- Joined
- Jan 24, 2006
- Messages
- 5,159
- Reaction score
- 345
- Location
- Brakpan, South Africa
- Bike
- BMW R1200GS HP2
This year, 2016, marks the 10 Year Anniversary since the production of the HP2 Enduro by BMW. To celebrate the anniversary the HP2 enthusiasts organized a get together for all the current owners on the WD forum. As with all trips, the initial response was overwhelming, there were even brief moments where we though we’ll exceed our previous record of 26 HP2’s as gathered at the 2014 BMW Eco Challenge held at Maselspoort in Bloemfontein.
Then there were four of us
Our first sharpie for the day as we hit the gravel just before Witsand
Sadly that was not to be and as the caterer was not going to fire up her oven for less than 12 people, it was decided in the end to invite previous owners as they could at least talk knowledgeable of these bike as they all were exposed to these magnificent bikes and were suffering serious sellers remorse.
Kalahari Leeu from Upington started the initial organization and then slipped by the wayside, although a venue in the Northern Cape, no too far from Upington was decided upon. Tribes, pronounced “Trie” “Bus” as in Afrikaans which actually stands for “tril and ribbes” eventually volunteered to take over proceedings and did the majority of the organization.
Witsand, ± 80 km south of Olifanthoek was the preferred venue and all navigational equipment was dialed in to find the spot marked with an X.
Our luxury accommodation at Witsand
Watering hole for antelope and other creatures
I had some business to attend to in Keimoes and as I seldom ride my HP to events these days as it clocks unnecessarily mileage I decided to stoetie my bike to Witsand. Yard Bastard and Transported joined me as Basil (Biker Mice) and son also withdrew from proceedings. We drove to Keimoes, did our stuff and then made our way to Witsand.
Tribes
Yard Bastard
Nimmo & Transporter
More of the guys
The friendly guy at reception drew a Nice map of how to get to bungalow 6 to 9 where we were being hosted and soon all our stuff was offloaded at a very luxurious chalet no 9. As we left to go and meet the rest of the gang a guy and his missus pulled up in a Tata bakkie, clearly not part of our group, amazed to see we already occupied chalet 9. He immediately left to “sort this out with reception” while we met with the others. Soon we discovered we were supposed to stay in bungalow 9, a prefab little doll house, barely large enough to house 2 beds and a table with no A/C in a sweltering 38 degrees. Needles to say we were not going to move, no matter what the costs.
YB inspecting the “not so luxurious” bungalow accommodation
Fortunately Mr & Mrs Tata were accommodated in chalet 3 by reception, so we were sorted for the night. Our thatched chalet had three rooms, a separate kitchen, all with A/C and a watering hole, frequented by wild antelope, not 10 meters away. Really a pièce of paradise.
Boerklong and his steed
Victoria West was best represented with no less that three guys coming from that bustling metropolis, albeit only one HP2 owner. Tribes, Jan & Johan, a brother combo, all farmers from the area and just riding along for the hell of it. Andre rode all the way from Paarl, Nimmo from Colesberg on his Katoom with YB and myself from Gauteng and Transported bikeless and glassless made the full compliment of 10 attendees. Vaalbaas and Peter was apparently en route and was expected early Saturday.
Entrance to the trail
Supper was deboned leg of lamb, but as we dug into too much cheese sausage beforehand, very little was consumed and the leftovers was put away for Saturday brunch. Unfortunately te area where we were going to play was visited by some bikes the weekend before and the farmer objected to us riding there again as his game was left bewildered by their antics, so we had to make alternative arrangements. Tril & Ribbes suggested we go ride the Waterford 4x4 trail and soon all necessary arrangements were in place.
The mother of a dune
Early Saturday we headed for the trail after Tribes front wheel was tubed, and soon we found ourselves at a very ominous looking 4x4 trail with some very high dunes and lotsa sand, baking in the early morning 32 degrees. We paid for our visit and set off in an anti clockwise direction as instructed by our host.
Somewhere along the trail
Yard Bastard doing what he does best – having fun
A very tight and twisty track awaited us and our sand riding skills was duly tested while the temperature gradually made its way higher and higher. Somewhere along the liné we lost Tribes and Nimmo, but as we had past a few very tricky sections, turning back was not an option so we pushed on. The route totaled 25 km’s and in just under 2 hours we emerged from the last few dunes, tired but happy that it was over.
This dune on the trail was our nemesis – to short a run up for proper momentum. YB is somewhere in that picture
What ensued was a scramble up the highest dune which we were told the night before can’t be done. Fortunately a few other, like me, don’t like to be told it can’t be done unless you’ve tried, so we raced up the dune and it actually proved a non-event.
Another dune that kept us quite occupied – Boerklong encouraging YB
As the temperature was suring into the high 30’s we headed back to Witsand for some food and a swim. Transported was awakened in his room, nogal under a blanket with the A/C set at 18 degrees. Hell live is tough in Africa.
Getting around on foot is exhausting for us – Boerklong making it look easy
The rest of the afternoon was spend lazing around the pool, talking nonsense, having a drink or two while wondering what happened to Peter and Vaalbaas. Rugby was on, some watched, while others watched bushveld TV outside and our caterer came good on her promise of an excellent meal.
Kalahari – land of plenty
Tribes thanks for all your plans, I certainly had a great time. All the others that made a concerted effort to attent, as a fellow HP owner I acknowledge your efforts and dedication to keeping the legend alive. Those who joined just for the hell of it, thanks, was great meeting new faces and catching up with old friends.
Picture perfect
YB and I heading home at good speed :thumleft:
Thanks to Yard Bastard and Transported fro your company and for chatting me through the ± 500 km detour. I. hope you had as much fun as I did.
I have not heard of any mishaps, so I assume all made it home safely, some are spectating the Mageza, so thanks to the Lord for watching over us.
After the fact
Then there were four of us
Our first sharpie for the day as we hit the gravel just before Witsand
Sadly that was not to be and as the caterer was not going to fire up her oven for less than 12 people, it was decided in the end to invite previous owners as they could at least talk knowledgeable of these bike as they all were exposed to these magnificent bikes and were suffering serious sellers remorse.
Kalahari Leeu from Upington started the initial organization and then slipped by the wayside, although a venue in the Northern Cape, no too far from Upington was decided upon. Tribes, pronounced “Trie” “Bus” as in Afrikaans which actually stands for “tril and ribbes” eventually volunteered to take over proceedings and did the majority of the organization.
Witsand, ± 80 km south of Olifanthoek was the preferred venue and all navigational equipment was dialed in to find the spot marked with an X.
Our luxury accommodation at Witsand
Watering hole for antelope and other creatures
I had some business to attend to in Keimoes and as I seldom ride my HP to events these days as it clocks unnecessarily mileage I decided to stoetie my bike to Witsand. Yard Bastard and Transported joined me as Basil (Biker Mice) and son also withdrew from proceedings. We drove to Keimoes, did our stuff and then made our way to Witsand.
Tribes
Yard Bastard
Nimmo & Transporter
More of the guys
The friendly guy at reception drew a Nice map of how to get to bungalow 6 to 9 where we were being hosted and soon all our stuff was offloaded at a very luxurious chalet no 9. As we left to go and meet the rest of the gang a guy and his missus pulled up in a Tata bakkie, clearly not part of our group, amazed to see we already occupied chalet 9. He immediately left to “sort this out with reception” while we met with the others. Soon we discovered we were supposed to stay in bungalow 9, a prefab little doll house, barely large enough to house 2 beds and a table with no A/C in a sweltering 38 degrees. Needles to say we were not going to move, no matter what the costs.
YB inspecting the “not so luxurious” bungalow accommodation
Fortunately Mr & Mrs Tata were accommodated in chalet 3 by reception, so we were sorted for the night. Our thatched chalet had three rooms, a separate kitchen, all with A/C and a watering hole, frequented by wild antelope, not 10 meters away. Really a pièce of paradise.
Boerklong and his steed
Victoria West was best represented with no less that three guys coming from that bustling metropolis, albeit only one HP2 owner. Tribes, Jan & Johan, a brother combo, all farmers from the area and just riding along for the hell of it. Andre rode all the way from Paarl, Nimmo from Colesberg on his Katoom with YB and myself from Gauteng and Transported bikeless and glassless made the full compliment of 10 attendees. Vaalbaas and Peter was apparently en route and was expected early Saturday.
Entrance to the trail
Supper was deboned leg of lamb, but as we dug into too much cheese sausage beforehand, very little was consumed and the leftovers was put away for Saturday brunch. Unfortunately te area where we were going to play was visited by some bikes the weekend before and the farmer objected to us riding there again as his game was left bewildered by their antics, so we had to make alternative arrangements. Tril & Ribbes suggested we go ride the Waterford 4x4 trail and soon all necessary arrangements were in place.
The mother of a dune
Early Saturday we headed for the trail after Tribes front wheel was tubed, and soon we found ourselves at a very ominous looking 4x4 trail with some very high dunes and lotsa sand, baking in the early morning 32 degrees. We paid for our visit and set off in an anti clockwise direction as instructed by our host.
Somewhere along the trail
Yard Bastard doing what he does best – having fun
A very tight and twisty track awaited us and our sand riding skills was duly tested while the temperature gradually made its way higher and higher. Somewhere along the liné we lost Tribes and Nimmo, but as we had past a few very tricky sections, turning back was not an option so we pushed on. The route totaled 25 km’s and in just under 2 hours we emerged from the last few dunes, tired but happy that it was over.
This dune on the trail was our nemesis – to short a run up for proper momentum. YB is somewhere in that picture
What ensued was a scramble up the highest dune which we were told the night before can’t be done. Fortunately a few other, like me, don’t like to be told it can’t be done unless you’ve tried, so we raced up the dune and it actually proved a non-event.
Another dune that kept us quite occupied – Boerklong encouraging YB
As the temperature was suring into the high 30’s we headed back to Witsand for some food and a swim. Transported was awakened in his room, nogal under a blanket with the A/C set at 18 degrees. Hell live is tough in Africa.
Getting around on foot is exhausting for us – Boerklong making it look easy
The rest of the afternoon was spend lazing around the pool, talking nonsense, having a drink or two while wondering what happened to Peter and Vaalbaas. Rugby was on, some watched, while others watched bushveld TV outside and our caterer came good on her promise of an excellent meal.
Kalahari – land of plenty
Tribes thanks for all your plans, I certainly had a great time. All the others that made a concerted effort to attent, as a fellow HP owner I acknowledge your efforts and dedication to keeping the legend alive. Those who joined just for the hell of it, thanks, was great meeting new faces and catching up with old friends.
Picture perfect
YB and I heading home at good speed :thumleft:
Thanks to Yard Bastard and Transported fro your company and for chatting me through the ± 500 km detour. I. hope you had as much fun as I did.
I have not heard of any mishaps, so I assume all made it home safely, some are spectating the Mageza, so thanks to the Lord for watching over us.
After the fact
