- Joined
- Jan 24, 2006
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- 5,159
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- Location
- Brakpan, South Africa
- Bike
- BMW R1200GS HP2
Those that have visited Sani Pass I am sure will agree, every visit hold something different, whether it’s a new person in the group battling to find his/her Sani feet, or whether it’s the weather playing havoc, Sani has always got an Ace somewhere up its sleeve. In our regular speelgroepie, quite a few has never visited this mystical place, so the extra holiday on 22 Mar provided the perfect opportunity for us to go and explore this little piece of heaven. Our route maxed at 1200 km’s which was well within our capabilities for this three day event.
As with all things in life, co-ordinating the diaries of several individuals take a bit of planning and even then, it doesn’t always co-inside or align perfectly.
The riding mates for the weekend: Jean
Basil
Werner
Johan (Alias Hoervoer)
Excalibur
Yours truly
So with Friday approaching half the group decided they wanted to leave Friday arvie while Basil & Sons was off to the Top Gear Disappointment and I waited to show them the way. Saturday morning bright and early we met at the Shell Ultra City, N1 South where I decided for no apparent reason to fiddle with the air shock on Dabulamanzi. Needless to say the average garage pump can hit 7 bars max so I was left with a machine that was continually riding uphill. A visit to the truck stop held the promise of 7.5 bar, but that was the max I was apparently going to find anywhere in Gauteng at that time of morning.
My office for the weekend
The road between Nottingham and Himeville
All rivers were flowing quite strongly
Harrismith showed up in no time and after a sumptuous Wimpy breakfast a visit to the local Supa Quick got my air shock to 8 bars. This alleviated the problem somewhat, but I was too scared to take it to 9 bars in case something popped. In the meantime Excalibur and the rest of the group had ants in their pants and informed us they were going to wait for us at the Himeville Arms, not at Nottingham as originally planned. Well I for one hate sitting around doing absolutely nothing, waiting, so had absolutely no objection to them moving along to the new rendezvous point while we scurried to get there soonest.
Himeville Arms
Border post
The promise of rain on its way
A busy Sani over a long weekend
At 12:15 we pulled into the Himeville Arms where our friends had managed to rack up quite a bar bill and really in the mood to ride and not take any more on board. Needless to say we had to oblige so with 2 quick sharpies behind the ribs we filled up and headed for Sani.
View from above
Werner making mincemeat of the route
Local inhabitants, feeling the chill
En route, as we looked up to Sani top a grey cloud cover was getting ready to unleash all the water it had soaked up over the past month, so we knew we were in for a hop, skip and a jump. Construction worked had just laid down a layer of nice loose pebbles, so the going was challenging to say the least. At the border post on the SA side we completed all formalities and as we were about to set off the heavens opened up above. Scurrying like spooked Meerkat we got our rain suites out and then tackled the increasingly slippery Sani.
Having a cold one on the steep section - to celebrate the moment.
Our suffering was short lived as we soon rode up above the clouds and looked down from atop as the clouds hurried on, fuelled by a strong wind to drench the rest of the Natal Midlands. Sani pass on a Saturday afternoon of a long weekend is rush hour traffic, so an endless stream of vehicles passed us on the way down with a few accompanying us towards the top.
Different kind of Minibus taxi – loaded to the max and 4X4
Needless to say, not all drivers oblige to the rule of giving way to ascending vehicles so Johan and myself both had an off as we had to make sudden way for inconsiderate drivers. Come to think of it, I should have pelted the farker with stones from above after he passed.
Reaching the summit – a group photo
At Sani top the annual Sanitop bike rally was in full swing. At least 15 bikes already adorned the premises while at least another 12 followed after we parked our group of six bikes. Bikes from all shaped and sizes, some build for conditions and other not really suited, but they reached the summit so kudu’s to the riders. The 800GS by far the most popular amongst the average DS rider.
Sanitop bike rally in full swing
Settling down with a few cold ones
Supper
It was around 4 with time to kill so we dug into a few cold ones, setup out tents and talked kark with whoever wanted to listen. I had arranged for us to have supper as a plate of Sani boerekos far surpasses anything you will find anywhere else, except in Ouma se Kombuis on the farm outside Merweville in da Karoo
Pa & Seun in da highest pub
Our room for the night
Early morning
Looks like a big dam of water
Conditions were cool to put it mildly with the cloud cover gradually thickening again and mist moving in to leave us in a spooky, hazed surround with the ice bears tucking at our sleeves. Supper was as good as it gets, from the soup, home baked bread, food platter followed by pudding and something cool to accompany. We were offered the opportunity to watch the bulls / Stormers game as the owner agreed to run the genny to allow us this little luxury.
Yes it was as cold as this picture makes it looks
Unfortunately this event left ¾ of the group in a miserable state, so as soon as the TV room cleared we grabbed the opportunity to use this large room, with burning fire as a venue for our sleeping arrangements for the night. I recon this was one of the smartest moves we pulled in a long time.
Jean exploring the dawn of day
By 09:30 pm we were all in bed, fluent at talking kark and laughing out loud in the dark of the night. Soon after this I dozed off, only to be wakened at 2am by a humming bladder. Everybody though that somebody would put logs on the fire, but in the end nobody added any, so after I relieved myself I summarily surrendered to the struggle to start the fire as there was just no hope in hell to revive the fire. For revenge I left the front door wide open, which brought in lovely fresh air but left Basil shivering from the cold. Sorry my friend!
Wrong bike/tyres for the purpose
…causes this
Another strange choice
All night a heavy breeze blew towards the coast, but inside we were warm and cosy. I can just imagine how unpleasant it must have been for those poor okes who slept in their flapping tents.
Next morning we were up at 5:30, capturing the splendour of the day and packing our luggage. After a hearty breakfast we set sail for Mothlokong, a moerse Harley crowd at Oxbow, over the stunningly beautiful Moteng Pass to Foeriesburg and pulled into Meiringskloof by mid-afternoon.
Breakfast – hearty
Our route was absolutely beautiful, one stone throwing incident I dealt with fast and furiously after chasing the culprit and catching him as he got to his dad. Upon my insistence the dad summarily smacked the little farker so hopefully this lesson will teach him to stop that sh!t. Everywhere locals were heading for church, dressed in their best Sunday gear and happily waving at us passing. The green countryside was a sight to behold and every time we stopped for a break we could not contain our amazement at the lovely countryside we were traversing. No rain ensured an almost perfect day for riding. Damn another sh!t day in Africa. Man I love it!
Between Sani and Mothlokong
Nice waterfall
Tlaeeng Pass – nice and chilly
Senque River stop
Local traffic
Oxbow lodge
……with lotsa harly’s
Patman in the meantime drove down from his farm at Frankfort, so as we pulled in to a shell-shocked Meiringskloof , the fire was ready to be lit, the coke and ice was at hand and we settled in to yet another cold one and hours of talking kark.
Moteng Pass
Beautiful
Monday we headed home via some back roads, but unfortunately got caught out by the stop and go’s between two towns which we passed without stopping like all good law abiding citizens. This left the construction workers expressing their dismay at our behaviour by strongly shaking their heads sideways, but we gave way to oncoming travellers by moving over to the blocked off section of the road, so no harm done.
Meiringskloof
Outside Bethlehem somewhere
Two pm saw me hanging my tent out to dry and by 4 pm all was neatly washed, packed away and waiting for our next adventure.
Thanks to my riding mates for making this one ever so special, the camaraderie was excellent once again and an absolute pleasure to act as the guide when showing these beautiful spots to first timers.
I hope to see you all soon on the next one.
Lunch at Blockhouse
One for the road
As with all things in life, co-ordinating the diaries of several individuals take a bit of planning and even then, it doesn’t always co-inside or align perfectly.
The riding mates for the weekend: Jean
Basil
Werner
Johan (Alias Hoervoer)
Excalibur
Yours truly
So with Friday approaching half the group decided they wanted to leave Friday arvie while Basil & Sons was off to the Top Gear Disappointment and I waited to show them the way. Saturday morning bright and early we met at the Shell Ultra City, N1 South where I decided for no apparent reason to fiddle with the air shock on Dabulamanzi. Needless to say the average garage pump can hit 7 bars max so I was left with a machine that was continually riding uphill. A visit to the truck stop held the promise of 7.5 bar, but that was the max I was apparently going to find anywhere in Gauteng at that time of morning.
My office for the weekend
The road between Nottingham and Himeville
All rivers were flowing quite strongly
Harrismith showed up in no time and after a sumptuous Wimpy breakfast a visit to the local Supa Quick got my air shock to 8 bars. This alleviated the problem somewhat, but I was too scared to take it to 9 bars in case something popped. In the meantime Excalibur and the rest of the group had ants in their pants and informed us they were going to wait for us at the Himeville Arms, not at Nottingham as originally planned. Well I for one hate sitting around doing absolutely nothing, waiting, so had absolutely no objection to them moving along to the new rendezvous point while we scurried to get there soonest.
Himeville Arms
Border post
The promise of rain on its way
A busy Sani over a long weekend
At 12:15 we pulled into the Himeville Arms where our friends had managed to rack up quite a bar bill and really in the mood to ride and not take any more on board. Needless to say we had to oblige so with 2 quick sharpies behind the ribs we filled up and headed for Sani.
View from above
Werner making mincemeat of the route
Local inhabitants, feeling the chill
En route, as we looked up to Sani top a grey cloud cover was getting ready to unleash all the water it had soaked up over the past month, so we knew we were in for a hop, skip and a jump. Construction worked had just laid down a layer of nice loose pebbles, so the going was challenging to say the least. At the border post on the SA side we completed all formalities and as we were about to set off the heavens opened up above. Scurrying like spooked Meerkat we got our rain suites out and then tackled the increasingly slippery Sani.
Having a cold one on the steep section - to celebrate the moment.
Our suffering was short lived as we soon rode up above the clouds and looked down from atop as the clouds hurried on, fuelled by a strong wind to drench the rest of the Natal Midlands. Sani pass on a Saturday afternoon of a long weekend is rush hour traffic, so an endless stream of vehicles passed us on the way down with a few accompanying us towards the top.
Different kind of Minibus taxi – loaded to the max and 4X4
Needless to say, not all drivers oblige to the rule of giving way to ascending vehicles so Johan and myself both had an off as we had to make sudden way for inconsiderate drivers. Come to think of it, I should have pelted the farker with stones from above after he passed.
Reaching the summit – a group photo
At Sani top the annual Sanitop bike rally was in full swing. At least 15 bikes already adorned the premises while at least another 12 followed after we parked our group of six bikes. Bikes from all shaped and sizes, some build for conditions and other not really suited, but they reached the summit so kudu’s to the riders. The 800GS by far the most popular amongst the average DS rider.
Sanitop bike rally in full swing
Settling down with a few cold ones
Supper
It was around 4 with time to kill so we dug into a few cold ones, setup out tents and talked kark with whoever wanted to listen. I had arranged for us to have supper as a plate of Sani boerekos far surpasses anything you will find anywhere else, except in Ouma se Kombuis on the farm outside Merweville in da Karoo
Pa & Seun in da highest pub
Our room for the night
Early morning
Looks like a big dam of water
Conditions were cool to put it mildly with the cloud cover gradually thickening again and mist moving in to leave us in a spooky, hazed surround with the ice bears tucking at our sleeves. Supper was as good as it gets, from the soup, home baked bread, food platter followed by pudding and something cool to accompany. We were offered the opportunity to watch the bulls / Stormers game as the owner agreed to run the genny to allow us this little luxury.
Yes it was as cold as this picture makes it looks
Unfortunately this event left ¾ of the group in a miserable state, so as soon as the TV room cleared we grabbed the opportunity to use this large room, with burning fire as a venue for our sleeping arrangements for the night. I recon this was one of the smartest moves we pulled in a long time.
Jean exploring the dawn of day
By 09:30 pm we were all in bed, fluent at talking kark and laughing out loud in the dark of the night. Soon after this I dozed off, only to be wakened at 2am by a humming bladder. Everybody though that somebody would put logs on the fire, but in the end nobody added any, so after I relieved myself I summarily surrendered to the struggle to start the fire as there was just no hope in hell to revive the fire. For revenge I left the front door wide open, which brought in lovely fresh air but left Basil shivering from the cold. Sorry my friend!
Wrong bike/tyres for the purpose
…causes this
Another strange choice
All night a heavy breeze blew towards the coast, but inside we were warm and cosy. I can just imagine how unpleasant it must have been for those poor okes who slept in their flapping tents.
Next morning we were up at 5:30, capturing the splendour of the day and packing our luggage. After a hearty breakfast we set sail for Mothlokong, a moerse Harley crowd at Oxbow, over the stunningly beautiful Moteng Pass to Foeriesburg and pulled into Meiringskloof by mid-afternoon.
Breakfast – hearty
Our route was absolutely beautiful, one stone throwing incident I dealt with fast and furiously after chasing the culprit and catching him as he got to his dad. Upon my insistence the dad summarily smacked the little farker so hopefully this lesson will teach him to stop that sh!t. Everywhere locals were heading for church, dressed in their best Sunday gear and happily waving at us passing. The green countryside was a sight to behold and every time we stopped for a break we could not contain our amazement at the lovely countryside we were traversing. No rain ensured an almost perfect day for riding. Damn another sh!t day in Africa. Man I love it!
Between Sani and Mothlokong
Nice waterfall
Tlaeeng Pass – nice and chilly
Senque River stop
Local traffic
Oxbow lodge
……with lotsa harly’s
Patman in the meantime drove down from his farm at Frankfort, so as we pulled in to a shell-shocked Meiringskloof , the fire was ready to be lit, the coke and ice was at hand and we settled in to yet another cold one and hours of talking kark.
Moteng Pass
Beautiful
Monday we headed home via some back roads, but unfortunately got caught out by the stop and go’s between two towns which we passed without stopping like all good law abiding citizens. This left the construction workers expressing their dismay at our behaviour by strongly shaking their heads sideways, but we gave way to oncoming travellers by moving over to the blocked off section of the road, so no harm done.
Meiringskloof
Outside Bethlehem somewhere
Two pm saw me hanging my tent out to dry and by 4 pm all was neatly washed, packed away and waiting for our next adventure.
Thanks to my riding mates for making this one ever so special, the camaraderie was excellent once again and an absolute pleasure to act as the guide when showing these beautiful spots to first timers.
I hope to see you all soon on the next one.
Lunch at Blockhouse
One for the road
