We usually do a trip for a week at the end of April every year, and during that trip we also start throwing ideas around for the following year’s trip. So, during our 2008 trip in Southern Namibia someone mentioned the Cape West Coast and it was on.
When we do these trips we always follow one basic rule which has worked really well so far. The rule is:
Make No Arrangements In Advance
So, armed with a Namaqualand map and not much else we set off on another adventure...
DAY 1:
Route: Pretoria > Ventersdorp > Delareyville > Vryburg > Kuruman > Upington > Kakamas > Augrabies
Distance: 980 km
As usual I met up with Pieter at the Sasol garage on the N14 very early in the morning and we set off for Augrabies looking forward to a long day’s riding. Max was supposed to meet us in Delareyville but his bike died on him along the way. Since he was still a couple of hours away from us and waiting for somebody to come and help him, he said that we must continue riding and that he would catch up with us later if possible.
After a long and uneventful day on tar we reached Augrabies at nightfall. Luckily we knew that Max’s problem was fixed and that he was only a couple of hours behind us, but we were anxious to see him arrive because nobody should be riding these roads at night.
After Max arrived we bought meat and charcoal at the local shop and had a lovely braai at our campsite.
Lesson for the day: If you have your sidestand switch removed, like Max did, make sure there are no loose connections which can cause your bike’s engine to cut out without any apparent reason...
On the way to Upington:
Our campsite at Augrabies. Some of the best camping facilities ever:
The Augrabies falls:
When we do these trips we always follow one basic rule which has worked really well so far. The rule is:
Make No Arrangements In Advance
So, armed with a Namaqualand map and not much else we set off on another adventure...
DAY 1:
Route: Pretoria > Ventersdorp > Delareyville > Vryburg > Kuruman > Upington > Kakamas > Augrabies
Distance: 980 km
As usual I met up with Pieter at the Sasol garage on the N14 very early in the morning and we set off for Augrabies looking forward to a long day’s riding. Max was supposed to meet us in Delareyville but his bike died on him along the way. Since he was still a couple of hours away from us and waiting for somebody to come and help him, he said that we must continue riding and that he would catch up with us later if possible.
After a long and uneventful day on tar we reached Augrabies at nightfall. Luckily we knew that Max’s problem was fixed and that he was only a couple of hours behind us, but we were anxious to see him arrive because nobody should be riding these roads at night.
After Max arrived we bought meat and charcoal at the local shop and had a lovely braai at our campsite.
Lesson for the day: If you have your sidestand switch removed, like Max did, make sure there are no loose connections which can cause your bike’s engine to cut out without any apparent reason...
On the way to Upington:
Our campsite at Augrabies. Some of the best camping facilities ever:
The Augrabies falls:
