M
masehare
Guest
Like before, my friend Deon asked me to post his trip report done from Strand to Sederberge (about a month or so ago). Here goes:
Me and a friend, both with Varaderos, decided on an experiment. We were going to try to camp in the wilderness using only our bikes. Unfamiliar to my way of doing things, we actually planned this journey.
We were going to camp in the Cederberg area for two nights, accompanied by our two seven year old sons. No bed and breakfast, no caravan parks, net so, in the veld.
Our baggage on my blue bike included a three man tent across the back of the seat. Two self inflating mattresses tied to the front crash bars. One on each side. One sleeping bag in the top box, one in the tank bag. The top box was filled with a fold up pan, a small kettle, a small pot and small fold up shovel. Spices and my minimal clothing filled the box. My tank bag was filled with three boxes of long live milk, and two boxes of red wine and my sons?s clothes. The one liter wine size, not the 5 liter size. Do you think we are pigs? My son carried a small rugsack witch was empty to start of. At Ceres we filled it with a 6 kg bag of charcoal and a few tines of Coke. We bought tins as we planned to use the empties as mugs.
The black Varadero did not have crossbars, so he loaded his mattresses on the back of his seat, between pillion and topbox. He also had sleeping bags and clothes, more-or-less like my arrangement. He also had 12 eggs (some did survive), two 1.2 kg vacuum packed steaks, and two rolls of white gold.
All though we were fully loaded, we were still able to ride in comfort.
We left Strand around 2:00 on Friday, rode through Bainskloof, stopped for quick coffee and shopping in Ceres, rode up Gydo Pass and into the Ceres Cederberg. After Gydo Pass we took a right turn towards Kagga Kamma, then straight on the Wupperthal road We stopped at a beautiful setting along a small dam some 80 km outside of Ceres.
This site was unfenced and probably belonged to a local farmer. We accepted that no one would chase us away, as these remote farms are usually quite glad to meet people. Bikers are also easily accepted in these areas, mainly because you can not use a bike to steal sheep. We pitched our three man tent within meters of the water and explored the area. As expected, natural fire wood was in short supply. The kids loved the small koppies and the abundant water. Hein used his Varadero as a stay and made an army style bivvy using a small piece of canvass. We had a stunning braai, using half our supplies, including charcoal. A highlight in this area is the brightness of the starlight. The only problem with our sleeping arrangement was this incredible load noises made by the local frogs.
The moon at the camp site:
The next morning we mad scramble eggs, as most of the eggs was already scrambled. Some bacon with bread and coffee rounded of the meal. Where did we carried the two breads? I can?t remember. A KTM 950 stopped to say hi, smoke and rushed off. (ed - I think this is Mark)
We cleaned up the site and moved on. The road was an excellent dirt road. I knew this road well, so there was no surprises. We hooked up with the KTM rider again. We stopped at the Cederberg Oasis for lunch. This place always amazes me. In the middle of nothing, but friendly. They were fully booked that night by a bunch of adventure riders. This place is definitely bike friendly. We met some beer drinking BMW riders at the Oasis as well.
Then we took the Eselbank road towards Wupperthal. This is not a road for road bikes. My previous trip on this was with my trusty XR600 with no luggage. This time was slightly more heavy. The first part is hard gravel, but badly corrugated. Later sections is a bit sandy and rocky. Not too bad. Even the BMW riders would be able to handle this road. We stopped at one of the many river crossing for our only bath. But was this water cold. We sat in the sun for another hour just to warm up.
We rode on to Eselbank were we stopped at a small caf�©.
Then we rode to the local waterfall where we stopped for the night.
This is a stunning site. This area is flatter with very nice walks. This was a paradise for the kids, We found some natural fire wood, all though of a poor quality. We ate our last supplies and went to sleep. The next morning?s breakfast was cup-a-soup. The boys emptied the remaining milk.
We took the sandy road to Wupperthal and their renowned chicken pie. Old fashioned like granny used to make, with real chickens, nogal. Unfortunately Wupperthal has an old ruling that still persists, to stay there you must attend church, always On our noizy arrival we found the church open, and the coffee shop closed. Next food and drink is still very far.
The road thought the Bidouw valley is good. We found this usually quit road quit busy, as a lot of city slickers was chasing wild flowers. Crazy. We passed the Engelman se Graf at speed and stopped at our favorite river, the Brandewyn?s rivier.
This river is so named because you must be gesuip to use this road. We cruised passed Louis?s grave (a lot of dead people here, none who had bikes) and descended down into Clainwilliam. Then onto the restaurant at the end of the dam (universe).
We were too early for lunch, and almost too late for breakfast. The starving kids was very happy to see food again. Maybe this was a good time to introduce them to vegetables. No, rather not go there.
We filled up with fuel. Then it was low flying all the way to Algeria (up in North-Africa), swing left and right, and took the back road to Citrusdale. Then straight home.
Our experiment was successful. Two up on an adventure bike with everything we need. Crashbars is a good fastening place, even at over 180 km/h. Use good straps which are not too long.
