Carnivore
Race Dog
LESOTHO, Me, and a New Buddy
After hearing that Sani Pass was being tarred, I resolved to ride it before that happened.
Planning this trip, I turned to the WDs for advice. No shortage of that, thank you very much! And so the research started and a plan evolved.
https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=13015.0
Originally, I wanted to do a â??Southern Tourâ? which would stretch from Sani in the East to Malealea, via the legendary Senqu crossing up to Semonkong. It was duly pointed out to me that this was a â??serious challengeâ? and far too much for a weekend. So we upped the time to 4 days and planned to get to Mount Moorosi.
Well, it didnâ??t pan out that wayâ?¦!
My good friend Jock from East London arranged to have a car and trailer in PE for me to make a fast getaway from the Salt Mine in Uitenhage to EL to save the precious rubber on my back wheel. When he and Wayne had to pull out of the trip, he still made the combo available to me, and so I loaded up and hit the road.
Here starteth the first of many lessonsâ?¦
My most humble apologies to Michnus who gave such good packing advice in another thread of mine.
https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=13669.20
Due to various maladies of the decision making department in my brain, work deadlines and other short stories, my luggage turned out to be a togbag with a 5litre jug each side, and everything else in there too â?? tools, chow, clothes.
Lesson one: DO NOT PACK SO MUCH STUFF â?? you really do not need it, for 4 days and 3 nights. (More of my thoughts on that later.)
Lesson two: DO NOT PACK IT HIGH AND BACK â?? it will throw you around.
So I reached EL without mishap, and arrived at Allanâ??s home, courtesy of a waypoint on my old GPSIII+ to a chorus of greeting from some canine anti-burglar creaturesâ?¦. Allan showed me around his place, his love for riding so apparent and unfettered. His new KLR650 looked a bit weird, and I wondered what all the fuss was aboutâ?¦ Ja, well no fine! Just been to Lesotho two weeks ago, hey? Mmmm, you like the place, hey? Ja, boet, itâ??s the best! Mmmmm some moreâ?¦
The trip starts here..!
7am next morning, Friday 29th, after adding a small tent to my pack, we scoot out on the N2 to Mtatha in the Transkei, and on to Kokstad for the regulatory Burger for lunch. We refueled in Himeville, and I filled the 2 jugs too. Now the Palomino had a serious load aboard. (Why, oh why, I hear some of you moanâ?¦? Yeah, well, like I saidâ?¦ lessons to be learned.)
Turned off onto the Sani road for the first taste of gravel.
All good so far, but I start to remember the 2 occasions I have welded the sub-frame back to the rear tube on the bikeâ??s tail, and suddenly those ruts and erosion ditches appeared to me like the Fish River Canyon. I mean, this is why I dumped the topbox, because of the stress on the sub-frame when it shakes. But all is well, and I am having fun. Allan of course is in his element, and that blue scooter of his is fairly floating along the track. Mmmmmm some moreâ?¦!
We stop at this first little waterfall. And there are some pretty substantial crabs in the pool!
I struggled with my camera here, not noticing that the mode selector was on â??movieâ?? â?¦ though my batteries were shot, notwithstanding the 12v charger in my tankbag. Heck, I love technology, but not when it misbehaves!
We meet up with some 1200GSs and a V-Strom and themâ??s a little hesitant at this minor crossing. Well, yes, the concrete ledge was a bit highâ?¦
Anyway, we start to climb higher
and there are some fairly rough sections. The views in the valley are becoming more stunning as we go on.
At the RSA border post, we are treated with much friendliness and processed swiftly. No more than 5 minutes for the formalities, and 10 for chatting to the GSs and V-Strom.
Then the awesome climb up Sani. It is very rocky, and in some places very loose. The trick is momentum, in my humble opinion.
Allan conquers the turns and ruts with aplomb.
I maintain a more gentlemanly progress with a luggage pack twice the weight of his. (Why, oh why, I hear some of you moanâ?¦?)
Moving higherâ?¦
Weâ??ve come a wayâ?¦ looking back is goodâ?¦
The valley is beautiful! We stop often to savour this. After all, this ride is about the Sani.
Why do photos not portray the real gradient?
Some way back, when we were below this bakkie, Iâ??d asked Allan, â??Why is that bakkie going so slowly â?? is it that bad?â? â??No,â? he says, â??he just knows what he is doing.â?
When we got to chat to the occupants at the pub later, we learned that he farms at the beginning of the Sani road, and they were just coming up for the night â?? he and his wife and (we presume) his future daughter-in-law. 1st gear, low range and a leisurely trundle up the â??bergâ?¦! The boys were to arrive later on a farm bike.. Honestly, these Natal farmers are a tough breed!
Either Allan is very accomplished and talented, which he is, or this scooter is seriously capable, which it is! My eyebrows are raised and I think I like this scooter a lot
We play leapfrog with the bakkieâ?¦. We take pictures. This is Sani!
Down in the distance, we see this taxi winding itâ??s way up the pass. (These are brilliant vehicles. Would really like to import oneâ?¦)
So we scuttled our way up to get through the Customs before the crowd that must surely spill out the vehicle upon arrival at the summit.
Oh, the joy of getting to the top! It had been a long day â?? from 7am to 4:40pm. That beer in the Highest Pub in Africa was shouting very loudlyâ?¦
So we checked in, along with our Bakkie Friends (everyone becomes friends at Sani Top)
and took the mandatory picture in the Highest Pub in Africa.
The weather was closing in, as the mist and cloud swirled up the pass.
We checked into our bakpackers room, and met these gentlemenâ?¦
What a really lovely bunch of dignified men, all pastors in Durban, come up to Sani Top for the night for an adventure and some fellowship. They treated us to some of their chowâ?¦ a Carnivore just cannot say no to this!
Allan fell in love with this BIG chappie.. a really lovely animal with soft beautiful eyes.
Now these fine gentlemen were celebrating 40 years in SA â?? having emigrated from Switzerland. They have played cards EVERY Tuesday night for 40 years! And Allan just had to include a sleeping Me in the group photo. (Apparently, someone considered planting a flower in my beard, but a sense of dignity for one tired greybeard prevailed!)
Slept like a king, ate like a king, and felt like a king in the morning, when we were greeted with this morning sky.
And our mounts were waiting for us.
One last look at the Sani in the early lightâ?¦
â?¦ and we were off into the north â?? my first trip into the Mountain Kingdom.
Still stopping often for photosâ?¦
â?¦ but knowing that we had the Matabeng Pass to conquer at the end of the day. So we had to keep on moving, whilst absorbing tranquil beauty such as thisâ?¦
And thisâ?¦
Sometimes Allan was in front, and some times behindâ?¦
We were getting along well. He is a good solid man, and I was glad to be riding with him.
We reached our most northern point â?? the turnoff to Taung past Thaba Phafane at 3250m. This section of the route was our NW to SE leg, as can be seen by the track in my GPS.
We had filled up from my 5 litre jugs at the turn, and I was relived of 8 kg of weight on my tail. Still too much it seemsâ?¦
These roads are pretty good! And the scenery is overwhelming my senses. It is like being on top of the world!
END OF PART 1
Go to https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=15637.20 for part 2
After hearing that Sani Pass was being tarred, I resolved to ride it before that happened.
Planning this trip, I turned to the WDs for advice. No shortage of that, thank you very much! And so the research started and a plan evolved.
https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=13015.0
Originally, I wanted to do a â??Southern Tourâ? which would stretch from Sani in the East to Malealea, via the legendary Senqu crossing up to Semonkong. It was duly pointed out to me that this was a â??serious challengeâ? and far too much for a weekend. So we upped the time to 4 days and planned to get to Mount Moorosi.
Well, it didnâ??t pan out that wayâ?¦!
My good friend Jock from East London arranged to have a car and trailer in PE for me to make a fast getaway from the Salt Mine in Uitenhage to EL to save the precious rubber on my back wheel. When he and Wayne had to pull out of the trip, he still made the combo available to me, and so I loaded up and hit the road.
Here starteth the first of many lessonsâ?¦
My most humble apologies to Michnus who gave such good packing advice in another thread of mine.
https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=13669.20
Due to various maladies of the decision making department in my brain, work deadlines and other short stories, my luggage turned out to be a togbag with a 5litre jug each side, and everything else in there too â?? tools, chow, clothes.
Lesson one: DO NOT PACK SO MUCH STUFF â?? you really do not need it, for 4 days and 3 nights. (More of my thoughts on that later.)
Lesson two: DO NOT PACK IT HIGH AND BACK â?? it will throw you around.
So I reached EL without mishap, and arrived at Allanâ??s home, courtesy of a waypoint on my old GPSIII+ to a chorus of greeting from some canine anti-burglar creaturesâ?¦. Allan showed me around his place, his love for riding so apparent and unfettered. His new KLR650 looked a bit weird, and I wondered what all the fuss was aboutâ?¦ Ja, well no fine! Just been to Lesotho two weeks ago, hey? Mmmm, you like the place, hey? Ja, boet, itâ??s the best! Mmmmm some moreâ?¦
The trip starts here..!
7am next morning, Friday 29th, after adding a small tent to my pack, we scoot out on the N2 to Mtatha in the Transkei, and on to Kokstad for the regulatory Burger for lunch. We refueled in Himeville, and I filled the 2 jugs too. Now the Palomino had a serious load aboard. (Why, oh why, I hear some of you moanâ?¦? Yeah, well, like I saidâ?¦ lessons to be learned.)
Turned off onto the Sani road for the first taste of gravel.
All good so far, but I start to remember the 2 occasions I have welded the sub-frame back to the rear tube on the bikeâ??s tail, and suddenly those ruts and erosion ditches appeared to me like the Fish River Canyon. I mean, this is why I dumped the topbox, because of the stress on the sub-frame when it shakes. But all is well, and I am having fun. Allan of course is in his element, and that blue scooter of his is fairly floating along the track. Mmmmmm some moreâ?¦!
We stop at this first little waterfall. And there are some pretty substantial crabs in the pool!
I struggled with my camera here, not noticing that the mode selector was on â??movieâ?? â?¦ though my batteries were shot, notwithstanding the 12v charger in my tankbag. Heck, I love technology, but not when it misbehaves!
We meet up with some 1200GSs and a V-Strom and themâ??s a little hesitant at this minor crossing. Well, yes, the concrete ledge was a bit highâ?¦
Anyway, we start to climb higher
and there are some fairly rough sections. The views in the valley are becoming more stunning as we go on.
At the RSA border post, we are treated with much friendliness and processed swiftly. No more than 5 minutes for the formalities, and 10 for chatting to the GSs and V-Strom.
Then the awesome climb up Sani. It is very rocky, and in some places very loose. The trick is momentum, in my humble opinion.
Allan conquers the turns and ruts with aplomb.
I maintain a more gentlemanly progress with a luggage pack twice the weight of his. (Why, oh why, I hear some of you moanâ?¦?)
Moving higherâ?¦
Weâ??ve come a wayâ?¦ looking back is goodâ?¦
The valley is beautiful! We stop often to savour this. After all, this ride is about the Sani.
Why do photos not portray the real gradient?
Some way back, when we were below this bakkie, Iâ??d asked Allan, â??Why is that bakkie going so slowly â?? is it that bad?â? â??No,â? he says, â??he just knows what he is doing.â?
When we got to chat to the occupants at the pub later, we learned that he farms at the beginning of the Sani road, and they were just coming up for the night â?? he and his wife and (we presume) his future daughter-in-law. 1st gear, low range and a leisurely trundle up the â??bergâ?¦! The boys were to arrive later on a farm bike.. Honestly, these Natal farmers are a tough breed!
Either Allan is very accomplished and talented, which he is, or this scooter is seriously capable, which it is! My eyebrows are raised and I think I like this scooter a lot
We play leapfrog with the bakkieâ?¦. We take pictures. This is Sani!
Down in the distance, we see this taxi winding itâ??s way up the pass. (These are brilliant vehicles. Would really like to import oneâ?¦)
So we scuttled our way up to get through the Customs before the crowd that must surely spill out the vehicle upon arrival at the summit.
Oh, the joy of getting to the top! It had been a long day â?? from 7am to 4:40pm. That beer in the Highest Pub in Africa was shouting very loudlyâ?¦
So we checked in, along with our Bakkie Friends (everyone becomes friends at Sani Top)
and took the mandatory picture in the Highest Pub in Africa.
The weather was closing in, as the mist and cloud swirled up the pass.
We checked into our bakpackers room, and met these gentlemenâ?¦
What a really lovely bunch of dignified men, all pastors in Durban, come up to Sani Top for the night for an adventure and some fellowship. They treated us to some of their chowâ?¦ a Carnivore just cannot say no to this!
Allan fell in love with this BIG chappie.. a really lovely animal with soft beautiful eyes.
Now these fine gentlemen were celebrating 40 years in SA â?? having emigrated from Switzerland. They have played cards EVERY Tuesday night for 40 years! And Allan just had to include a sleeping Me in the group photo. (Apparently, someone considered planting a flower in my beard, but a sense of dignity for one tired greybeard prevailed!)
Slept like a king, ate like a king, and felt like a king in the morning, when we were greeted with this morning sky.
And our mounts were waiting for us.
One last look at the Sani in the early lightâ?¦
â?¦ and we were off into the north â?? my first trip into the Mountain Kingdom.
Still stopping often for photosâ?¦
â?¦ but knowing that we had the Matabeng Pass to conquer at the end of the day. So we had to keep on moving, whilst absorbing tranquil beauty such as thisâ?¦
And thisâ?¦
Sometimes Allan was in front, and some times behindâ?¦
We were getting along well. He is a good solid man, and I was glad to be riding with him.
We reached our most northern point â?? the turnoff to Taung past Thaba Phafane at 3250m. This section of the route was our NW to SE leg, as can be seen by the track in my GPS.
We had filled up from my 5 litre jugs at the turn, and I was relived of 8 kg of weight on my tail. Still too much it seemsâ?¦
These roads are pretty good! And the scenery is overwhelming my senses. It is like being on top of the world!
END OF PART 1
Go to https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=15637.20 for part 2
