somewhere-els
Puppy
Loneliness is â?¦ left â??home aloneâ?? while your bike is touring Angola without you
Happiness is â?¦ taking the â??beastâ?? left downstairs by the husband for a â??spinâ??
Seeing that I trusted my hubby to tour around on my bike I thought it only fair to put some miles on his bike â?¦ >
Unfortunately traveling alone kept me on the main roads most of the times, venturing on to dirt roads only when close to other towns or where cellphone reception was shown. Nevertheless â?¦ it was fun and I am now in love with a bike that does not belong to me â?¦
From home, East London, I traveled on the Port Alfred coastal route ... Scenic, some twisties, pothole ducking and lots of fun!
Stopping at the new road stall just over the Boesmansriver for lunch. Excellent!
For the first two days I had some family traveling in their car to Mosselbay. We stayed over in Port Elizabeth (PE), visited a mall and enjoyed a fantastic dinner at Zorbaâ??s.
Day 2: PE to Tsitsikamma. Although the road is quite boring till just before Stormsriver, it was lovely to be on the bike. The unbeatable views of the garden route make every drive down there worth your while.
Stormsriver is growing and offers some nice activities such as a treetop canopy tour to challenge your fear of heights â?¦
Tsitsikamma â?¦ one of my favorite places â?¦ from sunset
to sunrise
Day 3: What a way to start the day â?¦ beauty and passes ...
The road in to the Tsitsikamma National Park is fantastic. Lots of twists and lovely views of the ocean and wild life.
The famous Bloukrans Pass heading towards Plettenberg Bay. Every time you ride it, it is an experience ... you just want to turn around and do it again ...
Stopped over to visit the â??Birds of Edenâ?? sanctuary. Unbelievably itâ??s a two hectare dome (the worldâ??s largest apparently) and houses over 2000 birds. A fantastic experience. Would have loved to pop into 'Monkey Land' and the elephant sanctuary, but you need more than one day for all ... maybe next time.
Hitting the road again ... Knysna, George, Mossel Bay, Riversdale, Swellendam, Bredasdorp and finally 480km later, on my way to see what Arniston/â?Waenhuiskransâ? looks like.
Arniston, a fisherman's village ... turquoise sea, white sand, rocky coves and whales! â?? a little-known gem on the Cape south east coast
Unfortunately there were no rooms with views available, so I improvised â?¦
Day 4: Arniston main beach at sunrise.
Leaving Arniston nice and early I went to have a quick look at the other fisherman's villages and towns close-by: Struisbaai, Lâ??Agulhas, Wolvengat, Pearly Beach ...
Would love to spend more time in this area, riding all the gravel roads, visiting all the towns ... but I decided to leave this for a trip with my favorite travel companion (and backup), who by now I was missing dearly!
Neat gravel roads almost all the way to Hermanus :happy7: My first on Hubby's bike! Once I relaxed, I loved it!
Stopping for fuel at Wolvengat, a detour got me there, a VERY small town. The road to Elim was under construction. Fortunately the friendly lady 'started' the fuel pumps early for me seeing that they only open at 9am!
Gansbaai for breakfast ... a bit of a disappointment, as I could not find a restaurant with a view of the sea.
Hermanus â?¦ meeting friends for lunch â?¦ stunning views & lekker local beer.
Next day â?¦ traveling all along the coast ... the best way to head for Cape Town. Hermanus, Kleinmond (I think I could stay there), Betty's Bay, Pringle Bay and ... Rooi Els pass!!! It was still early so I enjoyed a quiet Rooi Els appreciating the views and turns!
Gordon's Bay, Strand and finally Cape Town ...
â??Fish&Chipâ?? break at Houtbay ... Tasty!
Chapmanâ??s Peak, unfortunately I could only go half way up as the road were still closed for repairs :-\
From Chapman's Peak I got a bit lost finding an alternative route to Fish Hoek and Simon's Town, but I really enjoyed the Constantia road leading from the M3 to Hout Bay.
Stayed in Durbanville with 'lost' East Londoners for the night ...
Day 6: Leaving a very rainy and cloudy Durbanville for Lamberts Bay.
Enjoyed the West Coast Park until I got to the Postberg section â?¦. NO ENTRY FOR BIKES!!!!!!!! Needless to say I was upset
Still do not understand why they would not allow bigger bikes, seeing that there are no lions, elephants or buffalo around! ???
Beauty and the beast â?¦
Stopped at Langebaan for lunch, from there I took routes that I have not traveled before ... Velddrif, Piketberg, Graafwater & Lamberts Bay (520km) for the day. Photo opportunities were scares between the 'no shoulder' roads and the rain ...
The road to Lamberts Bay via Graafwater. Caught a bit of a panic at one stage when the road was closed and I had to follow a detour â?¦ worrying about my petrol and condition of the roads.
Stayed over at the trusted Lamberts Bay hotel with their friendly staff.
Day 7: On local advise I took the road to Clanwilliam for some flower â??showsâ??, unfortunately it poured with rain by the time I reached Clanwilliam and I kept going â?¦
Van Rhynâ??s pass towards Nieuwoudtville.
Still raining but saw some beautiful flowers.
From Nieuwoudtville I took the road to Loeriesfontein hoping to see the Quiver tree forest, but I did not find the turn-off the lady at Info talked about. Still saw some beautiful quiver trees and flowers.
Stopped at the local pub&grub in Loeriesfontein and met the friendliest people, even got an invite to tea in Calvinia.
On my way to Gariesâ?¦ contemplating hitting some serious gravel or taking the â??long way roundâ?? ... it did not help that the guy at the petrol station told me â??a guy with the same bike as yours came down on the road last week-end â?¦ hitting some sand â?¦â?.
Took the gamble â?¦
Survived â?¦. Garies:
The next morning the dust was still there, but the air in the tyre was gone â?¦
Thanks to the helpful people in Garies I was on my way and hour later.
Turned out I did not pack all the tools â?¦ and forgot to check under the seat, where hubby packed everything :redface:
Day 8: Happiness is â?¦ topping up fuel in the town before this one (Kamieskroon) â?¦
On the way to Springbok.
Springbok was a lovely surprise. I love the way the people present their town.
I thoroughly enjoyed the reactions of people during my trip when they realized I was a woman riding solo.
Springbok to Pofadder
Pofadder, meeting fellow travelers â?¦
Met a friendly couple on their way to the flowers from Upington. He on the Kymco 500 with all the luggage and the â??kitchen zinkâ?? and his wife on a CS650. Their smiles almost match mine!
Road to Upington â?¦ boring â?¦ testing the speed on the 1200 ;D
Late lunch in Upington with the â??local animalsâ?? â?¦
Appreciating the unusual umbrella ... "boer maak 'n plan"
Accommodation in Upington turned out to be a problem due to some â??movie magicâ?? being filmed, but thanks to the Karoo info and Blue Spot reservations I was sorted out and stayed at the friendly Aloe guest house.
The next morning I met up with hubby in Upington and for the first time got on to the back of the bike giving him a chance to get to know his bike again â?¦
In total 4000km in 9 days and smiling all the way!
Happiness is â?¦ riding your own bike!
Confusion is â?¦ getting back on the Dakar after my trip on the GS1200!
Happiness is â?¦ taking the â??beastâ?? left downstairs by the husband for a â??spinâ??
Seeing that I trusted my hubby to tour around on my bike I thought it only fair to put some miles on his bike â?¦ >
Unfortunately traveling alone kept me on the main roads most of the times, venturing on to dirt roads only when close to other towns or where cellphone reception was shown. Nevertheless â?¦ it was fun and I am now in love with a bike that does not belong to me â?¦
From home, East London, I traveled on the Port Alfred coastal route ... Scenic, some twisties, pothole ducking and lots of fun!
Stopping at the new road stall just over the Boesmansriver for lunch. Excellent!
For the first two days I had some family traveling in their car to Mosselbay. We stayed over in Port Elizabeth (PE), visited a mall and enjoyed a fantastic dinner at Zorbaâ??s.
Day 2: PE to Tsitsikamma. Although the road is quite boring till just before Stormsriver, it was lovely to be on the bike. The unbeatable views of the garden route make every drive down there worth your while.
Stormsriver is growing and offers some nice activities such as a treetop canopy tour to challenge your fear of heights â?¦
Tsitsikamma â?¦ one of my favorite places â?¦ from sunset
to sunrise
Day 3: What a way to start the day â?¦ beauty and passes ...
The road in to the Tsitsikamma National Park is fantastic. Lots of twists and lovely views of the ocean and wild life.
The famous Bloukrans Pass heading towards Plettenberg Bay. Every time you ride it, it is an experience ... you just want to turn around and do it again ...
Stopped over to visit the â??Birds of Edenâ?? sanctuary. Unbelievably itâ??s a two hectare dome (the worldâ??s largest apparently) and houses over 2000 birds. A fantastic experience. Would have loved to pop into 'Monkey Land' and the elephant sanctuary, but you need more than one day for all ... maybe next time.
Hitting the road again ... Knysna, George, Mossel Bay, Riversdale, Swellendam, Bredasdorp and finally 480km later, on my way to see what Arniston/â?Waenhuiskransâ? looks like.
Arniston, a fisherman's village ... turquoise sea, white sand, rocky coves and whales! â?? a little-known gem on the Cape south east coast
Unfortunately there were no rooms with views available, so I improvised â?¦
Day 4: Arniston main beach at sunrise.
Leaving Arniston nice and early I went to have a quick look at the other fisherman's villages and towns close-by: Struisbaai, Lâ??Agulhas, Wolvengat, Pearly Beach ...
Would love to spend more time in this area, riding all the gravel roads, visiting all the towns ... but I decided to leave this for a trip with my favorite travel companion (and backup), who by now I was missing dearly!
Neat gravel roads almost all the way to Hermanus :happy7: My first on Hubby's bike! Once I relaxed, I loved it!
Stopping for fuel at Wolvengat, a detour got me there, a VERY small town. The road to Elim was under construction. Fortunately the friendly lady 'started' the fuel pumps early for me seeing that they only open at 9am!
Gansbaai for breakfast ... a bit of a disappointment, as I could not find a restaurant with a view of the sea.
Hermanus â?¦ meeting friends for lunch â?¦ stunning views & lekker local beer.
Next day â?¦ traveling all along the coast ... the best way to head for Cape Town. Hermanus, Kleinmond (I think I could stay there), Betty's Bay, Pringle Bay and ... Rooi Els pass!!! It was still early so I enjoyed a quiet Rooi Els appreciating the views and turns!
Gordon's Bay, Strand and finally Cape Town ...
â??Fish&Chipâ?? break at Houtbay ... Tasty!
Chapmanâ??s Peak, unfortunately I could only go half way up as the road were still closed for repairs :-\
From Chapman's Peak I got a bit lost finding an alternative route to Fish Hoek and Simon's Town, but I really enjoyed the Constantia road leading from the M3 to Hout Bay.
Stayed in Durbanville with 'lost' East Londoners for the night ...
Day 6: Leaving a very rainy and cloudy Durbanville for Lamberts Bay.
Enjoyed the West Coast Park until I got to the Postberg section â?¦. NO ENTRY FOR BIKES!!!!!!!! Needless to say I was upset
Still do not understand why they would not allow bigger bikes, seeing that there are no lions, elephants or buffalo around! ???
Beauty and the beast â?¦
Stopped at Langebaan for lunch, from there I took routes that I have not traveled before ... Velddrif, Piketberg, Graafwater & Lamberts Bay (520km) for the day. Photo opportunities were scares between the 'no shoulder' roads and the rain ...
The road to Lamberts Bay via Graafwater. Caught a bit of a panic at one stage when the road was closed and I had to follow a detour â?¦ worrying about my petrol and condition of the roads.
Stayed over at the trusted Lamberts Bay hotel with their friendly staff.
Day 7: On local advise I took the road to Clanwilliam for some flower â??showsâ??, unfortunately it poured with rain by the time I reached Clanwilliam and I kept going â?¦
Van Rhynâ??s pass towards Nieuwoudtville.
Still raining but saw some beautiful flowers.
From Nieuwoudtville I took the road to Loeriesfontein hoping to see the Quiver tree forest, but I did not find the turn-off the lady at Info talked about. Still saw some beautiful quiver trees and flowers.
Stopped at the local pub&grub in Loeriesfontein and met the friendliest people, even got an invite to tea in Calvinia.
On my way to Gariesâ?¦ contemplating hitting some serious gravel or taking the â??long way roundâ?? ... it did not help that the guy at the petrol station told me â??a guy with the same bike as yours came down on the road last week-end â?¦ hitting some sand â?¦â?.
Took the gamble â?¦
Survived â?¦. Garies:
The next morning the dust was still there, but the air in the tyre was gone â?¦
Thanks to the helpful people in Garies I was on my way and hour later.
Turned out I did not pack all the tools â?¦ and forgot to check under the seat, where hubby packed everything :redface:
Day 8: Happiness is â?¦ topping up fuel in the town before this one (Kamieskroon) â?¦
On the way to Springbok.
Springbok was a lovely surprise. I love the way the people present their town.
I thoroughly enjoyed the reactions of people during my trip when they realized I was a woman riding solo.
Springbok to Pofadder
Pofadder, meeting fellow travelers â?¦
Met a friendly couple on their way to the flowers from Upington. He on the Kymco 500 with all the luggage and the â??kitchen zinkâ?? and his wife on a CS650. Their smiles almost match mine!
Road to Upington â?¦ boring â?¦ testing the speed on the 1200 ;D
Late lunch in Upington with the â??local animalsâ?? â?¦
Appreciating the unusual umbrella ... "boer maak 'n plan"
Accommodation in Upington turned out to be a problem due to some â??movie magicâ?? being filmed, but thanks to the Karoo info and Blue Spot reservations I was sorted out and stayed at the friendly Aloe guest house.
The next morning I met up with hubby in Upington and for the first time got on to the back of the bike giving him a chance to get to know his bike again â?¦
In total 4000km in 9 days and smiling all the way!
Happiness is â?¦ riding your own bike!
Confusion is â?¦ getting back on the Dakar after my trip on the GS1200!
