Waking up in the Karoo is always an experience, as it was dead quiet during those first flirtations with daylight. Just before sunrise Sunday morning:
Wagendrift is a place that will see me again. We had a lovely braai with pre-arranged braai packs, pre-arranged wood (had to supply our own drinks though) and the rooms were the standard of a 5 star international hotel. So for R300pppn I guess it was not too bad. Some more pics of the lodge:
Not sure what someone was trying to do here – any suggestions? It is next to the Buffelsrivier.
If this was my place I will rename it “Bikedrift”
The entrance to the farm:
I had to close the gate behind my two wingmen and as a result had to leg it up the start of the Rooinek pass to catch up with them, Having fitted a new 150 Heide on the back, I was wondering what the exact difference was between this tyre and the TKC on tar and with this in mind pushed it as far as I was willing to go in the corners. All I can say that it is still not a fully fledged road tyre, as I nearly lost it around one turn, as the grip at the edges is probably not all there
. Here is the evidence:
Start of Rooinek Pass:
We actually turned off just before the pass and headed on to the Anysberg Nature Reserve. On the way I saw this peak in the distance – anyone an idea what this could be? I assume it must be in the region of the Seweweekspoort area/vicinity.
Eastern entrance to the Anysberg:
The Anysberg is beautiful and once again the little windy roads that we had the pleasure of experiencing on made the day just peachy:
Spotted some big Gemsbokke as well:
Anysberg registration office with campsite and swimming pool in the subsequent pics:
Our only mechanical problem was the left back indicator on the Kalahari wanting to stay behind. Nothing what duct tape and a cable tie can’t hold together.
The beautiful road continues:
For the camera, true BWM standing poser rider style
After leaving the Anysberg reserve, we conquered
the Ouberg Pass towards Montagu:
Classic gravel travel:
Always nice to help fellow road users safely across the road:
Wish this was my farm:
The beautiful town of Montagu:
Between Ashton and Robertson on a farm road. Desktop material of an iconic bike:
Unfortunately, for us the trip was for all practical purposes coming to an end as we had mostly slab to be bored with for the rest of the way home.
We took some scenic roads through Robertson on to Villiersdorp and on the way crossed our Rubicon, namely the mighty POESJENELS.
After crossing this river we were now out of the groove:
eepwall:
From here on we took the road past Villiersdorp, up Grabouw’s pass, down Sir Lowry’s in strong gusting winds, before Brakenjan and I had to say goodbye to good old Lootcha in the Strand.
Brakenjan and I decided to take the ‘scenic’ road past shack city and took the Macasser road towards Muizenberg, where we stopped on the beach to complete the picture here in dualsport heaven:
The type of trip we did as set out herein is probably perfect for a bike like the GSA. None too technical with some long open stretches made it just perfect, as I was never getting tired nor was my bum getting sore. The thing is really a couch on the road and I have yet to find a more comfortable ride on two wheels. Of course, the moment you want to get a bit more technical, the weight of the GSA comes into play again and this, coupled with the fear of the financial implications of what will happen if you get thrown off, are probably two of biggest draw backs of the BMW R1200 GS Adventure motorcycle. A further issue could be the difficulty to do field repairs out in the sticks – something I wouldn’t know where to start with. Other than that, you can say what you want, but I suspect that this must be one of the most awesome motorcycles ever built.
oo7 signing off yet again in a dismal state of withdrawal.
