacular picture though.
It was already 17h00 when we reached the end of the track. I desperately wanted to sleep in Queenstown that night which was more or less 150km away. The Otto du Plessis pass will have to wait for another day.
The decision was made and we were going for it. Passing through Elliot I recognizes the famous club that was unfortunately closed. Sorry Glen timing is just not on our side. Riding through Cala and Lady Frere the scene was pretty much the same. Lots of people crowding the streets doing their last minute Christmas shopping. It was total madness. I was also surprised to see the number of GP registration numbers in the towns. It seemed that every one except us where home for the Festive season.
We reached Queenstown before dark and headed for Royden nature reserve. It is another place that I found while browsing through ride report on the forum. The owners said that they usually do not take in guests as it is Christmas Eve but after asking nicely they agreed to let us stay. We only needed a roof over our heads and a mattress. We brought our own beading and food was not a problem either. At the end they only charged us half the rate.
Al alone we had our Christmas dinner sitting in a corner in the Queenstown Steers longing for home and our families.
Planned route: Queenstown to Baviaanskloof. 510km
Actual route: Rhodes to Queenstown. 330km
Schedule: Behind 1 day.
A not so lekker Christmas Eve.
Today is the first day that we manage to depart reasonably early. We said good bye to our new friends but not before we had our group photo taken. Sorry I can’t remember your names guys but I am sure our paths will cross again. I can recall that they are from Ficksburg and that he is in the IT industry and she breeds horses. Remember the pic of the spotted horse on day 4. It is she that identified it as an Appaloosa.
First we had to go to Walkabouts inn to pay for our nights stay in the Rhodes caravan park. We paid R45 for the both of us so today we would keep to our budget as well. Today our route would include three passes. Naudes neck, Bastervoet pad and Otto du Plessis pass. I was particularly worried about Bastervoet pad as we were warned that the route could be in a very bad state and it would not be easy with the heavy bikes at all. I had no route information on the Otto du Plessis pass so we would just have to go and see for ourselves.
The road from Rhodes to the top of Naudes neck is absolutely amazing. With the rain the last couple of days there are still a lot of water in the mountains and with the number of fly fishermen next to the streams is would seem that we are now in a trout area again.
When this trip was still in the planning phase the idea was to do a couple of mountain passes but at the end it would be all the water crossings that I will remember the most. We took a lot of pictures of water crossings but this one would be one of my top five favorites. There were the easy water crossings like this one to the famous ones in the Baviaanskloof and then there were the challenging ones in Lesotho but at the end none of them would come close to the nearly impossible ones that we faced in the Karoo.
At the top of Naudes neck the strong wind was making riding very uncomfortable for us so we did not hang around for long.
I stopped at the monument to admire the view and Jaun decided not to wait for me and continued down the pass. Another rider on an 1150GS came passed me and yes we greeted each other by waving like true BMW riders do.
The wind was still a problem so I kept to the inside track on the pass. After my accident in 2008 I am not a big fan of riding in strong wind especially on a steep mountain pass. I take my time going down the pass and hoped Jaun would wait for me at the bottom. As I came around a bend I get the second fright of the trip. Juan has hit a bakkie head on. He is standing next to the bike but the front wheel is stuck underneath the bakkie’s fender. He is trying to push the bakkie off the bike but the fender is hooked onto the bike’s mud guard. Together we manage to free the bike from under the bakkie.
It seems that he also stuck to the inside track coming down the pass. As he came around the bend the bakkie was right on top of him and he slammed on the brakes. The only option he had was to put it down. The bakkie came to a standstill almost on top of him and suffered no damage but the bike was not that lucky. The crash bars did their work but was slightly bend. The handle bars were also bent and had to be fixed before we would be able to continue. The left indicator lost its glass but with isolation tape we could do a temporary repair. Juan got a small gash in his leg just on top of his boot where the peg caught him. It could have been much worse so next time take it slow and rather take the outside track around the bends.
We lost about an hour getting the handle bars straightened out and I could see that Juan was not a happy chappy. Heading towards Maclear he was racing far ahead of me and I had trouble keeping up so at the Elands height T-junction I gave up and let him go. He was waiting for me in Maclear with a smile on his face. It seems that in the crash he lost some confidence in his abilities and he was only trying to get it back.
Maclear was a mad house with people doing last minute shopping for their Christmas Eve celebrations. We filled our bikes and left for Ugie which was not any better so we pushed trough as well. There will be no lunch today. The turn off to Bastervoet pad is not that well marked and if it was not for the GPS I would probably have missed it.
Jaun did miss the turn off and as he was still racing in front building his confidence level back up. I decided that it would be better if I wait for him to turn around than race after him. I turned around and saw a familiar mountain that I have seen a picture off on the forum before.
Jaun is not one that stick to the five minute rule that well so he took quite a while to turn around. I had my doubt if we were on the correct route as we followed the track into what looked like state forest. There were still a lot of water around and the path was badly washed away in some places.
We passed a farm stead and the route started to climb.
