Wildside's ride to Bash 'n Back ~ 2013
Late Thursday morning found us battling our way through the gusting wind from Howick, KZN, on the R617 in the Underberg direction. We had made arrangements with Dave ( Mr.G) to meet us at Tsitsa Falls, 20 km before Maclear, for a night of camping. We crossed over to Cedarville on the New Amalfi gravel road only to encounter even more hectic winds. With head, shoulder and bikes bracing uncomfortably into the wind we finally arrived at Matatiel for a much needed rest, neck stretch, shoulder roll and fuel.
Setting off once again we were continuously bullied by the wind the rest of the way to Mount Fletcher where I was able to refuel with LRP. Despite the windy distraction one can’t help but notice the beautiful scenery of unusual rock formations, tidy thatch huts scattered around, peach trees starting to bloom, empty roads and the ever present Lesotho mountains looming up in the distance to the right. Slowly the holiday feeling starts to creep in.
Turning left at the first Tsitsa falls turnoff took us along a 7 km gravel road to an old original farmstead, catering for campers and backpackers, with a stunning view overlooking the Tsitsa River and a valley below. This establishment is completely off the grid and owned by a friendly young couple who made us feel very welcome. The attraction here is the falls with others of its kind in the area where adrenalin junkies come and get there thrills by kayaking over some of the falls.
Early that evening we received a phone call from Dave to say he was only in Matatiel and was reluctant to do the last 100kms in the dark.. Just as well…..as the weather turned even fowler with a wind that helped us change our mind about camping and sent us scuttling into the little rondavel for warmth and shelter.
We were treated to a welcoming sunrise and no wind on Friday morning.
The pet lynx
Heading off to the kitchen for their breakfast.
We made an early start to view the falls which is only about 1 km away. It’s such a lovely tranquil setting with a picnic spot on the upper banks. Despite the shortage of rain there was still some water flowing over. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to take a walk to the bottom so only enjoyed the views from above.
