White Rhino
Race Dog
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2009
- Messages
- 3,930
- Reaction score
- 6
- Location
- Johannesburg *South Africa*
- Bike
- BMW R1200GS
The Big five trip with an Oil change
Besides the less fortunate that depend on daily productivity to eek out a living, Easter in the Southern hemisphere offers employees the last of the consecutive Autumn public holidays before attacking the long slog through to December. 2011 offered an 11 day vacation in exchange for 3 working days leave.
There are those really amazing places in this beautiful country of ours that are just out of reach to cover in a couple of days, unless you are one of those jockeys that enjoy being in the saddle from dawn to dusk. The hyperactive jockeys that plot non-stop routes buzzing from place to place doesn’t really do it for me as much as exploring the surrounds of a place that deserves more attention.
So with 11 days of Easter on offer, the plan was to find a loop that starts and ends in Jozi that included some of the most spectacular destinations in SA, and there are many. So I picked the South Easterly area: Himeville and Sani pass, Transkei (Port St. John’s surrounds), Hogsback and Baviaans. With only 4 primary destinations selected, the fifth highlight had to be picking the most scenic and diverse routes between each destination – hence the big 5.
With some input from fellow dogs and other ride reports, we planned the following route:
The route we eventually took…
The idea was to spend one day travelling to some location and then the next day to scout the surrounding area. We would book in for two nights at each major spot. That also makes things a bit more chilled rather than daily pack and unpacks. April is also a fairly safe bet when it comes to fair weather. Not to mention the spectacular Autumn colouring.
So the trip had the following outline:
Day 1 - Depart Jozi – Head to Underberg (mostly on the back roads after Harrismith) around 580kms;
Day 2 - Sani Pass – up around and down;
Day 3 - Head to Mboyti - near Port St. Johns, Transkei (Back roads where possible) around 290kms;
Day 4 - Ride around that area (Waterfalls, Gorges etc.);
Day 5 - Head to Hogsback (around 380kms);
Day 6 - Ride around that area (Forrest, Sandile Dam, Sutterheim etc.);
Day 7 - Head to St. Francis (via Kenton - around 390kms);
Day 8 - Day off – Lazy day on the canals, Oysters, calamari etc.;
Day 9 - Head into Baviaans (around 200kms) & overnight;
Day 10 - Head to Garieps Dam (around 440kms) & overnight;
Day 11 - Head home (around d 640kms);
Total - around 3,800 kms.
I had invited my wife, but she politely declined. In hind sight, I think that it was a good decision – there were some rough sections that made one’s eyeballs bounce in their sockets like a pinball rattling between two poppers. She would not have liked the rough stuff – it would have translated into sore ribs for me :biggrin:
There were only four of us. Men only – or should I say, BOYS. A GS1200, a GSA, a Triumph 800XC and my 800GS. Two were only going half way and returning due to business and family constraints. My kids are all adults (well sometimes) and Jono is still practicing; so we had green cards.
A good reason for including St. Francis in the route, was for a scheduled pit stop. My wife was spending her Easter there and I would be ready for an oil change :biggrin: . Jono would have to suffer in silence.
We decided not to slum it, but rather to book into B&B’s. Jono’s wife, bless her wanted to come with, but being the only lass in the group, decided against it. She did most of the bookings for us. It’s a bitch booking over the peak periods. As it turned out the accommodation was first class.
Day 1 – Jhb to Himeville
There was an ominous start to the trip, good Friday turned out to be a long Friday for many cage travellers. There’s no other way to put it - the traffic was farking hectic. Bumper to bumper smothered by a grey foggy blanket. The last time I recall traffic like that was back when I was a student (before the Rinderpest) when the roads were single lane all the way to Durban. It was an insufferable 11 pain-staking hours crawling from Jhb to Dbn staring down a string of red tail lights like a trail of army ants, as far as the eye could see, clocking in around midnight – what a fricking nightmare.
With full panniers and a foggy view, lane splitting is not the wisest option, so the four of us snapped up the yellow lane and gunned it for the first 150kms until the traffic spread out a bit. Occasionally, the officianado with the blue light took umbrage to our tactics; he had already claimed that lane exclusively for himself!
The aim was to bullet straight to Harrismith and not bother with special route planning – N3 all the way. We were going to do around 580kms the first day. The holiday would really only start from Harrismith once we broke away from the N3 towards Sterkfontein. In hindsight, that was a mistake, maybe we should have opted for back roads. Being Easter, it’s any body’s guess if it would have been less hectic. Anyway, we made fair time and the yellow lines worked for us.
It was coming up to the Africa Bike Week, the annual Harley rally in Margate, so the roads were peppered with all kinds of colourful machinery. One fellow had a Suzuki Boulevard cruiser that had some broad, with a big pair of personalities, airbrushed onto his tank and mud guard. His air intake was a chromed lance ready to spear anyone who attempted to get in his way. He had two beads of blue lights running the length of his fender and under his tank. I regret not taking a picture of this character and his wheels. Another old geyser was towing his Harley like it was a prize bull. He would no doubt, fire it up and drive it around the corner to the rally punching in like a hard core biker with his pisspot helmet, tassels and flapping bandana. Whatever floats your boat, I guess.
The filling stations looked like an Indian bazaar running a clearance sale. It was a feeding frenzy with queues running back for miles. No doubt there were hoards of people that were cussing at that point, not having filled up before leaving. I was riding on the grass verge past a row of cars and had a close call by one restless fellow who had lost his cool and decided to jump the queue, cross country. Idiot just shot out, we so nearly kissed!
I was due for a leak but hit reverse promptly when the queue started at the cashier near the entrance – wtf, I’ll find a thirsty bush somewhere! We couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
In my book, one important criterion for a decent biking holiday is not to do excessive distances otherwise it becomes a grind and tension starts to work its way into people’s inner core and manifests itself somewhere down the line. The farthest stretch was to be the first and last days, leaving and entering Jozi. Let’s face it, there aren’t any exciting roads in and out of Jozi bordering the Free State – it’s so flat you can see tomorrow coming. The balance of the route would max around 300 to 400 kms per day between each destination; that’s perfect for a days travelling. The daily surround trips would also not exceed 200kms, that way we can start the day with a decent breakfast, take lots of breaks, have a relaxing lunch and soak up the surrounds.
The route around the Sterkfontein dam lifted our spirits and diluted the memories of the recent traffic. We tasted our first dirt and it was equally welcomed by my new Heidenau K60 Scout rear tyre and TKC80 front tyre. Nothing like dirt roads that connect you directly to mother earth. You become one with the planet. The best way to physically experience the essence of Africa is via dirt. Riding on asphalt is like having sex with a condom. So wherever I could, without taking detours, I selected dirt roads for us. My new springs, and rear shocks placed me in control with great comfort at all speeds. I was loving the world and lapping up the scenery. Each crest revealed the secrets of the next valley. Circumnavigating the berg on our right hand side was a real treat. Mountains only declare their full might to the spectator on close proximity. We were all enjoying the earthly scapes and had forgotten about any other woes we might have had at that point. This is where DS biking really gives me a woody (sorry ladies – commiseration that you can’t get one). The differing shades of green brush intertwined with the autumn hues, the back drops of green getting greener the closer we got to Himeville.
The GSA only needed to fill up once compared to the rest of our two or three stops. We had filled up twice already. This caught Jono off-guard. He suddenly realised that the next major stop was beyond the elephant’s reach. We scanned the Garmin for fuel stations close by and followed the suggestions only to find that the filling station had been removed in Jan earlier. So with the extra kms racked up hunting for fuel, Jono’s limited fuel became a potential problem. The lesser fuelled bikes had joyous visions of towing the elephant to the next town. I spoiled his anxiety; my spare fuel pipe put him at ease. Non the less we would have framed the scene had it happened.
During a recent 1 day Techie course that one of the Dogs gave (Adventurer – Kurt), he suggested what one should carry when heading off-road. Consequently, I was suitably prepared for most situations. I had proper tyre levers, compressor, jumper cables, tow rope, tools galore. My top box was a full on rescue box plus my Tooltube was stuffed with some medical paraphernalia. I was considering putting some Jack Daniels in the Tooltube instead – which could serve to rescue an emergency of another sort. One hopes not to need the rescue stuff, but time would ultimately tell.
My Corbin comfy seat served my ass perfectly well. I had no discomfort at any time. The original 800GS seat is fcuking kark. I would find myself doing all kinds of leg tricks to keep the blood flowing. No shuffling required any longer. Plus, the extra spoils that I furnished my bike with made for a very enjoyable ride. The raspy note of the Remus pipe was constant music to my ears. The wide pegs and handlebar raisers meant that I could ride standing up for hundreds of kms without feeling worn out.
The tyres purchased the gravel like syrup sticks to bread. It was my first Heidenau rear tyre. I was suitably impressed. Behaved well in the wet. Clings to the tar at speeds well above 120. No head shake, no speed vibrations, and virtually no road noise. I pushed it to 180 and still no problems or difference in behaviour. If I get 8 to 10 thousand kms out of them, that will be the tyre set for me from now on.
Travelling through some of the farms in the more developed areas proved to be spectacular. The geometric shapes lined with stately trees each with its own texture and each presenting its own earthy colour creating a collage of harmony that is unique to the midlands. The occasional horse stock meandering around created the sense of tranquillity that all city dwellers envy.
After travelling across some stunning hilly gravel roads, we arrived in the very quaint town of Himeville in the late afternoon. We stayed at a stunning B&B - the Karmichael Farm looking straight into the belly of the Drakensberg looking up at Lesotho. I can recommend the place.
Freshened up, we made our way to the Hiemville Arms. We walked into a charming pub with great atmosphere and a warm crackling fire. Several ice cold frosties later we challenged our stomaches to an Eisbein. With out any doubt, the best one I’ve had. The crackling had been crisped to perfection. Discussion centred around the days events followed by deep speculation around the conditions and possibilities of the next days events, up the Sani pass. Mike had Mitas E07 tyres, Brad had Battlewings and Jono also standard road tyres. The question that was about to be answered; did they have the correct tyres? The weather would play a hand in answering that.
Some of the pictures on this leg.
Local produce at Sterkfontein Dam
The gravel roads are great
It gets greener as we head further East
Decorative landscape
Lovely time of the year to capture colours
Approaching Underberg
Peaceful countryside
Green as far as the eye can see
In Himeville
Our accom – looking at Sani pass
Where we will be going tomorrow
Only for the daring …
To be continued ….
Besides the less fortunate that depend on daily productivity to eek out a living, Easter in the Southern hemisphere offers employees the last of the consecutive Autumn public holidays before attacking the long slog through to December. 2011 offered an 11 day vacation in exchange for 3 working days leave.
There are those really amazing places in this beautiful country of ours that are just out of reach to cover in a couple of days, unless you are one of those jockeys that enjoy being in the saddle from dawn to dusk. The hyperactive jockeys that plot non-stop routes buzzing from place to place doesn’t really do it for me as much as exploring the surrounds of a place that deserves more attention.
So with 11 days of Easter on offer, the plan was to find a loop that starts and ends in Jozi that included some of the most spectacular destinations in SA, and there are many. So I picked the South Easterly area: Himeville and Sani pass, Transkei (Port St. John’s surrounds), Hogsback and Baviaans. With only 4 primary destinations selected, the fifth highlight had to be picking the most scenic and diverse routes between each destination – hence the big 5.
With some input from fellow dogs and other ride reports, we planned the following route:
The route we eventually took…
The idea was to spend one day travelling to some location and then the next day to scout the surrounding area. We would book in for two nights at each major spot. That also makes things a bit more chilled rather than daily pack and unpacks. April is also a fairly safe bet when it comes to fair weather. Not to mention the spectacular Autumn colouring.
So the trip had the following outline:
Day 1 - Depart Jozi – Head to Underberg (mostly on the back roads after Harrismith) around 580kms;
Day 2 - Sani Pass – up around and down;
Day 3 - Head to Mboyti - near Port St. Johns, Transkei (Back roads where possible) around 290kms;
Day 4 - Ride around that area (Waterfalls, Gorges etc.);
Day 5 - Head to Hogsback (around 380kms);
Day 6 - Ride around that area (Forrest, Sandile Dam, Sutterheim etc.);
Day 7 - Head to St. Francis (via Kenton - around 390kms);
Day 8 - Day off – Lazy day on the canals, Oysters, calamari etc.;
Day 9 - Head into Baviaans (around 200kms) & overnight;
Day 10 - Head to Garieps Dam (around 440kms) & overnight;
Day 11 - Head home (around d 640kms);
Total - around 3,800 kms.