I battled my arse off to get up that track. The washed out places with the heavy bike made for some interesting riding. I remember telling Jaun half way that I think I bit off more than I could chew. There were a few instances where I lost my momentum as the rocks would move from under the back wheel and the bike would come to a standstill. After a couple of “o fok” incidents and lots of wheel spin we finally manage to make it to the top.
The clouds were moving in fast just like the days before and we did not want to get stuck up there so we had a quick rest stop and moved along. The route down the other side was actually very easy.
Our last water crossing for the day came as a surprise to Jaun but by now when he saw me sitting next to the road he knew something was up. It still came out as a spectacular picture though.
It was already 17h00 when we reached the end of the track. I desperately wanted to sleep in Queenstown that night which was more or less 150km away. The Otto du Plessis pass will have to wait for another day.
The decision was made and we were going for it. Passing through Elliot I recognizes the famous club that was unfortunately closed. Sorry Glen timing is just not on our side. Riding through Cala and Lady Frere the scene was pretty much the same. Lots of people crowding the streets doing their last minute Christmas shopping. It was total madness. I was also surprised to see the number of GP registration numbers in the towns. It seemed that every one except us where home for the Festive season.
We reached Queenstown before dark and headed for Royden nature reserve. It is another place that I found while browsing through ride report on the forum. The owners said that they usually do not take in guests as it is Christmas Eve but after asking nicely they agreed to let us stay. We only needed a roof over our heads and a mattress. We brought our own beading and food was not a problem either. At the end they only charged us half the rate.
Al alone we had our Christmas dinner sitting in a corner in the Queenstown Steers longing for home and our families.
Mr. Python
Race Dog
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2009
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- Yamaha XT 660 Z
Awesome report keep it comming
Really cool, what a fantastic route. Lots of adventure too!
This pic is is brilliant, so well composed especially seeing it comes from a helmet cam.
This pic is is brilliant, so well composed especially seeing it comes from a helmet cam.
En om te dink ek was deel hiervan! Crazy may it seems but it was a naice fish, big farken eyes, but a really naice fish!!!
HennieF doen gewoonlik die skryf gedeelte en die volgende stuk vat nou so biekjie lank... Charlie 1 kom in... hoor jy my?
HennieF doen gewoonlik die skryf gedeelte en die volgende stuk vat nou so biekjie lank... Charlie 1 kom in... hoor jy my?
Epic ride guys - respect to you both! :thumleft:
Skopfietsie
Puppy
Baie goeie RR - julle gee baie tips
vir die van ons wat ook daar wil gaan ry
Jaun is jou fiets darem nou fine na al daai water
& die bakkie storie?
Hou asb aan met die goeie RR
vir die van ons wat ook daar wil gaan ry
Jaun is jou fiets darem nou fine na al daai water
& die bakkie storie?
Hou asb aan met die goeie RR
Skopfietsie said:
Om die waarheid te vertel - ek het die GS se karakter op daardie stadium bietjie betwyfel na al daardie noue ontkomings maar die bike het my baie beindruk! Daar gaan nog baie meer dinge gebeur en die beste kom nog...
Die bakkie episode was bitter naby maar weereens, hou kop en gaan doen die coutry trax of soortgelyke training, baie handig. 'n Handdruk en 'n paar smiles na die tyd was alles weer gesort...!
HennieF
Pack Dog
Day 10. Part 1.
Planned route: Baviaanskloof to Wilderness. 380km
Actual route: Queenstown to Patensie. 490km
Schedule: Behind 1 day.
Christmas day.
Our morale is somewhat low today. It is Christmas day and usually we spent it with our families. This year we chose not and instead decided to go on this trip. We now have been together for ten days and been trough and experience a lot. Both Tribbes (Jaun) and I are easy going and normally very understanding towards one another and that is probably why we get along so well.
If I would have to choose the most difficult day of the trip this day would be it. Tribbes would probably disagree and say it was either the day in Lesotho where he drowned his bike or the last two days in the Karoo. The route for today was fairly easy but we had a long way to go and I desperately wanted to get as close as possible to the Baviaanskloof. I was still adamant to stay as far from tar as possible especially the main routes. To have to do 500km on a gravel road that you don’t know will always be challenging.
Our backup maps have been destroyed in the drowning incident in Lesotho and since then we only had my GPS to go by. I had the whole route stored on the GPS so if it breaks down then our planned routes for the trip would be a little bit stuffed. Both of us are still a little bit old school and see ourselves as manly men and manly men don’t actually need maps or GPS gadgets. We don’t get lost and we don’t ask for directions either. Where ever we are that is where we are supposed to be.
So for the second time on the trip we manage to get going fairly early and turn our bikes south. This area is full of private game reserves and with the dense bush next to the road I can see why. There is heavy cloud cover over us again so we stand a good chance in getting wet somewhere on route today. Looking down onto Whittlesea it already started raining in front of us but we decided not to put the rain clothes on and just ride thought it. We would be dodging the rain the whole day. Sometimes we would get lucky most of the times we would not.
Like I said before our whole trip was planned around mountain passes. I saw a picture of the Katberg pas in the Spot the location tread where two 1200GS’s are standing in the mist with a dead tree in the back ground. Only then did became aware of the pass existence and scouting trough Mapsource it became clear that the pass was situated on our route between Queenstown and Baviaanskloof and was put on the too do list as well. I wanted to see if I can get a picture taken on the same place as the one that I saw on the Spot the location tread.
After 10 days of going up and down mountain passes mostly in the rain we were pretty much drained and our morale was at an all time low. Tribbes said that it would be best if we keep off the mountain passes for today to make sure we reach our destination before dark. So far we tried to stick to the plan as much as possible and with the understanding that was between us I agreed. You win some you lose some. I am not one that shows emotion easy but now I was slightly irritated not to be able to challenge myself in riding another pass.
Without any maps as a reverence I followed the GPS blindly and was still under the impression that the pass was closer to the coast. Between Whittlesea and Sada we turned onto a dirt road which seemed in a good condition. The country side was covered in a yellow flowering shrub. I just had to see if it was possible camouflage the bike between the yellow bushes.
The road quickly turned very bad and by now we found ourselves on a piece of road that seemed forgotten. Only now I stopped to consult the GPS properly and saw that we are in fact just in front of Katberg pass. Tribbes was not very happy but come on man it’s a nice fish. We have that understanding between us but today it could have been better describe as a proper Cold War.
The pass started off very relaxing almost as if it wants to lure us in. That same little man that shouted warnings into my ear in Lesotho was now once again off his rocker. Even a few obscenities came trough or was that Tribbes? Can’t be sure as I was concentrating to hard not to become a biker kebab with all the trees lining the road. As I came round a bend an obstacle rises up in front of me. Half way up Tribbes is standing next to his bike. He had another side stand incident ala Country Trax. A loose rock has moved as he tried to climb over it and threw the bike off balance and over onto its side. The score is now 3 – 0.
Passed this obstacle the rest of the route up to the top is not that bad. There is pretty much nothing left of what once was a good dirt road. The trees are slowly claiming up what is left of the road. It makes the road very narrow and with the deep wash outs caused by the rain choosing a line trough the mess gets a little tricky. A couple of times I first had to break a few branches out of the way to get a better line trough the obstacles.
At the top of the pass we ride into a thick mist rain. Tribbes is riding ahead of me and the mist is so thick that I cannot see him. Later he would tell me of a large eagle that was flying right next to his handle bar for most of the way as he was riding trough the mist. Why didn’t you try to take a picture?
With today been Christmas we found it impossible to find any form of food so far. We stopped for a rest break to have brunch. Tribbes still have a few packets of peanuts and two Bar Ones from yesterdays stop at the Steers. The sugar rush from the chocolates lifts the morale a little bit and we found something to laugh about.
Were I come from you would find a lot of road signs with bullet holes in them. Especially the road signs that warns motorists against wild animals that cross the roads. I have never seen a road sign that got shot up so badly like this one. I count 66 holes. Someone that struggled a lot more than us to get up this pass must have been really frustrated and vented his anger on his poor defenseless road sign. From the three stickers that I could recognize on the sign we at least have a few suspects. Come on gents out with it.
eepwall:
Passed the T junction I made the wild statement to Tribbes that more roads have now joined this one so it can only get better. Wrong!!! As we start with the decent we found ourselves on a rock slab that was a road many years ago. Tribbes suffers exactly the same fate again and I stop to assist him again. Score 4 - 0.
As I walk back to my bike I get the picture that I came here for. It about 30m down the road from the one that I saw in the Spot the location tread but you can still see the trees in the back. It gives an eerie feeling to the place.
If Tribbes did not fell I would have missed the place completely.
Our ordeal is not over yet. This place is absolutely amazing. With the mist and rain combined with the slippery rocks it demands your full attention.
Half way to the bottom of the pass we ride into a rain forest. I am not sure if it is a real rain forest but it’s definitely a forest and it is raining so it must be a rain forest. You can actually see the rain drops in the picture. We are also now pretty much drenched as we thought it best not to get into our rain gear.
We finally manage to reach the Katberg forestry station and the roads improve considerably. The surroundings are still mind blowing. I am from the Free State so yes I am not used to so much green and so many trees. Just look how the ferns are growing next to the road. Can you blame me for liking the place so much?
Reaching Balfour we pulled into an old derelict church yard for a rest break. I love old buildings and the history that surrounds them. Remember that it Christmas day and we would very soon find out that the old church is not as abandoned as it has seemed.
The visit to this church would end up been the highlight of my day.
Planned route: Baviaanskloof to Wilderness. 380km
Actual route: Queenstown to Patensie. 490km
Schedule: Behind 1 day.
Christmas day.
Our morale is somewhat low today. It is Christmas day and usually we spent it with our families. This year we chose not and instead decided to go on this trip. We now have been together for ten days and been trough and experience a lot. Both Tribbes (Jaun) and I are easy going and normally very understanding towards one another and that is probably why we get along so well.
