Rhino Peak Round Two

[MRK Miller]

Dawie and Gareth used this opportunity to capture some awesome footage from their drones

Wear did that guide come from in the traditional blanket clothing come from or was he your guide up to the top. Stunning views. Thank you so much for sharing

 

[JonW]

No he's not a guide  :biggrin:

He's a shepherd, they are all over the Lesotho highlands and appear out of nowhere in the most isolated places

 

[JonW]

Ok time to finish off this Ride Report

After a hard days riding to the Rhino and back I wasn't too sure if I really felt like doing the planned 2nd leg of our trip, the summit of Thabana Ntlenyana, the highest peak in Africa south of Kilimanjaro. The weather reports were also ominous, 100% chance of rain from early morning. This was later revised to rain starting at 10h00.

But we were here, with our bikes and after an afternoon nap and a few beers the aches and pains subsided and the prospect of another ride through these awesome mountains was more appealing.

It was decided that we would leave at 06h00 so as to try and get back to sani Top before the rains started. Today was going to be a fairly short ride and on GE the territory we were covering didn't look to be too much of a challenge.

Before leaving on the trip I asked Xpat which of the routes he would recommend, the one from the hikers car park at the top of black Mountain, or the longer one that started just after the turn off to Sani Stone Lodge. he advised me definitely the Sani Stone Lodge one as it was far more "scenic"  >

I should have realized that his East European understanding of the word "scenic" was very different to mine  :biggrin:

I had decided not to take a camera with on the ride, i didn't think there would be many opportunities for stopping and taking pics.

These pics are all by the others on the ride.

Anyway, I won't go into too much detail, save to say this was some of the toughest riding Ihave ever done. My old 520 took me through places I would previously never have attempted.

At one stage the group got separated and I ended up following Rob and Christo, who were much more at home in this terrain than I was. We headed up quite a steep path under a rocky outcrop, with a cairn of stones next to it. I assumed we had reached the top and that Rob and Christo were just going to see how high they could get. I got off my bike, took my helmet and gloves off and climbed up the little path that they had just ridden up, but no sign of them. Strangely enough I could hear the sound of bikes in the distance, so i realized that this obviously wasn.t the peak.

So gloves and helmet back on I set off after them, but not so confident as before, because I was enjoying sticking to Christo's back wheel.

Anyway after about half an hour later i got to a section where the drop away to the right got steeper and steeper and the rocky cliff to the left was making this section almost un-ridable. So I got off and tried pushing my bike around the rocky outcrop, because it seemed too dangerous to ride. Now in normal circumstances my fitness levels don't allow me to push my bike too far through terrain like this, but at 3450 odd meters above sea level I was sucking for air and just not getting any. After a short struggle I realized the others hadn't come this way so I managed to turn around with much effort and try the other side of the rocky outcrop.

I was now on the right track and I soon saw the peak of Thabana Ntlenyana about 500 meters away, an easy sloping ride up the hill.

Was awesome to sit on the top of the mountain for a bit looking down on vultures soaring on thermals below us.

Dawie Shaun and Jon had apparently got there about half an hour before Rob and Christo, so we went back along the route they had taken, which was really easy compared to our route.

Somehow on the way back the group got separated again into the same two groups as before, but that was ok, the riding was awesome and I didn't have any problems.

We got back to Sani Top at about 11h00, checked out and headed back down the pass. Pretty much as we got to Himeville the rain started, the timing was immaculate.

Was an awesome trip, thanks all who came.

Looking forward to the next one early next year,

Some pics:

 

[JonW]

And finally;

 

[MRK Miller]

Those clouds look about like a wave rollinging over the rocks. Awesome pics

 

[JonW]

@BuRP

Just for your info, this is where we going next weekend

 

[Colin Kaapschehoop]

Bon Voyage!!

 

[BuRP]

@FredK and hopefully @exkdx too, also take note please
And @ianb, flip a coin jong!

