DAY 3Day 3 would be rated as the best day of my trip. It would see me do some roads that I have done before and also some new ones that was still a mystery to me. On the menu for the day was Seven passes , Kom se pad, Prins Alfred Pass and a piece of Baviaanskloof.
I left George towards Saasveld and stopped in front of Saasveld college to lube my chain that was now heated up.

Because I had done this road the year before I did not stop for too many pics on this section. At some point I wanted to turn around for a photo and very nearly dropped my bike when the front wheel lost grip on the loose sand next to the road. Some serious groin tearing effort managed to keep her upright.

I crossed a lot of bridges and stopped for one of them.

With all of the lekker kuier with Sonja I had completely forgotten to recharge my coms unit and it was now making noises about having a low battery. My stomach was also making some noises of it's own and so I figured that a stop at a coffee shop in Knysna will solve both problems.
I gave the waitress my coms unit to charge while I had an overpriced breakfast.

It was in this time that Hentie phoned me to say that a business decision had been made and that we would be moving the Tygervalley shop back to Somerset West and that I would need to relocate back to Somerset. This after I had completed my move into my new dwelling place 4 days prior.
I decided to not let any of that spoil my fun and just placed it out of my mind for the time being. At about the same time the power went out in Knysna which meant that I could also no longer charge my coms unit. There was nothing for it but to get back on the bike and head out onto Kom se pad.
Sitting behind a bakkie on the way out of town I realized that I could not see my headlight's reflection in his canopy window. A quick stand on the pegs with a look over the screen confirmed that my high beam has blown , but that dims were still working.
Kom se pad is a treat as always and I expected to see one of the elusive Knysna Elephants around every turn. This was sadly not to be.


I made my way out of Kom se pad and turned left towards Uniondale.
The first part of the road was full of potholes and big lumber trucks throwing up huge clouds of dust but once past Rabbers eiland this was no problem any more.
Jemima however developed a new habbit of attacking me with left hand mirror every time I crossed a bump.

At least the scenery made up for that small irritation. Eventually I removed the mirror and strapped it to my luggage.


The heat was starting to get to me and so when I passed a water stream I made a stop and went to soak my shirt in the river .

I also took this not so good looking selfie

I was really in a much better mood than this photo suggested. In fact , for the next few kilometers I had an absolute ball in the pass towards de Vlugt. The road was good , the corners nicely cambered and I had Jemima running hard between 3500 and 5500 RPM in 3rd and 4th gear with some hard braking and a blip down to 3rd gear before every corner. So spirited was my riding and braking that Jemima's rear brake started to fail in the last few corners before de Vlugt. I have heard of other people boiling the GS and Dakar rear brakes , but this was the first time it happened to me. I did enjoy that piece of road thoroughly .
Now it was time to go up Prince Alfred pass and I slowed way down and made sure that I stuck close to the left hand side of the turns as the pass was narrow and I was in no mood to meet a racing 4x4 coming the other way. As it turned out I only had to deal with some 4x4's at the top of the pass as I neared Avontuur.
Looking back

and some more pics



And looking back again from the top of the pass


I stopped in Uniondale for a Pink Sterri Stumpie and a tin of Viennas just for in case. I fueled up at the Shell and begged a new headlight globe of the local motor mechanic.
And then it was on to new uncharted roads.



Slowly the landscape was changing. A sign told me that I was 50kms from the Baviaanskloof police station.

And then a little ridge and a corner and Baviaanskloof opens before you.


I stopped at Uitspan and had a glorious Coke with Ice whilst talking to Nico the owner.

With the coke done justice I got back on the road towards Doornkloof where I would over night. I once again dealt with some local traffic

and enjoyed the rock formations and scenery.

Towards the east it looked like a small thunderstorm brewing.

With some more scenery and water crossings I made it to Doornkloof.
Jemima was startng to worry me a little. Every time I stopped I still smelled the coolant but the weephole remained dry. I could also not see any obvious leaks. This left one possibility. A leak in the radiator. High mileage F650's are know to have the fan shroud eat into the radiator over long periods of time. With Jemima on 116000km I guess that it was about due for me. She had also developed another nasty little habbit. The Neutral light would stay on when I put her in gear and would then flicker out over time. This became more and more pronounced after every water crossing. I put this down to a chaffed wire and made a not to sort out on one of me rest days.


I picked a lekker spot and made my camp.

I was the only soul there except for a very inquisitive Coot whom I called Koot.

Koot would walk right up to me and then start ripping at the grass like he is eating it. Trying his best to convince me that he was a hungry and deserving local who would gladly take any food off my hands that I may not have need for.


I got hold of Barend who sold me a braai pack and some wood and with my tent pitched and the fire lit it was time to chill.


I did have one small little problem in that the loo's did not have toilet paper and that was the one thing I did not pack. That problem was solved by raiding the little cottages next to the dam. Sorry Barend.
With the meat on the coals I started unpacking my cutlery only to discover that my unbreakable plastic plate had become holy.

Ahh well - not a problem . We will just cover the hole.

I ate like a king and had a view like none other.


That night I lay in front of my tent looking at the stars for nearly three hours.

Eventually I went to bed happy and content. To quote another wilddog :"Another tough day in Africa".