Sweetness
Pack Dog
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2010
- Messages
- 106
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- Salisbury, Rhodesia
- Bike
- BMW F650GS / Dakar
Nemo has been doing quite a few off-road rides and always returns home with amazing stories of where they went, what they saw and who they met along the way. He finally talked me into doing a dirt road trip with him and on the 7th Jan, we left home for Mossel Bay via the Prince Alfreds Pass, De Vlugt and the Montague Pass. The first 2 passes were great and I really enjoyed riding. Coming down the Montague was another kettle of fish – about 2 thirds of the way down, I managed to over heat the rear brakes. When I realized that I had only front brakes (which I know shouldn’t be applied on dirt), I started to have a panic attack but managed to get down safely. We got home on Sunday 10th to get Klippies ready for hostel. Nemo decided that I needed to ‘share’ a bit more dirt with him and planned a trip to Willowmore. He promised that the roads were like graded freeways (he wasn’t wrong there).
We were packed and ready to roll on Wednesday 13th at 7am.
After filling up in Uitenhage, we turned off towards the Cockscomb mountains.
Apparently these cacti flower 2-3 days before it rains (not sure how long they had been flowering for but we had rain that night in Willowmore and on Thursday afternoon/evening we had 12mm in Hankey – thank goodness we were home by then).
Nemo, trying to look intelligent for the photo – checking our whereabouts on the GPS.
Behind me is the turn off to Glenconner. My riding pants have never been so dirty!
On the road between Glenconner and Kleinpoort. Here I come at 80 km/h.
And there I go at 80 km/h.
Nemo at the Kleinpoort turn off.
Saw 3 huge Kudu but by the time I had managed to stop and get the camera out, I had already spooked them. Nemo took this photo.
A brown wildebeest along the N75, heading towards Wolwefontein.
Nemo wanted to show me where ‘all evil starts’ on his and Klippies hunting trips, but the Wolwefontein Hotel was closed. We had a breakfast of snack biscuits, tinned mussels and champagne – how romantic!!
The church in Mount Steward.
We saw herds and herds of Springbok. There were quite a few black springbok, which I believe are rare.
We turned off to Klipplaat – I was still going great guns (but what’s with the hand?)!!!
Some guard thingy at the back of Nemo’s bike broke on the one side so he ripped it off, cable-tied it to his luggage and we carried on into Klipplaat.
One of the old churches in Klipplaat.
The Methodist Church in Klipplaat.
We stopped in the shade of some pepper trees outside the Hotel Charles in Klipplaat for an ice cold … something!!
This bicycle belonged to a chap who rode around Klipplaat painting the dustbins. He had replaced the front fork with shocks from some Suzuki motorbike, had a hunting light as brights, a spot light as dims, a tail and brake light, which all worked off a dynamo and was still scheming how to add indicators!!!
I enjoyed the different shades of green in this picture – no other reason!!
At Miller Station. It was now frigging warm – to say the least. Nemo took me on a 50km detour to look for hunting buddies. Never found the buddies but found (and had to go through) driffies of water, and then found the mud-monster. With much deliberation to the good Lord above, I managed to get through – never took my feet off the pegs and never fell!!
From Miller Station we headed for Willowmore.
Heavenly solid cement!!! I had enjoyed this trip tremendously but was starting to feel the effects of each and every bump I had gone over, the loose gravel, the dust and the bloody mud-monster which I thought was going to swallow me alive!! I needed a shower and a stiff Multana.
Nemo chilling in the shade after setting up camp in Willowmore.
Thursday 14th – After breakfast in Uniondale, we turned off onto the R62 towards Joubertina.
We filled up in Joubertina for the home stretch. The temperature in Krakeel was in the 40’s. 5km later in Joubertina, it was 15 deg lower. The clouds were rolling down the side of the mountains and then evaporating. We left Joubertina, passed through Kareedouw, onto the N2 to the Humansdorp turnoff and then home to Hankey.
My fuel consumption on the dirt roads to Willowmore was 29.67 km/lt averaging 75km/h. I didn’t have any problems with the bike.
I have been on two dirt road trips in the last two weeks, which have been so completely different – both thoroughly enjoyable.
Thank you, Nemo, for planning the trips, for being concerned for my safety, for pushing when I needed it and for knowing when to back off!!
Love you
Sweetness
We were packed and ready to roll on Wednesday 13th at 7am.
After filling up in Uitenhage, we turned off towards the Cockscomb mountains.
Apparently these cacti flower 2-3 days before it rains (not sure how long they had been flowering for but we had rain that night in Willowmore and on Thursday afternoon/evening we had 12mm in Hankey – thank goodness we were home by then).
Nemo, trying to look intelligent for the photo – checking our whereabouts on the GPS.
Behind me is the turn off to Glenconner. My riding pants have never been so dirty!
On the road between Glenconner and Kleinpoort. Here I come at 80 km/h.
And there I go at 80 km/h.
Nemo at the Kleinpoort turn off.
Saw 3 huge Kudu but by the time I had managed to stop and get the camera out, I had already spooked them. Nemo took this photo.
A brown wildebeest along the N75, heading towards Wolwefontein.
Nemo wanted to show me where ‘all evil starts’ on his and Klippies hunting trips, but the Wolwefontein Hotel was closed. We had a breakfast of snack biscuits, tinned mussels and champagne – how romantic!!
The church in Mount Steward.
We saw herds and herds of Springbok. There were quite a few black springbok, which I believe are rare.
We turned off to Klipplaat – I was still going great guns (but what’s with the hand?)!!!
Some guard thingy at the back of Nemo’s bike broke on the one side so he ripped it off, cable-tied it to his luggage and we carried on into Klipplaat.
One of the old churches in Klipplaat.
The Methodist Church in Klipplaat.
We stopped in the shade of some pepper trees outside the Hotel Charles in Klipplaat for an ice cold … something!!
This bicycle belonged to a chap who rode around Klipplaat painting the dustbins. He had replaced the front fork with shocks from some Suzuki motorbike, had a hunting light as brights, a spot light as dims, a tail and brake light, which all worked off a dynamo and was still scheming how to add indicators!!!
I enjoyed the different shades of green in this picture – no other reason!!
At Miller Station. It was now frigging warm – to say the least. Nemo took me on a 50km detour to look for hunting buddies. Never found the buddies but found (and had to go through) driffies of water, and then found the mud-monster. With much deliberation to the good Lord above, I managed to get through – never took my feet off the pegs and never fell!!
From Miller Station we headed for Willowmore.
Heavenly solid cement!!! I had enjoyed this trip tremendously but was starting to feel the effects of each and every bump I had gone over, the loose gravel, the dust and the bloody mud-monster which I thought was going to swallow me alive!! I needed a shower and a stiff Multana.
Nemo chilling in the shade after setting up camp in Willowmore.
Thursday 14th – After breakfast in Uniondale, we turned off onto the R62 towards Joubertina.
We filled up in Joubertina for the home stretch. The temperature in Krakeel was in the 40’s. 5km later in Joubertina, it was 15 deg lower. The clouds were rolling down the side of the mountains and then evaporating. We left Joubertina, passed through Kareedouw, onto the N2 to the Humansdorp turnoff and then home to Hankey.
My fuel consumption on the dirt roads to Willowmore was 29.67 km/lt averaging 75km/h. I didn’t have any problems with the bike.
I have been on two dirt road trips in the last two weeks, which have been so completely different – both thoroughly enjoyable.
Thank you, Nemo, for planning the trips, for being concerned for my safety, for pushing when I needed it and for knowing when to back off!!
Love you
Sweetness
