The road to The Roof of Africa. Lesotho.

[harryhcs]

Day 1
Thursday morning I met up with Gg, Seamus and Jake at the Ultra City on the N3 before Heidelberg.
The plan; To ride up Sani Pass, sleep there then head to the Roof of Africa to see how its done.

We fueled up in Harrysmith and then road past the Sterkfontuin Dam. We had a quick lunch at Nottingham Road and then headed to Sani taking the Soutar’s Hill Pass.

The pass is a very pretty gravel road that goes up and down the mountains and over the Umkomaas River.

Gg and I made a quick stop at Himeville to fill up our tanks and then we gunned it like demons to the Sani border. I must have bottomed my rear shock about 10 times! Time to replace that old stock donkey shock...

Passing the border at the bottom of the pass was painless.

Sani Pass, to my opinion, must be one of the great passes in SA. Its not very long, but its so beautifully. The views just gets better and better as you go higher to eventually end up at 2850m above sea level. By the time we got up the pass and stamped our passports on the Lesotho side the mist was creeping over the pass. We had a few drinks on the dek of the Sani Top Lodge. (The highest pub in the world) to watch the weather turn quickly. We also met up with Rauri and Paul at the pub. They were to ride with us the next day.

 

[harryhcs]

Day 2

We got up at about 6 to watch the rain poring down. I realised I had now rain suite! Eish! Seamus gave me his poncho and we strapped it on me with insulation tape. That proved to keep my upper body semi dry. I looked like super man in the Red Poncho.

After lekker coffe with condensed milk and oats we were on our bikes again. The muddy roads were slippery and Rauri came of in the first kilometer. This is the Kotisephola Pass (Black Mountain Pass), or the a14 as noted on T4A. There were some fairly tricky bits especially with the rain making the sharp “burm-type” corners slippery with allot of big rocks in the roads. The trick is to keep your speed around the corner and not slow down to much. Its quite steep on some of those corners. Paul was the next to come of his bike. That made it KTM 2 and the rest 0...Not that any one was keeping score...

The road eventually runs along the Sehonghong river and its really pretty. You could stop around every corner taking photos. At many places there are small waterfalls at the side of the road, flippen cool!

Btw, it was 3 degrees that day on the pass according to the bikes readings. I was wet and cold, but had so much fun. You cant really focus on the cold when its so beautiful.

Me and my superman suit.


We later came to a very strong “river crossing”. Rauri pushed his KTM over and Paul rode through, I don't know how he did it! Gg was next and decided to ride through as well. He was about halfway when the GS adventure fell over and the stream started taking his bike down. We came and helped quickly and managed to pickup the bike and push it over. The bike gulped allot of water but they fixed it in about 15 minutes and the monster was running ever so smoothly again. Amazing machine, I must admit!

There was about 8 other bikes that joined us and we all helped each other push the bikes over with no more casualties.


A few K’s on we stopped and decided its best to go to town and buy some new engin oil for the BMW. Jake and I road to Mokhotlong to buy oil. at first we could find the “garage” but later manged to find it by the help of a local on the back of Jakes GS Adventure. The garage is run by the Chinese men that can hardly speak any English, very funy!!

When we got back the others had drained the oil (it was brown!) and we filled up the bike with new oil.

We went on and stopped for lunch at Oxbow lodge. Its just after AfriSki Resort on the a1 road. Seamus also did some repairs to his Dakarl; the chain tension was a little out.

We hit the road again and after about 1 km, Seamus’s Dakar was out of power. It seemed that the battery was done. We tried some stuff, like disconnecting the head light and all the other unnecessary electrics and pushed started the bike.

We were on our way again. Paul and I road ahead and after about 20 minutes we did not see anuy one flowwing us. We waited a while and then turned back. We saw the others coming up the pass and I waited for them around a corner. In the meanwhile they took out Seamus’s battery and put it in Gg’s Adventure. His bike died as well and I decided my KLR will run without a battery. So I started the engine and took of the battery and the engine kept on running. We put the flat battery in mine for what it was worth, and the headed of. It was getting late and we would not make it for our planned sleep over near Roma.

This used to be a tar road, now its a dirt road with potholes that would be suitable for ducks!

Hardcore mist up in the mountains, then suddenly you ride out of it and its gone.

Going over the Moteng Pass in the rain on my knobbly I shat my self a few times...my back wheel did some sliding!

Down the pass we headed to Butha-Buthe and then my bike started dying. Up to now I was so proud and convinced my bike will never break! Then this happened, I stopped convinced it was out of petrol (hoping). I peeked in the tank to see there was plenty left! Dammit, old faith-full is also giving issues! I dropped my bike on the tar, dont know how...and almost rolled down the road’s shoulder..all very Innocent and funny..

We got it going with a push start (the battery is flat) and I saw I could not use my throttle more than a third then it wanted to die. I got to the garage and had to switch of my bike to fill up.