If I would have to choose the most difficult day of the trip this day would be it. Tribbes would probably disagree and say it was either the day in Lesotho where he drowned his bike or the last two days in the Karoo. The route for today was fairly easy but we had a long way to go and I desperately wanted to get as close as possible to the Baviaanskloof. I was still adamant to stay as far from tar as possible especially the main routes. To have to do 500km on a gravel road that you don’t know will always be challenging.
Our backup maps have been destroyed in the drowning incident in Lesotho and since then we only had my GPS to go by. I had the whole route stored on the GPS so if it breaks down then our planned routes for the trip would be a little bit stuffed. Both of us are still a little bit old school and see ourselves as manly men and manly men don’t actually need maps or GPS gadgets. We don’t get lost and we don’t ask for directions either. Where ever we are that is where we are supposed to be.
So for the second time on the trip we manage to get going fairly early and turn our bikes south. This area is full of private game reserves and with the dense bush next to the road I can see why. There is heavy cloud cover over us again so we stand a good chance in getting wet somewhere on route today. Looking down onto Whittlesea it already started raining in front of us but we decided not to put the rain clothes on and just ride thought it. We would be dodging the rain the whole day. Sometimes we would get lucky most of the times we would not.
Like I said before our whole trip was planned around mountain passes. I saw a picture of the Katberg pas in the Spot the location tread where two 1200GS’s are standing in the mist with a dead tree in the back ground. Only then did became aware of the pass existence and scouting trough Mapsource it became clear that the pass was situated on our route between Queenstown and Baviaanskloof and was put on the too do list as well. I wanted to see if I can get a picture taken on the same place as the one that I saw on the Spot the location tread.
After 10 days of going up and down mountain passes mostly in the rain we were pretty much drained and our morale was at an all time low. Tribbes said that it would be best if we keep off the mountain passes for today to make sure we reach our destination before dark. So far we tried to stick to the plan as much as possible and with the understanding that was between us I agreed. You win some you lose some. I am not one that shows emotion easy but now I was slightly irritated not to be able to challenge myself in riding another pass.
Without any maps as a reverence I followed the GPS blindly and was still under the impression that the pass was closer to the coast. Between Whittlesea and Sada we turned onto a dirt road which seemed in a good condition. The country side was covered in a yellow flowering shrub. I just had to see if it was possible camouflage the bike between the yellow bushes.
The road quickly turned very bad and by now we found ourselves on a piece of road that seemed forgotten. Only now I stopped to consult the GPS properly and saw that we are in fact just in front of Katberg pass. Tribbes was not very happy but come on man it’s a nice fish. We have that understanding between us but today it could have been better describe as a proper Cold War.
The pass started off very relaxing almost as if it wants to lure us in. That same little man that shouted warnings into my ear in Lesotho was now once again off his rocker. Even a few obscenities came trough or was that Tribbes? Can’t be sure as I was concentrating to hard not to become a biker kebab with all the trees lining the road. As I came round a bend an obstacle rises up in front of me. Half way up Tribbes is standing next to his bike. He had another side stand incident ala Country Trax. A loose rock has moved as he tried to climb over it and threw the bike off balance and over onto its side. The score is now 3 – 0.
Passed this obstacle the rest of the route up to the top is not that bad. There is pretty much nothing left of what once was a good dirt road. The trees are slowly claiming up what is left of the road. It makes the road very narrow and with the deep wash outs caused by the rain choosing a line trough the mess gets a little tricky. A couple of times I first had to break a few branches out of the way to get a better line trough the obstacles.
At the top of the pass we ride into a thick mist rain. Tribbes is riding ahead of me and the mist is so thick that I cannot see him. Later he would tell me of a large eagle that was flying right next to his handle bar for most of the way as he was riding trough the mist. Why didn’t you try to take a picture?
With today been Christmas we found it impossible to find any form of food so far. We stopped for a rest break to have brunch. Tribbes still have a few packets of peanuts and two Bar Ones from yesterdays stop at the Steers. The sugar rush from the chocolates lifts the morale a little bit and we found something to laugh about.
Were I come from you would find a lot of road signs with bullet holes in them. Especially the road signs that warns motorists against wild animals that cross the roads. I have never seen a road sign that got shot up so badly like this one. I count 66 holes. Someone that struggled a lot more than us to get up this pass must have been really frustrated and vented his anger on his poor defenseless road sign. From the three stickers that I could recognize on the sign we at least have a few suspects. Come on gents out with it.
eepwall:Passed the T junction I made the wild statement to Tribbes that more roads have now joined this one so it can only get better. Wrong!!! As we start with the decent we found ourselves on a rock slab that was a road many years ago. Tribbes suffers exactly the same fate again and I stop to assist him again. Score 4 - 0.
As I walk back to my bike I get the picture that I came here for. It about 30m down the road from the one that I saw in the Spot the location tread but you can still see the trees in the back. It gives an eerie feeling to the place.
If Tribbes did not fell I would have missed the place completely.
Our ordeal is not over yet. This place is absolutely amazing. With the mist and rain combined with the slippery rocks it demands your full attention.
