Southern Africa on a Honda CTX200 Bushlander

[gwild]

Nice thx for sharing :thumleft: keep it coming

 

[TechnomadicJim]

Just an update. No pics. I'm not finding too much interesting stuff to see or do the last couple of days.

From Clanwilliam I decided to head to Elands Bay to get away from the heat. I passed "The Dunes" and thought I would have a gander but dropped the bike on the sand on the way so decided it wasn't such a good idea! I only stayed one night in Elands bay as it seemed like a pretty boring place. I get the impression it is busy at weekends and around holidays. I hit the road the next morning and decided to just drive north until I felt like I had enough which happened to be Garies on the N7. Its a tiny agricultural town. Seems quite friendly here.

The driving today was 50% road 50% gravel / sand and a good learning curve. My off road riding skills do seem to be improving although I have to admit I nearly lost it a few times when I went from gravel thick sand.

Before I head into Namibia I'm going to head to Upington to get my 4k service done as its the only Honda dealership between Cape Town and Windhoek. I'm liking the look of Augrabies Falls national park and may drive here tomorrow : https://augrabies.wozaonline.co.za/ Its 415 km's so it would be my longest drive yet. Will see what happens.

Please do chime in if there is anything in particular I should see on the way.

 

[Gerard]

On your way back, get to Calvinia and then Middelpos. Get directions and make your way down Ganagga pass, through the Tankwa Karoo National Park and then up Ouberg Pass to Upington.

You wont regret it. Enjoy and be safe.

 

[TechnomadicJim]

On your way back, get to Calvinia and then Middelpos. Get directions and make your way down Ganagga pass, through the Tankwa Karoo National Park and then up Ouberg Pass to Upington.

You wont regret it. Enjoy and be safe.

I should have headed that way out of Cederberg. Oh well. I guess I will have to do it another time. Thanks for the tip anyway.

 

[Gerard]

On your way back, get to Calvinia and then Middelpos. Get directions and make your way down Ganagga pass, through the Tankwa Karoo National Park and then up Ouberg Pass to Upington.

You wont regret it. Enjoy and be safe.

I should have headed that way out of Cederberg. Oh well. I guess I will have to do it another time. Thanks for the tip anyway.

Or depending, try and get to Verneukpan and spend a night there, especially this weekend when it will be full moon. You will be awed.

 

[TechnomadicJim]

Or depending, try and get to Verneukpan and spend a night there, especially this weekend when it will be full moon. You will be awed.

Awesome! I like the look of that. Added to the GPS. Thanks!

 

[zacapa]

Cool Trip TJ! If you need a place to stay over in Upington you can give Freddie a shout at Aardwolf Backpackers.
https://www.aardwolfbackpackers.wozaonline.co.za/
https://www.roomsforafrica.com/establishment.do?id=12558

Namibia is going to blow your mind when you get there. Chameleon Backpackers & Lodge is a great place to stay when in Windhoek.
Awesome single track can be found just about anywhere in Nam, my favorite being the northern loop between White Lady Lodge near Uis
and via moon landscape on tracks around the Brandberg Mountains via Divorce Pass to Rhino Camp at Brandberg West.
If you need local knowledge check out these guys in Windhoek: https://www.enduro-namibia.com/

On both counts mention that Thorsten from Durban recommended this so they know whats happening. Dieter at BMW dealership in Windhoek
is probably the best motorcycle mechanic in the country so if Honda comes short give Dieter a call.

Happy travels, what is your range on the 200? on some of the offroady loops in Namibia it's good to have a range of about 400km+. Generally
250km will get you from gas to gas stop.

 

[TechnomadicJim]

Cool Trip TJ! If you need a place to stay over in Upington you can give Freddie a shout at Aardwolf Backpackers.
https://www.aardwolfbackpackers.wozaonline.co.za/
https://www.roomsforafrica.com/establishment.do?id=12558

Namibia is going to blow your mind when you get there. Chameleon Backpackers & Lodge is a great place to stay when in Windhoek.
Awesome single track can be found just about anywhere in Nam, my favorite being the northern loop between White Lady Lodge near Uis
and via moon landscape on tracks around the Brandberg Mountains via Divorce Pass to Rhino Camp at Brandberg West.
If you need local knowledge check out these guys in Windhoek: https://www.enduro-namibia.com/

On both counts mention that Thorsten from Durban recommended this so they know whats happening. Dieter at BMW dealership in Windhoek
is probably the best motorcycle mechanic in the country so if Honda comes short give Dieter a call.

Happy travels, what is your range on the 200? on some of the offroady loops in Namibia it's good to have a range of about 400km+. Generally
250km will get you from gas to gas stop.

Nice one thanks! I've added those recommendations to my GPS. Will name drop you too

I also found some of enduro nambia's itinerary's here : https://www.enduro-namibia.com/toffer.html will come in useful as a rough guide.

The CTX 200 only has an 8.5 litre tank and I'm getting up to about 25 km's per litre so just over 200 km's per tank. I'm carrying an extra 5 litres giving me ~340 km range. I could carry an extra 2 litre coke bottle if fuel if needed I guess

 

[DRAZIL]

keep the pages rolling,enjoying this report,thanks :thumleft: :thumleft:

 

[TechnomadicJim]

keep the pages rolling,enjoying this report,thanks :thumleft: :thumleft:

Cooool

---

I just created a new thread about the app I use for navigation. Its posted here if anyone fancied a read :

Open Street Maps for Android (OSMAnd)



I've been contributing back to the open street map project as I find useful things like petrol stations not listed or off road routes that need adding or updating.

Here's my openstreetmap.org profile : https://www.openstreetmap.org/user/TechnomadicJim

I'm pretty sure that the knowledge of awesome routes and tracks on this forum could really benefit the project. Get involved! Ask me any questions in the GPS thread if you need help setting anything up.

 

[boland]

I saw you yesterday at the wimpy in Vredendal. I couldn't say hi, was with clients!

Enjoy your trip

 

[TechnomadicJim]

I saw you yesterday at the wimpy in Vredendal. I couldn't say hi, was with clients!

Enjoy your trip

hahah wow. Its a small world!

 

[Flouw]

you are doing some speed there...... :imaposer: and they said you need a bigger bike

 

[oldmannorman]

  :sip:

 

[TechnomadicJim]

From Elands bay I just headed north to see where I would end. Garies was where I decided I had done enough km's for the day. I stayed in a nice cheap self catering apartment for 280 rand. The next morning I decided to do the same and drove through Springbok which seemed like a nice place. I would have considered staying there but it was only lunchtime so pushed on. I read about some cathedral at Pella on someone's itinerary and decided to have a look. Pretty cool place. Pella is a very quiet town which some quite spectacular mountains in the background.



A local guy told me to just keep driving through to end up at Klein Pella where I knew I could find some accommodation. So I headed off where he pointed and ended up in some spectacular but challenging terrain. Managed to drop the bike in some deep sand. Wasn't going fast so no matter. It quite tough with when you hit that deep sand especially with all my luggage. Fortunately the small bike is  nice and easy to pick up again. I ended up doing a bit of a loop for an hour or so and got back on the N14 and headed for Pofadder to try and find a room for the night.



Turns out they are building some massive solar farm near Pofadder so lots of contractor's have taken all the rooms. I was advised to carry on to Kakamas. The sun was setting so full throttle and I managed to find a room but ended up paying 400 rand for the night! Ohh well **** happens.



So now I'm staying at Augrabies Backpackers which will be my base while I explore the area for a few days.

 

[gwild]

:thumleft: keep it coming  :thumleft:

 

[TechnomadicJim]

Been hanging out in Augrabies the last few days. The backpackers is a nice chilled out biker friendly place to use as a base camp. I have been exploring the local grape farms and getting a few things sorted.

Yesterday I  drove a big loop to Riemvasmaak. There's some great 4x4 off roading to be done in the area.





I stopped off at the hot springs (50 rand) and chilled in the water by myself for an hour or so. Its really beautiful down there with two pools to choose from.







I got the bike serviced today in Upington. Its been 4000 kms so far. I also picked up a 10 litre fuel can which gives me a total range of around 450km's. Should be enough for Namibia I also got the tracks4africa Namibian paper map as a backup to my GPS.

I'm hoping to head to the Augrabies falls tomorrow.

 

[Piston Pete]

Jim,
Some of us old bullets did some of our national service training on that terrain in Riemies.....enjoy the scorpions, snakes & spiders with jaws.... :thumleft:

 

[MegaPix]

As a photographer I like the way you do your shots with yourself in it.  Epecially the riding ones.  Timer or video frames?

 

[Pietcoke]

:sip:

Love your RR.

You are traveling in the area at the moment where i was born. Kakamas to be exact.

Enjoy our beautiful country and save travels.  :thumleft: