Solo for the spirit and the soul - my 4 day Easter biking, hiking and wild camping adventure
- Thread starter MildlyWild
- Start date
dogless
Pack Dog
Pragtige oornag plek. Dis goed as mens jou eie geselskap geniet en tyd met die Groot Oom spandeer
Ek was nie daar nie?
Dorsland
Bachelor Dog
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- Nie van hier nie
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Dis nie verniet dat aan ons gesê word om ons af te sonder vir God. Dikwels, daar, tussen niks en nêrens, vind ons Hom.
Jou foto's is pragtig, jou ervarings roerend. Dis inderdaad 'n besonderse omgewing waar jy gery en gekamp het. Ek geniet jou ritverslag en sien uit om nóg te lees.
Jou foto's is pragtig, jou ervarings roerend. Dis inderdaad 'n besonderse omgewing waar jy gery en gekamp het. Ek geniet jou ritverslag en sien uit om nóg te lees.
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We tried to fill the pool in 07 when we were there!!There was no "pool" when we were there last year in July
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- I would rather be in Great Brak...
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- Honda CRF-1000L Africa Twin
Excellent ride!
Yoh, Andre what a ride and the pics are stunning, anyone in doubt about what adventure riding is about just needs to check out your ride report.
Mev Vis Arend
Race Dog
Joh, watse mooi rr!!
By the time I got back to basecamp I was feeling a bit peckish and lazy, and Jelly Babies and some more hot cross buns did not do the trick, so I went with plan B, which I kept in store for exactly this scenario...
Step 1 - take 2 large handsful of cut biltong and bring it to the boil, for about 3 minutes with 2 cups of water on the gas stove
Step 2 - add to packets of crushed 2 Minute Noodles, with the cheese flavouring yes, and simmer for another 2-3 minutes
Step 3 - add a bit of tomatoe sauce - yes, I brought a tiny plastic bottle with some (a few KFC satchets is also handy)
Step 4 - allow to cool a bit and enjoy straight out of the pot, washed down with some Coke
Not my go to meal at home, but a yummy option for times like this
After that and a lekker 30min nap I motored back up to the farm house for a beer, charge the phone, get gate keys and saying bye.
Except that for some reason Bliksem did not want to start easily!!
. Felt and sounded as if only 1 cylinder was firing so idling was not an option and once I got going I had to really to stay on the gas to make it up the pass, a lot faster than I would have otherwise. No idea what caused it, but once on top I gunned it a bit over the flat and the problem sorted itself out.
A quick stop at the dam confirmed that it was only about 1/4 full, but at least that is something.
Once back at camp it was time to collect wood again, make a bonfire, braai the boerewors I took (it had survived quite nicely being frozen and wrapped up for 3 days) and the last braai broodjies and sweet potato. The remaining tin of fruit and custard was also dispatched with. I think I wouldve made a hiena look civil
Sunday night turned out to have clear skies and the full moon was so bright that I could literally read every 2nd or 3rd word in my book (suitably, Come Away My Beloved) without the headlight on, at around 9pm
The one bike pic was simply taken with my phone's basic night mode, and the other having the shutter open for 30 seconds.
Step 1 - take 2 large handsful of cut biltong and bring it to the boil, for about 3 minutes with 2 cups of water on the gas stove
Step 2 - add to packets of crushed 2 Minute Noodles, with the cheese flavouring yes, and simmer for another 2-3 minutes
Step 3 - add a bit of tomatoe sauce - yes, I brought a tiny plastic bottle with some (a few KFC satchets is also handy)
Step 4 - allow to cool a bit and enjoy straight out of the pot, washed down with some Coke
Not my go to meal at home, but a yummy option for times like this
After that and a lekker 30min nap I motored back up to the farm house for a beer, charge the phone, get gate keys and saying bye.
Except that for some reason Bliksem did not want to start easily!!