Half way to the bottom of the pass we ride into a rain forest. I am not sure if it is a real rain forest but it’s definitely a forest and it is raining so it must be a rain forest. You can actually see the rain drops in the picture. We are also now pretty much drenched as we thought it best not to get into our rain gear.
We finally manage to reach the Katberg forestry station and the roads improve considerably. The surroundings are still mind blowing. I am from the Free State so yes I am not used to so much green and so many trees. Just look how the ferns are growing next to the road. Can you blame me for liking the place so much?
Reaching Balfour we pulled into an old derelict church yard for a rest break. I love old buildings and the history that surrounds them. Remember that it Christmas day and we would very soon find out that the old church is not as abandoned as it has seemed.
The visit to this church would end up been the highlight of my day.
4 - 0 who cares about keeping score :biggrin:
For those who are reading this, Katberg pass is definitely a must for any adventure enthusiast. This was most probably the second most difficult pass/route on this trip. The only thing that I did wrong was not to stand up most of the times and let the bike dance between your legs... What a challenge this was, I have never sweared at HennieF this much and the best thing was that he couldn’t hear a thing!!!
None the less, all respect to HennieF as he planned a stunning trip. It will be difficult to beat this one!
For those who are reading this, Katberg pass is definitely a must for any adventure enthusiast. This was most probably the second most difficult pass/route on this trip. The only thing that I did wrong was not to stand up most of the times and let the bike dance between your legs... What a challenge this was, I have never sweared at HennieF this much and the best thing was that he couldn’t hear a thing!!!
None the less, all respect to HennieF as he planned a stunning trip. It will be difficult to beat this one!
Michiel
Race Dog
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2008
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- 1,519
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- Location
- Bloemfontein, Vrystaat
- Bike
- Kawasaki KLR 650
:wav:
Great stuff, thanks for sharing. Respect for taking on the mud and rains in Lesotho!
Hennie, lekker lees aan jou skrywery, kan nie wag vir die volgende ekskursie. :deal:
Great stuff, thanks for sharing. Respect for taking on the mud and rains in Lesotho!
Hennie, lekker lees aan jou skrywery, kan nie wag vir die volgende ekskursie. :deal:
HennieF
Pack Dog
Day 10. Part 2.
So here we are standing in Balfour in what seems to be a derelict church yard. We ate some peanuts and raisins to get some energy back into our systems as the road ahead is still far. I set of to explore the old church and the surrounding buildings.
From the outside the whole building seems to be coming apart. As I am walking towards the building I can see that the huge doors seemed stuck in their frames from all the exposure to the elements over the years. All the entry ways to the church is fenced off with barb wire. At first I thought it would be there to deter any thieves but as I am walking around the church I realize it is there to keep all the grazing animals away that wander around the town.
I find the fact that no windows is broken very strange as glass windows is always a huge temptation for small children in rural villages. The roof is still intact just in a dire need of a new coat of paint. As I reach the other side of the church I find one open door and put the camera away.
In the door stands an old black woman in her Sunday best waving me closer. At first I wanted to turn around and walk away but doing so could be seen as disrespect towards her. If this is going to be a trap they will have to take me by force as I am still in full kit and would not be going down easily. Why are us white people always so paranoid? I greed her by hand and she gestures me to follow her into the building. Inside the church it is empty except for the two of us.
She must be the caretaker and tries to have a conversation with me in Xhosa of which I can speak none. It seems that the inside of the church unlike the outside have been spared the rot and decay. The inside is so stunning with its wooden floors lined with long wooden benches and long red carpets that stretch from the podium all the way to each door. Even the three wooden galleries seemed well looked after. The only thing that needs attention is the ceiling of which some panels are missing.
The whole guide tour in Xhosa must have lasted only about ten minutes. During the ten minutes she was talking all the time and pointing at things trying her best to keep my attention. I could see in her facial expressions and body language that she is very proud of her church. As I made my way out of the church the same way as I came in I glanced into the consistory. The whole of the church counsel is in full assembly staring back at me. They were probably there the whole time and fully aware of what was going on inside their church. Only now I realize that it is actually Christmas day and these people are getting everything ready for the Christmas day sermon.
I think the whole time the caretaker lady was under the impression that I wanted to join them for the sermon and I was only too happy to be taken on a guided tour. I quickly apologies to her as we still had a long way to go and make my exit with my tail between my legs. As I walk to back to where I left Tribbes some more people are now coming towards me all dressed for the sermon. Here we are standing in our filthy riding gear in their church yard riding on a Holy day. I felt so ashamed. Looking back at it now we should have stayed for the sermon even if it meant we did not reach Baviaanskloof by the end of the day.
To find a black Dutch Reformed congregation in Balfour came as a huge surprise to me. The old church building would be a very nice restoration project if the necessary skills and funding could be required.
With more and more people arriving we gear up and got under way again. We are now heading towards Adelaide past the Mpofu Game reserve. We are still passing through some rain in places and the roads are mostly wet but not muddy. We came to a sign that says Post Retief. Only later would I find out that this was the place where Piet Retief the Voortrekker leader had his farm before moving into Natal with the Great Trek. When I come back again in the near future I will swing by here and do Katberg pass again. Just for fun.
Like I said before we were not actually keeping score of who goes down how many times but by now I was still lucky enough so far by having a zero behind my name. For those of you that met me before would know that when I do go down, I go down with a passion. So here I am riding in front for a change following the road that is going on a slight uphill. As I am normally the slower of our two Tribbes is always on my tail and I am so ever aware of his presence behind me. This time however he is far back but I am still in the habit of looking back to see that I do not turn into him as we follow the narrow track up this hill.
Half way up I quickly look back again and as I turn my head forward again my front wheel goes into a deep vehicle track. As I throttle up the front jumps out towards the left and the back of the bike out towards the right. I am now milliseconds away from been high sided. Instinctively I move my weight over to the left foot peg and the bike leans over as well but with the bike facing towards the left side of the road still under power I ran out of milliseconds. I slam into a sandbank on the side of the road with the bike falling over and sliding on its left side with my left leg pinned underneath. My left shoulder takes most of the impact but I can feel that my left ankle is not happy. Tribbes runs over and picks the bike up from me. He only starts laughing when I start hopping around on one foot saying: Please don’t swell up, please don’t swell up.
The bike comes of relatively undamaged from its brush with mother earth. Only the handle bar is slightly bent and the side of the bike is covered in mud. I am a little bit pissed at myself for making a stupid mistake but sometimes you must pay your school fees if you want to learn something trough experience. I continue on with the slightly bend handle bars as it would be too time consuming to straighten them now. My mood is also a little to somber to have to battle with bolts and nuts in a slight drizzle.
We ride trough what seemed like a private game reserve but saw no animals near the road. We had to sign in and out at boom gates at the entry point and exit point to the reserve. The guard at the exit point told us that a leopard has attacked him at the gate the previous night. I find it hard to believe has he seemed a little under the weather. He even demonstrated to us how the leopard knocked him down and he had to hide in his guard house not to become a leopards Christmas dinner.
In Adelaide we made the decision to rather stay on the tar until we reached Port Elizabeth. From PE it should be an easy hop to Patensie where we can look for a place to stay. A road sign that caught my eye in Bedford read: Welcome to a Frontier town or something like that. I am a history nutcase and just passing through these old historical towns with their rich history made me so proud. On a next trip I want to come to a specific area and explore as much as possible. It is very difficult to get a feel for an area if you are only riding through it.
The last thing I wanted to do on this trip was to ride on a national road but now we had no choice as this would been the shortest route to allow us to be in Patensie before the sun goes down. I knew this would be the best for us but it was hard to except the fact that this would be the right thing to do. The fatigue from been on the road for ten days now started to show. In Cookhouse I expressed my dismay with our current situation as we are now once again been forced to deviate from our planned route.
As we were now traveling south on the N10 we could see one hell of a rain storm in front of us. I pulled over to change into my rain clothes but Tribbes decided that he would stick it out in his normal riding gear. As he came over to towards me it was now his turn to give me a piece of his mind. Like I said before the whole day the air was a little tense between us but because we were friends and dependant on one another we tried not to hurt each other feelings too much. Rather keep the harsher words to yourself.
We left the rain behind us as we ride over the Olifantskop pass near Paterson. In Paterson we filled our tanks once more and took a breather. I told Tribbes that I had enough of this N10 and I am not interested in riding on the N2 to get to Patensie. I would like to get to Patensie another way. We declared a truce and set off for Uitenhage via Addo.
We barely reached the Addo fence when we had our first sighting of elephants. There was a whole assortment of animals close to the fence. At least it made riding this stretch of tar worthwhile.
We managed to reach Uitenhage round about 17h00 and finally found our first open food store for the day. We stocked up but I could not find any batteries for my helmet cam. My batteries were starting to fail and I wanted to film some of the water crossings in the Baviaans.
Although it was already late I chose the Elands river road to get to Patensie. On the forum it seemed like a very popular route for the EC dogs to get in to the Baviaans and I could see why.
Patensie is somewhere there in the valley below.
On trip like this it is always difficult to make accommodation arrangements in advance. It works better to find accommodation a route and hope for the best. It sometimes helps to lower your standards a little. It is an adventure after all. We missed Patensie totally as the Eland river road joins up with the main road on the other side of Patensie. We saw a sing next to the road that indicated a camping spot and we turn in.
The track to the camping spot was a little harder that we expected. We had to pass through a couple of orchards on the muddy farm tracks. There were also a few gates that needed to be opened. As we went in deeper into the valley with no end in sight I started thinking that maybe we missed something.
There were a couple of small water crossings that we had to cross and I had the misfortune to lose my front end in one of them. It was very shallow but extremely slippery. As the bike is lying on its side in the muddy water I take a little too long to pick it up and my pannier with all my clothing in gets full of water. I only realize that this has happen later when I wanted to change into a fresh T shirt. Score 4 – 2.
Be ride into a small clearing and it would seem that we finally managed to locate the camping spot. It called Gonjah camp ground. There is not much, actually there is nothing and the place need a lot of attention but if it was 5-star accommodation that we was looking for we would not be on this trip. We make the best of what we can get.
We share the camp ground with another group of riders that on their way into the Transkei to do some trail riding there. Camping should never be done without a fire but once again I had to go and beg for matches as ours has seemed to disappear once again. As we sat staring into our little bush television sipping hot black coffee all we could do was smile. We had another hard emotional day behind us but if everything goes according to plan we would be in Wilderness tomorrow night.
So here we are standing in Balfour in what seems to be a derelict church yard. We ate some peanuts and raisins to get some energy back into our systems as the road ahead is still far. I set of to explore the old church and the surrounding buildings.
From the outside the whole building seems to be coming apart. As I am walking towards the building I can see that the huge doors seemed stuck in their frames from all the exposure to the elements over the years. All the entry ways to the church is fenced off with barb wire. At first I thought it would be there to deter any thieves but as I am walking around the church I realize it is there to keep all the grazing animals away that wander around the town.
I find the fact that no windows is broken very strange as glass windows is always a huge temptation for small children in rural villages. The roof is still intact just in a dire need of a new coat of paint. As I reach the other side of the church I find one open door and put the camera away.
In the door stands an old black woman in her Sunday best waving me closer. At first I wanted to turn around and walk away but doing so could be seen as disrespect towards her. If this is going to be a trap they will have to take me by force as I am still in full kit and would not be going down easily. Why are us white people always so paranoid? I greed her by hand and she gestures me to follow her into the building. Inside the church it is empty except for the two of us.
She must be the caretaker and tries to have a conversation with me in Xhosa of which I can speak none. It seems that the inside of the church unlike the outside have been spared the rot and decay. The inside is so stunning with its wooden floors lined with long wooden benches and long red carpets that stretch from the podium all the way to each door. Even the three wooden galleries seemed well looked after. The only thing that needs attention is the ceiling of which some panels are missing.
The whole guide tour in Xhosa must have lasted only about ten minutes. During the ten minutes she was talking all the time and pointing at things trying her best to keep my attention. I could see in her facial expressions and body language that she is very proud of her church. As I made my way out of the church the same way as I came in I glanced into the consistory. The whole of the church counsel is in full assembly staring back at me. They were probably there the whole time and fully aware of what was going on inside their church. Only now I realize that it is actually Christmas day and these people are getting everything ready for the Christmas day sermon.
I think the whole time the caretaker lady was under the impression that I wanted to join them for the sermon and I was only too happy to be taken on a guided tour. I quickly apologies to her as we still had a long way to go and make my exit with my tail between my legs. As I walk to back to where I left Tribbes some more people are now coming towards me all dressed for the sermon. Here we are standing in our filthy riding gear in their church yard riding on a Holy day. I felt so ashamed. Looking back at it now we should have stayed for the sermon even if it meant we did not reach Baviaanskloof by the end of the day.
To find a black Dutch Reformed congregation in Balfour came as a huge surprise to me. The old church building would be a very nice restoration project if the necessary skills and funding could be required.
With more and more people arriving we gear up and got under way again. We are now heading towards Adelaide past the Mpofu Game reserve. We are still passing through some rain in places and the roads are mostly wet but not muddy. We came to a sign that says Post Retief. Only later would I find out that this was the place where Piet Retief the Voortrekker leader had his farm before moving into Natal with the Great Trek. When I come back again in the near future I will swing by here and do Katberg pass again. Just for fun.
Like I said before we were not actually keeping score of who goes down how many times but by now I was still lucky enough so far by having a zero behind my name. For those of you that met me before would know that when I do go down, I go down with a passion. So here I am riding in front for a change following the road that is going on a slight uphill. As I am normally the slower of our two Tribbes is always on my tail and I am so ever aware of his presence behind me. This time however he is far back but I am still in the habit of looking back to see that I do not turn into him as we follow the narrow track up this hill.
Half way up I quickly look back again and as I turn my head forward again my front wheel goes into a deep vehicle track. As I throttle up the front jumps out towards the left and the back of the bike out towards the right. I am now milliseconds away from been high sided. Instinctively I move my weight over to the left foot peg and the bike leans over as well but with the bike facing towards the left side of the road still under power I ran out of milliseconds. I slam into a sandbank on the side of the road with the bike falling over and sliding on its left side with my left leg pinned underneath. My left shoulder takes most of the impact but I can feel that my left ankle is not happy. Tribbes runs over and picks the bike up from me. He only starts laughing when I start hopping around on one foot saying: Please don’t swell up, please don’t swell up.
The bike comes of relatively undamaged from its brush with mother earth. Only the handle bar is slightly bent and the side of the bike is covered in mud. I am a little bit pissed at myself for making a stupid mistake but sometimes you must pay your school fees if you want to learn something trough experience. I continue on with the slightly bend handle bars as it would be too time consuming to straighten them now. My mood is also a little to somber to have to battle with bolts and nuts in a slight drizzle.