We decided it must be the battery that's causing the bikes behaviour. What a relieve for my bikes reputation! After a push start and almost hitting a taxi and a few locals I got the engin running with the locals looking at me with popping eyes. This mad white man! In the process I also bumped over some lady’s bucket of I dont know what. I just left...

We looked for the closest place to sleep and found the Ts’ehlanyane National Park. I think. They let us in and we had a look around. I had to turn of my bike again while the others looked for Cokes and food. They came back and Gg and Jake gave me a push start. This time the bike did not want to start. After about 2 loooong pushed I realised the kill switch was on. Oops! I said “Give me one more push, Im sure it will go on”. It did! hehe, later that night I told them.

We all had a few “skym-koppies” and I got out two bottles of wine. We ended up at a government type place where they held conferences etc. Seamus made us a lekker meal with bully beef and sump. We ate it with bread that they also got earlier.

The kitchen party went on till 2 in the moring.

Paul in the shorts...hes pants was still wet.

 

[harryhcs]

Day 3

Needless to say I got up not feeling as strong as a mouse. I took a shower and had a breakfast-in-a-drink melkie that Jake gave me. He also gave me some pills. Thanks Jake!

We left the place at about 8 o clock. Rauri and Paul left at day break, they had to get home.

We stopped at Leriba and buyd a 12V torch type battery. Seamus and Gg had done this before where you connect the 12V to your bike battery, that gave the bike enough power to start and keep it going. So we connected it to my KLR, because I had the flat battery. I tried to start it but nothing. There was now power! We swapped batteries and the other one also made nothing. We figured it had to be a fuse. I took of my seat and all the fuses was still 100%. I said the others was probably under the tank, bacuase thats where all the wires go. Cursing the Japanese guy who thought out that dumb idea, I took of the tank, and then saw the little fuse box right on the side of the bike. No need to take of the tank or curse the Jap. Haha, now I know! Sorry guys! At least now I knew where all the fuses were and I had my own battery back.

We got the broken fuse and fixed it with some wires. It was a short term solutions (just reminding me to change the fuse while typing this!)

So off we went and arrived at the Roof of Africa near Roma.

We had lunch on top of a hill with a nice view over a part of the roof. We later went up to the finish point to watch the guys climb a amazingly steep hill. Photos cant do it justice, you have to be there to see it!

After Paul Bolton came in, he finished 4th, we left to find a place to camp for the night. We ended up at (I cant remember the places name) and watched the Bokke win England there. We had dinner at the restaurant and then went to camp to talk some more kak.

It was a perfect night, the sky was full of stars and not a cloud in the air. It was a great night to end the trip.

The next day we rode back through Maseru, I got my wife this hat.

Im definitely going back to Lesotho soon!
The end.

 

[harryhcs]

im gonna add a video of us going through the river later tonight!

 

[Huggels]

Lekker broer  :ricky:

 

[The Badger]

Awesome trip and RR.............Thanks :thumleft:

 

[harryhcs]

Awesome trip and RR.............Thanks :thumleft:

hehe, I see you guys were there aswell! haha, we posted on the same time  ;D

 

[Frog]

Nice one. Enjoyed your report. :thumleft:

 

[GG]

lekker ride report H, and the saying of the weekend was ...

Ry vinnig en vat kanse!!!

 

[Dreyer]

Lekker report KwaiPappaGaai :thumleft:

Ek is so bly ek kon die pad tussen Butha-Buthe en Sani doen sonder reen, anders sou my trip bietjie meer interesant gerwees het 

 

[sob89]

Lekker report, tks for sorting it out!
As Gg says...
Love that saying!

 

[Outhere]

Its amazing the amount of water that comes off those mountains in those down pours no wonder they build away from the valleys lucky to have made it through real adventure riding in Lesotho.
Well done to all for lots of patience and perseverance by the sound of things .

 

[Walkaway]

Thanks for a lekker report.
:biggrin:

 

[sob89]

Gg's 1200 going for a swim in video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egBorsQO5uI

 

[Walkaway]

:eek7:
Wow that was close to going over the edge.

Great video

 

[Thump]

excellent report KPG.
nothing like a bit of rain to bring some excitement.

 

[JERINOMO]

Gg's 1200 going for a swim in video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egBorsQO5uI

Scary video to watch SOB.

Awesome RR.

 

[Huggels]

KPG has asked me to inform the dogs that he has been banned for 2 weeks  :imaposer: :imaposer: :imaposer: :imaposer:

 

[JERINOMO]

Maybe something 2do with a certain record Kudu trophy????

 

[Huggels]

KPG has asked me to inform the dogs that he has been banned for 2 weeks  :imaposer: :imaposer: :imaposer: :imaposer:

Buttwhy?

Maybe something 2do with a certain record Kudu trophy????

He posted some inappropriate content and got the 2 week sentence... He works for FHM... and no i dont have any of this so called material  ot: