Solo through the Karoo. 11 days of bliss. ** Done and dusted **
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JACOVV
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Dis baie mooi, en ek ry lekker saam :thumleft:
Kan nie wag vd res nie :deal:
Kan nie wag vd res nie :deal:
Oi mooi foto's soos altyd. :thumleft:
Ek kan net nie verstaan dat jy by die Merwevillebordjie buite Sland regs gedraai het en nog steeds
in Merweville uitgekom het?
eepwall:
Ek kan net nie verstaan dat jy by die Merwevillebordjie buite Sland regs gedraai het en nog steeds
in Merweville uitgekom het?
eepwall: 
Pietcoke
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Ek geniet jou RR besonders baie. :thumleft:
Dis n jammerte oor die verlies van al jou lense..............soos hulle sê...........elke sport het sy "beserings"
Dis n jammerte oor die verlies van al jou lense..............soos hulle sê...........elke sport het sy "beserings"
chrisL said:Oi mooi foto's soos altyd. :thumleft:
Ek kan net nie verstaan dat jy by die Merwevillebordjie buite Sland regs gedraai het en nog steeds
in Merweville uitgekom het?
Sorry Chris. Jy is reg . Dit was links. Dalk was ek nog nie wakker nie ?
fixed
Voetpomp
Pack Dog
Great report, thx for sharing, enjoyed it!!! :thumleft:
IRISH
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Excellent reading. Thanks for sharing.
Dirt Junkie
Race Dog
:thumleft:
Chrissie B
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Very nice report and stunning pics. :laughing4:
I love the Karoo and I will have to go back and explore some more. I like the gravel roads around there, very different from the Lowveld!
As for the traveling parrot, I have often wondered what to do with my African Grey, he hates being left with strangers... will need a slightly bigger ice-cream tub though! 8) Or make some custom contraption for him!
I love the Karoo and I will have to go back and explore some more. I like the gravel roads around there, very different from the Lowveld!
As for the traveling parrot, I have often wondered what to do with my African Grey, he hates being left with strangers... will need a slightly bigger ice-cream tub though! 8) Or make some custom contraption for him!
Day 9
I woke up the following morning after a very good night’s sleep. I think partly because I slept on my mattress on a nice thick lawn, partly because I was very tired and partly because I ditched my two crappy blow up pillows and stuffed all my soft clothing into one of the pannier inners and used that as a pillow.
I packed up all my goodies, and after having paid for my stay I went to find some coffee.
The coffee I found at the Prince Albert hotel.
From there I first went back to where I went off the road the previous day to go and see what went wrong. Having inspected the scene of the crime fully I could only conclude that I should have been able to make the turn. I think the reason that I missed the turn was due to the fact that I was tired and that I suffered from target fixation as I came around the turn. Having seen the thing that I did not want to hit , that was exactly where I ended up.
I met the grader that caused me so much stress at the spot where I left the road.
Then it was time for Swartberg pass. I have wanted to do this pass for a very long time and I was not disappointed.
I will let the photos tell the story.
I did consider going down to Gamkaskloof but in the end decided against it. I still had some distance to do for the day and I suspected that Trailrider and company was waiting for me at Mc Nastys later the afternoon.
I continued up Swartberg pass towards The Top.
And then it was down the other side towards Schoemanspoort .
And that was where disaster struck.
I went into the turn at the bottom of Schoemanspoort and thought something felt a bit off.
By the second turn I knew something was off and I pulled off the road to find that I had a flat rear wheel.
From the time of the first photo to the time of the last one in the sequence was 35minutes.
The flat wheel changed my plans a bit and I went into Oudtshoorn to try and find a new replacement tube to replace the one I used to fix the flat.
Having lost a lot of time trying to find a tube I abandoned my plans to do Prince Alfred pass and Kom se pad and made my way towards Montagu pass.
I still had some very nice gravel roads to ride to get there and went through Paarde poort towards Montagu pass
I loved Montagu pass very much and enjoyed the scenery a lot.
I got to McNastys by about 4pm. By this time I was ravenous as I had not yet had anything to eat.
This pizza soon corrected that problem.
At Mc Nastys I got to chat to Trailrider, Oom Pad, Dusty, and Dirt Copper.
Trailrider kindly invited me to sleep at his place and enjoy supper with him and his family.
This was the view from his house.
The tube that I had used to fix the mornings flat worried me as it looked like it had a slow puncture and so I took of Jemima’s rear wheel again and swapped the tube out with a new one I bought in Oudtshoorn.
I enjoyed a lekker shower and had a lekker kuier and some glorious food with Trailrider and family.
Then it was off to bed seeing as we had to get up nice and early the next morning .
I woke up the following morning after a very good night’s sleep. I think partly because I slept on my mattress on a nice thick lawn, partly because I was very tired and partly because I ditched my two crappy blow up pillows and stuffed all my soft clothing into one of the pannier inners and used that as a pillow.
I packed up all my goodies, and after having paid for my stay I went to find some coffee.
The coffee I found at the Prince Albert hotel.
From there I first went back to where I went off the road the previous day to go and see what went wrong. Having inspected the scene of the crime fully I could only conclude that I should have been able to make the turn. I think the reason that I missed the turn was due to the fact that I was tired and that I suffered from target fixation as I came around the turn. Having seen the thing that I did not want to hit , that was exactly where I ended up.
I met the grader that caused me so much stress at the spot where I left the road.
Then it was time for Swartberg pass. I have wanted to do this pass for a very long time and I was not disappointed.
I will let the photos tell the story.
I did consider going down to Gamkaskloof but in the end decided against it. I still had some distance to do for the day and I suspected that Trailrider and company was waiting for me at Mc Nastys later the afternoon.
I continued up Swartberg pass towards The Top.
And then it was down the other side towards Schoemanspoort .
And that was where disaster struck.
I went into the turn at the bottom of Schoemanspoort and thought something felt a bit off.
By the second turn I knew something was off and I pulled off the road to find that I had a flat rear wheel.
From the time of the first photo to the time of the last one in the sequence was 35minutes.
The flat wheel changed my plans a bit and I went into Oudtshoorn to try and find a new replacement tube to replace the one I used to fix the flat.
Having lost a lot of time trying to find a tube I abandoned my plans to do Prince Alfred pass and Kom se pad and made my way towards Montagu pass.
I still had some very nice gravel roads to ride to get there and went through Paarde poort towards Montagu pass
I loved Montagu pass very much and enjoyed the scenery a lot.
I got to McNastys by about 4pm. By this time I was ravenous as I had not yet had anything to eat.
This pizza soon corrected that problem.
At Mc Nastys I got to chat to Trailrider, Oom Pad, Dusty, and Dirt Copper.
Trailrider kindly invited me to sleep at his place and enjoy supper with him and his family.
This was the view from his house.
The tube that I had used to fix the mornings flat worried me as it looked like it had a slow puncture and so I took of Jemima’s rear wheel again and swapped the tube out with a new one I bought in Oudtshoorn.
I enjoyed a lekker shower and had a lekker kuier and some glorious food with Trailrider and family.
Then it was off to bed seeing as we had to get up nice and early the next morning .
Wil net ry
Puppy
Wat n trippie...dankie Hando vir n lekker ride report en super pics
Day 10
Saturday morning saw me off to an early start.
The plan was to do The seven passes and Kom se pad and then the back roads between Oudtshoorn and Calitzdorp before sleeping over at Koedoeskloof Country lodge near Ladysmith. Well that was the plan anyway.
The weather was a bit rainy and I suspected that I would get a bit as the day progressed.
The seven passes was awesome and I stopped often to get pics of all the things I saw.
Kom se pad was absolutely worth it. I expected to see a Knysna Elephant around every turn. The road was potholed and I had to take it easy but it was definitely not the type of road where one would have raced through anyway.
From Kom se pad I turned left towards De Vlugt. I was really looking forward to getting a nice breakfast from the De Vlugt tea garden.
I took this pic just before I entered De Vlugt.
I did not want to stop at Angie’s since I have stopped there before and figured it would be worth trying something else.
Sadly the tannie at the tea garden did not make breakfasts but she did give me some lekker coffee and a very nice slice of Milk tart.
I decided to go up Prince Alfred pass and stopped for these photos.
As I pulled away from the scene of the last photo I was stuck behind four students in a small little Nissan sentra. The driver of the Sentra just did not seem to get the idea that my average travel speed up the pass was higher than his and he did not seem to think that moving over a little to the left would give me space to pass. Eventually I managed to squeeze past him and got going.
It started to rain and I went up the pass with Jemima’s arse slipping around a bit on the exit of the corners. At the top of the pass by Avontuur I turned left towards the N9 where I hoped to find the elusive breakfast at the Gwerna farm stall.
Sadly I was out of luck on the breakfast and so after a cup of coffee I went up Potjiesberg pass.
At the bottom of Potjiesberg pass I turned left onto the Kammanasie road.
I stopped and turned around to go and photograph this little house that nature has reclaimed after all these years.
This was quite a lekker road to ride although I had to take care going around the blind corners for fear of other vehicles coming the other way. Although I did not have any close calls with oncoming traffic I did have a few cars passing me from ahead that just confirmed my caution around the blind corners.
I saw this scene and thought that it would fit very well in the ‘roads in a distance’ thread on Wilddogs.
It intrigued me to see this old and dilapidated farmhouse with a name sign on the gate that seemed to be added fairly recently.
At Daskop I turned onto a road that on the GPS looked to be the road that would take me to Dyseldorp.
It turned out I was wrong as I got to a locked gate with numerous signs warning me to KEEP OUT.
So I turned around and made my way back to Daskop , but not before taking this nice pic.
I did eventually get to Dyseldorp.
As I turned onto the road towards Oudtshoorn I saw the rain approaching from ahead and pulled of the road to don my rain gear. Dressed like the Michelin man in my rain gear I got back on the bike only to feel the rear wheel squirm under me when I got on the tar. Yep , you guessed it. Flat wheel.
So I pulled of the road again and with the rain storm fast approaching got out of all of my rain gear and started remove the rear wheel. This was the only time on my whole trip where I felt unsafe and I wondered what would happen if a few guys in a car were to pull up next to me and demand my phone, cameras and wallet. Luckily none of this happened and two farmers and Freestate family stopped to while I was busy to hear if I was OK. A husband and wife on a 1200 GS with FS plates passed me and I heard the GS slow down and turn around. They stopped and introduced themselves a Chris and Hester from Vaalpark near Sasolburg. They stayed with me the whole time while I worked in the rain to remove the flat tube and put the spare tube back in. This was now once again the tube that I suspected of having a slow puncture.
Eventually I was sorted out and ready to go and they got on their way. I stopped in Oudtshoorn to fill up with fuel and look for something to eat. With the rain still coming down and the queue at the Fast food restaurant being a long one I got back on the bike and took the tar road towards Calitzdorp. Gone were the plans of doing the back roads as I had now lost a lot of time out of my day.
The clouds were breaking up by now and I realized that the rain was gone for the day and so I pulled in at Smitswinkel to get out of rain kit and see if I can find something to eat. Lo and behold there was Chris and Hester’s GS as well.
As I walked up they had just finished their coffee and after a quick greeting they were on their way.
I asked nicely and the friendly lady at Smitswinkel was more than willing to supply me with the breakfast I had wanted since seven in the morning. And so at four o clock in the afternoon I enjoyed the breakfast I had wanted all day. And what a breakfast it was ! Very nice and very well priced. Smitswinkel will surely see me again.!
I had to laugh at the little Dashund that followed the waitress out from the kitchen when she brought my food and then proceeded to prod me with her nose and make little whining sounds in an effort to convince me that I needed to share my breakfast with her. I think she was very disgusted in this traveller that did not leave her a single morsel of food.
As I pulled back onto the road at Smitswinkel I passed this little oke crossing the road and grabbed a quick pic of him as he entered the grasses on the side of the road.
And then it was up the to Calitzdorp , the Huis river pass and Ladysmith towards Koedoeskloof where I would sleep for the night.
At Koedoeskloof I had a cool drink , chatted with Veldbrand a bit and then went to repair the tube that came out of my rear wheel that morning. Three holes patched it was time to go and have a wonderful shower before hitting the sleeping bag for the night.
The next morning would be my last day of this great adventure and I was sad to realize that this trip was slowly coming to an end.
Saturday morning saw me off to an early start.
The plan was to do The seven passes and Kom se pad and then the back roads between Oudtshoorn and Calitzdorp before sleeping over at Koedoeskloof Country lodge near Ladysmith. Well that was the plan anyway.
The weather was a bit rainy and I suspected that I would get a bit as the day progressed.
The seven passes was awesome and I stopped often to get pics of all the things I saw.
Kom se pad was absolutely worth it. I expected to see a Knysna Elephant around every turn. The road was potholed and I had to take it easy but it was definitely not the type of road where one would have raced through anyway.
From Kom se pad I turned left towards De Vlugt. I was really looking forward to getting a nice breakfast from the De Vlugt tea garden.
I took this pic just before I entered De Vlugt.
I did not want to stop at Angie’s since I have stopped there before and figured it would be worth trying something else.
Sadly the tannie at the tea garden did not make breakfasts but she did give me some lekker coffee and a very nice slice of Milk tart.
I decided to go up Prince Alfred pass and stopped for these photos.
As I pulled away from the scene of the last photo I was stuck behind four students in a small little Nissan sentra. The driver of the Sentra just did not seem to get the idea that my average travel speed up the pass was higher than his and he did not seem to think that moving over a little to the left would give me space to pass. Eventually I managed to squeeze past him and got going.
It started to rain and I went up the pass with Jemima’s arse slipping around a bit on the exit of the corners. At the top of the pass by Avontuur I turned left towards the N9 where I hoped to find the elusive breakfast at the Gwerna farm stall.
Sadly I was out of luck on the breakfast and so after a cup of coffee I went up Potjiesberg pass.
At the bottom of Potjiesberg pass I turned left onto the Kammanasie road.
I stopped and turned around to go and photograph this little house that nature has reclaimed after all these years.
This was quite a lekker road to ride although I had to take care going around the blind corners for fear of other vehicles coming the other way. Although I did not have any close calls with oncoming traffic I did have a few cars passing me from ahead that just confirmed my caution around the blind corners.
I saw this scene and thought that it would fit very well in the ‘roads in a distance’ thread on Wilddogs.
It intrigued me to see this old and dilapidated farmhouse with a name sign on the gate that seemed to be added fairly recently.
At Daskop I turned onto a road that on the GPS looked to be the road that would take me to Dyseldorp.
It turned out I was wrong as I got to a locked gate with numerous signs warning me to KEEP OUT.
So I turned around and made my way back to Daskop , but not before taking this nice pic.
I did eventually get to Dyseldorp.
As I turned onto the road towards Oudtshoorn I saw the rain approaching from ahead and pulled of the road to don my rain gear. Dressed like the Michelin man in my rain gear I got back on the bike only to feel the rear wheel squirm under me when I got on the tar. Yep , you guessed it. Flat wheel.
So I pulled of the road again and with the rain storm fast approaching got out of all of my rain gear and started remove the rear wheel. This was the only time on my whole trip where I felt unsafe and I wondered what would happen if a few guys in a car were to pull up next to me and demand my phone, cameras and wallet. Luckily none of this happened and two farmers and Freestate family stopped to while I was busy to hear if I was OK. A husband and wife on a 1200 GS with FS plates passed me and I heard the GS slow down and turn around. They stopped and introduced themselves a Chris and Hester from Vaalpark near Sasolburg. They stayed with me the whole time while I worked in the rain to remove the flat tube and put the spare tube back in. This was now once again the tube that I suspected of having a slow puncture.
Eventually I was sorted out and ready to go and they got on their way. I stopped in Oudtshoorn to fill up with fuel and look for something to eat. With the rain still coming down and the queue at the Fast food restaurant being a long one I got back on the bike and took the tar road towards Calitzdorp. Gone were the plans of doing the back roads as I had now lost a lot of time out of my day.
The clouds were breaking up by now and I realized that the rain was gone for the day and so I pulled in at Smitswinkel to get out of rain kit and see if I can find something to eat. Lo and behold there was Chris and Hester’s GS as well.
As I walked up they had just finished their coffee and after a quick greeting they were on their way.
I asked nicely and the friendly lady at Smitswinkel was more than willing to supply me with the breakfast I had wanted since seven in the morning. And so at four o clock in the afternoon I enjoyed the breakfast I had wanted all day. And what a breakfast it was ! Very nice and very well priced. Smitswinkel will surely see me again.!
I had to laugh at the little Dashund that followed the waitress out from the kitchen when she brought my food and then proceeded to prod me with her nose and make little whining sounds in an effort to convince me that I needed to share my breakfast with her. I think she was very disgusted in this traveller that did not leave her a single morsel of food.
As I pulled back onto the road at Smitswinkel I passed this little oke crossing the road and grabbed a quick pic of him as he entered the grasses on the side of the road.
And then it was up the to Calitzdorp , the Huis river pass and Ladysmith towards Koedoeskloof where I would sleep for the night.
At Koedoeskloof I had a cool drink , chatted with Veldbrand a bit and then went to repair the tube that came out of my rear wheel that morning. Three holes patched it was time to go and have a wonderful shower before hitting the sleeping bag for the night.
The next morning would be my last day of this great adventure and I was sad to realize that this trip was slowly coming to an end.
Thanks all for the comments.
Day 11 will follow tomorrow with one last post of genral info , routes and stats. But for now it is bed time for me.
Day 11 will follow tomorrow with one last post of genral info , routes and stats. But for now it is bed time for me.