. Felt and sounded as if only 1 cylinder was firing so idling was not an option and once I got going I had to really to stay on the gas to make it up the pass, a lot faster than I would have otherwise. No idea what caused it, but once on top I gunned it a bit over the flat and the problem sorted itself out. A quick stop at the dam confirmed that it was only about 1/4 full, but at least that is something.
Once back at camp it was time to collect wood again, make a bonfire, braai the boerewors I took (it had survived quite nicely being frozen and wrapped up for 3 days) and the last braai broodjies and sweet potato. The remaining tin of fruit and custard was also dispatched with. I think I wouldve made a hiena look civil
Sunday night turned out to have clear skies and the full moon was so bright that I could literally read every 2nd or 3rd word in my book (suitably, Come Away My Beloved) without the headlight on, at around 9pm
The one bike pic was simply taken with my phone's basic night mode, and the other having the shutter open for 30 seconds.
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Nah, you guys all have the wrong pool
Check out the coordinates I added, grab a few mates and go have a lekker swim and braai there before it gets too cold or the water turns to sludge
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Dankie Dorsland. Dis waar - 100 maal meer as met jou vrou, vra God, wat Heilig, Heilig, Heilig is dat ons Hom in Gees en in waarheid, met alles in ons sal soek en aanbid - en dan sal ons Hom ken en Hy ons en ons n intimiteit met Hom geniet wat bo enigiets anders in die lewe isDis nie verniet dat aan ons gesê word om ons af te sonder vir God. Dikwels, daar, tussen niks en nêrens, vind ons Hom.
Jou foto's is pragtig, jou ervarings roerend. Dis inderdaad 'n besonderse omgewing waar jy gery en gekamp het. Ek geniet jou ritverslag en sien uit om nóg te lees.
.
Wat 'n lekker RR sover. Dankie vir die deel!
Make me think changing from a lodge Johnny to a bike camper, nice report
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You won't believe me. I saw you "here" I came past in my fortuner and still asked you if you were ok.There was no "pool" when we were there last year in July
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small world.
Nice one
. I think that was still before my swim if I recall
Monday morning dawned 2 days too soon for me, but seeing that I ran out of coffee the previous night ( 
avg daily consumption noted for future reference...) I managed to convince myself to start packing up. This time around everything fitted a lot easier, with not much food left to carry.
Bliksem started and idled without a fuss and around 9am I rolled out, having also adjusted the preload on the forks a bit harder before I left - this was a good move and made the front feel a lot better
The road from there to Merweville is about 54km and takes about 2hrs in a bakkie, including the 9 gates to go through, of which 2 on that side is locked. (So please dont attempt to ride that piece, although you can get quite far coming from Merweville)
It is a beautifully piece to ride, with rough/loose/rocky/washed out surfaces and awesome walletjies to ramp over - unless you're on a 1200GS or similar bike, in which case some sections will require a bit of slowing down to avoid some serious bottoming out - it simply is what it is
Without being reckless (I promise Dad
), I got to the city of Merweville in 1hr 5min, with only 1 "oh sh...ucks!" moment when the road curved tightly to the right as I crested a little rise. Ridden leisurely this road offers beautiful scenic ride, ridden aggressively it is heaps of fun and keeps you on your toes 
As usual my planned 30min coffee stop at my uncle and aunt turned into 90min, only cut short by the fact that the filing station was only open from 10-12, it being a holiday mos. And in full view of at least 2 people, which is roughly 15% of the town's population I think, I dropped my bike right at the pumps - forgot to take something from my bag and leaned the bike back onto the side stand, only to find I had already kicked it up
Nice one.
avg daily consumption noted for future reference...) I managed to convince myself to start packing up. This time around everything fitted a lot easier, with not much food left to carry. Bliksem started and idled without a fuss and around 9am I rolled out, having also adjusted the preload on the forks a bit harder before I left - this was a good move and made the front feel a lot better
The road from there to Merweville is about 54km and takes about 2hrs in a bakkie, including the 9 gates to go through, of which 2 on that side is locked. (So please dont attempt to ride that piece, although you can get quite far coming from Merweville)
It is a beautifully piece to ride, with rough/loose/rocky/washed out surfaces and awesome walletjies to ramp over - unless you're on a 1200GS or similar bike, in which case some sections will require a bit of slowing down to avoid some serious bottoming out - it simply is what it is
Without being reckless (I promise Dad
), I got to the city of Merweville in 1hr 5min, with only 1 "oh sh...ucks!" moment when the road curved tightly to the right as I crested a little rise. Ridden leisurely this road offers beautiful scenic ride, ridden aggressively it is heaps of fun and keeps you on your toes As usual my planned 30min coffee stop at my uncle and aunt turned into 90min, only cut short by the fact that the filing station was only open from 10-12, it being a holiday mos. And in full view of at least 2 people, which is roughly 15% of the town's population I think, I dropped my bike right at the pumps - forgot to take something from my bag and leaned the bike back onto the side stand, only to find I had already kicked it up
Nice one.
By now it was 12 already and the plan was to take the really beautiful Allemanshoek (Rooiberg pass) road towards Sutherland, cut back down Verlatekloof pass on the tar and then turn off onto gravel towards Ceres again just below the pass.
And boy, the gravel road out if Merweville did not disappoint!! Smooth, flowy, beautiful vistas - a really awesome road that felt as if it went on forever. I even started wondering when I would hit Allemanshoek pass - that is, until I hit the N1 
Completely baffled about where I could possibly have missed a turnoff I checked Google Maps, only to realise I literally took the wrong route right out of town
.
Oh well, I really did enjoy that road and simply decided to cruise along the N1 to Matjiesfontein and get on another piece of gravel Ive never ridden before, passing the new Paardekraal wind farm on the way to Karoo Poort, and Ceres. This was not all bad though - the ride was lekker and having gotten away from Merweville quite late it actually worked out well. One thing I did forget about was tge fact that my Huawei P20 Pro cellphone does not appreciate Bliksem's vibes as much as I do, and having put it in the storage compartment when I left Matjiesfontein the camera's electronic stabiliser had gone crazy again, resukting in that horrid buzzing noise and wavy pictures
Luckily this rectified itself within a few hours.
From Ceres the run home via Tulbach and Wellington was dispatched with without much ado, and I arrived just after 4pm, totally charged, fully satisfied and happy to be home.
And boy, the gravel road out if Merweville did not disappoint!! Smooth, flowy, beautiful vistas - a really awesome road that felt as if it went on forever
. I even started wondering when I would hit Allemanshoek pass - that is, until I hit the N1 Completely baffled about where I could possibly have missed a turnoff I checked Google Maps, only to realise I literally took the wrong route right out of town
. Oh well, I really did enjoy that road and simply decided to cruise along the N1 to Matjiesfontein and get on another piece of gravel Ive never ridden before, passing the new Paardekraal wind farm on the way to Karoo Poort, and Ceres. This was not all bad though - the ride was lekker and having gotten away from Merweville quite late it actually worked out well. One thing I did forget about was tge fact that my Huawei P20 Pro cellphone does not appreciate Bliksem's vibes as much as I do, and having put it in the storage compartment when I left Matjiesfontein the camera's electronic stabiliser had gone crazy again, resukting in that horrid buzzing noise and wavy pictures
Luckily this rectified itself within a few hours. From Ceres the run home via Tulbach and Wellington was dispatched with without much ado, and I arrived just after 4pm, totally charged, fully satisfied and happy to be home.
Think I'll add a list of items I take on a trip like this tomorrow, and maybe a few other details for some of you entrepid adventurers
Maybe also a short review of my exlerience with the 950 on this trip - although maybe that should be a separate thing somewhere else
If you have any questions fire away
Maybe also a short review of my exlerience with the 950 on this trip - although maybe that should be a separate thing somewhere else
If you have any questions fire away
Silly question...what should you NOT have packed?
I'm trying to basically half, or at least reduce stuff I take on a trip by a Third
Nice pics!!!
