Thangami: NOT GundaX2 compliant!

[ianhogg]

Thangami: NOT GundaX2 compliant!

I didn't lie, but I was mistaken. Sometimes Mapsource does that to you. An obvious short cut pops up in front of you and the little voice that was saying, ”Oh yeh,  and why do all the other guys go an extra 20km on the other road” just doesn't get heard. This was one of those occasions. Within sight of our destination Peter was slapped with three curved balls. A FRIGHTENINGLY PRECIPITOUS descent, a DARKLY DEEP river crossing and a HORRIBLY MUDDY wash away.  All of this Peter handled with aplomb. The picture below shows the conquering hero, having just been awarded the BFGFO (Bravery in the Face of Grievously Frightening Obstacles) surveying what may have gone awry.  For the lovers of the cheap thrill and meaningless challenge I have included this short section in the route file in yellow called “20130525PetersVeryBigAdventure.”  More to follow once I have sorted the pictures. Ian

 

[spoedvark]

Subscribed!

Sounds interesting!!

 

[Wayne Duck]

AaHa, this sounds interesting Ian  :thumleft:

 

[wilddoc]

I missed out again

 

[GundaGunda]

Hee Hee - how wrong can one be?

Before this trippie I was thinking, "How hard can this be. 270 or so Km - mainly tar - tagging along behind Ian's TDM with his missus on the back.  Lounge in the hot pools, and then cruse home.

Easy Peasy.

But to quite one of Ian's famous countrymen, Robbie Burns:-

The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!

Or in the context of this trip a little shortcut that ended a wee bit trickier than messrs Mapsource would have us believe  - at least for me.

But all in all, what a great overnighter. I got back at about three after leaving Thangami at eight this morning, collapsed on the bed, managed half a page of my book before drifting off, and woke up a few hours later extremely stiff and sore.

Hard work for old men who spend their weeks playing with 'puters for a living.  ;D

But it was fun reviewing the track from the GPS with Google Earth, and sifting through just a few pictures which I will post.

And the best lesson? When your riding companion comes to a sudden stop, wondering which way to go, do not grab a handful of front brake when there are slippy and juicy bits of sugar cane lying in the road.

Doing so results in a horizontal motorbike at the a fore-mentioned intersection.
;D  ;D 

 

[ianhogg]

Thangami hot Springs, Zululand

The object of this exercise was to visit the last hot spring on the list. Yes, it is in Zululand which is quite a long way. That seemed fine on the Saturday but our bums told us on Sunday that 790km is just a bit too far for a comfortable weekend. Peter (Gunda Gunda) agreed to join us ( myself and my wife Debbie) and I always enjoy his company. He has always got a good story to tell, and another one, and another one, and……

We met at the Wimpy at a reasonable time at the lifestyle center in Ballito. Peter was early as usual. The road up to Ulundi went quickly. I’ve always enjoyed the R66 and all the Zululand enduros that we did from there.  Just before Ulundi the adventure began and it was tarred! We looked out to where we were going

The twin coal lines are always a feature in this area.

We then set of through the white and black Umfolozi valleys. I could tell that I hadn’t picked the way that the school bus went to Thangami but all was proceeding as planned.  As we crested the escarpment between the rivers we bumped into problem number one. It was one helluva drop. Not only that but because of the rains the dongas running into the path could swallow the school bus and some! Peter manfully worked his way down the whole thing bit by bit. Alas, on reaching the black Umfolozi we found the road had been washed away but not re-established. The crossing was dark and deep, a bit like Peters’ thoughts at this point.

No worries, Peter popped out no problem. I have to say on retrospect I had my laptop in my side pannier and it was a bit of a stupid thing to do.

We got to Thangami around 2pm. It is actually a rather nice place built around the hot springs with many pools looking down on the Black Umfolozi.


The trouble with being at a place where all you have to do is luxuriate in the hot pool and drink is that the bar bill can mount quite rapidly.  Before I came I sent them an e-mail to say I would like them to have a case of Millers for me. When I walked into the bar and asked for two Millers the spotty looking youth behind the bar looked me up and down and asked, “Is yous die Doktor?” The last one slipped down quite nicely at the end of the Sharks match. They don’t make cases like they used to. However, the bar bill was more than the very reasonable accommodation. The place was buzzing and we weren’t the only people doing things they shouldn’t.

Peter wakes up at 4.30am latest. He then makes coffee, rattles around and reads out loud from his Kindle. The breakfast at Thangami starts at 8am so we decided to hoof it to Dundee for breakfast. I’ve been on this road a few times on a bike over the last two years and it is always windy and always further than you think.

Next was Tugela Ferry, this is my favourite road bike road, not for a scratch but because it is so interesting to drop between the layers of the Tugela valley. I had thought to have a look and see if the Ngubevu bridge had been finished but our bums were just too numb. Last year it looked like this.

By the time we got to Tongaat our bums were really taking strain so after a brief sojourn at the beach we both headed home. It was a good weekend, a good place to stay and good companionship. Thanks Peter!

 

[ianhogg]

Sorry, I forgot the track file. I'm sure all the wilder dogs will be looking at the yellow line and deciding what they would have done. Well, Peter has already done it and doesn't need to do it again. Be afraid, very afraid! Ian  

 

[laurika]

Ah lovely!! I miss u guys...and yes, peter is def a very early bird...

 

[0012]

:thumleft: Lekker RR!
Hubbly, klippies en coke, pool, makes for a great evening  :imaposer:

 

[GundaGunda]

Ah lovely!! I miss u guys...and yes, peter is def a very early bird...

. . . .  shhhh - don't give away our secrets here.  : . . . miss you too skattie.

 

[GundaGunda]

Just a few pics from my side - I was having too much fun.

The White (I think) Mfolozi

Thanghami Chalets

The hill Ian made me ride down  ;D

Now if Ian had got out of bed early this is what he may have seen ?

Looking towards Tugela Ferry from the Greytown side.

Checking us out.

Tea Break

 

[wilddoc]

Nice chaps. Will have to do it some time from PMB

 

[chicco]

Julle blikzims.....

Tangami is great, we had 2 of the KZN Renegade rides there.

You should sleep in the cave next time.

Some of my prev Tangami pics, its adventure heaven, even a GS can ride there.. :ricky:

 

[Malibu]

Memories.... ;D

That was where Mark and I first met! Some of the best memories come from the least expected places...

 

[laurika]

would this not be a great venue for the KZN bash ? eepwall:

 

[ianhogg]

Laurika, I know you well enough by now to know that the combined allure of hot springs, booze and repartee are probably more than you can resist! Ian

 

[laurika]

Laurika, I know you well enough by now to know that the combined allure of hot springs, booze and repartee are probably more than you can resist! Ian

its true...I cannot lie.  :imaposer:

 

[GundaGunda]

would this not be a great venue for the KZN bash ? eepwall:

It could work, but I would probably still go for Highover - mainly cos the area is more spectacular. But I do concede we did not explore the reserve or Black Umfolozi river much.

A bash at Thangami would be logistically easier - they have a full restaurant and bar and winkeltjie for those (like me) too idle to self-cater.

And pools are good - there are no strangers in hot water.

I think a problem may be camping space - there are only a few spots - it's more a chalet place.

I suggest we do both  ;D

 

[EssBee]

eepwall:  ;D