So the plan started out with Blouvark mentioning over a couple of beers that he was planning to redo the Thabazimbi trip where Gideon had his off. I have been keen on doing a ride to the area for quite a while now, so I invited my self along for the trip. Amstel also got to hear of it and the trip was finalised for the weekend of the 24/25th of February. The final group consisted of Blouvark (who would be leading the trip), Amstel and myself. A nice small group to ensure that the expected 400 km for the first day would not be a race to get there. The plan was also to take it easy and enjoy the scenery and stop many times as we were all three smokers
We planned to leave quite early to ensure that we did not do too much riding during the heat of the day as temperatures in and around Thabazimbi were expected to peak at around the 38 degree C mark. So we planned to meet at the BP, corner Hans Strijdom and Old Farm Road at 05h30 for a quick cup of coffee and to leave by no later than 06h00.
Still dark, but we were all excited to get underway. The adventure was about to begin.
The planned route for our little expedition was to get the tar out of the way before 08h00 and to have a quick breakfast in Bela-Bela before tackling the dirt.
On the way to Bela-Bela, we found another intrepid adventurer on his first solo trip. Notice the 1 finger pointing in the second pic. It was good to see you out on the bike again Journeyman, I nearly fell off the bike when we saw you there. Well Done?.
Breakfast at Maxis in Bela-Bela was a good place to stop and the heat had not yet hit. The coffee is also good.
From there we head out of Bela-Bela and deflated tyres for the sections of sand that Blouvark warned about. This was going to be fun, but the heat was building already.
The next section was a good mix of dirt roads with some interesting sandy sections and nice scenery. We had our first smoke next to a nice dam in the area, possibly a good spot for a 1 night sleepover in the future.
Blouvark with blue water, blue bike, blue kit around him (I wonder where the name comes from).
The three of us with the camera setup on my bike with the timer function.
On one of the many smoke break stops on the way to Vaalwater, the scenery was awesome and the roads were interesting with brilliant scenery. By this time it was getting really hot with an estimated temperature of about 35 degrees C.
The route was well planned with only about 20 km?s of this section on Tar (thanks Blouvark!!) We were making good time having arrived in Vaalwater at about 11:30, where we grabbed a cool drink and a snack of some local biltong. The rest area in the shade at the garage was most welcome. The people are also very friendly, we had a couple of local farmer guys come and ask about the trip and more than one mentioned an interest in Adventure riding, I dished out 2 WildDog cards with the website address on.
After the mandatory short tar section to get to the next dirt road, we hit the best dirt of the day, with lots of turns, some sandy bits and awesome scenery which runs for almost it?s entire length along private game parks where there is always an opportunity to see some game.
We arrived at Gideons rock which you should have seen enough pictures of, we decided to stop and have a look. Man I think Gideon can count himself lucky that no further damage was done to himself, it could have turned out way worse with all those boulders, trees and ditches.
Some more pics of the road into Thabazimbi. What an awesome road, there is some really good testing sand sections that had some scary moments and some high speed flying by some of us.
We arrived in Thabazimbi where we immediately headed off to the shopping area to go and purchase our supplies of Braai meat, some alcoholic beverages and the necessary extras of wood etc. Dam it was HOT. We then made our way to the campsite called Bonanza where we were charged R30 each for the night. This may sound cheap, but in the long run, it is not worth it. The swimming pool is very dirty, the boys (except me) could not sleep due to the rowdy party going on and the toilets and showers were in disgusting shape. We do not recommend staying there any time soon.
Amstel getting the fire going to cook the meat and turning into quite the comedian! Check out the paraat(sp?) fire all nicely lined up with straight edges.
Amstel getting funnier and funnier as the draughts flowed.
Bust, peeing behind the tree
Amstel showing us how he would scare away the people making too much noise in the campsite.
All having a good time with the drink flowing.
The next morning after very little sleep for Amstel and Blouvark, some of us feeling a bit delicate. We did not even put the rain covers over the tents as it was so hot. I just slept on top of my sleeping bag.
Amstel deciding to make use of his pathetic mattress for some knee guards (this did not last more than 10 minutes as he found out how hot they would make him.
After packing and leaving the campsite, we decided to shorten the route back as it was already getting hot and we thought the 400 odd km?s to return would be just too much in the heat. We then headed for the Wimpy in Thabazimbi for some well deserved breakfast and the use of their toilets (as the campsite toilets were too disgusting to attempt).
We then hit the road back towards Bela-Bela via Rnakins Pass (what an awesome stretch of road with some really stunning scenery and some interesting bits of sand just to ensure you are kept awake. Did not take many pics on the way back, will have to redo that section when it is not so hot.
We did manage to get lost along the way as Blouvarks trusty Garmin Quest was playing up. We then referred to the good old map book and made our way back towards Bela-Bela where we filled up with juice for both the bikes and ourselves. Did I mention it was VERY HOT yet!!
From Bela-Bela, we made our way back on the R101 towards PTA and were hoping to have a drink and some lunch at the Dros near Silver Lakes, however a general power failure in the area put a stop to that thought. We went our separate from here and I can honestly say that my swimming pool at home has never been more appreciated.
Thanks to Blouvark for all the arrangements and for leading the trip. It was awesome and I will ride with you any day. Thanks
Also to Amstel for keeping us entertained at the campsite. A memorable trip and lots more roads in the area that need to be explored.
8) 8) 8) 8) :rr: :rr:
We planned to leave quite early to ensure that we did not do too much riding during the heat of the day as temperatures in and around Thabazimbi were expected to peak at around the 38 degree C mark. So we planned to meet at the BP, corner Hans Strijdom and Old Farm Road at 05h30 for a quick cup of coffee and to leave by no later than 06h00.
Still dark, but we were all excited to get underway. The adventure was about to begin.
The planned route for our little expedition was to get the tar out of the way before 08h00 and to have a quick breakfast in Bela-Bela before tackling the dirt.
On the way to Bela-Bela, we found another intrepid adventurer on his first solo trip. Notice the 1 finger pointing in the second pic. It was good to see you out on the bike again Journeyman, I nearly fell off the bike when we saw you there. Well Done?.
Breakfast at Maxis in Bela-Bela was a good place to stop and the heat had not yet hit. The coffee is also good.
From there we head out of Bela-Bela and deflated tyres for the sections of sand that Blouvark warned about. This was going to be fun, but the heat was building already.
The next section was a good mix of dirt roads with some interesting sandy sections and nice scenery. We had our first smoke next to a nice dam in the area, possibly a good spot for a 1 night sleepover in the future.
Blouvark with blue water, blue bike, blue kit around him (I wonder where the name comes from).
The three of us with the camera setup on my bike with the timer function.
On one of the many smoke break stops on the way to Vaalwater, the scenery was awesome and the roads were interesting with brilliant scenery. By this time it was getting really hot with an estimated temperature of about 35 degrees C.
The route was well planned with only about 20 km?s of this section on Tar (thanks Blouvark!!) We were making good time having arrived in Vaalwater at about 11:30, where we grabbed a cool drink and a snack of some local biltong. The rest area in the shade at the garage was most welcome. The people are also very friendly, we had a couple of local farmer guys come and ask about the trip and more than one mentioned an interest in Adventure riding, I dished out 2 WildDog cards with the website address on.
After the mandatory short tar section to get to the next dirt road, we hit the best dirt of the day, with lots of turns, some sandy bits and awesome scenery which runs for almost it?s entire length along private game parks where there is always an opportunity to see some game.
We arrived at Gideons rock which you should have seen enough pictures of, we decided to stop and have a look. Man I think Gideon can count himself lucky that no further damage was done to himself, it could have turned out way worse with all those boulders, trees and ditches.
Some more pics of the road into Thabazimbi. What an awesome road, there is some really good testing sand sections that had some scary moments and some high speed flying by some of us.
We arrived in Thabazimbi where we immediately headed off to the shopping area to go and purchase our supplies of Braai meat, some alcoholic beverages and the necessary extras of wood etc. Dam it was HOT. We then made our way to the campsite called Bonanza where we were charged R30 each for the night. This may sound cheap, but in the long run, it is not worth it. The swimming pool is very dirty, the boys (except me) could not sleep due to the rowdy party going on and the toilets and showers were in disgusting shape. We do not recommend staying there any time soon.
Amstel getting the fire going to cook the meat and turning into quite the comedian! Check out the paraat(sp?) fire all nicely lined up with straight edges.
Amstel getting funnier and funnier as the draughts flowed.
Bust, peeing behind the tree
Amstel showing us how he would scare away the people making too much noise in the campsite.
All having a good time with the drink flowing.
The next morning after very little sleep for Amstel and Blouvark, some of us feeling a bit delicate. We did not even put the rain covers over the tents as it was so hot. I just slept on top of my sleeping bag.
Amstel deciding to make use of his pathetic mattress for some knee guards (this did not last more than 10 minutes as he found out how hot they would make him.
After packing and leaving the campsite, we decided to shorten the route back as it was already getting hot and we thought the 400 odd km?s to return would be just too much in the heat. We then headed for the Wimpy in Thabazimbi for some well deserved breakfast and the use of their toilets (as the campsite toilets were too disgusting to attempt).
We then hit the road back towards Bela-Bela via Rnakins Pass (what an awesome stretch of road with some really stunning scenery and some interesting bits of sand just to ensure you are kept awake. Did not take many pics on the way back, will have to redo that section when it is not so hot.
We did manage to get lost along the way as Blouvarks trusty Garmin Quest was playing up. We then referred to the good old map book and made our way back towards Bela-Bela where we filled up with juice for both the bikes and ourselves. Did I mention it was VERY HOT yet!!
From Bela-Bela, we made our way back on the R101 towards PTA and were hoping to have a drink and some lunch at the Dros near Silver Lakes, however a general power failure in the area put a stop to that thought. We went our separate from here and I can honestly say that my swimming pool at home has never been more appreciated.
Thanks to Blouvark for all the arrangements and for leading the trip. It was awesome and I will ride with you any day. Thanks
Also to Amstel for keeping us entertained at the campsite. A memorable trip and lots more roads in the area that need to be explored.
8) 8) 8) 8) :rr: :rr:
