One of the sad things about the “Old South Africa” is that it divided the country into areas that, as a white person, you could go to, and other areas that you could not go to. In the pre ’94 period I would never have dared to venture into the Valley of 1000 hills, and, as tribal area, I thought about the valley as the old explorers thought about the uncharted areas of the world - “there be monsters”.
My views changed one Sunday morning when I stopped at Dirk’s Country Grill (R.I.P Dirk – go well my friend) on the Comrades route at Drummond and met two KLR Riders who asked me if I would like to tag along with them through the Valley. I have to admit I was nervous of the “monsters”, but did not want to seem like a coward, so I tagged along expecting to be attacked at any moment.
It was a great ride, and there were no monsters. That started within me a love of the Valley that has never left. Even though I have moved up to Gauteng, I always take the bike down with me when I go back, and on Sundays you will most likely find me on the KLE in the Valley.
The first question people ask is “is it safe”? I can’t answer for everybody, but I have never had any bad experience at all. I have heard stories of riders being attacked and robbed, but it is always someone, who knows someone, who knows someone, who was attacked. Of the forty or fifty people I know who actually spend time in the valley I have never heard of an unpleasant incident, so I have to assume that the stories have grown in the telling, or we have all just been lucky.
But that is not saying one does not have to be careful. The valley is full of kids (goat and human), donkeys, cattle and people, some of whom are not sober on weekends, so it not a place for speed. I would imagine the repercussions from killing a child or animal would be severe.
To me the great thing about the Valley is that, being tribal trust area, there are no fences, private roads and no-entry signs – just a few thousand kilometers of rideable roads. By contrast a few months ago I rode a loop around Thabazimbi. It is a beautiful area, but I rode three hundred kilometers with two meter game fences on each side of the road, and each detour seemed to find a gate that told me that I was not welcome – a stranger in a strange land. Even as a white guy in black tribal area in the Valley I feel welcome.
Where is the valley, and where are its borders? That is not so easy to define as it has no fixed borders, but roughly it is the tribal area in the Umgeni, Mhloti and Msundizi river valleys downstream of the Midmar and Albert Falls dams. Also confusing the issue is the labeling of the “touristy” strip along the comrades route between Botha’s Hill and Camperdown as the “1000 Hills Experience” but that is just the edge, and it is nice enough if you are into curio shops, bars and restaurants, but the REAL valley starts down the hills from there.
So in starting this thread I hope that more riders, but maybe not too many, will ride the Valley. Call me idealistic, but I hope people will ride the valley with respect to the people who have lived there for thousands of years. I hope they will take with them friendliness and courtesy, and leave behind good feelings towards those who ride bikes. It does not take much – a smile and a nod at the locals, and a few cans and a chat at the shabeens on the way.
So I have put together a small collection of “starter routes” for people not familiar with the area to get started. Many of the routes are now tarred, but that can’t be helped. Don’t be scared of venturing from these routes. The Valley is a rabbit warren of roads, and without a GPS it can be confusing, as there is not one straight line or right angle anywhere.
The collection is based on a “spine” route running the whole length of the valley, a few alternative ways in and out, and a couple of scenic detours and loops. I have attached a file with the tracks, and the names relate to the track names in the file.
The Routes
<<<<<<<<<< Routes Attached >>>>>>>>>>>>>>
My views changed one Sunday morning when I stopped at Dirk’s Country Grill (R.I.P Dirk – go well my friend) on the Comrades route at Drummond and met two KLR Riders who asked me if I would like to tag along with them through the Valley. I have to admit I was nervous of the “monsters”, but did not want to seem like a coward, so I tagged along expecting to be attacked at any moment.
It was a great ride, and there were no monsters. That started within me a love of the Valley that has never left. Even though I have moved up to Gauteng, I always take the bike down with me when I go back, and on Sundays you will most likely find me on the KLE in the Valley.
The first question people ask is “is it safe”? I can’t answer for everybody, but I have never had any bad experience at all. I have heard stories of riders being attacked and robbed, but it is always someone, who knows someone, who knows someone, who was attacked. Of the forty or fifty people I know who actually spend time in the valley I have never heard of an unpleasant incident, so I have to assume that the stories have grown in the telling, or we have all just been lucky.
But that is not saying one does not have to be careful. The valley is full of kids (goat and human), donkeys, cattle and people, some of whom are not sober on weekends, so it not a place for speed. I would imagine the repercussions from killing a child or animal would be severe.
To me the great thing about the Valley is that, being tribal trust area, there are no fences, private roads and no-entry signs – just a few thousand kilometers of rideable roads. By contrast a few months ago I rode a loop around Thabazimbi. It is a beautiful area, but I rode three hundred kilometers with two meter game fences on each side of the road, and each detour seemed to find a gate that told me that I was not welcome – a stranger in a strange land. Even as a white guy in black tribal area in the Valley I feel welcome.
Where is the valley, and where are its borders? That is not so easy to define as it has no fixed borders, but roughly it is the tribal area in the Umgeni, Mhloti and Msundizi river valleys downstream of the Midmar and Albert Falls dams. Also confusing the issue is the labeling of the “touristy” strip along the comrades route between Botha’s Hill and Camperdown as the “1000 Hills Experience” but that is just the edge, and it is nice enough if you are into curio shops, bars and restaurants, but the REAL valley starts down the hills from there.
So in starting this thread I hope that more riders, but maybe not too many, will ride the Valley. Call me idealistic, but I hope people will ride the valley with respect to the people who have lived there for thousands of years. I hope they will take with them friendliness and courtesy, and leave behind good feelings towards those who ride bikes. It does not take much – a smile and a nod at the locals, and a few cans and a chat at the shabeens on the way.
So I have put together a small collection of “starter routes” for people not familiar with the area to get started. Many of the routes are now tarred, but that can’t be helped. Don’t be scared of venturing from these routes. The Valley is a rabbit warren of roads, and without a GPS it can be confusing, as there is not one straight line or right angle anywhere.
The collection is based on a “spine” route running the whole length of the valley, a few alternative ways in and out, and a couple of scenic detours and loops. I have attached a file with the tracks, and the names relate to the track names in the file.
The Routes
<<<<<<<<<< Routes Attached >>>>>>>>>>>>>>
