LuckyStriker
Bachelor Dog
The participants were:
Kaboef: On his 1995 Honda XR650L
Butch: On his 2007 KTM 990Adventure
LuckyStriker: On his 2007 Suzuki DR650SE
Alan: Friend and pillion on Butchâ??s bike
Zanie: Wife of LS in her 2005 Fiat Strada
Bran: Four legged companion and braaivleis-bone appreciator
As some of you know, my wife is expecting our firstborn in about three weeks time. She still feels fit as a fiddle and didnâ??t want to let this last chance (at least for a while) to join us on a bike trip pass her by â?¦even if she had to follow us by car.
This decision proved fortunate for us.
All of us met up at Winelands One Stop and everyone transferred luggage to Zanieâ??s bakkie.
She decided to take the N1 to Matjiesfontein and from there to Sutherland while we headed to Ceres and took the scenic Karoo route to Sutherland.
After lunch and a beer at Calabash along Bainskloof pass, we hit the road in earnest.
S33 03 40.6 E19 51 17.6
Kaboef eying some distant rain
S32 50 02.2 E19 59 41.6
Entering the Karoo highlands at Bassonsgat with a view on the distant Swartruggens Mountains to the west.
S32 46 46.5 E20 19 03.1
Approaching the Verlatekloof highlands with the Komsberge to the east.
We joined the tarred R354 and started our climb up the Verlatekloof Pass when suddenly we came upon Zanieâ??s bakkie. She was supposed to have at least a two hour lead on us. My heart sank.
S32 32 36.3 E20 36 43.1
The bakkie had some mechanical problems a few months ago. The gasket had blown and the turbo cracked due to overheating. I prayed that it was not a repeat occurrence. When I got off the bike I saw my wifeâ??s tear streaked face. She was obviously greatly despondent. Even Bran gave a lonely howl from the back of the stricken vehicle.
I learnt that she had spent the last 2 and a half hours trying to get from Matjiesfontein to Sutherland (for cell phone reception and mechanical help).
The bakkie constantly overheated and she had to take frequent stops to refill the radiator and allow the engine to cool down.
Fortunately a friendly biker stopped to help her. Iâ??d like to offer a big thanks to Lallie from Sutherland. Thank you very much for taking care of my wife.
Kaboef, the mechanical genius that he is, crawled around the engine and discovered the fault. The thermostat was knackered.
He bypassed it and bridged the switch to the fan with a piece of wire cut from a nearby sheep fence.
With the fan constantly running, the cooling problem was solved and we could proceed to Sutherland â?¦much to everyoneâ??s relief.
We quickly passed through the town, stopping only to check on the bakkie and to buy some snacks.
S32 19 23.6 E20 34 55.0
Butch and Alan on the KTM. Kaboef riding sweeper.
Our accommodation was located 30km North of Sutherland on the farm of Eseljaght.
When we arrived our mouths literally hung open. The place looked fantastic, a perfect hideaway in the middle of the Karoo.
Interior heating
The house is built traditional Karoo-style; clay bricks and rocks, all whitewashed. It has two rooms, a kitchen and outside toilet and shower. Everything is gas powered except the water pump which is driven by solar energy.
The house sleeps 11 people.
Crickets and birds all sang goodnight to the sun. When it finally set in an orange blaze, the place got deathly silent. We were all waiting for the stars to come out.
Of course we needed a fire to keep us company.
fltr: Butch, Alan, Kaboef and LuckyStriker
There is our wee house and the fire kraal to the left. Notice the light trail left by someoneâ??s headlamp.
Looking up you can see the great hunter rising, upside down in an undignified antipodean view. The Pleiades, also known as M45, the seven sisters or Subaru (in Japan) rose above our fire kraal, heralding the ascent of Taurus.
Butch and Kaboef were beside themselves with hunger.
The pregnant goddess Shiva looked on with amusement.
;D
S32 19 59.0 E20 34 58.5
Eseljaght is a guest farm outside Sutherland run by Rudolf and Sunette Steenkamp. Rudolf is an avid biker who recently sold his DR600 (after many years of service) and bought a KLR650 (so he is obviously a guy with taste)
The farm has both a hiking and mountain biking trail and as an added bonus, Rudolf will take motorcyclists on a ride through some mountainous farm roads in the district. He also has inside connections at the S.A.L.T. observatory and can book visits at very short notice.
Accommodation is R50.00 per person per night. Iâ??m sure youâ??ll agree that that is dirt cheap.
Visit his website for more info: https://www.silhouette-sutherland.co.za/ and please support a biker who is willing to support other bikers.
Our amazing little home.
After a good nights sleep we were ready for the new dayâ??s ride. Alan opted out of the trip back by bike (I guess we wonâ??t be making a DS biker out of him yet). He claimed that he had to make sure Zanie and Bran got home safely since Kaboefâ??s botch-job needed a guyâ??s attention to make sure it could be relied upon
So the three of us headed to the small town of Middelpos on a Sunday morning. Needless to say, not much was going on.
It was incredibly hot, definitely in the high 30s. Fortunately I could strip down to my armour and allow the sweat to evaporate. I drank my camelback empty before I dehydrated.
S32 07 14.8 E20 07 18.2
East of Middelpos lays the Gannaga Pass. It is an incredible piece of engineering which descends a sheer cliff overlooking a landscape that a camera can never do justice to.
S32 07 42.0 E20 06 55.3
Despite my 10mm wide angle lens, I could not fit it all into frame. It is a truly enormous piece of rock you have to ride down. The road sweeps down at fairly gentle angles but sharp hairpin turns. Down and down you go to the valley below and into a devils cauldron of oppressive Karoo heat.
The road South should be signposted with a warning. Regular cars are not advised to go on this road. It has deep sand and erosion that could snap the axles off a 4x4. Riding a bike at speed almost turned badly for me. I had to jump on the brakes before I dented my rim or worse. Kaboef and Butch both shared similar stories of near-offs because we were riding too fast.
Recommended speed on the road below the pass is 80km/h IMHO. The pass itself is quit good but obvious care should be taken at sharp turns and watch out for baboons and rock fall debris.
Sights to look forward to on this road are the towering dust devils, their funnels reaching 60metres up into the sky! and at least three types of sand: gravelly grey, powdery pumice and Wichita white (okay, that last one didnâ??t make any sense but at least it alliterates)
S32 40 52.5 E19 42 28.3
We finally made it to the delicious Ceres-Karoo dirt highway. Now we could ride without fear of potholes, washaways, corrugations or sudden sharp turns.
Next stop was Ceres for a late lunch and from there to home and a shower!
Thank you. My name is LuckyStriker and I dress up like TRON.
Kaboef: On his 1995 Honda XR650L
Butch: On his 2007 KTM 990Adventure
LuckyStriker: On his 2007 Suzuki DR650SE
Alan: Friend and pillion on Butchâ??s bike
Zanie: Wife of LS in her 2005 Fiat Strada
Bran: Four legged companion and braaivleis-bone appreciator
As some of you know, my wife is expecting our firstborn in about three weeks time. She still feels fit as a fiddle and didnâ??t want to let this last chance (at least for a while) to join us on a bike trip pass her by â?¦even if she had to follow us by car.
This decision proved fortunate for us.
All of us met up at Winelands One Stop and everyone transferred luggage to Zanieâ??s bakkie.
She decided to take the N1 to Matjiesfontein and from there to Sutherland while we headed to Ceres and took the scenic Karoo route to Sutherland.
After lunch and a beer at Calabash along Bainskloof pass, we hit the road in earnest.
S33 03 40.6 E19 51 17.6
Kaboef eying some distant rain
S32 50 02.2 E19 59 41.6
Entering the Karoo highlands at Bassonsgat with a view on the distant Swartruggens Mountains to the west.
S32 46 46.5 E20 19 03.1
Approaching the Verlatekloof highlands with the Komsberge to the east.
We joined the tarred R354 and started our climb up the Verlatekloof Pass when suddenly we came upon Zanieâ??s bakkie. She was supposed to have at least a two hour lead on us. My heart sank.
S32 32 36.3 E20 36 43.1
The bakkie had some mechanical problems a few months ago. The gasket had blown and the turbo cracked due to overheating. I prayed that it was not a repeat occurrence. When I got off the bike I saw my wifeâ??s tear streaked face. She was obviously greatly despondent. Even Bran gave a lonely howl from the back of the stricken vehicle.
I learnt that she had spent the last 2 and a half hours trying to get from Matjiesfontein to Sutherland (for cell phone reception and mechanical help).
The bakkie constantly overheated and she had to take frequent stops to refill the radiator and allow the engine to cool down.
Fortunately a friendly biker stopped to help her. Iâ??d like to offer a big thanks to Lallie from Sutherland. Thank you very much for taking care of my wife.
Kaboef, the mechanical genius that he is, crawled around the engine and discovered the fault. The thermostat was knackered.
He bypassed it and bridged the switch to the fan with a piece of wire cut from a nearby sheep fence.
With the fan constantly running, the cooling problem was solved and we could proceed to Sutherland â?¦much to everyoneâ??s relief.
We quickly passed through the town, stopping only to check on the bakkie and to buy some snacks.
S32 19 23.6 E20 34 55.0
Butch and Alan on the KTM. Kaboef riding sweeper.
Our accommodation was located 30km North of Sutherland on the farm of Eseljaght.
When we arrived our mouths literally hung open. The place looked fantastic, a perfect hideaway in the middle of the Karoo.
Interior heating
The house is built traditional Karoo-style; clay bricks and rocks, all whitewashed. It has two rooms, a kitchen and outside toilet and shower. Everything is gas powered except the water pump which is driven by solar energy.
The house sleeps 11 people.
Crickets and birds all sang goodnight to the sun. When it finally set in an orange blaze, the place got deathly silent. We were all waiting for the stars to come out.
Of course we needed a fire to keep us company.
fltr: Butch, Alan, Kaboef and LuckyStriker
There is our wee house and the fire kraal to the left. Notice the light trail left by someoneâ??s headlamp.
Looking up you can see the great hunter rising, upside down in an undignified antipodean view. The Pleiades, also known as M45, the seven sisters or Subaru (in Japan) rose above our fire kraal, heralding the ascent of Taurus.
Butch and Kaboef were beside themselves with hunger.
The pregnant goddess Shiva looked on with amusement.
;D
S32 19 59.0 E20 34 58.5
Eseljaght is a guest farm outside Sutherland run by Rudolf and Sunette Steenkamp. Rudolf is an avid biker who recently sold his DR600 (after many years of service) and bought a KLR650 (so he is obviously a guy with taste)
The farm has both a hiking and mountain biking trail and as an added bonus, Rudolf will take motorcyclists on a ride through some mountainous farm roads in the district. He also has inside connections at the S.A.L.T. observatory and can book visits at very short notice.
Accommodation is R50.00 per person per night. Iâ??m sure youâ??ll agree that that is dirt cheap.
Visit his website for more info: https://www.silhouette-sutherland.co.za/ and please support a biker who is willing to support other bikers.
Our amazing little home.
After a good nights sleep we were ready for the new dayâ??s ride. Alan opted out of the trip back by bike (I guess we wonâ??t be making a DS biker out of him yet). He claimed that he had to make sure Zanie and Bran got home safely since Kaboefâ??s botch-job needed a guyâ??s attention to make sure it could be relied upon
So the three of us headed to the small town of Middelpos on a Sunday morning. Needless to say, not much was going on.
It was incredibly hot, definitely in the high 30s. Fortunately I could strip down to my armour and allow the sweat to evaporate. I drank my camelback empty before I dehydrated.
S32 07 14.8 E20 07 18.2
East of Middelpos lays the Gannaga Pass. It is an incredible piece of engineering which descends a sheer cliff overlooking a landscape that a camera can never do justice to.
S32 07 42.0 E20 06 55.3
Despite my 10mm wide angle lens, I could not fit it all into frame. It is a truly enormous piece of rock you have to ride down. The road sweeps down at fairly gentle angles but sharp hairpin turns. Down and down you go to the valley below and into a devils cauldron of oppressive Karoo heat.
The road South should be signposted with a warning. Regular cars are not advised to go on this road. It has deep sand and erosion that could snap the axles off a 4x4. Riding a bike at speed almost turned badly for me. I had to jump on the brakes before I dented my rim or worse. Kaboef and Butch both shared similar stories of near-offs because we were riding too fast.
Recommended speed on the road below the pass is 80km/h IMHO. The pass itself is quit good but obvious care should be taken at sharp turns and watch out for baboons and rock fall debris.
Sights to look forward to on this road are the towering dust devils, their funnels reaching 60metres up into the sky! and at least three types of sand: gravelly grey, powdery pumice and Wichita white (okay, that last one didnâ??t make any sense but at least it alliterates)
S32 40 52.5 E19 42 28.3
We finally made it to the delicious Ceres-Karoo dirt highway. Now we could ride without fear of potholes, washaways, corrugations or sudden sharp turns.
Next stop was Ceres for a late lunch and from there to home and a shower!
Thank you. My name is LuckyStriker and I dress up like TRON.