Various pics:
Me and a friend, both with Varaderos, decided on an experiment. We were going to try to camp in the wilderness using only our bikes. Unfamiliar to my way of doing things, we actually planned this journey.
We were going to camp in the Cederberg area for two nights, accompanied by our two seven year old sons. No bed and breakfast, no caravan parks, net so, in the veld.
Our baggage on my blue bike included a three man tent across the back of the seat. Two self inflating mattresses tied to the front crash bars. One on each side. One sleeping bag in the top box, one in the tank bag. The top box was filled with a fold up pan, a small kettle, a small pot and small fold up shovel. Spices and my minimal clothing filled the box. My tank bag was filled with three boxes of long live milk, and two boxes of red wine and my sons?s clothes. The one liter wine size, not the 5 liter size. Do you think we are pigs? My son carried a small rugsack witch was empty to start of. At Ceres we filled it with a 6 kg bag of charcoal and a few tines of Coke. We bought tins as we planned to use the empties as mugs.
The black Varadero did not have crossbars, so he loaded his mattresses on the back of his seat, between pillion and topbox. He also had sleeping bags and clothes, more-or-less like my arrangement. He also had 12 eggs (some did survive), two 1.2 kg vacuum packed steaks, and two rolls of white gold.
All though we were fully loaded, we were still able to ride in comfort.
We left Strand around 2:00 on Friday, rode through Bainskloof, stopped for quick coffee and shopping in Ceres, rode up Gydo Pass and into the Ceres Cederberg. After Gydo Pass we took a right turn towards Kagga Kamma, then straight on the Wupperthal road We stopped at a beautiful setting along a small dam some 80 km outside of Ceres.
This site was unfenced and probably belonged to a local farmer. We accepted that no one would chase us away, as these remote farms are usually quite glad to meet people. Bikers are also easily accepted in these areas, mainly because you can not use a bike to steal sheep. We pitched our three man tent within meters of the water and explored the area. As expected, natural fire wood was in short supply. The kids loved the small koppies and the abundant water. Hein used his Varadero as a stay and made an army style bivvy using a small piece of canvass. We had a stunning braai, using half our supplies, including charcoal. A highlight in this area is the brightness of the starlight. The only problem with our sleeping arrangement was this incredible load noises made by the local frogs.
The moon at the camp site:
The next morning we mad scramble eggs, as most of the eggs was already scrambled. Some bacon with bread and coffee rounded of the meal. Where did we carried the two breads? I can?t remember. A KTM 950 stopped to say hi, smoke and rushed off. (ed - I think this is Mark)
We cleaned up the site and moved on. The road was an excellent dirt road. I knew this road well, so there was no surprises. We hooked up with the KTM rider again. We stopped at the Cederberg Oasis for lunch. This place always amazes me. In the middle of nothing, but friendly. They were fully booked that night by a bunch of adventure riders. This place is definitely bike friendly. We met some beer drinking BMW riders at the Oasis as well.
Then we took the Eselbank road towards Wupperthal. This is not a road for road bikes. My previous trip on this was with my trusty XR600 with no luggage. This time was slightly more heavy. The first part is hard gravel, but badly corrugated. Later sections is a bit sandy and rocky. Not too bad. Even the BMW riders would be able to handle this road. We stopped at one of the many river crossing for our only bath. But was this water cold. We sat in the sun for another hour just to warm up.
We rode on to Eselbank were we stopped at a small caf�©.
Then we rode to the local waterfall where we stopped for the night.
This is a stunning site. This area is flatter with very nice walks. This was a paradise for the kids, We found some natural fire wood, all though of a poor quality. We ate our last supplies and went to sleep. The next morning?s breakfast was cup-a-soup. The boys emptied the remaining milk.
We took the sandy road to Wupperthal and their renowned chicken pie. Old fashioned like granny used to make, with real chickens, nogal. Unfortunately Wupperthal has an old ruling that still persists, to stay there you must attend church, always On our noizy arrival we found the church open, and the coffee shop closed. Next food and drink is still very far.
The road thought the Bidouw valley is good. We found this usually quit road quit busy, as a lot of city slickers was chasing wild flowers. Crazy. We passed the Engelman se Graf at speed and stopped at our favorite river, the Brandewyn?s rivier.
This river is so named because you must be gesuip to use this road. We cruised passed Louis?s grave (a lot of dead people here, none who had bikes) and descended down into Clainwilliam. Then onto the restaurant at the end of the dam (universe).
We were too early for lunch, and almost too late for breakfast. The starving kids was very happy to see food again. Maybe this was a good time to introduce them to vegetables. No, rather not go there.
We filled up with fuel. Then it was low flying all the way to Algeria (up in North-Africa), swing left and right, and took the back road to Citrusdale. Then straight home.
Our experiment was successful. Two up on an adventure bike with everything we need. Crashbars is a good fastening place, even at over 180 km/h. Use good straps which are not too long.
Various pics:
