Baviaans admiration

[Jaqhama]

I'm jealous as all hell :!:  

The stories and photos coming from you guys Bav ride are stunning.

I'll just have to get my arse over to South Africa next year.

You folks can obviously ride off road thru the wilderness pretty much anywhere, over here the national parks organisation is closing more and more land to trail bikes and 4x4.
They claim it's for conservation...but whats the point in conserving huge tracts of land if no one ever gets to see it?

The Bav area and some of the routes people took to get there look awesome.

You probably notice I spend a lot of time on this forum, it's because I like the laid back attitude you guys have and I like the wild countryside you're always posting pics of.

Thanks: Jaq.

[Red]

Ditto!!

We missed some fun didn't we?

[Watty]

I
You folks can obviously ride off road thru the wilderness pretty much anywhere, over here the national parks organisation is closing more and more land to trail bikes and 4x4....

Not strictly true.  Permits are required for all recreational activities and campsites within the Baviaanskloof Wilderness Area.  Such sites may also be used for their designated purpose only.  During the Baviaans Bash camping was done just outside the wilderness area on private land (farm).. The guys that did the ?4x4? trail over the mountains to Kareedow did so with the consent of the landowner (farmer on which land we camped).  All the other rides were done on Route R332 which is a proclaimed servitude road  - You do not require a permit to drive through the Wilderness Area.   However going off this road at any stage whilst within the Wilderness Area is an offence and quite strictly controlled.  During the weekend I was stopped twice by two different rangers, enquiring what my intended Route and destination was.

[LuckyStriker]

I should also mention that the pics you saw of the Baviaans were all taken on proclamated roads or tracks for which permission was given.
No one made new tracks, rode illegally on private roads or damaged nature in any way except maybe for mango who ploughed into the bush

[Welsh]

I'm jealous as all hell :!:  

The stories and photos coming from you guys Bav ride are stunning.

I'll just have to get my arse over to South Africa next year.

You folks can obviously ride off road thru the wilderness pretty much anywhere, over here the national parks organisation is closing more and more land to trail bikes and 4x4.
They claim it's for conservation...but whats the point in conserving huge tracts of land if no one ever gets to see it?

The Bav area and some of the routes people took to get there look awesome.

You probably notice I spend a lot of time on this forum, it's because I like the laid back attitude you guys have and I like the wild countryside you're always posting pics of.

Thanks: Jaq.

Don,t worry I live here and am also jealous, only good thing was I anticipated my kak, so did not plan to go. And Boy was I correct.

Welsh      

[SGB]

Would have loved to go, will certainly make a plan next year.  November was just a little hectic - Took some friends to Jan's farm on 3 Nov weekend, and co-ordinating a Roof trip through Lesotho at the end of Nov.  And doing some work in the mean time.  Will get my priorities in line next time....  From the reports it is clear that all had a great time out there, good to see!

[Ama ride ride]

Clamping down and closing off to conserve areas is not uncommon here in SA.  The current road through the Baviaans is not being repaired after heavy rains. And if one can believe rumors it is that Nauture conserv seeks a way to declare the servitute on the road unvalid. So by not repairing it they can claim that it had become too dangerous for normal useage. I am not sure who is responsible for repairing the road.

And as things stand most nature conserv areas do not allow bikes of any kind inside. 4X4's yes but not bikes. It wil be a very sad day if the Baviaans is out of bounds for our tipe of bikes.

[LuckyStriker]

<snip> ...It wil be a very sad day if the Baviaans is out of bounds for our tipe of bikes.

Has anyone ever called you a prophet of doom?

The conspiracy theory of the Baviaans Wilderness Area management wanting the road to be closed is a wild accusation.
The real reason behind the road's condition is because the Eastern Cape do not have the money for repairs. (what they did with the funds is a story best not gotten into )
At the moment the road generates quite a bit of income for the region and the local government will never want to lose it.
The Baviaans Wilderness Area is not a governmental entity and can never lay claim to the road no matter what their arguement.
It takes a moerse lot of paperwork and time to deproclamate a road because it belongs to 'the people'.

As for parks not allowing bikes... I actually phoned ALL the National Parks (not reserves or wilderness areas ...too many) in the country once. Most of them welcomed bikes.
The ones that didn't had safety issues regarding elephant and lion. Less than a handfull had personal problems with bikers.
It is not National Parks policy to exclude bikes - It is the park manager's prerogative, and you have the freedom to approach him and ask for entry. If he is a d**s he'll say no...but it is not official policy

[Ama ride ride]

Thanks for correcting me about parks vs reserves LS. I had however a nasty experience with the head warden of the Richtersveld park and he said its national policy about no bikes in parks. So now I know he is just a big twatwaffle. You had corrected me here.

I am however sticking to believing about the road in the baviaans nature area. Its easier to close a road as what we generally think. There are many loopholes. By closing I do not mean with a padlock and barbed wire but a boom and gate. Then Nature Conserv can put up a gate and ask for money and control entry. This makes financially more sense.

But then again Mrs Lucky Strykyster is the expert here so who am I to differ. :oops:

[Jaqhama]

Half the places you may see future pics of me and the lads riding in you might notice our rear number plates are errr...obscured.

Garrawarra Recreation Area...now part of the Royal National Park outside Sydney (just down the road from my place) now no bikes, atv's horses, dog walking, or 4x4's.
But strangely enough the only people who ever went there only did so in the listing above.
No bugger bushwalks there, there's nothing but scrub, no views or anything.
So we still keep riding there, and we still don't see any bushwalkers. :roll:

Same with half a dozen other places nearby.

All the places I ride in have always been areas where trail bikers have ridden for years, and where no one has ever gone for sightseeing or hiking.
In the last few years they have declared them national parks and pretty much banned anyone from using them.
Trouble is they haven't quite managed to work out how to keep trail bikers from riding there.
They have few rangers to patrol the areas, and a 4x4 won't fit down most of the tracks, and the rangers are seldom brave enough to front up to a dozen blokes on bikes and tell them they're being bad boys.
So we still ride in the places we always have done and it's like nothing has changed except the Government says it's illegal. :roll:

Police you ask?
About half a dozen blokes in the Trail Bike squad, not based anywhere near the riding areas, and they are on XR 600's, which is not the best bike in the world for fast riding on tight single track anyway.
Kids on motorcross bikes run rings around them.

It's all a bit of a bore actually.
If they had just left the riding places as Crown Land they could have saved everyone a lot of trouble.

[Lootch67]

Getting back to Jaqhama's original post.... May I use this thread to congratulate everybody on some excellent ride reports and pictures. Certainly looks like I've missed out big time.

[buzzlightyear]

May I join the chorus and say thanks to all who posted pics. It really looks like it was a lot of fun and kuiering.

Maybe next time...