Finally our leave arrived, and just in time... And what better way to get your sanity back than on two wheels. My wife and I initially planned to do Sani pass but bad weather persuaded us to rather head east towards the Lowveld.
A day before our intended departure to Lesotho we decided to change course which meant we had to find accommodation at short notice. Damn!, Not the admin I wanted to deal with a day before departure... A couple of months back I visited the AMID bike show where a lady shoved a Hotel Numbi pamphlet into my hand. She came across as honest and hospitable, the place seemed nice, and she assured me that they love the odd biker there. I threw away all the pamphlets I got that day, except Hotel Numbiâ??s â?? and it paid off. We phoned, and yes, one room was available! However, we were informed that a yearly microlight get together (bash?) was being held there and hopefully we wouldnâ??t mind some noise during the day. Not a problem â?? weâ??ll be exploring anyway.
Getting to Hazyview from Joburg took us 7 hours as we played tourist-tourist where ever we could. Most of it was done on tar, except, so to speak, the back road between Witbank and Middelburg â?? the potholes are so bad that one can but only laugh in disbelief. Cars travel next to the road instead of on the tar.
On the way there we passed a 100 or more GSâ??s (not all at once), supposedly on the way to the GSC. And, yes, it looked cool. Way cool. Some might call it posing and others might have something funny to say about brand loyalty. Me - all I saw were a bunch of guys enjoying life to the fullest, taking immense pride in their rides, all this on adventure bikes resembling the Battlestar Galactica! Go guys.
Up until Dullstroom the road is rather boring (except for pothole country just after Witbank) but after that the passes arrive... And the TransAlp just loves them. Sweeping through the Long Tom pass and Kowynspass the TA was, to say the least, exhilarating. This, with the wifey riding pillion. For me the bike performed superbly. I must add, Iâ??m no hooligan, and my wife is a very able throttle controller by means of a thumb and forefinger in the side, so no funny stuff. We just enjoyed the road and fell into â??the grooveâ?. That scenery is just awesome. Often, as we were riding, I felt as if I was in an advertisement peddling the ultimate experienceâ?? the wife and I, sweeping through mountain passes on an awesome adventure motorcycle just purring away, timber plantations stretching out as far as the eye can see...
Arriving at Hotel Numbi we were hot and immediately retired to the safety of the pool, with a cold one, of course. Later that night in the bar we met the microlight crowd, and what a privilege it was. Adventure motorcyclists and these guys have a lot in common â?? that thirst for adventure, a little bit of adrenalin and a love for the outdoors. After a few drinks they insisted on taking us up the next morning, and we very willingly obliged! The following morningâ??s flight was a highlight I will not soon forget. Both my wife and I are avid nature lovers, and what better way to explore the Sabie river than in microlight! We flew for about 30 mins down the Sabie, with the Kruger on the one side, and sparse human habitation on the other. We spotted elephant, buffalo and hippos, did all sorts of funny loops and enjoyed it thoroughly. What did you fly in, you might ask?... ATGATT of course! We packed very little clothes, and the only warm stuff we had was our ATGATT, and up I went in a Richa jacket, Assault pants, Icon summer gloves and Forma boots. The wife had on a similar attire. And yes, our flight suits were indeed a discussion point in the bar that night.
Back to biking, over the next two days we did the tourist thing and went to Godâ??s Window, Bourkes Luck, the Pinnacle and some random/dodgy watering holes, taking every forest road available. At Kowyns Pass there is a dirt road leading up to a fire lookout just before the tunnel. From up there the view was magnificent. I had a long discussion with the lookout and secretly envied him his job at that moment â?? sitting up there all day, looking out at that amazing view. The last big fire they had, according to him, was the previous year. Standing there I could just imagine the horrific view of thousands and thousands of hectares of forest on fire. We also did a long stretch of dirt from Bourkes Luck to Ohrigstad via Caspersnek. However, by then it was midday with temperatures swirling in the high 30â??s and we started thinking about cold beer, all the time. Cold beer. We managed to get home via the most enjoyable piece of tarred road I have ever ridden â?? the road between Graskop and Hazyview (the R535, I think). If youâ??re there, ride it, youâ??ll love it.
Our entire trip lasted 4 days and we got back home without any major incident. Looking back I know why I love adventure motorcycling â?? itâ??s that unexplainable sense of freedom, the odd rush of adrenalin, the closeness to nature, the excitement of new experiences, seeing new places and meeting fascinating people.
Packing
Pothole country
Dullstroom, with some GSC adventurers in the background
Hotel Numbi - home sweet home
Wifey preparing for lift-off
Wifey in flight - Sabie river and Kruger National Park down below
Kruger from up high
Somewhere between Hazyview and Graskop
On top of the world
Caspersnek
A day before our intended departure to Lesotho we decided to change course which meant we had to find accommodation at short notice. Damn!, Not the admin I wanted to deal with a day before departure... A couple of months back I visited the AMID bike show where a lady shoved a Hotel Numbi pamphlet into my hand. She came across as honest and hospitable, the place seemed nice, and she assured me that they love the odd biker there. I threw away all the pamphlets I got that day, except Hotel Numbiâ??s â?? and it paid off. We phoned, and yes, one room was available! However, we were informed that a yearly microlight get together (bash?) was being held there and hopefully we wouldnâ??t mind some noise during the day. Not a problem â?? weâ??ll be exploring anyway.
Getting to Hazyview from Joburg took us 7 hours as we played tourist-tourist where ever we could. Most of it was done on tar, except, so to speak, the back road between Witbank and Middelburg â?? the potholes are so bad that one can but only laugh in disbelief. Cars travel next to the road instead of on the tar.
On the way there we passed a 100 or more GSâ??s (not all at once), supposedly on the way to the GSC. And, yes, it looked cool. Way cool. Some might call it posing and others might have something funny to say about brand loyalty. Me - all I saw were a bunch of guys enjoying life to the fullest, taking immense pride in their rides, all this on adventure bikes resembling the Battlestar Galactica! Go guys.
Up until Dullstroom the road is rather boring (except for pothole country just after Witbank) but after that the passes arrive... And the TransAlp just loves them. Sweeping through the Long Tom pass and Kowynspass the TA was, to say the least, exhilarating. This, with the wifey riding pillion. For me the bike performed superbly. I must add, Iâ??m no hooligan, and my wife is a very able throttle controller by means of a thumb and forefinger in the side, so no funny stuff. We just enjoyed the road and fell into â??the grooveâ?. That scenery is just awesome. Often, as we were riding, I felt as if I was in an advertisement peddling the ultimate experienceâ?? the wife and I, sweeping through mountain passes on an awesome adventure motorcycle just purring away, timber plantations stretching out as far as the eye can see...
Arriving at Hotel Numbi we were hot and immediately retired to the safety of the pool, with a cold one, of course. Later that night in the bar we met the microlight crowd, and what a privilege it was. Adventure motorcyclists and these guys have a lot in common â?? that thirst for adventure, a little bit of adrenalin and a love for the outdoors. After a few drinks they insisted on taking us up the next morning, and we very willingly obliged! The following morningâ??s flight was a highlight I will not soon forget. Both my wife and I are avid nature lovers, and what better way to explore the Sabie river than in microlight! We flew for about 30 mins down the Sabie, with the Kruger on the one side, and sparse human habitation on the other. We spotted elephant, buffalo and hippos, did all sorts of funny loops and enjoyed it thoroughly. What did you fly in, you might ask?... ATGATT of course! We packed very little clothes, and the only warm stuff we had was our ATGATT, and up I went in a Richa jacket, Assault pants, Icon summer gloves and Forma boots. The wife had on a similar attire. And yes, our flight suits were indeed a discussion point in the bar that night.
Back to biking, over the next two days we did the tourist thing and went to Godâ??s Window, Bourkes Luck, the Pinnacle and some random/dodgy watering holes, taking every forest road available. At Kowyns Pass there is a dirt road leading up to a fire lookout just before the tunnel. From up there the view was magnificent. I had a long discussion with the lookout and secretly envied him his job at that moment â?? sitting up there all day, looking out at that amazing view. The last big fire they had, according to him, was the previous year. Standing there I could just imagine the horrific view of thousands and thousands of hectares of forest on fire. We also did a long stretch of dirt from Bourkes Luck to Ohrigstad via Caspersnek. However, by then it was midday with temperatures swirling in the high 30â??s and we started thinking about cold beer, all the time. Cold beer. We managed to get home via the most enjoyable piece of tarred road I have ever ridden â?? the road between Graskop and Hazyview (the R535, I think). If youâ??re there, ride it, youâ??ll love it.
Our entire trip lasted 4 days and we got back home without any major incident. Looking back I know why I love adventure motorcycling â?? itâ??s that unexplainable sense of freedom, the odd rush of adrenalin, the closeness to nature, the excitement of new experiences, seeing new places and meeting fascinating people.
Packing
Pothole country
Dullstroom, with some GSC adventurers in the background
Hotel Numbi - home sweet home
Wifey preparing for lift-off
Wifey in flight - Sabie river and Kruger National Park down below
Kruger from up high
Somewhere between Hazyview and Graskop
On top of the world
Caspersnek