We ride trough what seemed like a private game reserve but saw no animals near the road. We had to sign in and out at boom gates at the entry point and exit point to the reserve. The guard at the exit point told us that a leopard has attacked him at the gate the previous night. I find it hard to believe has he seemed a little under the weather. He even demonstrated to us how the leopard knocked him down and he had to hide in his guard house not to become a leopards Christmas dinner.
In Adelaide we made the decision to rather stay on the tar until we reached Port Elizabeth. From PE it should be an easy hop to Patensie where we can look for a place to stay. A road sign that caught my eye in Bedford read: Welcome to a Frontier town or something like that. I am a history nutcase and just passing through these old historical towns with their rich history made me so proud. On a next trip I want to come to a specific area and explore as much as possible. It is very difficult to get a feel for an area if you are only riding through it.
The last thing I wanted to do on this trip was to ride on a national road but now we had no choice as this would been the shortest route to allow us to be in Patensie before the sun goes down. I knew this would be the best for us but it was hard to except the fact that this would be the right thing to do. The fatigue from been on the road for ten days now started to show. In Cookhouse I expressed my dismay with our current situation as we are now once again been forced to deviate from our planned route.
As we were now traveling south on the N10 we could see one hell of a rain storm in front of us. I pulled over to change into my rain clothes but Tribbes decided that he would stick it out in his normal riding gear. As he came over to towards me it was now his turn to give me a piece of his mind. Like I said before the whole day the air was a little tense between us but because we were friends and dependant on one another we tried not to hurt each other feelings too much. Rather keep the harsher words to yourself.
We left the rain behind us as we ride over the Olifantskop pass near Paterson. In Paterson we filled our tanks once more and took a breather. I told Tribbes that I had enough of this N10 and I am not interested in riding on the N2 to get to Patensie. I would like to get to Patensie another way. We declared a truce and set off for Uitenhage via Addo.
We barely reached the Addo fence when we had our first sighting of elephants. There was a whole assortment of animals close to the fence. At least it made riding this stretch of tar worthwhile.
We managed to reach Uitenhage round about 17h00 and finally found our first open food store for the day. We stocked up but I could not find any batteries for my helmet cam. My batteries were starting to fail and I wanted to film some of the water crossings in the Baviaans.
Although it was already late I chose the Elands river road to get to Patensie. On the forum it seemed like a very popular route for the EC dogs to get in to the Baviaans and I could see why.
Patensie is somewhere there in the valley below.
On trip like this it is always difficult to make accommodation arrangements in advance. It works better to find accommodation a route and hope for the best. It sometimes helps to lower your standards a little. It is an adventure after all. We missed Patensie totally as the Eland river road joins up with the main road on the other side of Patensie. We saw a sing next to the road that indicated a camping spot and we turn in.
The track to the camping spot was a little harder that we expected. We had to pass through a couple of orchards on the muddy farm tracks. There were also a few gates that needed to be opened. As we went in deeper into the valley with no end in sight I started thinking that maybe we missed something.
There were a couple of small water crossings that we had to cross and I had the misfortune to lose my front end in one of them. It was very shallow but extremely slippery. As the bike is lying on its side in the muddy water I take a little too long to pick it up and my pannier with all my clothing in gets full of water. I only realize that this has happen later when I wanted to change into a fresh T shirt. Score 4 – 2.
Be ride into a small clearing and it would seem that we finally managed to locate the camping spot. It called Gonjah camp ground. There is not much, actually there is nothing and the place need a lot of attention but if it was 5-star accommodation that we was looking for we would not be on this trip. We make the best of what we can get.
We share the camp ground with another group of riders that on their way into the Transkei to do some trail riding there. Camping should never be done without a fire but once again I had to go and beg for matches as ours has seemed to disappear once again. As we sat staring into our little bush television sipping hot black coffee all we could do was smile. We had another hard emotional day behind us but if everything goes according to plan we would be in Wilderness tomorrow night.
Hennie I have been enjoying your RR very much :thumleft: I love the way you write. Pity you didn't take any photo's of 'Lekker' :mwink: and I am glad you did not become 'bike kebabs' on BastersPass :imaposer: and glad you could relax by watching your 'little bush television'
Trailrider once said that the best RR's always have someome die on the third day :imaposer: and your RR reminds me a bit about that saying . So far you had those difficult mud and water crossings in Lesotho, rocky mountain passes in the mist, rocks the size of cars , falls, car crashes , bike drowning , running out of food and matches , getting lost , having to do some seriously hectic technical riding , injuries, having the wrong tools and having to improvise, and even some religion and politics ( history ) thrown in for good measure . Nice ! :thumleft: :thumleft: :thumleft:
Trailrider once said that the best RR's always have someome die on the third day :imaposer: and your RR reminds me a bit about that saying . So far you had those difficult mud and water crossings in Lesotho, rocky mountain passes in the mist, rocks the size of cars , falls, car crashes , bike drowning , running out of food and matches , getting lost , having to do some seriously hectic technical riding , injuries, having the wrong tools and having to improvise, and even some religion and politics ( history ) thrown in for good measure . Nice ! :thumleft: :thumleft: :thumleft:
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This is what adventure riding is all about, well done guys :thumleft:
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