Xmas Xtreme

[Oubones]

Nice report, Nice area.
Seeing as you enjoy the mud so much, have you ever gone riding in Venda's mountains?

 

[Minxy]

Awesome. Deffinitly on my bucket list. Also have that forgotten pass in mind. Would you mind posting your map

I'll share route file right at end of ride report

 

[Minxy]

Nice report, Nice area.
Seeing as you enjoy the mud so much, have you ever gone riding in Venda's mountains?

Haven't had a chance yet, still so many places to visit!

 

[Chrisl]

Looks as if it was very hot!! :eek7:

 

[Mikie]

I Did OB Pass once, in the opposite direction to what you guys did, it did not leave me with the desire to go back and do it again
It was HARD, really HARD

 

[ClimbingTurtle]

I Did OB Pass once, in the opposite direction to what you guys did, it did not leave me with the desire to go back and do it again
It was HARD, really HARD

I did it the "correct" way - the way Minxy & HSK did it - in August last year on a XR650L with Halfdaft - it was just about one of my bestest ride ever!
I would hate to do it on a GS though.... 

Minxy - here is the bridge over the Olifants river - appears that it was washed away.....

 

[RobCrouch]

Now that was a RR. :thumleft:

 

[punisher]

O0
very lekerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr RR

 

[Minxy]

I Did OB Pass once, in the opposite direction to what you guys did, it did not leave me with the desire to go back and do it again
It was HARD, really HARD

I did it the "correct" way - the way Minxy & HSK did it - in August last year on a XR650L with Halfdaft - it was just about one of my bestest ride ever!
I would hate to do it on a GS though.... 

Minxy - here is the bridge over the Olifants river - appears that it was washed away.....

****, I see what you mean. I was told that the river can still be crossed though, you just have to go when it hasn't been raining so much. I wonder how long ago that bridge had washed away.

Now that was a RR. :thumleft:

 

[Minxy]

We wake up after a good nights sleep, have an awesome breakfast and explore our surroundings a bit. Gerrit and family really have an adventure biking haven here. Be sure to visit if you are in the Tzaneen area!

During breakfast Gerrit asks us where we'd like to go and ride and offers to be our guide. Shall we do something easy going, or? Well... HSK and I look at each other and say; "hit us up with something exciting"... Cool, done deal.

TODAY WE RIDE TO THE IRON CROWN.

 

[Minxy]

We mounted up, Gerrit and Gerrit Junior would be riding the 990 and 300 respectively.
A little bit of info on Gerrit for those who haven't had the honour of meeting him yet His wheelies are AMAZING!!! Also he's an absolute hooligan on a bike, but we love it that way and immediately enjoyed all the father and son biking antics we experienced. Another thing about Gerrit, he knows the Tzaneen area like the back of his hand and has all the forestry and park permits to access just about any place on the map. Very handy if you are into riding off the beaten track

AWWWW NO MISTER FROGGY!!! What are you even doing there!? I stop and release this little stowaway before we hit the first dirt road for the day.

We ride through a maze of beautiful forest roads.

Stopping by the stream at an old picnic spot.

Our gang

   

This part was tricky. It was like snot! Bikes kept slipping and sliding all over the place. Difficult to climb up here in the the wet.

This is right on top of the Wolkberg Nature Reserve.

A beautiful track through the Wolkberg mountains.

The tracks we ride are muddy, rocky, rutted, washed away in places and not to mention... steep. There's a climb or two which make some of OB pass pale in comparison. The scenery though, breathtaking, every kilometer of the way.

   

;D ;D ;D

Now this was tricky. I took these screenshots from a video so quality isn't that good. It's a long shallow river crossing with plenty of stones under the water you just can't see.

I had a disagreement with one of these silly rocks and fell into the lovely cool water, luckily my bike didn't get submerged and I could just pick it up and continue, PHEW! ;D

HSK's turn.

Like a boss!

Such beautiful views.

On one of the forestry roads, near Iron Crown mountain, Gerrits 990's radiator gets hit by a rock. It's leaking, oh no! He says his son will take us up the rest of the way, and he'll free his bike down towards the main road where his wife can pick him up with the bakkie. We agree and offer to tow him if he doesn't make it down. But first, we continue onward to the summit.

 

[JonW]

Great trip Minxy, this is what adventure riding is all about.

 

[Superboet]

Great report

 

[ROOI]

Beatifull  :thumleft:

 

[Ou Ryperd]

NICE!  :thumleft:

 

[Sheepman]

Very good stuff 

 

[Rexc-w]

Lekker report Minxy. 

We rode that little secret pass on our 2017 trip and I did it twice last year.  Last time up and down.  Stunning section.

In 2017 we crossed the Olifants easy where you had to turn around.  In Sept/Oct 2018 we managed to cross but with a bit more effort.  Both water and soft sand on the river banks. Had good fun.
There is an alternative crossing for when the river is too high - minimum tar involved to cross over a weir not too far. Keep this in mind for future needs. Then you go via Dublin to start of OB.

We hit rain at the bottom as we started OB. Somewhat interesting with luggage and pillion.  And super slippery at the top on the clay surface. We did the slippery clay split once near the top. All doable at the end.

I love the area and plenty of riding to do :thumleft:

I have videos and photos, but too kind of clueless to upload and share.

 

[Minxy]

HSK tows Gerrit (the radiator broke on the 990) up to a point where he'd be able to free his bike downhill and get his wife with the bakkie further up on the main road. Gerrit Junior would take us to the summit of the Iron Crown.

   

Just before we turn off to go to the summit.

The road is fairly rough and rocky, up to a point where we reach the concrete strips. We ride past a forestry lookout point. I nearly think we are at the top. No, it's still higher up, says Gerrit Junior.

The last stretch to the summit of the Iron Crown is very steep, off camber and hugely intimidating. We stop at the bottom, HSK's ribs still hurt from his fall in the clay/mud on top of OB pass the previous day, he's a bit short of breath but says he'll go first. HSK gets halfway before he gets a terrible stabbing pain in his side. His ribs! I don't think doing this type of technical riding is helping for the pain Gerrit Junior rides up on his 300, hops off and assists. HSK gets to the top and catches a breather. HSK doesn't let his sore ribs get in the way though and is ready to continue.

Meanwhile I am still looking at how to approach this last climb. Gerrit Junior rides down and tells me it's ok, it's not far to the top, I can walk up if I don't want to risk it. "No, I have to do this." I take a deep breath, I commit, I pick a line, I go, I make it, I am on top of the world!

We rise and conquer the Iron Crown.

Our reward? The most beautiful view from a place in the clouds. The Iron Crown is the highest point in Limpopo at around 2000m.

   

HSK goes first, I follow.

   

When we get lower down, Gerrit Junior's 300 starts to sputter. He's had problems with the sparkplug before and brought a spare, he's convinced it must be playing up again. A little something about Gerrit Junior, he's a fantastic rider and knows how to work on his bike. He quickly changes the sparkplug and we can continue again.

We reach the main road and get Gerrit and Alta with the bakkie. Junior agrees with dad to take us the rest of the way, there's still a bit of the route left that they'd love us to see. Unfortunately the 300 starts sputtering again further down Before we know it 50% of the KTM's are on the back of the bakkie eepwall:

We make a new plan. Junior will ride pillion with me and show us how to get to the lunch stop, it's not far. Alta and Gerrit will go back home and Gerrit will fetch his GS1200 to show us the rest of the route. The plan works like a charm, I lift Junior (who immediately grabs hold of my chest as we pull away :imaposer: :imaposer: :imaposer: ) I have my armour on so it doesn't really matter lol, but I push his hands down and remind him he's riding with a lady : I think he was very, very embarrassed hahahahahah!!! We had such a good chuckle!  :imaposer:

At lunch Gerrit shows up with his BMW and shows us the rest of the route. It is mostly easy going from here, riding all along the Ebenezer dam and taking some scenic back roads to Tzaneen.

Words cannot describe the natural beauty of this area. These are some of the biggest trees I've ever seen. Just look at HSK in the photo for scale!

We return to Oppie Oewer, take a shower and get changed. It has been another long day, with some hard, albeit awesome riding!

Gerrit tells us to come, we're in for another treat. Who could have fathomed!? A romantic sunset cruise on the river :love3:

Ai ai captain!!!

After having some delicious home cooked dinner with our hosts, we start packing our bags and preparing for the next leg of our trip. Tzaneen to Ellisras, via Polokwane and the trust lands.

 

[Minxy]

Lekker report Minxy. 

We rode that little secret pass on our 2017 trip and I did it twice last year.  Last time up and down.  Stunning section.

In 2017 we crossed the Olifants easy where you had to turn around.  In Sept/Oct 2018 we managed to cross but with a bit more effort.  Both water and soft sand on the river banks. Had good fun.
There is an alternative crossing for when the river is too high - minimum tar involved to cross over a weir not too far. Keep this in mind for future needs. Then you go via Dublin to start of OB.

We hit rain at the bottom as we started OB. Somewhat interesting with luggage and pillion.  And super slippery at the top on the clay surface. We did the slippery clay split once near the top. All doable at the end.

I love the area and plenty of riding to do :thumleft:

I have videos and photos, but too kind of clueless to upload and share.

When we see each other again you must show us! I remember seeing some of your photos on facebook. I would love to know exactly where that crossing you are referring to on the Olifants river is, that could have saved us a lot of time  ;D

 

[sidetrack]

Thanks Minxy brings back great memories, Limpopo is a special place. Feels like Africa proper but not that far from GP. Must make a plan to return soon.