I had invited my wife, but she politely declined. In hind sight, I think that it was a good decision – there were some rough sections that made one’s eyeballs bounce in their sockets like a pinball rattling between two poppers. She would not have liked the rough stuff – it would have translated into sore ribs for me :biggrin:
There were only four of us. Men only – or should I say, BOYS. A GS1200, a GSA, a Triumph 800XC and my 800GS. Two were only going half way and returning due to business and family constraints. My kids are all adults (well sometimes) and Jono is still practicing; so we had green cards.
A good reason for including St. Francis in the route, was for a scheduled pit stop. My wife was spending her Easter there and I would be ready for an oil change :biggrin: . Jono would have to suffer in silence.
We decided not to slum it, but rather to book into B&B’s. Jono’s wife, bless her wanted to come with, but being the only lass in the group, decided against it. She did most of the bookings for us. It’s a bitch booking over the peak periods. As it turned out the accommodation was first class.
Day 1 – Jhb to Himeville
There was an ominous start to the trip, good Friday turned out to be a long Friday for many cage travellers. There’s no other way to put it - the traffic was farking hectic. Bumper to bumper smothered by a grey foggy blanket. The last time I recall traffic like that was back when I was a student (before the Rinderpest) when the roads were single lane all the way to Durban. It was an insufferable 11 pain-staking hours crawling from Jhb to Dbn staring down a string of red tail lights like a trail of army ants, as far as the eye could see, clocking in around midnight – what a fricking nightmare.
With full panniers and a foggy view, lane splitting is not the wisest option, so the four of us snapped up the yellow lane and gunned it for the first 150kms until the traffic spread out a bit. Occasionally, the officianado with the blue light took umbrage to our tactics; he had already claimed that lane exclusively for himself!
The aim was to bullet straight to Harrismith and not bother with special route planning – N3 all the way. We were going to do around 580kms the first day. The holiday would really only start from Harrismith once we broke away from the N3 towards Sterkfontein. In hindsight, that was a mistake, maybe we should have opted for back roads. Being Easter, it’s any body’s guess if it would have been less hectic. Anyway, we made fair time and the yellow lines worked for us.
It was coming up to the Africa Bike Week, the annual Harley rally in Margate, so the roads were peppered with all kinds of colourful machinery. One fellow had a Suzuki Boulevard cruiser that had some broad, with a big pair of personalities, airbrushed onto his tank and mud guard. His air intake was a chromed lance ready to spear anyone who attempted to get in his way. He had two beads of blue lights running the length of his fender and under his tank. I regret not taking a picture of this character and his wheels. Another old geyser was towing his Harley like it was a prize bull. He would no doubt, fire it up and drive it around the corner to the rally punching in like a hard core biker with his pisspot helmet, tassels and flapping bandana. Whatever floats your boat, I guess.
The filling stations looked like an Indian bazaar running a clearance sale. It was a feeding frenzy with queues running back for miles. No doubt there were hoards of people that were cussing at that point, not having filled up before leaving. I was riding on the grass verge past a row of cars and had a close call by one restless fellow who had lost his cool and decided to jump the queue, cross country. Idiot just shot out, we so nearly kissed!
I was due for a leak but hit reverse promptly when the queue started at the cashier near the entrance – wtf, I’ll find a thirsty bush somewhere! We couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
In my book, one important criterion for a decent biking holiday is not to do excessive distances otherwise it becomes a grind and tension starts to work its way into people’s inner core and manifests itself somewhere down the line. The farthest stretch was to be the first and last days, leaving and entering Jozi. Let’s face it, there aren’t any exciting roads in and out of Jozi bordering the Free State – it’s so flat you can see tomorrow coming. The balance of the route would max around 300 to 400 kms per day between each destination; that’s perfect for a days travelling. The daily surround trips would also not exceed 200kms, that way we can start the day with a decent breakfast, take lots of breaks, have a relaxing lunch and soak up the surrounds.
