After a reluctant, long detour via the tar to the start of the pass (because of the silly Olifants river being in the way...), we finally start to climb the Orrie Baragwanath pass. If you've never been up OB pass before, put it on your bucket list now!!! Some years ago when I just joined the WD forum, this was one of the places I saw in somebody's RR and put it on my own bucket list. This is the third time we have revisited this place since, once in the 4x4, and now twice on the bikes. I hope to be back even more times in the future, this place is magical.
The first stretch of the pass (500m or so), is tough, loose, rocky and unrelenting. There's no warm up, you pretty much start immediately going up rocks, rocks and more rocks. If you stop and lose your momentum, you will have a bad time... So we didn't stop, we kept going until we had a flatter section of road to stop for a breather. HSK and I just looked at each other, like wow... This is WAY tougher than it was back in 2017. No way would I want to be on my AT going up here, it was challenging even on the 701.
What you can see on the photos are the "easier" parts where it is actually possible to stop and get going again
The view, incredible. The only scary part is there are no barriers, after the edge you are met with a sheer vertical drop. On many sections of the pass the road is better on the side near the ledge, it is quite terrifying riding so near the edge, especially in the more technical sections.
Just a few years ago a very "lucky" GS 1200 rider fell down the pass and landed with his bike in a tree just below the ledge. He fell before they climbed too high up the pass and it was still possible to do a recovery with a local bakkie which towed the bike back out
Not something you want to think about when your bike is bouncing over the rocks near the point of no return...
HSK styling it up the pass. Just before we got to the gate, as if our day wasn't long enough, another small disaster struck. As HSK stops next to me and we take another breather, we see fuel leaking from his tank. SHIT! We already barely have enough fuel to get to Tzaneen because of the detour, we can't waste a single drop. HSK immediately jumps off and tries to see what is wrong. It seems to be leaking out from where the fuel pump is situated. Upon further inspection we see the clamp had cut into the fuel pipe. We decide to ride up to the gate of the park just around the corner and do repairs.
We get to the gate of the Lekgalameetse park and sign the book. With it being Xmas and all we also give the two guards a R50 present each. Shame, they sit there in the middle of nowhere for days, weeks, months, years on end? I asked the guards when did the pass get so bad? They said they had A LOT of rain the past week. Just our luck I guess. There are also never any repairs done to this road, except some rocks which are packed/compacted by the 4x4 clubs that visit the area every now and then. At this rate it will become quite the challenge to ride one day.
While we wait on our paperwork to be completed, HSK pulls out the broken fuel pipe and cuts some spare which we have in our toolkit to replace the broken bit. It's 16h30 and the gate in the park closes at 18h00. Not much time to mess around, we need to get moving.
This is your reward for completing the OB pass. One of the most beautiful views in the world
I marked an old farmhouse on my T4A, we didn't have much time but decided we'll go check it out quick quick. We followed a very overgrown path to this forgotten old ruin.
This place gave me the creeps a little bit, especially with it getting late we didn't want to hang around much longer and got moving again.
Another ruin further up. This must have been the most beautiful place once upon a time.
We were taking it quite slow on the last piece, the little two track road we were following was extremely slippery... In 2017 my AT did a complete 180 in the mud, our friend on his GS1200 also had a slip, this time we said we'd take it easy. We pass a bakkie with game rangers, notice how there are suddenly a bunch of cattle in the park walking around with the zebra and eland. Locals are moving in I guess?
I stop briefly as I don't see HSK behind me. I wait a few minutes thinking he might have stopped to speak to the rangers, but no, he shouldn't be taking so long. I turn around and go back to find HSK down in the mud. Eish! It's so slippery we both slip and slide around trying to pick up the bike. And of course, as Murphy always has it, HSK falls with his ribs on the only random log. He's hurt a bit, but says he's fine to continue. We get going again and make it just in time before the gate closes at the bottom of the park.
We do another short stretch on the dirt roads, eventually climbing on the R36 heading to Tzaneen. To put the cherry on top of the cake, HSK's headlight decided it's going to stop working. It is getting dark quickly and the traffic is BAD. People are driving like complete twats and it is slow going, even on the bike.
We eventually make it into Tzaneen, get some fuel (those reserve lights had been on for a lil while...) and we put in the GPS coordinates for our accommodation, Oppie Oewer Chalets. The GPS takes us completely the wrong way, and it is now pitch black. HSK's headlight refuses to work, we still haven't eaten.. It has been a long day! We call Gerrit, from Oppie Oewer accommodation and he sends us a pin. I ride right next to HSK in the dark and he operates the phone while riding. We get to where we think it is and see nothing. Then suddenly we hear a two stroke, and see the little 300's headlight! Gerrit's son has come to fetch us outside their spot in the dark. Yay, salvation! We get to our accommodation, introductions are made, and another ride for tomorrow is discussed over dinner. We were so starved as we've only had a protein bar each to eat all day. Gerrit and family are fantastic hosts and we are soon sleeping like babies with the calming sound of the river at our chalet.
Total distance for the day, I think just over 620km?
Topic: Xmas Xtreme (Read 4408 times)
