Cape Town - Pmb

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JonW

Grey Hound
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Location
Hilton KZN
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Boss Hoss (all models)
Sorry no pics in this report, didn't have a camera with me, so I'll try keep it short.

When faced with an adverse weather report after having already arranged accomodation and got permission from the boss at home to go on a trip, what is the sensible thing to do? Obviously cancel the trip and re-schedule for sometime in the distant future when the weather looks good.

Alternatively you can just say "what the f##k" and go anyway, which is what I did.

I set off at about 07:00 from Paarl with a ride up to Paarl rock, followed by a trip through the winelands and then on to Franschoek and over Theewaterskloof. What beautiful riding you Capies have at your backdoor.

From there over Houwhoek Pass and down to Kleinmond, then on to Hermanus, Stanford and Gansbaai, all on tar. After Gansbaai found a lovely muddy road through to L'Agulhas.

All this done in slightly overcast but pleasant conditions.

From there headed North through Bredasdorp, where the heavens opened and I was rained on all the way up the coast until my overnight stop in Knysna.

The next morning I set off in a light drizzle at about 08:00, headed up through the Diepwalle forests on a spectacular dirt track to Uniondale and then back to the tar at Keurboomstrand, where the rain had increased to a downpour and stayed that way all the way to PE and then on to Grahamstown. It was my plan to overnight in Queenstown, but by the time I got to Fort Beaufort I was soaking wet and frozen, so I decided to stay there for the night.

Left the next morning in the pouring rain, and wasn't long before I was wet and frozen once again. Started seeing snow before I got to Queenstown. From there headed to Dordrecht and was on my way to Barkly East where the plan was to go through Rhodes and then NaudesNek Pass and on to Matatiele. However, by this stage I was frozen and wet and the sensible side of me came to the fore and decided that perhaps it would not be wise to try the pass on my own in the snow with the obviously inadequate gear I had brought.

So I turned around and headed inland in search of some clear weather and warmth, which I found in Aliwal North. From there I headed the long way around Lesotho, through the Eastern Free State to Zastron, Ladybrand, Ficksburg and Clarens, a really beautiful part of SA. Then past Sterkfontein and arriving home in Pmb at 21:00 last night.

In all I did about 2100 km in three days, 1000 on the last day. My trusty KLR really impressed as a long distance tourer, it thudded along at 120 km/h all day long without missing a beat.

Next time I'll take a camera. And maybe wait for sunny weather.
 
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