LuckyStriker
Bachelor Dog
We men were let out on a fairly long leash this past weekend. Kaboef's wife gave him some time off for good behaviour and he rallied us for a overnight trip. We didn't refuse the poor guy especially since his social life was scheduled to take a nose dive as soon as his son was born not long hence.
doubleoseven, kaboef and I went on our bikes whilst Butch were kept on a much shorter leash and went in his car with Allen in tow. His car could not make the trip with us and they instead drove straight through to the overnight spot with provisions, freeing our bikes from luggage.
After Bus’ unsuccessful attempted to find the Saldanha-Trekoskraal route, We decided to give it a go. I have recently discovered that White Stripes had actually found the route before our trip was even planned.
I wish that I came across his ride report before I set off. It would have saved us from riding up and down for ages looking for the mysterious gate.
But first, the journey that lead up to the Trekoskraal trail.
Day 1 – North (roughly 200km)
Between the R27 and the R307 is a lesser known dirt road that is magical during Spring. Everything is covered with green lush and wildflowers. Occasionally you can see small antelope and ostriches darting away as you round one of the many bends and blind rises.
Along the route you will also pass Groote Post wine estate. Two labels that are highly recommended are The Old Man’s Red Blend and their Wooded Chardonnay.
S33 28 25.4 E18 22 31.0 (Old Darling Road)
Once in Darling we stopped by KlipKop’s restaurant Simoné to grab some of his awesome beers. Unfortunately he had run out and was still brewing a new batch out in Stellenbosch.
S33 22 39.1 E18 23 02.3 (Simoné)
It was a little too early for brunch so we set off again after sampling some of SAB’s finest.
Outside Darling across the cemetery is a dirt road that leads past the 1902 Anglo-Boer war Hildebrand Monument. We searched of the memorial but alas a farmer had locked a gate and we were not tempted to cut his fence.
A was a pity, we would have liked to learn more about it https://www.route27sa.com/hildebrand.html
And so we continued on our way to another monument of sorts. I like to call this place Mordor.
S32 58 11.3 E18 01 28.5 (Mittal Steel SA)
The tower of Barad-dûr can be seen from a long way off. A fine dust drifts from the facility and stains everything in a rusty brown. Kilometre long rolling stock are parked on the rails, ready to return to Sishen for another load of raw materials. Sauron will be pleased.
It was already past lunch time se we crossed over to Saldanha harbour and parked up against the Slipway seafood grill.
S33 01 18.5 E17 56 53.2 (Slipway)
The beers were flowing and the seafood was excellent.
With our stomachs full and mood high we rode over to Jacobsbaai where our search for the Trekoskraal trail was to start.
S32 57 49.8 E17 53 14.0
The town is an example of how an insanely strict building code can actually be a good thing. The white pueblo is magnificent. All the town needed was Bougainvillea and I would have sworn we were in the Med.
The infamous barge stack. I imagine the village folk are less than pleased to have this ten story high ‘doh!’ block their ocean view.
It was not easy to find the entrance to the Trekoskraal trail. A gate can be found at these coordinates: S32 57 25.8 E17 54 46.5
The gate is not locked but a fairly large sign asks people to stay out. A cursory glance revealed that the CSIR are doing research on a particularly small and rare tortoise species and that the whole area is protected.
We solemnly pledged to ride carefully.
We found the gate to the beach track locked but unlike White Stripes and his group we did not think to force our way in. Not 5metres to the right was a track that lead to through the velt in the direction of Trekoskraal so we took that one instead.
S32 54 27.5 E17 53 18.6
The veldt was stunning. The track itself is a little sandy but nothing to worry about. We puttered along carefully swerving to avoid the multitude of tortoises crossing the sandy track.
S32 54 27.5 E17 53 18.6
In the distance we could see the fog rolling in from the sea. We would need to hurry if we were to get to the beach before it.
S32 53 38.0 E17 52 06.7
Unfortunately we made it just in time to see wall of mist creep up the beach...
...almost totally obscuring the sea.
There are a multitude of sandy tracks around Trekoskraal. Some are nasty enough to swallow a bike whole and some are adequately firm to provide a relaxed cruise while checking out the flowers (unless they close up during low light, like they did when we were there)
The temperature inside the fog was fine but as soon as we got the bikes going I could feel my body heat being sucked out of my airflow jacket. I was being chilled to the bone and wished I wore my pimp suit instead.
We passed through Paternoster without giving the place much thought. It’s a nice town but hardly worth losing beer time over.
S32 46 57.5 E17 54 33.3
The sandy track between Paternoster and Britannia Bay was a delight. The sand was still dry and crisp, not yet affected by the wet fog. The innumerable whoopsies are fun to race and the hairpin turns with their natural berms are awesome.
Doubleoseven handled his heavy bike like a well practiced ace while kaboef and I treated our X-Challenges like a drunken date on the dance floor. Throwing her here and there, not caring if her boobs pop out or her ass knocks over the drinks.
S32 46 56.3 E17 54 33.0
S32 46 35.9 E17 54 31.0
A short video clip of me doing an awesome jump over a narrow river using a dune can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu_moia-oVI
We spent the evening in Shelly Point were we had a rather interesting party of which the least said the better... no really... Everyone awoke bleary eyed the next morning.
Day 2 – Return Journey (roughly 350km)
S32 46 13.8 E18 09 09.6
We had a hearty breakfast at the Cottage Shop in Laaiplek. It is a shop well worth visiting especially if you are into vinyl LP’s. The owner is a kind lady who, however, mixed her Afrikaans and English rapidly and shamelessly. My tired brain had to strain to understand what she was saying.
S32 46 12.8 E18 08 48.0
The Berg river mouth. What a beauty!
I almost tore a piece of the old mooring off as my engine caught a bollard. I thought I had gotten away with it but doubleoseven witnessed my poor balancing skills.
S32 43 43.0 E18 39 02.3
Banghoek mountains. Not too far from the hamlet of Het Kruis.
Several log cabins peppered the slope of the mountain but fortunately they blended in quite well with the foliage.
S 32 41.155 E018 53.050
It was time to visit another forum member (can you guess who lives here?). Still feeling a bit rough around the edges we order Coka-Cola instead of the hair of the dog that bit us.
It seemed to help because suddenly songs were playing through my head, particularly old Afrikana which I hadn’t sung since childhood.
S33 02 38.3 E18 50 53.6
...elke aand langs die groen koringlande wag jy daar as die skaduwees daal...
S33 15 22.2 E18 57 10.7
...weg is ons. Weg is ons. Al langs die telefoon lyn. Ons is oppad weg van die stad. Op pad na die Krugerwildtuin...
And so we cruised south until we parted ways. It was a great ride and I’d like to thank my two riding partners (especially kaboef for organising this) as well as Butch and Allan for forgetting our luggage at their house. Forcing me to wear the same sweaty underpants and socks for two days...nice!
This concludes this report. My name is LuckyStriker and leopard print tanktops are not my thing.
doubleoseven, kaboef and I went on our bikes whilst Butch were kept on a much shorter leash and went in his car with Allen in tow. His car could not make the trip with us and they instead drove straight through to the overnight spot with provisions, freeing our bikes from luggage.
After Bus’ unsuccessful attempted to find the Saldanha-Trekoskraal route, We decided to give it a go. I have recently discovered that White Stripes had actually found the route before our trip was even planned.
I wish that I came across his ride report before I set off. It would have saved us from riding up and down for ages looking for the mysterious gate.
But first, the journey that lead up to the Trekoskraal trail.
Day 1 – North (roughly 200km)
Between the R27 and the R307 is a lesser known dirt road that is magical during Spring. Everything is covered with green lush and wildflowers. Occasionally you can see small antelope and ostriches darting away as you round one of the many bends and blind rises.
Along the route you will also pass Groote Post wine estate. Two labels that are highly recommended are The Old Man’s Red Blend and their Wooded Chardonnay.
S33 28 25.4 E18 22 31.0 (Old Darling Road)
Once in Darling we stopped by KlipKop’s restaurant Simoné to grab some of his awesome beers. Unfortunately he had run out and was still brewing a new batch out in Stellenbosch.
S33 22 39.1 E18 23 02.3 (Simoné)
It was a little too early for brunch so we set off again after sampling some of SAB’s finest.
Outside Darling across the cemetery is a dirt road that leads past the 1902 Anglo-Boer war Hildebrand Monument. We searched of the memorial but alas a farmer had locked a gate and we were not tempted to cut his fence.
A was a pity, we would have liked to learn more about it https://www.route27sa.com/hildebrand.html
And so we continued on our way to another monument of sorts. I like to call this place Mordor.
S32 58 11.3 E18 01 28.5 (Mittal Steel SA)
The tower of Barad-dûr can be seen from a long way off. A fine dust drifts from the facility and stains everything in a rusty brown. Kilometre long rolling stock are parked on the rails, ready to return to Sishen for another load of raw materials. Sauron will be pleased.
It was already past lunch time se we crossed over to Saldanha harbour and parked up against the Slipway seafood grill.
