Smithey
Race Dog
We planned for a nine day trip around certain parts of the country. Mostly the Eastern Cape, Western Cape and the Free State.
We had a look at a lot of ride reports for ideaâ??s and inspiration. Asked other dogs their opinions. Browsed the internet for places of interest and thumb sucked the rest as you will see.
We wanted a holiday and a ride to remember, we got just that :thumleft:
Iâ??ve been tinkering with the 950 sorting out little issues the previous few weeks. On the Thursday night before our departure my petrol pump finally died. This would not be a problem as I had bought the Facet 40105 pump a few weeks before as a backup. I left work Friday morning at about 12 heading home to change the petrol pumps.
A quick 30 minutes work and the new pump was installed. Well it doesnâ??t work. I donâ??t know how the other 950 riders got this pump to work, but I couldnâ??t. Petrol starvation and a very shit throttle response was soon evident. I messed with the idle on the carbs and could still not get the bike to run correctly. By 3pm I had enough of this shit. I called Mav who works round the corner from Pro-Action in Johannesburg and pleaded with him to go pick me up an OEM pump from them. Yep, kak and betal old Smithey. We were now R2200 less from the holiday fund. Mav got home to Vanderbijlpark around 4ish and I fitted the pump. No hassles what so ever. Thanks buddy, I owe you big for this favour.
Malibu got here just as I was finishing the bike off. Relieved to say the least that we were still on track for 9 days of adventure.
We spent the night going over the route and checking our packing to make sure we did not forget anything. We did.
Smitheyâ??s shaving kit.
Smitheyâ??s deodorant.
Smitheyâ??s braai grill.
You get the picture. Smithey donâ??t pack as well as Malibu. They were silly items that were bought on the route but still a nuisance to forget :deal:
Saturday morning we were up bright and early. Bikes were packed and we were set to go.
I had a little dance around the bikes for good luck before we set off.
It was a boring 540km ride from Vanderbijlpark to Gariep Dam. We hauled down the N2 at an average speed of 125km. It got really cold around 2pm and we had to stop at the side of the road to put on our rain suits for some warmth.
There are two sections of road that have been turned into single lane due to road works. This was very uncomfortable for two bikers having to wait 10 minutes in the wind and cold I can tell you. The wind really picked up just before Gariep and at least 3 times me and Malibu we thrown over the middle of the road into on coming traffic. It was scary and we slacked off to about 100kmh for the remaining distance
We found a café and bought some supplies for the night and headed into the Forever Resort. It was R120 for the night and the cheeky people wanted another R20 for Malibuâ??s bike. The were politely told that two bikes have the same amount of wheels as a car and they can Voetsek. They voided the extra R20. Itâ??s a really fancy place. The ablution facilities at this place are immaculate. The camping sites were very neat and tidy.
We found a nice area and set camp, the first of 4 tent nights to come.
We tried some arty shots whilst we waited for the fire to get ready.
It got extremely cold as soon as the sun set and we put on all our under shirts and even a rain suit came out.
Malibu doesnâ??t handle the cold to good
Me checking dinner :drif:
This night we made one of the biggest mistakes we could have on the trip. A drunken couple pulled up in their cage and asked if we had any toilet paper for them. We gave them the only roll we had and suffered for it later in the trip.
Next morning we were up and on the road at 9am for the haul down to Addo National park. I thought we had about 100km of tar and then dirt highways. My planning and map reading skills leave something to be desired.
Between Venterstad and Steynsburg stopping for a smoke break Malibu saw the most amazing flock of Blue Cranes. I didnâ??t even know we had a national bird. Never to old to learn old chap.
Blue Cranes in Flight
Me swearing that this was a gravel road on Garmap :'(
Riding on tar is really really boring at times so we had to stop for coffee in Steynsburg and re-kit as it was getting warmer. This is the back of the place.
Coffee shop Steynsburg
Then it was off down Hofmeyr where we found a cute little farm shop with exorbitant prices. R35 for home made jam made me cringe and walk right out of the place.
It was pretty out-side the place and Malibu tried out her hand at the arty pics again.
I had a sneaky beer and tried to figure out what this contraption was, a seeder I was told by my handy walking encyclopedia :imaposer:
We hit the road again down towards Cradock and I was sure that this time it was going to be gravel. I had put to many points into the route on the gps so I could not navigate the roads and had to constantly move the screen with the finder button. I couldnâ??t find the right turn offs and we started heading out on the N10. We done about 2km, stopped and decided to head back into Cradock and just take our time finding the route again. We did, and how fantastic it turned out.
R337 towards Somerset East which turned into an un-named road towards Addo.
Yeeehhhaaaaa! DIRT! :thumleft: We had found it! After all the miles on tar, this was such a welcome sight. We set off at a pace and contemplated all that was to come.
After a short while, the road became a stunning pass. We just had to stop to enjoy the views and hope that the rest of the trip would be this beautiful.
Malibu was so smitten with the views that she was not paying attention when deflating her tyres, soâ?¦ she had to pump againâ?¦ what a giggle! Daft bird! :imaposer:
We balanced the camera rather precariously on the baggage to get this oneâ?¦ hence Malibuâ??s worried look!
After many miles of incredible views from the various sections of the road we had â??discoveredâ? we hit the flat lands on the other side. And the roads were fantastic! Twist the Ear was screaming in my head, and that we did :thumleft:
Miles and miles of dirt roads! Heaven. Most of the day was spent roaring down dirt highways that just never seemed to end. There was the odd T-Junction that was dealt with by looking left, looking right, and then usually just turning left! Malibu was so proud of me for forgetting the GPS and just riding for the sake of riding! Due to my un-usual attitude to riding, we entered Addo from an un-known gateâ?¦ but the riding in there was just amazing. There was a lot of game, Ostrich by the dozen, Kudu, Gemsbok, and others! On the side of the road there was a board indicating a Lodge, so we trundled down the road, anticipating a cold one, but to our disappointment, there was not a soul to be seen! The entire place was locked up! Concern about the lateness in the day, we decided to proceed on and hopefully find a living soul who could direct us to some form of accommodation. Miles later, we found a rather slovenly looking park official who charged us to stay at the camping facilities in the park. After donating to some fund, we proceeded over the small hills to the dam.
What met us were the most stunning views, and nothing else. The toilet facility was a long-drop, probably dug some-time in the 1900â??s! No water and nothing else for that matter.
After a brief discussion, priorities were set! The obvious elephant and hippo tracks around the place indicated lots, and lots of fire wood would be necessary to fend off the wild beasties! We located a number of dried trees and stripped them, oblivious to the thorns that were a good 3 inches long!
Camp was built, rock for the fire pit was found and within half an hour, we had established a super camp! Water was a concern, but Malibuâ??s hydro-pack, that I had laughed at, came in very handy! There was enough for Coffee and as a mix for my Scotch! So, perfect camp with a sumptuous meal of Bully Beef, fried onions, slices of tomatoes, day-old bread rolls, and Creamy Coffee! (Marula Cream Coffee)
The wind was still blowing, but that had just blown up the surface of the dam and we enjoyed the evening at the fire listening to the waves crashing just a few meters from us!
A snap photo of our tent alluded to having wild beasts already on camp, probably circling, waiting for the opportunity to eat us, but then we discovered that it was just our trusting steedsâ?¦ with reflective paws.
The only real animals that tried to attack us were a few bats and a bunny rabbit :imaposer:
Early morning on the shores of the Darling Damâ?¦ appropriately named! What a beautiful morning!
We had a look at a lot of ride reports for ideaâ??s and inspiration. Asked other dogs their opinions. Browsed the internet for places of interest and thumb sucked the rest as you will see.
We wanted a holiday and a ride to remember, we got just that :thumleft:
Iâ??ve been tinkering with the 950 sorting out little issues the previous few weeks. On the Thursday night before our departure my petrol pump finally died. This would not be a problem as I had bought the Facet 40105 pump a few weeks before as a backup. I left work Friday morning at about 12 heading home to change the petrol pumps.
A quick 30 minutes work and the new pump was installed. Well it doesnâ??t work. I donâ??t know how the other 950 riders got this pump to work, but I couldnâ??t. Petrol starvation and a very shit throttle response was soon evident. I messed with the idle on the carbs and could still not get the bike to run correctly. By 3pm I had enough of this shit. I called Mav who works round the corner from Pro-Action in Johannesburg and pleaded with him to go pick me up an OEM pump from them. Yep, kak and betal old Smithey. We were now R2200 less from the holiday fund. Mav got home to Vanderbijlpark around 4ish and I fitted the pump. No hassles what so ever. Thanks buddy, I owe you big for this favour.
Malibu got here just as I was finishing the bike off. Relieved to say the least that we were still on track for 9 days of adventure.
We spent the night going over the route and checking our packing to make sure we did not forget anything. We did.
Smitheyâ??s shaving kit.
Smitheyâ??s deodorant.
Smitheyâ??s braai grill.
You get the picture. Smithey donâ??t pack as well as Malibu. They were silly items that were bought on the route but still a nuisance to forget :deal:
Saturday morning we were up bright and early. Bikes were packed and we were set to go.
I had a little dance around the bikes for good luck before we set off.
It was a boring 540km ride from Vanderbijlpark to Gariep Dam. We hauled down the N2 at an average speed of 125km. It got really cold around 2pm and we had to stop at the side of the road to put on our rain suits for some warmth.
There are two sections of road that have been turned into single lane due to road works. This was very uncomfortable for two bikers having to wait 10 minutes in the wind and cold I can tell you. The wind really picked up just before Gariep and at least 3 times me and Malibu we thrown over the middle of the road into on coming traffic. It was scary and we slacked off to about 100kmh for the remaining distance
We found a café and bought some supplies for the night and headed into the Forever Resort. It was R120 for the night and the cheeky people wanted another R20 for Malibuâ??s bike. The were politely told that two bikes have the same amount of wheels as a car and they can Voetsek. They voided the extra R20. Itâ??s a really fancy place. The ablution facilities at this place are immaculate. The camping sites were very neat and tidy.
We found a nice area and set camp, the first of 4 tent nights to come.
We tried some arty shots whilst we waited for the fire to get ready.
It got extremely cold as soon as the sun set and we put on all our under shirts and even a rain suit came out.
Malibu doesnâ??t handle the cold to good
Me checking dinner :drif:
This night we made one of the biggest mistakes we could have on the trip. A drunken couple pulled up in their cage and asked if we had any toilet paper for them. We gave them the only roll we had and suffered for it later in the trip.
Next morning we were up and on the road at 9am for the haul down to Addo National park. I thought we had about 100km of tar and then dirt highways. My planning and map reading skills leave something to be desired.
Between Venterstad and Steynsburg stopping for a smoke break Malibu saw the most amazing flock of Blue Cranes. I didnâ??t even know we had a national bird. Never to old to learn old chap.
Blue Cranes in Flight
Me swearing that this was a gravel road on Garmap :'(
Riding on tar is really really boring at times so we had to stop for coffee in Steynsburg and re-kit as it was getting warmer. This is the back of the place.
Coffee shop Steynsburg
Then it was off down Hofmeyr where we found a cute little farm shop with exorbitant prices. R35 for home made jam made me cringe and walk right out of the place.
It was pretty out-side the place and Malibu tried out her hand at the arty pics again.
I had a sneaky beer and tried to figure out what this contraption was, a seeder I was told by my handy walking encyclopedia :imaposer:
We hit the road again down towards Cradock and I was sure that this time it was going to be gravel. I had put to many points into the route on the gps so I could not navigate the roads and had to constantly move the screen with the finder button. I couldnâ??t find the right turn offs and we started heading out on the N10. We done about 2km, stopped and decided to head back into Cradock and just take our time finding the route again. We did, and how fantastic it turned out.
R337 towards Somerset East which turned into an un-named road towards Addo.
Yeeehhhaaaaa! DIRT! :thumleft: We had found it! After all the miles on tar, this was such a welcome sight. We set off at a pace and contemplated all that was to come.
After a short while, the road became a stunning pass. We just had to stop to enjoy the views and hope that the rest of the trip would be this beautiful.
Malibu was so smitten with the views that she was not paying attention when deflating her tyres, soâ?¦ she had to pump againâ?¦ what a giggle! Daft bird! :imaposer:
We balanced the camera rather precariously on the baggage to get this oneâ?¦ hence Malibuâ??s worried look!
After many miles of incredible views from the various sections of the road we had â??discoveredâ? we hit the flat lands on the other side. And the roads were fantastic! Twist the Ear was screaming in my head, and that we did :thumleft:
Miles and miles of dirt roads! Heaven. Most of the day was spent roaring down dirt highways that just never seemed to end. There was the odd T-Junction that was dealt with by looking left, looking right, and then usually just turning left! Malibu was so proud of me for forgetting the GPS and just riding for the sake of riding! Due to my un-usual attitude to riding, we entered Addo from an un-known gateâ?¦ but the riding in there was just amazing. There was a lot of game, Ostrich by the dozen, Kudu, Gemsbok, and others! On the side of the road there was a board indicating a Lodge, so we trundled down the road, anticipating a cold one, but to our disappointment, there was not a soul to be seen! The entire place was locked up! Concern about the lateness in the day, we decided to proceed on and hopefully find a living soul who could direct us to some form of accommodation. Miles later, we found a rather slovenly looking park official who charged us to stay at the camping facilities in the park. After donating to some fund, we proceeded over the small hills to the dam.
What met us were the most stunning views, and nothing else. The toilet facility was a long-drop, probably dug some-time in the 1900â??s! No water and nothing else for that matter.
After a brief discussion, priorities were set! The obvious elephant and hippo tracks around the place indicated lots, and lots of fire wood would be necessary to fend off the wild beasties! We located a number of dried trees and stripped them, oblivious to the thorns that were a good 3 inches long!
Camp was built, rock for the fire pit was found and within half an hour, we had established a super camp! Water was a concern, but Malibuâ??s hydro-pack, that I had laughed at, came in very handy! There was enough for Coffee and as a mix for my Scotch! So, perfect camp with a sumptuous meal of Bully Beef, fried onions, slices of tomatoes, day-old bread rolls, and Creamy Coffee! (Marula Cream Coffee)
The wind was still blowing, but that had just blown up the surface of the dam and we enjoyed the evening at the fire listening to the waves crashing just a few meters from us!
A snap photo of our tent alluded to having wild beasts already on camp, probably circling, waiting for the opportunity to eat us, but then we discovered that it was just our trusting steedsâ?¦ with reflective paws.
The only real animals that tried to attack us were a few bats and a bunny rabbit :imaposer:
Early morning on the shores of the Darling Damâ?¦ appropriately named! What a beautiful morning!
