GKG 2019 - Rooiberg Lodge - Van Wyksdorp

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Joined
Jan 24, 2006
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Location
Prince Albert
Bike
BMW R100GS / Kalahari
It is always difficult to decided whether you had a good bike trip or a incredible camaraderie and experience enjoyed by like minded individuals, any day out on the bike beats a day in work after all. My personal experience over the years also tends to lean towards the less time I had to take photo's on a trip equated to being to busy having a good time with friends and bikes. So this is a ride report but a very short one with very few pics.....I can almost just stop here and not go any further but being me I will bore you with inane ramblings from a Karoo dust filled mind  :biggrin:

The last Airhead Great Karoo Gathering I attended was also at Rooiberge in 2015. Met so many cool guys I knew over several years on the forum and as their forum persona's they actually weren't to kak in real life either  :ricky:

So this year I had the pleasure to ride with [member=2801]Fudmucker[/member] who stayed with us overnight on Thursday before we headed over the Swartberg on Friday morning. I invited my father-in-law to ride with us as he needed an excuse to get out of the house and we picked up another airhead at Kobus se gat.

Fuddy coming up the Swartberg

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followed by FIL on his 1150 ADV that's been through Africa and the America's....with him on it. He just turned 69.

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It does not matter how many times I have driven/rode over this pass I just don't get tired of the spectacular views of the Great and Klein Karoo

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We followed the Kruisrivier/Groenfontein gravel road that travels along the foot of the Swartberg towards Calitzdorp. I last cycled this route about three years ago and was shocked to see how dry it has become. It is still incredible beautiful surroundings but the drought has taken it's toll.

At Kruisrivier

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It is so dry the driffies has gone underground clearly posted by these warnings

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Calitzdorp dam is critically low and this used to be a very good camping and fishing spot on the water. You can spot the previous water level on the far side of this pic. Does not seem to bother the flintstones with their rock caravan as they used to all sorts  :lol8:

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Had a nice lunch at Die Dorpshuis in Calitzdorp and was almost worried we ate to much being only about 40km and one Rooiberg pass away from our destination.

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Heading off past Boplaas onto the gravel enroute Rooiberg Lodge

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It's Friday, I need a beer so tbc....... :lamer:

 
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