The route around the Sterkfontein dam lifted our spirits and diluted the memories of the recent traffic. We tasted our first dirt and it was equally welcomed by my new Heidenau K60 Scout rear tyre and TKC80 front tyre. Nothing like dirt roads that connect you directly to mother earth. You become one with the planet. The best way to physically experience the essence of Africa is via dirt. Riding on asphalt is like having sex with a condom. So wherever I could, without taking detours, I selected dirt roads for us. My new springs, and rear shocks placed me in control with great comfort at all speeds. I was loving the world and lapping up the scenery. Each crest revealed the secrets of the next valley. Circumnavigating the berg on our right hand side was a real treat. Mountains only declare their full might to the spectator on close proximity. We were all enjoying the earthly scapes and had forgotten about any other woes we might have had at that point. This is where DS biking really gives me a woody (sorry ladies – commiseration that you can’t get one). The differing shades of green brush intertwined with the autumn hues, the back drops of green getting greener the closer we got to Himeville.
The GSA only needed to fill up once compared to the rest of our two or three stops. We had filled up twice already. This caught Jono off-guard. He suddenly realised that the next major stop was beyond the elephant’s reach. We scanned the Garmin for fuel stations close by and followed the suggestions only to find that the filling station had been removed in Jan earlier. So with the extra kms racked up hunting for fuel, Jono’s limited fuel became a potential problem. The lesser fuelled bikes had joyous visions of towing the elephant to the next town. I spoiled his anxiety; my spare fuel pipe put him at ease. Non the less we would have framed the scene had it happened.
During a recent 1 day Techie course that one of the Dogs gave (Adventurer – Kurt), he suggested what one should carry when heading off-road. Consequently, I was suitably prepared for most situations. I had proper tyre levers, compressor, jumper cables, tow rope, tools galore. My top box was a full on rescue box plus my Tooltube was stuffed with some medical paraphernalia. I was considering putting some Jack Daniels in the Tooltube instead – which could serve to rescue an emergency of another sort. One hopes not to need the rescue stuff, but time would ultimately tell.
My Corbin comfy seat served my ass perfectly well. I had no discomfort at any time. The original 800GS seat is fcuking kark. I would find myself doing all kinds of leg tricks to keep the blood flowing. No shuffling required any longer. Plus, the extra spoils that I furnished my bike with made for a very enjoyable ride. The raspy note of the Remus pipe was constant music to my ears. The wide pegs and handlebar raisers meant that I could ride standing up for hundreds of kms without feeling worn out.
The tyres purchased the gravel like syrup sticks to bread. It was my first Heidenau rear tyre. I was suitably impressed. Behaved well in the wet. Clings to the tar at speeds well above 120. No head shake, no speed vibrations, and virtually no road noise. I pushed it to 180 and still no problems or difference in behaviour. If I get 8 to 10 thousand kms out of them, that will be the tyre set for me from now on.
Travelling through some of the farms in the more developed areas proved to be spectacular. The geometric shapes lined with stately trees each with its own texture and each presenting its own earthy colour creating a collage of harmony that is unique to the midlands. The occasional horse stock meandering around created the sense of tranquillity that all city dwellers envy.
After travelling across some stunning hilly gravel roads, we arrived in the very quaint town of Himeville in the late afternoon. We stayed at a stunning B&B - the Karmichael Farm looking straight into the belly of the Drakensberg looking up at Lesotho. I can recommend the place.
Freshened up, we made our way to the Hiemville Arms. We walked into a charming pub with great atmosphere and a warm crackling fire. Several ice cold frosties later we challenged our stomaches to an Eisbein. With out any doubt, the best one I’ve had. The crackling had been crisped to perfection. Discussion centred around the days events followed by deep speculation around the conditions and possibilities of the next days events, up the Sani pass. Mike had Mitas E07 tyres, Brad had Battlewings and Jono also standard road tyres. The question that was about to be answered; did they have the correct tyres? The weather would play a hand in answering that.
Some of the pictures on this leg.
Local produce at Sterkfontein Dam
The gravel roads are great
It gets greener as we head further East
Decorative landscape
Lovely time of the year to capture colours
Approaching Underberg
Peaceful countryside
Green as far as the eye can see
In Himeville
Our accom – looking at Sani pass
Where we will be going tomorrow
Only for the daring …
To be continued ….
