Ek kyk nou weer al die mooi pics.
Fokkit my pens is nou groot.
Lyk of ek enige oomblik gaan explode
Fokkit my pens is nou groot.
Lyk of ek enige oomblik gaan explode
The Bushpig Thumper Bash - Bankfontein farm - 12-14 April 2024 - Two Nights off line! & RR
- Thread starter RobCrouch
- Start date
Yes, ek het te laat uitgevind oor die ene maar sal wil saamkom vir die volgende een.
Vis Arend
Bachelor Dog
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Great write-up, thanks, and happy you guys are safe back home.Back home and online ( power had been off for 36 hours when i arrived on Tuesday). Peter Gage (XR650) and I had traversed some increasingly elusive-to-read wet gravel , the roads wetter as we moved south, slower due to the difficulties, dodging ominously building storms behind and west and east of us, but avoiding the muddy fate that befell Warrick and Ri, whose itinerary was seriously compromised...
We got to Peperboom Camp just before dark, and then 3 hours of steady thunderstorm ensued.
Anyway, the point needs to be re-iterated: it was a great bash, not least because of the sterling work put in by Rob and Ally. No question now: it is their bash - vlakvark or bushpig (regardless of the fact that the original suggestion for a DR-themed gathering came from @Ri and myself; I also suggested Bankfontein as a venue, because I'd been there , and I knew what amazing people Valeri and Joop are...).
Rob is the meneer, and braaiking without the residue of alphamalehood - and Ally is his powerhouse. I suspect this bash will always be small, but it will thrive if its present format is maintained.
Saluut!
I envisaged the bash would be something like that.
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Wonder what it would be like in June/July? (The old regimental clerk in me is coming out) 
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Myne het... LOLEk kyk nou weer al die mooi pics.
Fokkit my pens is nou groot.
Lyk of ek enige oomblik gaan explode
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Still waiting for more pics, MD has been busy with other things, will request a download or the SD card...
While riding through the "ver verlate vlaktes" I would see these rows of little koppies and I thought of the Boere who sheltered there 124 years ago and bravely tried to stop the British from marching north to lift the siege of Kimberley. And how did both sides manage to drag their cannons up these very rocky slopes?
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Indeed. Must have been quite a task.
That road looks very interesting by the way.
I like the Vrystaat vlaktes !
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This part is the Randjieswereld... plains interspersed with koppies and the odd twisty bit.
Same road you took - Philipollis to Bankfontein. Petri must be right - you ride so fast the scenery’s just a blur
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Ah yes, the "shortcut" I found
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It can handle 30 but I beiieve 15 would be nice next time.
Depending how many want to share tents.
Ek soek net 12 spare Stouts, en Braveheart se agter kleinseun as die breakfast chef
My vrou kan nie GLO ek eet breakfast nie.
Moerse lekker gewees.
Eier en bacon en tomato sauce, rol hom so op en hap hom.
Ek dog daai goose by Orania like my, toe ek die aand by die huis kom, sien ek daar sit n halwe bottel tamatiesous aan my ken vas.
Fugit.
I twisted @Tony the Boney 's rubber arm to attend the first DR650-themed Bushpig / Vlakvark Bash as he'd recently purchased one of these magnificent machines. He said fine, and suggested we ride up together.
I rode to Mosselbaai on Wednesday via Franschhoek Pass, Helderstroom and Greyton. There was a bit of rain and the roads were muddy but thankfully the heavy machines were already busy repairing the roads.
My pristine varkie picked up some mud. It was a jol.
Thursday we didn't get away as early as planned because my suit's ancient knee pads crumbled. Tony found some handy painter's knee pads that I could force into the mesh holders. Like these:
... And off we went, stopping for breakfast at Wimpy as is the Garden Route Dogs' tradition.
We decided to stop for coffee at Uniondale, and ran into a familiar face: @ETS on tour with friends and family
Last comfort break and snack stop and then, after 440 km of slabbing, we arrived at our destination for the night: Nieu Bethesda.
I rode to Mosselbaai on Wednesday via Franschhoek Pass, Helderstroom and Greyton. There was a bit of rain and the roads were muddy but thankfully the heavy machines were already busy repairing the roads.
My pristine varkie picked up some mud. It was a jol.
Thursday we didn't get away as early as planned because my suit's ancient knee pads crumbled. Tony found some handy painter's knee pads that I could force into the mesh holders. Like these:
... And off we went, stopping for breakfast at Wimpy as is the Garden Route Dogs' tradition.
We decided to stop for coffee at Uniondale, and ran into a familiar face: @ETS on tour with friends and family
Last comfort break and snack stop and then, after 440 km of slabbing, we arrived at our destination for the night: Nieu Bethesda.
We wandered around the neighbourhood and checked out the local pubs and restaurants, picked one and went to dinner.
Lovely venue with fantastic food!
The receptionist at the accommodation gave some advice on roads out of Nieu-Bethesda when Tony asked about the Kompasberg route, and I checked it against my plotted route. I turned in early. We only had 300 km to cover but I had some gravel routes in mind and I wasn't keen to rush.
Lovely venue with fantastic food!
The receptionist at the accommodation gave some advice on roads out of Nieu-Bethesda when Tony asked about the Kompasberg route, and I checked it against my plotted route. I turned in early. We only had 300 km to cover but I had some gravel routes in mind and I wasn't keen to rush.
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Friday morning was frosty and cold and my fingers froze during packing up and scraping a half inch of ice off the bike's seat. Tony motioned for me to lead, and off we went following the suggested route which turned out to be a nice gravel road. I soon had to stop and warm my fingers on the bike's header pipe as they were frostbitten and painful, despite leather gloves and woolen inner gloves.
All too soon we came to the tar road connecting Graaff-Reinet and Middelburg and realised we'd taken the direct route out of Nieu-Bethesda. On my map I found a shortcut leading to what I presumed was the Kompasberg road, and we turned onto a slightly rough but passable gravel road, to be halted by a mudbath. We looked at it from all angles and discussed strategies. Finally I psyched myself up and ploughed through the very edge, almost coming to grief on the far side. Then we walked Tony's bike through and carried on victoriously.
The road was scenic and wide but slowly became more washed out and rocky. Tony hasn't had breakfast and this affected his blood sugar and energy levels, and knowing we weren't going to see a Wimpy soon, I decided a snack stop was called for. As I turned off the engine and turned to wait for Tony, a majestic kudu bull with massive horns gracefully moved away and we watched it go, spellbound.
If you zoom in on the last photo, you can see its horns slightly above and to the right of the black pole that is almost in the centre of the photo.
I hauled out dried fruit and nuts. Tony chipped in some biltong and we had a veld feast.
All too soon we came to the tar road connecting Graaff-Reinet and Middelburg and realised we'd taken the direct route out of Nieu-Bethesda. On my map I found a shortcut leading to what I presumed was the Kompasberg road, and we turned onto a slightly rough but passable gravel road, to be halted by a mudbath. We looked at it from all angles and discussed strategies. Finally I psyched myself up and ploughed through the very edge, almost coming to grief on the far side. Then we walked Tony's bike through and carried on victoriously.
The road was scenic and wide but slowly became more washed out and rocky. Tony hasn't had breakfast and this affected his blood sugar and energy levels, and knowing we weren't going to see a Wimpy soon, I decided a snack stop was called for. As I turned off the engine and turned to wait for Tony, a majestic kudu bull with massive horns gracefully moved away and we watched it go, spellbound.
If you zoom in on the last photo, you can see its horns slightly above and to the right of the black pole that is almost in the centre of the photo.
I hauled out dried fruit and nuts. Tony chipped in some biltong and we had a veld feast.
