Sand and drifts- like the old days Vingerkraal, Marakele, Sterkrivier, Waterberg

[Armpie]

So the heavy’s GS was now old enough for the dirt road.  3 Months.  So the lot of us decided to have a reunion.  For those who do not follow our adventures, you will not know,  that we knew something was wrong when the caravan came floating down Warmbad’s mainstreet, that Friday afternoon two years ago.  With a Toyota doublecab behind it.  Well we could not go back so we swam forward.  The rest of the weekend was one long mud bath there in the mountains of the Waterberge.   Lots of fun nonetheless.  https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=146975.msg2802723#msg2802723

So Tertius the 101 Battalion Casspir commander (or was it Owerste oor 100?), said we must visit my Koevoet friends at Vingerkraal.  He is part of a charity called “Living ball”.  They give balls away with a Christian message- to poor schools. And his Friend Cobus has another charity called “Stationary 4Africa”.  They give stationary to poor children.  So, as you know me and the heavy.  We are heavy but not our hearts. 

 

[Heimer]

So I am waiting for more  8)

 

[Armpie]

So on this beautifull morning we left the Sasol garage on the Ou Warmbadpad.  7 off us.  We did not understand  amongst each other to start with.  So they blew down the tires when we still had 80km on the tar.  Nevertheless, we continued to Radium and there we went west.  At Mogolwaneng  we took the dirt road and I blew down my tires. Everybody was now happy with me.  So we went through the Springbokvlakte, west and then north.  It was very dry but a few places had rain many years ago.  I was there then and it was heavy mud.  But not this time.  Heavy dust and sand.  At the end of the D2772 we turned right and at Mabula Drankwinkel turned left towards Vingerkraal.

At Vingerkraal we first visited my old friend Gomie Gomes.  Operation Savannah, Savate, 32 Battalion and Koevoet veteran.  My friend Marius le Roux gave him new shoes, and I handed the old warrior his new shoes.  Then we set of to the school to hand over the balls and stationary.

 
Sitting on your bike with all the accessories, you do not know what you have, until you are between these people.  Scandalously abandoned by the National Party Government, and the communist regime that followed them.  These people appreciate every single ball, every single pencil.

 

[Armpie]

So after about 60 minutes we went forth.  7 of us. But turning west from Vingerkraal was a different world.  On the one side cheetahs, but the dirt road was thick sand- lion country.  So I went forth but after about 10 minutes waiting and only two riders appearing we returned to investigate.  There in the middle of the road in the sand sits Tinus.  Helmet skew on his head. His Tenere modified.  Mirrors taken off.  And his handles dropped like a 650 Kawa from  an Iscor appie from the 80’, there where I grew up in the West of Pretoria.  Ou Tinus himself also had a few modifications.  On his one side he had the biggest dust burn I have ever seen.  And when he asked where the balls where I knew the lights were on but Tinus was not at home. 

 

[Armpie]

So we decided to go to the tar road at Rooiberg where Cobus would take Tinus back to Centurion.  My Garmin was not up to it, and 6 of us went 40 kays before I realized that Tinus and Cobus would have to turn left.  So we rode quit a turn past Rooiberg.  So here we said good bye to Tinus and Cobus who sacrificed his trip to help Tinus out.  Tinus was still happy.  Not knowing what happened.  So happily they went back to Pretoria.


Under a Kameeldoringboom a bit further we stopped for a breakfast.  The Rooiberg NG Kerk Saturday morning Vetkoek sales was unfortunately missed.  So here under the tree we held a volksvergadering eating canned chicken and biscuits. So the volk had two options.  Either past the southern fence of Marakele park, over Bakkerspass up to Vaalwater or the other road.  That is past the western fence and then along the northern fence pass Welgevonden and then to Vaalwater.  The longer and tougher route.

At the crossing at Marakele I kept straight. West past Marakele up to Matlabas Policestation.  Just past the station we turned right.  But things were not right.  The board was in yellow and black and red.  “Pad gesluit” “Road closed”. Darm! So we did the honorable thing and road around the board.  200 meter later I knew why the sign was put up. The bridge was demolished.  Before us was a 30m stretch of open water.  The mighty Matlabas River without a bridge.  So I parked the Blue Thunder in the hot African sun, and like Moses of old walked up to the water.  I put my toe in but nothing happened.  Then the foot, then the other foot.  When my knees touched the water, I was midway through the stream.  I walk out on the other side.  And then back to the Egyptians on the other side. 

 

[Armpie]

So I started the BF with high reffs and high blood pressure and entered the water.  Slowly I managed to get out on the other side.  The reffs and blood pressure dropped.  One by one the Egyptians entered and appeared on the dry eastern bank of the Jordaan, the Mighty Matlabas.

We all took on the path on the northern side.  But this path is still unmaintained by the Provincial government and the sand is at places very difficult.  At one place nearly the whole volk was in sak and sand.  Only Moses when through.  Like a Jew through the Jordaan. Then we did some technical climbing.  Technical I was taught is like boute en moere en spanners.  But this was different technical.  More like people without technical pikke and grawe.  Like in rough rocks and stuff.  So we passed where the road workers were not technical.

 

[Jakkals]

Ek ry saam.  :thumleft:

Dis 'n hartseer storie die van Gomie Gomes en ander.  :deal:

 

[Armpie]

Somewhere in the front there was more water, like in a mini Jordaan.  When I got there Glenn was already there through.  So we went forth, no big deal this time.  The last 30km of the dirt “road” there was at places no road. Just before we reached the tar road there was a boom gate with a guard.  And two white men with a camera.  Now I encountered this earlier in the day already.  It is a national public road so nobody should erect barricades in the road.  So the first guard of the day came to me with a machine, want to scan my stuff and to write my story.  “Where do you come from?” “From the back.” “Where are you going?” “To the front, MAAK OOP DIE FLIPPEN HEK!”  Which he understood perfectly well.
Now this time I did not even listen.  I just pushed the KLR at speed through the gap between the two booms.  With a camera running.  The rest of the volk were a bit more polite and talked to the two whiteys.  No, the one was an American.  They donated money for rhino protection and the running of the gate.  They were making a video to show the world how effective the gates were that they paid for.  Sorry I spoiled their video.  But they can mos see we are into biking not into rhino poaching.

We made the bottlestore and Spar at Vaalwater with 3 minutes.  Then we took on the road to Sterkrivier.  We did the 100km in about two hours and ended the 11 hour, 480km day at my brothers farm braaiing some steak and drinking some beer.

 

[Armpie]

 

[Armpie]

 

[Armpie]

The next morning we took the way back past Doorndraaidam and Entabeni and straight on to Nylstroom.  Everything went well until we came to about 3km where the Grootfontein run into the Old Tinusersburg road.  Tersius and I were waiting but nobody was coming.  So after about 15 minutes here came the volksverteenwoordigers.  With Glenn sitting skew on his bike.  He came down the pass and his not so off road tyres would not grip on the lose rocks, so he went straight for the barrier.  Pity about the chevron board.  He broke three ribs attacking the steel.
So we greeted each other at Warmbad.  I went to the west on the old road, the rest on the highway to the east and south.  But at radium something was not lekker.  Then in realized by back sprocket lost a few teeth on the tar.  I made it at lower speed back home.  At noon I was at home.  Just in time to make Sunday Lunch.

 

[Keith Barbier]

ry saam  :sip:

 

[Armpie]

Sand sidesstand incident


8 o'clock we are leaving for the second day



OK, nou hoe kry ons hom regop?

 

[Armpie]

Die Waterberg


Die ryers
Glenn, Piet, Leon, Tertius, Rudie


So lyk 'n KLR sprocket as hy gegroet het