Three Weeks and 6300km Around SA on my Bike

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I was warned the 150 km dirt from Askham to Vanzylsrus was a nasty piece of work.........but hey what do you do.....

During the night in Askham of all places it rained and stormed through the night.......luckily i had taken the time to put up my tent properly with the cover and wetness was kept to a minimum........but trues bob something or some gogga must have got in my clothes and i was full of bite marks...... i couldn't stop itching......it drove me nuts

By 8am there was a break in the drizzle and i was able to break camp.......by the time i was ready to leave there was a steady drizzle again

Not far out of Askham the rain stopped and the skies opened up.........the road got more and more corrugated and it just didn't let up no matter which side i rode on........i watched my gps slowly tick down the 150km to Vanzylsrus.....this road was painful to say the least..........10km to go i thought ...yay not too far now and then the sand got sandier and zigzagged all over the place.....

The last 10km ended up being the most painful and shittist for me........
i was glad to eventually get to Vanzylsrus......and the hotel was a welcome break for breakfast and refreshments.........the bonus was when they told me the dirt road to Hotazel was now tar........i was going to enjoy that break in the dirt big time........
 

Attachments

  • van road.jpg
    van road.jpg
    130 KB
  • van tree 1.jpg
    van tree 1.jpg
    188.9 KB
  • van tree 2.jpg
    van tree 2.jpg
    178.9 KB
  • van sign.jpg
    van sign.jpg
    158.1 KB
  • van hotel.jpg
    van hotel.jpg
    181 KB
  • van breaki.jpg
    van breaki.jpg
    138.6 KB
  • ask leaving rain.jpg
    ask leaving rain.jpg
    170.2 KB
IceCreamMan said:
punisher said:
You have tiny toe nails

Now the most viewed pic on the thread

hahahahahahaha may as well check the orange river swim one too  hahahahahahahaha :pot:
 
Grunder said:
Mother said:
the next part of my trip i will post is the Klein Pella Kakamas Askham Vanzylsrus to Pretoria .....this was the route

So die Vrystaat was nie goed genoeg om te add in hierdie wonderlike trip nie??


Of kom dit nog?  :peepwall:

hahahaha............ NO  :lamer:
 
punisher said:
OomD said:
punisher said:
You have tiny toe nails
:imaposer: Jirre boet, your fetishes getting the better of you again?  :lol8:

I cant help meself  :imaposer: :imaposer:


hahahahaha u guys made me laugh now .......so that my wife asked me whats up and had to show here the comments    :ricky:    :imaposer:  :spitcoffee:
 
Mother said:
During the night in Askham of all places it rained and stormed through the night.......luckily i had taken the time to put up my tent properly with the cover and wetness was kept to a minimum........but trues bob something or some gogga must have got in my clothes and i was full of bite marks...... i couldn't stop itching......it drove me nuts

Sand flees.... Little *******s that you can't even see.  :-[
 
Mother said:
punisher said:
OomD said:
punisher said:
You have tiny toe nails
:imaposer: Jirre boet, your fetishes getting the better of you again?  :lol8:

I cant help meself  :imaposer: :imaposer:


hahahahaha u guys made me laugh now .......so that my wife asked me whats up and had to show here the comments    :ricky:    :imaposer:  :spitcoffee:

just giving back to you a little bit of the joy you give to us
:thumleft:
 
punisher said:
Mother said:
punisher said:
OomD said:
punisher said:
You have tiny toe nails
:imaposer: Jirre boet, your fetishes getting the better of you again?  :lol8:

I cant help meself  :imaposer: :imaposer:


hahahahaha u guys made me laugh now .......so that my wife asked me whats up and had to show here the comments    :ricky:    :imaposer:  :spitcoffee:

just giving back to you a little bit of the joy you give to us
:thumleft:

And now its no longer an awkward topic for your wife either. 

She has been liberated.
 
Needless to say the Tar from Vanzylsrus to Hotazel was a welcome relief.......I stopped at Hotazel to check out the little town.....it had changed a lot from the dirt road town i had known years back and now turned into a serious mining community reminded me of the ugly Kathu mining town......and from here there were loads of mine trucks all the way to Kuruman......

Now Kuruman has become a bit of a s$%&  hole .......i couldn't wait to get through there fast enough............

a few km outside Kuruman i took a right to make my way through the back dirt roads to Jan Kempdorp where after a long day in the saddle i booked into the local lodge to overnight......450km day
 

Attachments

  • end of tar .jpg
    end of tar .jpg
    148.1 KB
  • jan kemp lodge.jpg
    jan kemp lodge.jpg
    135.2 KB
  • jan dirt.jpg
    jan dirt.jpg
    170.3 KB
  • jan sign.jpg
    jan sign.jpg
    191.9 KB
  • jan map.jpg
    jan map.jpg
    170 KB
  • hot sign.jpg
    hot sign.jpg
    181.1 KB
After being well rested at Jan Kempdorp lodge... the main reason for me coming down south was to go past Klerksdorp to see an old friend of mine from the Africa Twin days ...Kelly Farrel

Kelly is 77 and still riding his bikes especially his GS 1150  on dirt roads around the country......

I met Kelly many years ago through the Africa Twin group and we had still managed to stay in touch over the years.......we once did a trip together to Lusaka to go see the total eclipse of the sun.....that was 2001 and I was on my Africa Twin ....Kelly and his mate Herman were on BMW GS and this was where i got the opportunity to ride the beemer........it was a defining moment  O0

and i have always had one since then  :dousing:
 

Attachments

  • kelly.jpg
    kelly.jpg
    210.8 KB
.Kelly Farrel

Wat a true gentleman!!!. Have ridden with him in 1999 for the first time and we still keep in touch!! :thumleft: :thumleft:

On the 2000 D Run he dumps his twin between Hotazel and Van Zylsrus. I stop to hear if he is ok and ask what happen? His answer "i dunno what happened but I better find out cause i can't be doing this often it hurts"!!!! :lol8: :lol8:
 
After Saying Hi in Klerksdorp I headed out to Johannesburg to pop in at my dad who has retired there....before making my way up to Pretoria for a few days R&R staying with my Mate Shaun and also getting to see my Daughter.......The plan was also to get my Bike Serviced and the fault attended to....

Thankfully I managed to get all my kit washed to make sure no more bugbites....... Also thanks Charlene and Nicola for the anti itch medication......

the few days i spent in Pretoria were a nice break to the journey and it was good to see my friends and family

On the way up I rode right past my old army base in Potch and couldnt resist stopping to go check it out.........I used to be an OPs Medic when doing National service....the base Klipdrift was now an artillery training camp.... I met a PF Major out by the gate and he and i had a good chat about life in general .......it was a pleasant chance meeting to reminisce about days gone by 41 years ago


While in Bavaria Shaun and I got the chance to go see the BMW cruiser in the basement

 

Attachments

  • olman.jpg
    olman.jpg
    154.2 KB
  • shaun bmw.jpg
    shaun bmw.jpg
    164.7 KB
  • me bmw.jpg
    me bmw.jpg
    159.9 KB
  • bavaria.jpg
    bavaria.jpg
    139.4 KB
  • army.jpg
    army.jpg
    169.4 KB
ChrisL - DUSTRIDERS said:
.Kelly Farrel

Wat a true gentleman!!!. Have ridden with him in 1999 for the first time and we still keep in touch!! :thumleft: :thumleft:

On the 2000 D Run he dumps his twin between Hotazel and Van Zylsrus. I stop to hear if he is ok and ask what happen? His answer "i dunno what happened but I better find out cause i can't be doing this often it hurts"!!!! :lol8: :lol8:

yes.......absolutely .........
 
Ok After leaving Pretoria this was my chosen route......will post more later
 

Attachments

  • Number 4.png
    Number 4.png
    406.7 KB
Thank you for penning it down...things get lost on FB.
 
I left Pretoria bright and early back road to Bronkhorstspruit .......was always curious about the Temple near the town so took a closer look turns out it is a Buddist Temple

After this headed up to Groblersdal then Marble Hall.......near Roetan there was a bikers rally of some sorts in the middle of no where lots of bikers all sorts in the little town of Roetan

from here it was dodging potholes to Zebedelia and then the outskirts of Polokwane and I made my way towards Tzaneen........

Polokwane to Moria is a really kak piece of road even if its double lane the locals drive like its a race track.....However i really enjoyed the pass after Moria ZCC to Haenertsburg.......what a pretty little town....saw a few other dual purpose bikers around and met a friendly uncle while taking pictures who recommended i go up the dirt road to the cemetery to see the views.....it was good advice and i enjoyed the peace and quiet overlooking the town ......also the walk amongst those in their final resting place was a somber experience....


After Haenertsburg it was a short ride to Magoebas kloof Lodge where i decided to camp for the evening
 

Attachments

  • temple.jpg
    temple.jpg
    143.4 KB
  • village.jpg
    village.jpg
    158.1 KB
  • grob 1.jpg
    grob 1.jpg
    180.5 KB
  • grob 2.jpg
    grob 2.jpg
    149.1 KB
  • roetan.jpg
    roetan.jpg
    163 KB
  • zeb.jpg
    zeb.jpg
    139.9 KB
Haenertsburg......pop around 200 according to the uncle....was really nice clean little town
 

Attachments

  • hae 2.jpg
    hae 2.jpg
    183.7 KB
  • hae 1.jpg
    hae 1.jpg
    163.5 KB
  • hae view.jpg
    hae view.jpg
    176.9 KB
  • hae grave.jpg
    hae grave.jpg
    139.3 KB
Top