S33 01 18.5 E17 56 53.2 (Slipway)
The beers were flowing and the seafood was excellent.
With our stomachs full and mood high we rode over to Jacobsbaai where our search for the Trekoskraal trail was to start.
S32 57 49.8 E17 53 14.0
The town is an example of how an insanely strict building code can actually be a good thing. The white pueblo is magnificent. All the town needed was Bougainvillea and I would have sworn we were in the Med.
The infamous barge stack. I imagine the village folk are less than pleased to have this ten story high ‘doh!’ block their ocean view.
It was not easy to find the entrance to the Trekoskraal trail. A gate can be found at these coordinates: S32 57 25.8 E17 54 46.5
The gate is not locked but a fairly large sign asks people to stay out. A cursory glance revealed that the CSIR are doing research on a particularly small and rare tortoise species and that the whole area is protected.
We solemnly pledged to ride carefully.
We found the gate to the beach track locked but unlike White Stripes and his group we did not think to force our way in. Not 5metres to the right was a track that lead to through the velt in the direction of Trekoskraal so we took that one instead.
S32 54 27.5 E17 53 18.6
The veldt was stunning. The track itself is a little sandy but nothing to worry about. We puttered along carefully swerving to avoid the multitude of tortoises crossing the sandy track.
S32 54 27.5 E17 53 18.6
In the distance we could see the fog rolling in from the sea. We would need to hurry if we were to get to the beach before it.
S32 53 38.0 E17 52 06.7
Unfortunately we made it just in time to see wall of mist creep up the beach...
...almost totally obscuring the sea.
There are a multitude of sandy tracks around Trekoskraal. Some are nasty enough to swallow a bike whole and some are adequately firm to provide a relaxed cruise while checking out the flowers (unless they close up during low light, like they did when we were there)
The temperature inside the fog was fine but as soon as we got the bikes going I could feel my body heat being sucked out of my airflow jacket. I was being chilled to the bone and wished I wore my pimp suit instead.
We passed through Paternoster without giving the place much thought. It’s a nice town but hardly worth losing beer time over.
S32 46 57.5 E17 54 33.3
The sandy track between Paternoster and Britannia Bay was a delight. The sand was still dry and crisp, not yet affected by the wet fog. The innumerable whoopsies are fun to race and the hairpin turns with their natural berms are awesome.
Doubleoseven handled his heavy bike like a well practiced ace while kaboef and I treated our X-Challenges like a drunken date on the dance floor. Throwing her here and there, not caring if her boobs pop out or her ass knocks over the drinks.
S32 46 56.3 E17 54 33.0
S32 46 35.9 E17 54 31.0
A short video clip of me doing an awesome jump over a narrow river using a dune can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu_moia-oVI
We spent the evening in Shelly Point were we had a rather interesting party of which the least said the better... no really... Everyone awoke bleary eyed the next morning.
Day 2 – Return Journey (roughly 350km)
S32 46 13.8 E18 09 09.6
We had a hearty breakfast at the Cottage Shop in Laaiplek. It is a shop well worth visiting especially if you are into vinyl LP’s. The owner is a kind lady who, however, mixed her Afrikaans and English rapidly and shamelessly. My tired brain had to strain to understand what she was saying.
S32 46 12.8 E18 08 48.0
The Berg river mouth. What a beauty!
I almost tore a piece of the old mooring off as my engine caught a bollard. I thought I had gotten away with it but doubleoseven witnessed my poor balancing skills.
S32 43 43.0 E18 39 02.3
Banghoek mountains. Not too far from the hamlet of Het Kruis.
Several log cabins peppered the slope of the mountain but fortunately they blended in quite well with the foliage.
S 32 41.155 E018 53.050
It was time to visit another forum member (can you guess who lives here?). Still feeling a bit rough around the edges we order Coka-Cola instead of the hair of the dog that bit us.
It seemed to help because suddenly songs were playing through my head, particularly old Afrikana which I hadn’t sung since childhood.
S33 02 38.3 E18 50 53.6
...elke aand langs die groen koringlande wag jy daar as die skaduwees daal...
S33 15 22.2 E18 57 10.7
...weg is ons. Weg is ons. Al langs die telefoon lyn. Ons is oppad weg van die stad. Op pad na die Krugerwildtuin...
And so we cruised south until we parted ways. It was a great ride and I’d like to thank my two riding partners (especially kaboef for organising this) as well as Butch and Allan for forgetting our luggage at their house. Forcing me to wear the same sweaty underpants and socks for two days...nice!
This concludes this report. My name is LuckyStriker and leopard print tanktops are not my thing.
