We didn't do any homework regarding accomodation at Sutherland. Camping was out of the question, it was going to be a very cold night. I have slept in the hotel before and decided to give a guest house a try. We opted for The Jupiter.
Price-wise it worked out very similar to the hotel. Supper was good & breakfast OK.
Early morning it was overcast & misty and then it started to drizzle.
We filled up at the garage and I saw Milkman's DRZ standing in the workshop.
I asked the attendant "What's wrong with that?"
He said: "Nothing". ???
Some will remember the quagmire we encountered between Ouberg Pass and Sutherland on the way to the 2009 bash. This time it was just slightly less muddy and nearly as slippery.
The escarpment. This is the cold side ------------------------------->
Once we reached the Karoo floor the temperature was much more pleasant.
Unbelievably, neither of us had ridden Katbakkies Pass before. Long stretches of it has now been tarred but it is an amazing pass.
We had some rain on the stretch to Cedarberg Oasis but that didn't bother us much, it soon cleared again. As we parked off with a cold beer we phoned the guys from the BMW club to see how they were doing.
Abel asked:"So when can we expect to see you?"
"Tomorrow" was the answer. We were rather puzzled that they had seemingly changed their plans.
So I asked Gerrit:"What day is it today?"
"Thursday". :dousing:
We camped out in the orchard for the whole weekend, ate and drank as much as we wanted to and simply relaxed.
Sunday morning we headed back home via Ceres.
The only problem the KTM had was an oil leak on the front sprocket shaft. I assumed the oil seal was packing up and regularly checked and topped up the oil.
It was messy but kept the chain lubricated:
Once home it came to light that the nut had worked loose. It wasn't torqued correctly and Locktite should be used.
No damage :thumleft: