ianhogg
Race Dog
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2010
- Messages
- 1,506
- Reaction score
- 23
- Location
- 34 Stanbury Street, Proserpine, QLD
- Bike
- Kawasaki Versys
Drakensberg contour roads, Geluksburg, Van Reenen, Tugela, Weenen, Kaarkloof
I thought I would post this two-day trip that I did with my wife on pillion as it is such a scenic and interesting two-day ride. The first day consists of riding alongside the Drakensberg. I have been planning to do this for a while, however the second day comes courtesy of Outthere. Kevin (Outthere) sent me this route when we went to the Geluksberg weekend but we didn’t finish up doing it due to time constraints and rain but it is a real to do ride. Thanks Kevin.
I have attached the 2 days as a .gdb file. I know Gunda Gunda will be cross but .gpx files are so big & what else are we using anyway? The planning routes and tracks are in transparent, the actual ride is in blue and the alternative bits are in yellow. There is an overview map at the end.
The ride starts from Durban and the first turn is to Thornville. My plan was to wind up the Mlazi valley to Taylor’s Halt on the P334 but I didn’t believe the GPS and finished up doing a loop into Edendale, which was also very interesting. Usually I follow a track but I had put this in as a route and I know that sometimes the unit re-interprets where it is meant to be going. This time it was right & I was wrong.
After filling at Boston we turned off on our first part of the contour, the Loteni road. This is now tar, as are quite a few other bits of this escarpment path.
The snow was still visible and the air was warming up. Quickly we were back on dirt for the Nzinga valley road, Mkomazi Reserve and Giants Castle. Kamberg put us back onto some new tar
and a sweeping view of the middle Berg.
After White Mountain it was back to dirt and views of the Berg until we dropped into the valley of the upper Tugela. We stopped at the arts and craft place (Thokozisa) on the R600 to have food as we knew there is nothing at Bergville. It is possible to go up the Mlambonja valley (in yellow on the file) but then you miss Bergville.
The meal wasn’t exactly what you would call fast service but we still finished up in Bergville by 2pm. That was a bit early as our accommodation, the Homestead at Geluksberg, was only 20 minutes away by the nearest road. Instead we decide to head west to Woodstock dam, I love the curved bridge that crosses it
and the amphitheatre
From there we picked up the R74 Oliviershoek pass to look down Retief’s pass and see the Kaalvoetvrou.
By this time a wicked wind had whipped up and the top of the escarpment was getting to be a chilly and miserable place to be. My wife decided she could skip Retief’s rock.
Last time I went there I followed Kevin Wallace so I had taken a bit of a holiday on watching the turns so when I finished up back at the R74 it was a surprise and I had a bit of an anxious time before the entrance to Geluksburg appeared just before dusk.
The Homestead is just what we needed, dinner bed & breakfast at R325 each, beers either very cheap or they didn’t count them properly and run by an ex Eskom power station manager who will tell you why we pay so much for electricity & other affirmative stuff ups.
In the morning we headed out into the bustling metropolis of Geluksburg
and decided which way to go.
We headed to Swinburne which did make it easier to pick up the dirt road at Van Reenens pass. At Van Reenens turn left, cross the railway track and the road is there on your right. It has a cute little tunnel to go through too! The road then heads through the grass lands at the back of Ladysmith and past the apartheid dumping area of Bester. Just be aware the new township game is not making babies with underage girls but “service delivery protest”, we went through three but only one was active and while they were busy having a go at a red Hilux in front of us we slipped round the side. Makes you think that the bull fighters with their red cloaks knew a thing or two! If I had realized what was happening earlier I would have turned round. The route climbs up alongside the Tugela
then drops into the Tugela
and cuts across to the Bushmans at Weenen. Here the flora changes again into aloes and desert succulents and remains like that until remarkably close to Howick where it drops down into the Kaarkloof and from there to Howick. I thought the route might lead to Kevin’s front door but he had obviously already been aware of that one! Great ride, highly recommended. Ian
I thought I would post this two-day trip that I did with my wife on pillion as it is such a scenic and interesting two-day ride. The first day consists of riding alongside the Drakensberg. I have been planning to do this for a while, however the second day comes courtesy of Outthere. Kevin (Outthere) sent me this route when we went to the Geluksberg weekend but we didn’t finish up doing it due to time constraints and rain but it is a real to do ride. Thanks Kevin.
I have attached the 2 days as a .gdb file. I know Gunda Gunda will be cross but .gpx files are so big & what else are we using anyway? The planning routes and tracks are in transparent, the actual ride is in blue and the alternative bits are in yellow. There is an overview map at the end.
The ride starts from Durban and the first turn is to Thornville. My plan was to wind up the Mlazi valley to Taylor’s Halt on the P334 but I didn’t believe the GPS and finished up doing a loop into Edendale, which was also very interesting. Usually I follow a track but I had put this in as a route and I know that sometimes the unit re-interprets where it is meant to be going. This time it was right & I was wrong.
After filling at Boston we turned off on our first part of the contour, the Loteni road. This is now tar, as are quite a few other bits of this escarpment path.
The snow was still visible and the air was warming up. Quickly we were back on dirt for the Nzinga valley road, Mkomazi Reserve and Giants Castle. Kamberg put us back onto some new tar
and a sweeping view of the middle Berg.
After White Mountain it was back to dirt and views of the Berg until we dropped into the valley of the upper Tugela. We stopped at the arts and craft place (Thokozisa) on the R600 to have food as we knew there is nothing at Bergville. It is possible to go up the Mlambonja valley (in yellow on the file) but then you miss Bergville.
The meal wasn’t exactly what you would call fast service but we still finished up in Bergville by 2pm. That was a bit early as our accommodation, the Homestead at Geluksberg, was only 20 minutes away by the nearest road. Instead we decide to head west to Woodstock dam, I love the curved bridge that crosses it
and the amphitheatre
From there we picked up the R74 Oliviershoek pass to look down Retief’s pass and see the Kaalvoetvrou.
By this time a wicked wind had whipped up and the top of the escarpment was getting to be a chilly and miserable place to be. My wife decided she could skip Retief’s rock.
Last time I went there I followed Kevin Wallace so I had taken a bit of a holiday on watching the turns so when I finished up back at the R74 it was a surprise and I had a bit of an anxious time before the entrance to Geluksburg appeared just before dusk.
The Homestead is just what we needed, dinner bed & breakfast at R325 each, beers either very cheap or they didn’t count them properly and run by an ex Eskom power station manager who will tell you why we pay so much for electricity & other affirmative stuff ups.
In the morning we headed out into the bustling metropolis of Geluksburg
and decided which way to go.
We headed to Swinburne which did make it easier to pick up the dirt road at Van Reenens pass. At Van Reenens turn left, cross the railway track and the road is there on your right. It has a cute little tunnel to go through too! The road then heads through the grass lands at the back of Ladysmith and past the apartheid dumping area of Bester. Just be aware the new township game is not making babies with underage girls but “service delivery protest”, we went through three but only one was active and while they were busy having a go at a red Hilux in front of us we slipped round the side. Makes you think that the bull fighters with their red cloaks knew a thing or two! If I had realized what was happening earlier I would have turned round. The route climbs up alongside the Tugela
then drops into the Tugela
and cuts across to the Bushmans at Weenen. Here the flora changes again into aloes and desert succulents and remains like that until remarkably close to Howick where it drops down into the Kaarkloof and from there to Howick. I thought the route might lead to Kevin’s front door but he had obviously already been aware of that one! Great ride, highly recommended. Ian
