Two-up adventure tour from WC to Rhodes and back: Complete !

[Eisbein]

So this was the time then for our 1st proper motorcycle holiday tour.
We were planning (sort of) way in advance, anticipation (and excitement) grew as the starting date of my leave drew near.

It wasn't a very long and difficult meeting when me and Vicky decided the destination: Eastern Cape. Rhodes.
She's seen it before. I have only heard about it, so Eastern Cape it was. Stop-off points would be:
Klein Brak, P.E. (Despatch), Hogsback, Dordrecht, Rhodes, Dordrecht, Graaff-Reinet, Karatara, George, Kleinbrak and then back via Oudshoorn and the Sewe-weeks poort home.This was the final version (we made it up as we went along at times).
The plan was then also to find the most interesting ways to get from one point to the next.
So we had a plan, we had the leave, we have the right bike, we were eager and we were leaving later than expected.

We were gonna start of slow, with a leisurely afternoon drive to friends in Worcester on the Saturday and then the next morning on to Klein Brak. So the Saturday my helmet's visor's clip broke off. This was outside of office hours so we would have to postpone to Monday. Monday morning I went into town, got the visor sorted, came back, put the topbox and panniers and ATGATT on and was on our way. At klapmuts we stopped quickly and Vicky wasn't feeling too well. She even looked slighty green/pale. Damned if I was gonna force her to go along if she's feeling sick, so at klapmuts (15 km into our epic journey) we turned around and went home. Sharing a holiday with her was more important to me than just being on the road, so she settled with some dry toast and flat Coke and I settled with some holiday food and Monday night TV ('Till death, Joey, CSI).

Tuesday morning at 4 we are wakened by an awesome thunderstorm, so we let our 'verskrikte' boerboel in the house and off we went to bed again. We woke up later that morning, bright eyed and bushy tailed with Vicky feeling 100%.

Finally we were off for real and this was what lay ahead of us over the next 11 days:


Day 1:
N1 over Du Toitskloof, Worcester, Roberston. Then Route62 to Barrydale, Tradouws (R324 and R322) to Heidelberg, N2 to Riversdale, R323 and some back roads to Albertinia, N2 to Klein Brak.

Day 2: From KleinBrak on the old road to George, the Saasveld road past Karatara, over Homtini pass and the Phantom pass to Knysna. Then on the N2 to Nature's Valley, the old BlouKrans pass to Stormsriver and then the N2, the R334 and R102 to Despatch.

Day3 (the most adventurous one !) : P.E. on the N2 to Grahams Town. From there past Rini on the R67, then (just before Fort Brown) off into and through the DubbelDrift game reserve onto the R345 through Alice and into Hogsback.

Day4:From Hogsback on the R345 to Cathcart then the N6 to Queenstown and then the R392 to Dordrecht.

Day5: Just hang around with friends and let the backsides rest

Day6: From Dordrecht on the R56 through Ingwe and Elliot. To 'Gatberg' and back to Elliot. Then over Barkley pass and the R393 via Moshesh's Ford To Rhodes. Back on the R396 through Barkly East, Clifford, Rossouw, Killians' pass and back to Dordrecht.

Day 7: Dordrecht to Queenstown, the R61 through Tarkastad and Cradock. Then on the R61 to the N9. From there through Nieu-Bethesda to Graaff-Reinet.

Day8: N9 through Willowmore and Uniondale, the R339 through Uniondale Poort, Avontuur, Prince Alfred's pass, de Vlugt to Knysna. From there on the Phantom pass to Karatara.

Day9: 'Chill' with family a little in Karatara and move to George (N2)

Day 10: N2 to KleinBrak

Day 11: Bottelierskop road to the R328 over Robinson's pass to Oudshoorn. From there Route62 over Huisriver to the SeweWeeks poort turnoff. Through to about 5 km's from Laingsburg, left on the 'Witteberge' road and through to 'Konstabel' station. From there onto the N1 through Touwsriver, Worcester and home.

I will post day one (and photos) later today (it is after all 01:25 and I have the 1st day of work after the holiday ahead of me *sigh* )

Watch this space...

[Uiltjie]

Dankie vir die "teazer", nou het jy almal se aandag - tik tok tik tok tik tok!

Ons kan nie wag nie ou maat!

[Captain Zef]

Nice ride. Ek hoop julle het dit baie geniet.

Ons wag nou net vir die pics.

[Ama ride ride]

Jys wreed.....

Bleddie wreed....

Wreedste wreed....

En nou moet ek werk met die gedagte dat jy enige tyd pics gaan post....

 :shock:    

[Watty]

en natuurlik die een wat almal wil hĂ?ÂȘ
 

[Eisbein]

Ok - here we go.

Some photos were taken during the ride (either my cellphone or Vicky with the camera from the back - she had the camera hanging around her the whole time). We sometimes stopped for photos, but sometimes just snapped away at the scenery as we went. You'll see a couple of photos with the foreground grass/fence in a blur with the mountains clear at the back.

Day1:
"N1 over Du Toitskloof, Worcester, Roberston. Then Route62 to Barrydale, Tradouws (R324 and R322) to Heidelberg, N2 to Riversdale, R323 and some back roads to Albertinia, N2 to Klein Brak."


The 1st part of the trip to Barrydale was nothing out of the ordinary - nice going and view over Du Toits (although the wind did klap us on the way up).
Our 1st stop was coffee just outside Roberston.



While sitting there we heard a bike approaching and driving by - heavilly loaded Dakar with the extended Touratech tanks.
As we left we saw him standing with a map in Robertson, so I stopped to say hi. Turns out the guy is on a charity awareness andventure. Sold his restaurant in Ireland and drove from there to here. Solo.
Check it out on http://www.kilkennytocapetown.com/
He was on his way to Durban via R62.

This was close to Barrydale on R62:


Btw since I got my Katana I've always stopped at this spot when I come 'round here for a photo.
Then the 'Kilkenny' (sounds like something from southpark) guy came 'round again so we waved (again) and later cought up with him just before Barrydale:



At Barrydale we had lunch at the Country Pumpkin and then headed out this way:



You owe it to yourself to not be in a hurry when you go down this valley...





The thunderstorm that I mentioned earlier caused this on a couple of spots through the mountains:


From Tradouws we headed off here:


Some very nice scenery with very good gravel roads. You can see the air being coloured by the smoke from the mountain fires.



There's a couple of times on the trip that I was in this pose:



On the map we found this:


The Long way to Albertinia - again some nice 'gravel highways'


A nice photo shot while riding:




Some more gravel highway. This was getting to what photographers call 'golden hour' - the setting really was amazing.


It was getting late so we decided to take the regular N2 from Albertinia (after a biltong stop at their little 'mall') to Kleinbrak, where we arrived at my aunt and uncle's house just in time for this (from the cellphone):


A day well spent and a very good leisurely start and a little taste of our journey that was still ahead of us.


Day two will follow ...

[Trailrider]

Nice one Eisbein!

Next time you're here make sure of the dates and I'll make sure were not moving  

Where's the rest? Why are we waiting? Why are we waiting?

[Captain Zef]

Nice one.

[Eisbein]

"Day 2: From KleinBrak on the old road to George, the Saasveld road past Karatara, over Homtini pass and the Phantom pass to Knysna. Then on the N2 to Nature's Valley, the old BlouKrans pass to Stormsriver and then the N2, the R334 and R102 to Despatch."

The 2nd day, after a sieriehaas breakfast (Dankie tannie Ria en oom Peter !) we were heading towards George.
Nice cool weather, a little overcast, but nice views all around.

Getting petrol at the Garage where Trailrider's epic tour started (but I didn't drop the bike...    yet)

Turned off on the 'Saasveld road' and onto this:



It is hard to imagine that when the Kaaimans' pass was closed (read: about to fall into the Kaaimans's river) that cars (and trucks) was redirected here...

1st photo stop:


I snapped this while she took the above:



This is an amazing piece of country. The most amazing views. You definitely can see why this is called the 'Garden Route'.
My uncle calls it a suburb of heaven. Easy does it as you cannot take in the view, blast around the corners and keep the bike in the road all at once. You need to take in the view...

Another look at the map:



(It's not like it wasn't written behind me ) - We were just making sure that we didn't miss this:



Trailrider, you live in such a beautiful part of the world !




This is where I learned two important things:

1 - I can pick up a fully dressed 1100GS with 30kg of luggage on my own.
2 - I can fix a broken indicator next to the road with some isolation tape and superglue.

Don't ask.













Ok you can ask.


As we stopped for some photos we thought that it would be cool to have a photo of me driving through the darker forest setting, so off I went. Looked for a place to turn around where I could see both ways (didn't want to be flattened by a semi crazed local farmer that wasn't on a holiday schedule like we were).
So I turned around in a bend in the road where I could see both ways. What I didn't realize was that the bend was on a little incline. As I was ready to start number two of my 3 point turn, you guessed it, I started tipping over to the side where my left foot couldn't find the deck in time. So I just stepped wide and watched 280KG roll onto its side with the wheels in the air... So I picked up the indicator lens, huffed and puffed and actually got the bike back up without popping a vein in my forehead.
By this time Vicky was wondering where I was and getting a little worried, so the only photo we got out of this was this.
That's me inspecting the broken indicator arm.


This is what it looked like afterwards:


Tools of the trade:



Then it was off to Knysna to get some coffee and cake at a local coffee shop that was next to this weird water feature / contraption that looked like it came straight out of 'The Incredible Machine'. I was so mesmerized by this thing that I didn't even think about taking a photo.

As much as I think that Knysna is a beautiful area (the lake, the mountain, the sea, the heads etc), just as much do I hate negotiating its main road.

So out the other side we went following the N2 and turning into the road to Nature's Valley. By this time we were feeling like we could rest our backsides for a little while, so the time was put to use in catching up on voicemails and sms's.


After that we took the old BlouKrans pass. For the 3rd time today we were appreciating and in awe of the beautiful garden route.


There's the bridge where they 'budgy jump':


At a viewpoint stop I snapped this one:
Edit: Vicky said I must just mention what you cannot 'see' in the picture - the smell of ferns and the sound of a stream running below in the valley.


We were starting to run out of time, so we decided to get petrol at Stormsriver and push on along the N2 to get to Despatch. At Stormsrivier we heard the familiar sound of our Irish friend's Dakar thumping in.
This time I actually got to talk a little to him. What an amazing guy:



It is funny how you get tired more easily when you don't have the luxury of doing something in your own timeframe...


The last 30 minutes was no fun.
No fun at all.

It was pitch dark.
The luggage at the back made Sauerkraut's headlight (on dim) shine into the trees.
Everyone coming from the front 'flashed' us as they thought that we were riding on brights.
Every time that happened their lights caused heavy glare on my dusty visor. I ended up decelerating and opening my visor every time a car comes from the front.
The 1st law of helmet physics defenately applied: Any object that is in motion in the opposite direction of a motorcycle at speed shall remain in motion until it will be stopped only by the opposing force of a rider's eyeball.

It was not soon enough when we eventually pulled into Despatch. We flopped down for some good food and even better company.
Even Sauerkraut had a little luxury that evening:



In retrospect I think we should have left a little earlier that morning. It would have given us more time to explore without the uneasy night riding bit at the end.

The next morning we woke up to (without a doubt) the most adventurous day of our journey.
But that will (unfortunately) have to wait for the next installment...

[Stephan]

Hey its past 9 already, time for the next installment!      Enjoyed the post thus far and turning around can be a real bitch sometimes!

[Eisbein]

Day3:
P.E. on the N2 to Grahams Town. From there past Rini on the R67, then (just before Fort Brown) off into and through the DubbelDrift game reserve onto the R345 through Alice and into Hogsback.


The morning started off a little slow, but we had another good breakfast that Vicky cooked up.

We packed, got Sauerkraut out of the room and we were off.

Our plans got a little sidestepped as we wanted to go on the R102 and join the N2 again later.
Turned out that this road was closed. So after 30 minutes of detour we were still looking at informal settlements and industrial areas.

When we finally got to stretch the boxer's legs on the N2 the road opened up to a couple of valleys and hills.

This was the 1st pass where we pulled over for a little rest:


This type of scenery was quite common up to Grahamstown:


At Grahamstown we got coffee and cake at 'The Mad Hatter'.
We looked like locals for a couple of people as the registration numbers for Grahamstown used to be CF before they changed to the current EC-at-the-end numbers. (Oostenberg ran out of space on CFR and adopted CF).

There was an old Omie (Looked 90+) walking past us with the scafolding walker frame - he waited in the Uno next to where Vicky was sitting - as we got ready to leave he started to chat to us. With nostalgic stars in his eyes he was talking about the Harley with a side car that he had in the 40's and 50's and how he and his wife traveled the country with it.
Just for a moment he was not 90, he didn't need his walking frame and he still haven't lost his wife.

Biking in general brings people together and breaks down barriers. How many times have we gotten into interesting conversations with people either wanting to know more about it, or spontaneously sharing about their own two wheel experiences.

This was at the mad hatter:




We fought off the students and long weekend crowd at the BP (the one that has just been in the news), filled up, got some supplies and off we went.

We took the R67 past Rini - different types of mountain scenery.



At one of the corners was this - the photo is a little 'skeef' but you get the idea. You DO NOT want to not make this turn...



Vicky is one of those people that can look at a scene and pick out a frame for a photo that will just work.
She is also intrigued by different textures (of which there were LOTS on our journey). This was at the same spot:



She also loves playing with black and white.
Same spot, different angle :


At the bottom of the pass we continued for a bit and then we turned right just before Fort Brown and came to this:


No doubt - we took the left road...

About 4 k's on we got to this:


Turned out that our choice to go right was right (or something like that)

Here we knew that it was an 'official' wild reserve:


Amazing views, very cool scenery and a nice road that's not too technical, but with two up you want to keep it steady in 2nd and 3rd. It isn't fun for the pillion when you accelerate and decelerate all the time.
Notice also the winding road that snakes over the mountains in the distance. Yep - that's where we where going ...



Came 'round a corner, got a little bit of sand and this picnic spot. We settled for some apples and a quick drink.
Funny thing was that in my ignorance I rode all the way to the table and back to the road in a wide turn, parked the bike and then (while walking back to the tables) I noticed that the ground was COVERED in these white kameeldorings...

Lucky they were all lying flat so that my tires didn't have to be...



Then, as we were leaving we came 'round a corner and found this:


*cue up some ominous music*
The Great Fish River

I was testing the water depth and decided to go for it (even though the water was murky and I couldn't see what was going on on the ground). This was the only time in the whole trip where I felt uneasy. But I went for it...



In the middle it got so shallow that the bike climbed all the way out of the water again.

Then it started to 'dive in'. I could feel rocks and potholes under the front wheel. It started going deeper in than before, but I just kept my eye on the other side, kept a steady pace and went for it. The boxer engine welled up (pushed out) water ahead of so much that it started streaming over the barrels on either side...
THAT was scary.

Stopping just on the upslope wasn't my brightest moment yet as the bike was dripping on the dry soil that became mud on the cement. So I had to fish tail out the other side a little, but I made it !

Would have been nice to have had this on the side we were coming from ...


Dubbeldrift complimentary bike wash - look how shiny it is !



Vicky was still on the other side (to take photos and to have at least one of us dry should I decide to go for an unscheduled swim...) She took off her boots, rolled up her pant legs and made her way over.


On the other side the road changed a little bit.
Lots more embedded stones/rocks, a couple of smallish ditches (trenches ?!), a couple of steep climbs over rocks, potholes, erosion cracks. The 'ups and downs' were also more intense. At some point we saw a dirt road winding out in front of us going alongside the back of a mountain. A little later we were on it feeling like we were on top of the world... To any side that we looked we were looking down on other mountains...
Photos does not show you what we saw.



The 'Great Fish River':


Mountain on mountain:
"Al lĂ?ÂȘ die berge nog so blou"



This be the R345 to Alice:


Potholes almost as big as a GS:




30 to 40 km's of this to Alice. Just as you think it is clearing up you get another lot of it.
We could do 20 - 30km/h on this piece of stretch - the scenery was cool and at least there were 'locals' that always (eagerly) returned our waves...

After what felt like an eternity we saw this. I think it is an eastern cape plot (along with the potholed roads) to keep speeds down. You have to stop at this sign, get you CSI kit out and dust it for evidence to see what it says...


17:00 peak traffic in Alice:


Some 'in-flight entertainment' on the way to Hogsback from Alice:


One of the local herds:


Our evening was spent by booking in to the backpackers and getting Pizza at Nina's - the BEST pizza I had in a long time with a very knowledgeable and friendly (also bike friendly) guy that runs it. If you are in Hogsback you owe it to yourself to go have a Pizza there.
Vicky pre-booked at the backpackers (Away with the fairies) so we managed to get a private room with it's own fireplace.

The rest of the evening was spent in a relaxed atmosphere with lots of reliving the day's events and scenery. Just in general enjoying each other's company in the light of the fire. The perfect end to a perfect Wild Dog Day...

[Uiltjie]

Lekker Wihan.....sjoe julle het 'n lekker trip gehad!  Laat kom met die res!

[Trailrider]

This report is getting better and better!

[Clockwork Orange]

Loving this report, keep it coming

[Kev]

Good stuff! :thumbleft:

[buzzlightyear]

Very nice trip W! thanks for sharing.

[Eisbein]

Day4:From Hogsback on the R345 to Cathcart then the N6 to Queenstown and then the R392 to Dordrecht.

The fourth day of our trip didn't have that much distance in it and compared to the previous day's adventure it wasn't as interesting, but it sure had amazing scenery and lots of twisty gravel roads with a little bit of technicality here and there...

Vicky woke up waaaay earlier than me - she's the early bird and I'm the night owl (as if you can't tell by the times that these reports are posted:) )
She took the camera and went for a little bit of sight seeing.
We've been to Hogsback in 1998 on our honeymoon and one thing we can tell you with certainty is that if the fog/clouds starts coming in you have to do what you need to if you want to see some of the amazing views that this little piece of Middle-Earth has to offer.

This was some of the photos that she took the morning:



See the fog coming in already ?


Then she came to wake me up - this is the view from our room window, just above the bed:


We went a little sightseeing - the town of Hogsback looks smaller than what it really is.
On our way to 'The Edge' we saw this - the labyrinth:


A little house on 'The Edge':


The road we came in with the previous evening:
Again, notice the fog flowing in.


This is to show that we aren't joking when we say that the fog comes in a quite a rate:


And five minutes later (literally) you can almost not even see the Eco-Shrine:


Fog as thick as peanut butter...

After that we went back to the backpacker's, I took a shower, we packed our panniers and booked out.

We waited a little at the petrol pump/general dealer for the guy to finish filling the car ahead of us, but we were in no hurry (and besides, what are you going to do when the only petrol 'station' in Hogsback isn't too fast - go someplace else ?)

After our pit stop we were heading out on Cathcart's side. The ride through the main road of Hogsback is also one that you shouldn't drive when in a hurry. But then again I get the feeling that one does not end up in a place like Hogsback to be in a hurry - if you do then you need to sort out some issues. 'S all I'm sayin'...

All too soon we greeted Hobbiton goodbye and headed out to what I would consider (never having seen the real thing) the closest thing to being in Scotland while actually not being in Scotland.


Everything was so ridiculously beautiful that we ended up with too many photos to try and show.
Some of them have been sized quite small to fit a lot in an just to give an idea of the environment we were going through.
Please let me know if there are any that you would like to see bigger:

















The roads was mostly 3rd and sometimes 4th gear, 50 - 80 km/h with the occasional sharp bend and steeper and rocky bits.
The ground was slightly rough (embedded stones) but with not much debris and loose stuff. You need to stay awake though as blind corners and a little loose rockery can sneak up on you quite quickly if you drop your guard.

A Wild Dog in his natural habitat:


The road twisting towards Cathcart:



Confused I was - is it now right or left or ... ummmmm:


So there was only one thing to do - Maptime !


Looking back from that spot (towards Hogsback)


The only place in Cathcart that we could stop at for coffee and breakfast was a little pub&grill on the right as you come in. Service isn't really fast, but the owner compensate with enthuastic friendly banter...
While we were there the weather (that was promising us the whole time) kept true to its word and broke for a while.


Yes, it was as cold as it looked.
Lucky by the time we were finished so was the rain. Dried of the seat and there we went onto the 'Friendly N6'.



The wind was pumping (I saw afterwards up to 65km/h) at one point (on a slight incline) I had to put Sauerkraut into 4th just to keep him above 100km/h.

Got some 95 at Queenstown again, had a chat to two guys with bikes there and hit the road towards Dordrecht.
By this time the wind was klapping us from off center ahead. I must say it is the 1st time that I got into serious diagonal wind with the panniers and topbox on. The fact that they add surfaces close to (or behind) the rear wheel made for a little unfamiliar territory in getting to know how the bike behaved.
It was especially bad when the road made a 'groove' through the little hills - through those you'll be leaning against it and all of a sudden it will come screaming from the other side - involuntary and instant lane change.

Vicky managed to squeeze off a photo or 7 in difficult circumstances over my shoulder.
This was one of them:


The landscape was beginning to give us a glimpse of what was to come in two day's time when we would go to Rhodes.

This is the favourite shot of the whole trip for both of us:


The Eastern Cape is indeed a beautiful place. It is impossible to try and compare it to the Garden Route, Karoo, Boland or any other beautiful place as it is so much different and beautiful in its own way.

We are indeed living in a beautiful country.

As we wheeled into Dordrecht we saw this and just had to take a photo.
As if someone will expect stale take aways.

And how 'universal' is this place anyway ?





5 Minutes later we pulled into our haven for the next 3 nights: Estelle (and her daughter Anika) were going to treat us to not only good food and company, but also for a local tour of a little dorpie with surprisingly many things to see.

As it was about to really cool down they sorted out coffee, a hot bath' a very good supper later and very good company. It was laughs and stories and catching up and pointing on maps and watching photos and just having a good time 'till deep into the night.

And thus ended day 4...

[Stephan]

Great report, you guys sure traveled!  Have to agree with you, this country of ours sure is beautiful.

[Trailrider]

Dag 5! Dag 5! Dag 5!

[Eisbein]

Geduld ou swaer ...

Nie almal werk vir hulleself nie.

"Geduld is die stadigste manier om jou m*3r te strip..."