 

[BuRP]

Just read & watched it all.
As per all JonW-trips, look forward already!

 

[ianb]

Hey Bart. You my partner, Sorry i have committed to a fly fishing weekend. And my daughters birthday. Must be honest i was never sure about my riding ability. For this ride.

 

[BuRP]

Well, at least Stywe Lyne dan for the weekend!
And you know Jon, he never plans anything difficult so we'll wing it somehow I reckon....

 

[BuRP]

Hey Bart. You my partner, Sorry i have committed to a fly fishing weekend. And my daughters birthday. Must be honest i was never sure about my riding ability. For this ride.

Hey Ian. You not my partner, sorry. I committed to Jon's ride this weekend. He's not my daughter. Must be honest I wasn't sure about my riding for this ride ....... but it turned out to be a doddle: Sani Pass was like a highway, then that Chinese tarred billiard-table-like freeway on top, then off on an easy Jeeptrack, then crisscross into Lesotho's landscape which was easy, smooth, relaxed, zero spurprises, no rocks, hardly any vegetation, nothing untoward, neither of us fell not even many times, almost all was downhill, hardly any water but for on the various smooth 'soccerfields', and that Rhino Peak we did see, eventually, see the picture below for proof..... you should definitely go with Jon when he asks you, this is a ride you'll tick off your wishlist in no time, my cock on a block!!!!

The picture of the huge serrated ominous-looking breadknife also below is reminiscent of the one openly displayed in Jon's kitchen - where I slept over Saturday night, blissfully unaware of my surroundings because I was completely poegaai and knackered... a result of a towelfight I had that day with Jon, I threw him one - but the fact that he restrained himself makes me write all this, because I still have a cock which can be put on a block: Thanks Jon!





PS:
Grim's bike had a suspect clutch and it was slipping, a darn pity! He turned around early but waited for us at Sani Top where we met him again around 4 that afternoon - appreciated!
Mike (a new dude we met the previous eve in Heimville) wanted to see if he could join us on his brand-new 500, but he turned around at the border on top. Whenever I will meet him again I will tell him that that decision was hands-down his best in his life, a life-changing one if not a life-saving one!!!!!

 

[BuRP]

Some pics of all that easy stuff....

 

[ianb]

It looks like i missed a good one. Well there will be another. Well done chaps. HA. i missed the point. You never got there.

 

[GRIM]

It was a fantastic ride. I look out at the route from my desk every day, so was really looking forward to it. The ride up Sani was uneventful, but spectacular as usual. The first few paths after the end of the "road" at Sani Stone Lodge made me a bit nervous, but I quickly settled down and was confident that I wouldn't embarrass myself - JonW rides are rather notorious, so it was always at the back of my mind whether my skill is up to the task. The route from there was truly amazing, rolling valleys accompanied by the sound of clonking sheep bells, boggy green flats, and looming mountain peaks in every direction.
The one concern that I did have was that my little CRF250 is definitely not the most powerful beast on the planet, and add a +- 3000m altitude, and it is really affected. The first hillclimb highlighted it as the bike didn't have the low down grunt to lug through the bush and lurking rocks and needed to be clutched a lot more than I liked to keep it moving. A few stretches like this and I accepted that the potential for a breakdown was real, and the remoteness of the ride meant that the further I pushed, the worse the consequences would be. I opted to turn around and return, making plans to either meet them at Sani top, or leave a message. Getting back to the tar was a relief, and I decided that hanging around isn't in my nature, so spent a couple of hours floating around the interior looking for new trout streams to explore - one of my goals for the future is to take my trials bike and fly rod and fish some of the remote streams at the top of Sani.

To be honest, not making it because of your equipment rather that your abilities sucks, but it's better than leaving a bike on top of the mountain, and I'll definitely be back to finish this one...

 

[JonW]

Thanks for joining us Graham, we'll definitely be back there soon