New Routes,Bush and Sand

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Andy660

Grey Hound
WD Supporter
Joined
May 28, 2007
Messages
5,598
Reaction score
13
Location
Grantham.Uk
Bike
Yamaha XT 660 Z
We went to find new roads  today.

XT660R , Giraffe , Camelman , XXX  and KtmBigger.

We met at the usual place at 06h30,
The sun rose at 06h45 enhancing the KTM`s colours

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But before we left , drove past MH house,just to simpathize with him ,  that he had to do the mowing the lawn thing !
Anyway, the usual roads to Kalbaskraal , and on to the Darling railway track.We didnt go down the railway track , but left at that small settlement , which took us west
There is a hill there that I wanted to explore and on google there are a lot of tracks.
The road was in bad shape with some sandy spots and potholes.Not to mention the couple of dogs that gave us chase.

We ended up on a farm owned by Aandrag.And as we were deciding which roads to take , the farm manager came around the corner with his dogs on the back.

The discussion with the farm manager

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One of the 3 Greatdanes that were on his bakkie

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The cannon in the background came off a koppie on the farm and was used to signal the farmers that a ship was entering Cape Town, according to the manager.

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I explained that we were looking for roads up the hill and if it was alright for us to ride on his roads.He told us that last weekend he had charged some quad riders for trespassing , but that we were more than welcome to ride on his roads. ( I took his no. down for future rides)

SO Bietejie Sand !

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He gave us directions to a road that would lead us to Pella , A small village near Alantis , some 20kays away.
He said the begining of the road would have a bit of sand on it , but that would the road would be ok the rest of the way.Well I think I got the direction wrong , because we hit heavy sand and it only ended in Pella.
Ktm Bigger  and  Giraffe were having a ball and the rest of us were karking.(Cearly a road designed for Leftless.I`ll have to show him where it is one day.)
XXX `s New KTM 990 overheated and Camelmans bike burried its self twice.
I battled the sand moster with all the old spoor from a tractor , but once the road widened I managed third gear and got some speed up.I need much more practice though.

Proof that pretty flowers grow in this white sand

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I told Camelman that if he would look at the camera  , I would help him get his bike out of the sand.
Camelmans KTM950

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Camelman digging

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Giraffe leaving the sand

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XXX fedup with the overheating

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Having a breather and a laugh after all the sand

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Once we all got out of the sand , we refueled in Atlantis and headed for my next target near Darling.

The target was an aerial mast on the top of Kapokberg(459m)
We went the the farmers house to ask permission to ride up the mountain.The maid said she was at church,but if we waited 15 min , she would call and ask him.Well after 30 min and a growling , unhappy and hungry looking black bullmastive , she finally got hold of the farmer who said we should wait 10 min or so .
Waiting for the farmer, XXX (left) and KTM Bigger

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20 min later he arrived . And to our supprise , It was an old aquantince of XXX, and we were off up the mountain.         
Its quite steep , hard sand , with plenty of ruts most of the way up . But at the top , its overgroan and you have to ride through dence bush (the thorny variety) to reach the summit . Ktmbigger and I were first up and we walked a little ways back to take some pics.

The Bush

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Rear, Camelman on the 950 and in front of him XXX on the 990

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Camelman found his leggs a little short on his KTM 950 on an incline and wanted to see what the roots of those thorn bushes looked like , so he lay down next to his bike to see.
Camelman with a view of Table Mountain in the background

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Once we were all at the top we took a group WD pic

Camelman,Xt660 and Giraffe

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The view up there has a 300 degee view.You can see Table Mountain , the sea and far inland.Stunning views

Next up was Daring for lunch , a top up of fuel for Ktm biggers Ktm 625 and we were off to the rear of Kapokberg , where there is another Microwave Tower and vodacom antena.
There was a sign at the back of the residential area that says" private property ", but the gate was open , so we decided to look for a farmer for permission . But with the aid of Camelmans GPS we were at the top of the mast and mountain in a jiffy.

Giraffe going up Kapokberg to the Antenas

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From the top of the mountain , we saw another koppie that needed conquering , so down we went opening and closing gates as we went.By the time we wiped out our eyes , we were back where we started .
That`s  a good ride.We will have to go back and find out who we can get permission from to make a ride out of it.

We then proceeded to Groote Pos road for some speedy stuff , lots of sand and corrogation on that road.
We got to the Westcoast road and said our goodbyes.
XXX and myself went to Doodles for some cold heinikans , KTM Bigger , Camelman and Giraffe all dashed for home.

Thanks guys for a great ride.This reccie ride isnt over yet. There is that other mast that we saw en route that we need to do.

Then I think we will have The Three Koppies Ride ready for all soon.


 
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