THE UNPLANNED PLANNED NC TRIP - 62 + 1

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Raait, my old rr’s is now updated, time to round this one up. 

My friend and WD member JMOL, now with a brand spanking new forum name as JACOVV, gave me a phone call a while back and ask if the wife and I am interested in joining his friend, David, and him on a weeklong trip.  He mentioned the dates and checking our itinerary we confirmed that we can join.  So, I ask him what the plan is, where are we heading to and did he map the route.  His answer was something like this; “Nee, ek weet nie, ek het gedink iewers Noord se kant toe.”  :eek7: :eek7: atch:

I little shell shocked after that reply, I mentioned to him that I did plan a trip for the wife and I up North which included part of the Northern Cape as well.  I will send the routes to him, and he can make changes to his liking.  He was however happy with my planned route, and we concurred to stick to it.  Final dates were confirmed from the 8th of May 2021 to 15th of May 2021.

A few days later it was confirmed that Jaco’s cousin, Vink, would also join us, he would have his wife, Annemarie, with as pillion.       

The final detailed planning started, such as accommodation for the six of us and the other smaller goodies.  I tweaked the route slightly and the accommodation part was left for Jaco and Vink to finalize as the wife and I were on an 18 day Namibia trip on our K1200LT, visiting family and friends.  We would only arrive back in SA about 5 days before the start of this trip.   

The wife and I arrived back in SA on the 3rd of May.  Jaco and Vink did a great job in arranging the accommodation and all was sorted for this trip.  We thought of using the two little 250’s for this trip, but instead ended up packing the Karretjie.

The group
JACOVV               - BMW1200GSA
David               - BMW1250GSA Triple black
Vink and pillion Annemarie       - BMW1250GSA
Visarend and monkey Mev Visarend    - BMW1200GSA Sidecar

 

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DAY 1 East London / King William’s Town to Schoombee

Jaco and David left East London early to meet the wife and me in King William’s Town. 

The Vinke will join us in Cradock as they are on their way from Port Elizabeth.

We have a quick brekkie at the Wimpy and we are on the road. 

 

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The plan was to ride to Alicedale, right on the gravel towards Tarkastad and then to Cradock.  From Cradock the gravel road to Schoombee. 
 
We get road works on the road between Alice and Fort Beaufort, but in no time, we pass Fort Beaufort on our way to Alicedale.  Clouds in the distance tells us we will be riding in rain soon. 

Just before Alicedale we stop and decide to re-route.  From experience we know the road over the mountain to Tarkastad is almost unrideable in this type of rain.  We take the safe route and ride the tar road to Bedford and then Cradock, hoping that the rain will subside for our route to Schoombee. 

It was a wise decision, soon we were riding in heavy rain.  In Bedford we could see the aftermath of a heavy storm that passed through the little town.

 

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At Daggaboers Nek Pass pass there is almost no rain, a slight drizzle.  We see in the distance towards Cradock there is some blue skies. 

We decide to stop at the Moo se Lekker padstal and wait for the Vinke.   

Nice little place and plenty farm animals as well as a small, recued Kudu.

 

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Soon the Vinke arrive, we great and have a small grub and depart for Cradock to get some supplies for the night. 

From Cradock it is an 8km stint on the tar towards Hofmeyer where you get the turnoff to your left to Schoombee.  We stop and adjust the tyre pressure and then it is on towards Schoombee. 

We pass the Grasridge dam on our left and briefly stop at the bridge over the Teebrug river. 

 

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More

 

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After a couple of phodies we move on towards our final destination for the night, a hunter’s farmhouse close to Schoombee. 

A nice big farmhouse with great hosts.  They arranged the wood, braai meat as well as a freshly baked potbrood with homemade jams and cheese for the evening’s meal. 
Biltong and dry wors snacks were on the house. 

 

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Some more

 

[ETS]

:thumleft: :thumleft: :thumleft: :thumleft:

 

[petri oosthuizen]

VERY nice thanks!! Mooi bikes!!! :thumleft: :drif:

 

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VERY nice thanks!! Mooi bikes!!! :thumleft: :drif:

Dankie petri, vernaam die karretjie.  :biggrin:

 

[Chrisl]

Sub!! :thumleft: :drif:
Kon daai manne darem byhou by die karretjie?!! eepwall: :lol8:

 

[JACOVV]

Sub!! :thumleft: :drif:
Kon daai manne darem byhou by die karretjie?!! eepwall: [emoji38]8:

Ook maar net-net Chris [emoji1787][emoji1787]

Sent from my SM-A505F using Tapatalk

 

[Vis Arend]

Sub!! :thumleft: :drif:
Kon daai manne darem byhou by die karretjie?!! eepwall: [emoji38]8:

Ook maar net-net Chris [emoji1787][emoji1787]

Sent from my SM-A505F using Tapatalk

:laughing4: :laughing4:  atch: 

[member=5138]JACOVV[/member] , jy moet bylas waar ek vergeet het, samblief my kroon.  En gooi maar jou foto album ook op.  :thumleft:

 

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DAY 2  Schoombee to Orania.

Wake up, talk nonsense, make coffee, talk some more, wash, talk some more, get dressed, talk some more, pack and load the bikes, talk some more, etc.  That would become the norm for the next couple of mornings. 

This morning would be mostly gravel.  Starting from the farmhouse, over the R401 onto the gravel on the backroads to Colesburg, short tar to Phillipolis, gravel to Luckhoff, then a mix of tar/potholes to Orania.  The last bit to Orania we actually took a wrong road. 

A fresh morning greeted us.  We left at a reasonable time, all fresh and ready for the day. 
We had a gravel road mixed from smooth, rocky, and muddy at places.  I had a slow leak on the front tyre and had to inflate it once on this day.  If the pressure were below 2bar it would be flat within minutes, above 2bars seemed to stop the leak.  Over above that we reached Colesburg without hick-ups. 

We had a brekkie there and depart to Phillipolis crossing the Gariep river.  We heard from locals that the road to Luckhoff was in a bad state.  We, none the less, kept to our route.  It was a little muddy and washed away at places, but nothing seriously and we all managed it easily and actually enjoyed it.  The tar road from Luckhoff to Orania was in a worse state than this gravel road. 

All in all, we arrived safely in Orania.  It was a great day and we ended it with Jaco’s family and friends, together we had a nice meal at the local restaurant.

Let the photos tell the rest of the story. 

 

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Some more

 

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And more

 

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The final few for the day.  :biggrin:

 

[petri oosthuizen]

Vissie - is Schoombee nie naby Kimberley se rigting nie??

Ek wil een of ander tyd vir my pel in Kby gaan kuier met die scooter, soek lekker roetes soontoe - het so 3/4 aande tyd.

Jyt nie dalk 'n roete iewers wat jy kan post nie??

THANKS :thumleft:

 

[Vis Arend]

Vissie - is Schoombee nie naby Kimberley se rigting nie??

Ek wil een of ander tyd vir my pel in Kby gaan kuier met die scooter, soek lekker roetes soontoe - het so 3/4 aande tyd.

Jyt nie dalk 'n roete iewers wat jy kan post nie??

THANKS :thumleft:

Jy is reg, sal net na die rr jou help.  :thumleft: