Doringboom
Race Dog
Hallo everybody,
Jaycee and I planned this little tour about a month ago. The idea was solely to go ride some nice (dirt) roads in an area which both of us are almost completely unfamiliar with and for Jaycee to experience / test his recently kitted-out Transalp as a long road touring vehicle. Accommodations were booked more than two weeks prior to our departure. Thatâ??s it. There was no plan that our tour should coincide with any spectacle (natural or manmade), political upheaval, festival, etc. and neither was there any appointment with somebody somewhere to honour. Please read on to learn what was in the bag for us:
Day 1 (20/09/08): Pretoria â?? Johannesburg â?? Heidelberg â?? Villiers â?? Reitz â?? Bethlehem â?? Clarens â?? Golden Gate Highlands National Park â?? Harrismith â?? Oliviershoek Pass â?? Bergville â?? Winterton (all tar, 561 km)
Saturday morning and here we are, men and machines, ready for departure from Pretoria.
I pick up our story on the road from Reitz to Bethlehem, where we became aware of the turbulent, â??deurmekaarâ? weather that was lying ahead. The elements introduced themselves to us in the form of a brief thunderstorm just before we reached Bethlehem. This was soon followed by what appeared to us like clearing up. Here we are at the turnoff to Clarens. (Not knowing it at this stage: The distant darkness is where the monster lives!)
We rode through on-and-off rain to Clarens where we had coffee. Here still, neither one of us was able to tell what the weatherâ??s plans were, as it appears different every 5 minutes. Even sunshine and blue skies were ingredients of the mixture.
The on-and-off rain persisted, but sight remained good and my riding gear appeared to be sufficiently waterproof for the job.
On the stretch to Harrismith, after passing through the Golden Gate Highlands National Park, we were treated to short bursts of, firstly, ice rain and later kapok (â??falling Slush Puppyâ? was my first reaction). My riding pantsâ?? waterproofing has also given in sometime earlier and my sit on the bike was a cold and wet affair! The Tigerâ??s heated handlebar grips were a welcome blessing though, something Jaycee immediately added to his Transalp shopping list.
Before we reached Harrismith (just to refuel) all forms of precipitation had ceased, but a bitterly cold and strong southerly wind was blowing. At the Wimpy next to the N3 we got word of heavy snowfalls in the KZN midlands and very limited sight through the Oliviershoek Pass. After some warm coffee and a number of best of luck whishes, we departed again â?? direction KZN! We crossed the Oliviershoek Pass in nothing less than outright dangerous riding conditions. We took a blind risk, which paid off well in the form of no snow or ice on the road and no traffic through the pass (except for 2 or 3 stationary vehicles next to the road at an earlier accident scene). Just after 17:00 and in weather that showed more and more kindness to us after the pass, we stopped at our B&B in Winterton.
Day 2 (21/09/08): Winterton â?? Estcourt â?? Giantâ??s Castle â?? Mooi River â?? Rosetta â?? Nottingham Road â?? Howick â?? Bulwer â?? Underberg â?? Himeville (all tar, 356 km)
On waking up Sunday morning we were richly rewarded for all the challenges we endured the day before. The rewards came in the form of (predominantly) sunshiny weather, crisp and clear blue skies, almost no wind, clouds that were only the last remaining â??empty bucketsâ?, dry tar roads and a LOTS of snow covered landscapes later on. From here on Iâ??m letting the pictures do most of the talking:
Just outside of Winterton, with the snow covered Drakensberg Mountains in the distance.
From Estcourt we took the road to Giantâ??s Castle. Beautiful scenery!
From Giantâ??s Castle we continued to Mooi River. Roughly where the Midlands Meander-road starts (according to roadside signs) we found ourselves in the snow. The mountains of Giantâ??s Castle are in the distance.
Jaycee in the snow, with the road leading onwards to Mooi River.
Looking back to Giantâ??s Castle again.
For obvious reasons we abandoned our plan to ride the gravel road from Nottingham Road over Lower Loteni to Himeville. We continued along the Midlands Meander, together with lots of snow spotters and Sunday day trippers in their cages, to Howick where we made the obligatory stop at the waterfall.
Some waterfall spectators.
On the road from Howick to Bulwer the scale of the snowfall became almost too good to believe!
It was late Sunday afternoon and we encountered dense cage traffic coming from Underbergâ??s direction. All were snow spotters and many vehicles had snowmen built on the bonnets or boots. Except for the two of us, there was absolutely no other motorcycle traffic on the road.
Did I mention anything about snow? Here I stopped on a hill between Bulwer and Underberg.
Snow absolutely everywhere!
On arrival at the Himeville Arms Hotel in Himeville I was feeling like being on holiday in Switzerland or somewhere far away! Here Jaycee is doing an inspection of the parking spot behind our hotel room. No, the bikes will not sleep there! Too muddy!
Day 3 (22/09/08): Himeville â?? Underberg â?? Kingscote â?? Swartberg â?? Franklin â?? Kokstad â?? Cedarville â?? Matatiele â?? Mount Fletcher â?? Maclear â?? Ugie â?? Elliot â?? Barkly Pass â?? Barkly East â?? Rhodes (tar and gravel, 505 km)
Monday morning we woke up with the lawns and roofs still covered in white. We never experienced any falling snow though. Hereâ??s our room (No. 11).
The bikes spent the night on the hotelâ??s front stoep.
The Himeville Arms Hotelâ??s front, with the roof still covered with snow. It is a nice place to stay over. It has a rich and colourful history, judging from all the photos and things to read and look at on the walls inside, especially the bar.
09:30 and Underberg Standard Bank had to be dug up from under the snow (almost).
We continued with our tour in glorious sunshine and on a bone dry tar road, except for a few minor wet spots due to the melting snow. Hereâ??s a scene somewhere between Underberg and Swartberg.
Still on the Underberg â?? Swartberg road.
It looked like this everywhere, kilometer after kilometer, almost all the way to Kokstad.
Outside Swartberg we consulted our map to see how the (much longer) tar road goes to Matatiele, as we had no intentions to keep with our initially planned dirt road shortcuts.
From Kokstad the snow became progressively less evident as the snowline shifted higher and higher up the mountain slopes. Hereâ??s a scene just outside Kokstad on the road to Cedarville.
A beautiful tar road runs from Mount Fletcher to Maclear. It has some nice twisties and we frequently got the urge to open the taps a little bit. Next time you are heading this way, make sure to leave the knobblies at home!
O ja! Just in case someone might think I wasnâ??t displaying my â??coloursâ?. (Thanks Oetie!)
Outside Elliot we were about to enter the Barkly Pass on our way to Barkly East.
Some beautiful rock formations are to be seen very often.
Yours truly, ascending the beautiful Barkly Pass.
We could have turned off here for Rhodes, but Jayceeâ??s Transalp could then develop a fuel shortage problem, given our Lundeanâ??s Nek plans for the next day. There is no fuel garage at Rhodes. So, we pressed on for Barkly East.
We reached Rhodes just before complete darkness. The 61 km gravel road from Barkly East is not that tame at all! It is not the road I would recommend you try to complete in a record time.
Day 4 (23/09/08): Rhodes â?? Lundeanâ??s Nek Pass â?? Tele Bridge Border Post â?? Zastron â?? Wepener â?? Hobhouse â?? Ladybrand â?? Ficksburg (gravel and tar, 389 km)
We stayed over at the Walkerbouts Inn. After breakfast it was departure time again.
We went back on the previous dayâ??s route from Barkly East for approximately 20 km to take the turnoff for the Lundeanâ??s Nek Pass. Here is a view back in the direction of Rhodes in the distance.
Yes, Iâ??m on my way!
Just after the iron bridge over the Bell River the road turns away to Lundeanâ??s Nek.
We stopped for a closer look at the bridge and the beautiful sandstone scenery.
We are about to start our ascent of the pass.
Jaycee puts the Transalp through its paces up the pass.
We took a rest at the border patrol Police station. Here was not a single policeman to be seen! Tele Bridge is where you get tar road again.
What a picturesque setting for a Police station!
Just to remind you where in the world you are.
We rode over the Nek. The descending road allowed for some beautiful views and photo opportunities.
It was just after 11:00 and time to catch a pig! When we got to the first rural houses nearer to the foot of the pass, I found this piglet in the middle of the road after coming round a bend. Its head was buried in an old, rusted tin container and it was following its mother and little brothers and sisters just by homing in on their noises. Shame!
We immediately launched a rescue operation. Under loud protest and with the mother making aggressive advances I quickly managed to free it from its predicament.
So ja, that looks better!
The road continues along the western bank of the river. Across the river lies Lesotho.
A last stop before the tar road starts.
Here is the bridge over the Orange River on the road between Tele Bridge and Zastron. The river also is the provincial boundary.
The wind has started to blow very strongly in the meantime. From Zastron all the way to Ficksburg (our next overnight stop) was an unpleasant, dusty, â??ruk-en-plukâ? experience. We reached Ficksburg at a time we were both quite gatvol for wind and dust!
Day 5 (24/09/08): Ficksburg â?? Rosendal â?? Lindley â?? Petrus Steyn â?? Heilbron â?? Sasolburg â?? Vereeniging â?? Johannesburg â?? Pretoria (all tar, 434 km)
The homeward leg was uneventful and, fortunately, with much less of the previous dayâ??s dust and strong wind. We initially enjoyed the beautiful Eastern Free State scenery, but when we reached the smoking chimneys of Sasolburg, we got the message: Itâ??s over for now.
Signing off, mission completed â?? Doringboom and Jaycee.
Good bye until a next time.
Doringboom
PS. The best pictures were all taken by Jaycee :glasses1:
Jaycee and I planned this little tour about a month ago. The idea was solely to go ride some nice (dirt) roads in an area which both of us are almost completely unfamiliar with and for Jaycee to experience / test his recently kitted-out Transalp as a long road touring vehicle. Accommodations were booked more than two weeks prior to our departure. Thatâ??s it. There was no plan that our tour should coincide with any spectacle (natural or manmade), political upheaval, festival, etc. and neither was there any appointment with somebody somewhere to honour. Please read on to learn what was in the bag for us:
Day 1 (20/09/08): Pretoria â?? Johannesburg â?? Heidelberg â?? Villiers â?? Reitz â?? Bethlehem â?? Clarens â?? Golden Gate Highlands National Park â?? Harrismith â?? Oliviershoek Pass â?? Bergville â?? Winterton (all tar, 561 km)
Saturday morning and here we are, men and machines, ready for departure from Pretoria.
I pick up our story on the road from Reitz to Bethlehem, where we became aware of the turbulent, â??deurmekaarâ? weather that was lying ahead. The elements introduced themselves to us in the form of a brief thunderstorm just before we reached Bethlehem. This was soon followed by what appeared to us like clearing up. Here we are at the turnoff to Clarens. (Not knowing it at this stage: The distant darkness is where the monster lives!)
We rode through on-and-off rain to Clarens where we had coffee. Here still, neither one of us was able to tell what the weatherâ??s plans were, as it appears different every 5 minutes. Even sunshine and blue skies were ingredients of the mixture.
The on-and-off rain persisted, but sight remained good and my riding gear appeared to be sufficiently waterproof for the job.
On the stretch to Harrismith, after passing through the Golden Gate Highlands National Park, we were treated to short bursts of, firstly, ice rain and later kapok (â??falling Slush Puppyâ? was my first reaction). My riding pantsâ?? waterproofing has also given in sometime earlier and my sit on the bike was a cold and wet affair! The Tigerâ??s heated handlebar grips were a welcome blessing though, something Jaycee immediately added to his Transalp shopping list.
Before we reached Harrismith (just to refuel) all forms of precipitation had ceased, but a bitterly cold and strong southerly wind was blowing. At the Wimpy next to the N3 we got word of heavy snowfalls in the KZN midlands and very limited sight through the Oliviershoek Pass. After some warm coffee and a number of best of luck whishes, we departed again â?? direction KZN! We crossed the Oliviershoek Pass in nothing less than outright dangerous riding conditions. We took a blind risk, which paid off well in the form of no snow or ice on the road and no traffic through the pass (except for 2 or 3 stationary vehicles next to the road at an earlier accident scene). Just after 17:00 and in weather that showed more and more kindness to us after the pass, we stopped at our B&B in Winterton.
Day 2 (21/09/08): Winterton â?? Estcourt â?? Giantâ??s Castle â?? Mooi River â?? Rosetta â?? Nottingham Road â?? Howick â?? Bulwer â?? Underberg â?? Himeville (all tar, 356 km)
On waking up Sunday morning we were richly rewarded for all the challenges we endured the day before. The rewards came in the form of (predominantly) sunshiny weather, crisp and clear blue skies, almost no wind, clouds that were only the last remaining â??empty bucketsâ?, dry tar roads and a LOTS of snow covered landscapes later on. From here on Iâ??m letting the pictures do most of the talking:
Just outside of Winterton, with the snow covered Drakensberg Mountains in the distance.
From Estcourt we took the road to Giantâ??s Castle. Beautiful scenery!
From Giantâ??s Castle we continued to Mooi River. Roughly where the Midlands Meander-road starts (according to roadside signs) we found ourselves in the snow. The mountains of Giantâ??s Castle are in the distance.
Jaycee in the snow, with the road leading onwards to Mooi River.
Looking back to Giantâ??s Castle again.
For obvious reasons we abandoned our plan to ride the gravel road from Nottingham Road over Lower Loteni to Himeville. We continued along the Midlands Meander, together with lots of snow spotters and Sunday day trippers in their cages, to Howick where we made the obligatory stop at the waterfall.
Some waterfall spectators.
On the road from Howick to Bulwer the scale of the snowfall became almost too good to believe!
It was late Sunday afternoon and we encountered dense cage traffic coming from Underbergâ??s direction. All were snow spotters and many vehicles had snowmen built on the bonnets or boots. Except for the two of us, there was absolutely no other motorcycle traffic on the road.
Did I mention anything about snow? Here I stopped on a hill between Bulwer and Underberg.
Snow absolutely everywhere!
On arrival at the Himeville Arms Hotel in Himeville I was feeling like being on holiday in Switzerland or somewhere far away! Here Jaycee is doing an inspection of the parking spot behind our hotel room. No, the bikes will not sleep there! Too muddy!
Day 3 (22/09/08): Himeville â?? Underberg â?? Kingscote â?? Swartberg â?? Franklin â?? Kokstad â?? Cedarville â?? Matatiele â?? Mount Fletcher â?? Maclear â?? Ugie â?? Elliot â?? Barkly Pass â?? Barkly East â?? Rhodes (tar and gravel, 505 km)
Monday morning we woke up with the lawns and roofs still covered in white. We never experienced any falling snow though. Hereâ??s our room (No. 11).
The bikes spent the night on the hotelâ??s front stoep.
The Himeville Arms Hotelâ??s front, with the roof still covered with snow. It is a nice place to stay over. It has a rich and colourful history, judging from all the photos and things to read and look at on the walls inside, especially the bar.
09:30 and Underberg Standard Bank had to be dug up from under the snow (almost).
We continued with our tour in glorious sunshine and on a bone dry tar road, except for a few minor wet spots due to the melting snow. Hereâ??s a scene somewhere between Underberg and Swartberg.
Still on the Underberg â?? Swartberg road.
It looked like this everywhere, kilometer after kilometer, almost all the way to Kokstad.
Outside Swartberg we consulted our map to see how the (much longer) tar road goes to Matatiele, as we had no intentions to keep with our initially planned dirt road shortcuts.
From Kokstad the snow became progressively less evident as the snowline shifted higher and higher up the mountain slopes. Hereâ??s a scene just outside Kokstad on the road to Cedarville.
A beautiful tar road runs from Mount Fletcher to Maclear. It has some nice twisties and we frequently got the urge to open the taps a little bit. Next time you are heading this way, make sure to leave the knobblies at home!
O ja! Just in case someone might think I wasnâ??t displaying my â??coloursâ?. (Thanks Oetie!)
Outside Elliot we were about to enter the Barkly Pass on our way to Barkly East.
Some beautiful rock formations are to be seen very often.
Yours truly, ascending the beautiful Barkly Pass.
We could have turned off here for Rhodes, but Jayceeâ??s Transalp could then develop a fuel shortage problem, given our Lundeanâ??s Nek plans for the next day. There is no fuel garage at Rhodes. So, we pressed on for Barkly East.
We reached Rhodes just before complete darkness. The 61 km gravel road from Barkly East is not that tame at all! It is not the road I would recommend you try to complete in a record time.
Day 4 (23/09/08): Rhodes â?? Lundeanâ??s Nek Pass â?? Tele Bridge Border Post â?? Zastron â?? Wepener â?? Hobhouse â?? Ladybrand â?? Ficksburg (gravel and tar, 389 km)
We stayed over at the Walkerbouts Inn. After breakfast it was departure time again.
We went back on the previous dayâ??s route from Barkly East for approximately 20 km to take the turnoff for the Lundeanâ??s Nek Pass. Here is a view back in the direction of Rhodes in the distance.
Yes, Iâ??m on my way!
Just after the iron bridge over the Bell River the road turns away to Lundeanâ??s Nek.
We stopped for a closer look at the bridge and the beautiful sandstone scenery.
We are about to start our ascent of the pass.
Jaycee puts the Transalp through its paces up the pass.
We took a rest at the border patrol Police station. Here was not a single policeman to be seen! Tele Bridge is where you get tar road again.
What a picturesque setting for a Police station!
Just to remind you where in the world you are.
We rode over the Nek. The descending road allowed for some beautiful views and photo opportunities.
It was just after 11:00 and time to catch a pig! When we got to the first rural houses nearer to the foot of the pass, I found this piglet in the middle of the road after coming round a bend. Its head was buried in an old, rusted tin container and it was following its mother and little brothers and sisters just by homing in on their noises. Shame!
We immediately launched a rescue operation. Under loud protest and with the mother making aggressive advances I quickly managed to free it from its predicament.
So ja, that looks better!
The road continues along the western bank of the river. Across the river lies Lesotho.
A last stop before the tar road starts.
Here is the bridge over the Orange River on the road between Tele Bridge and Zastron. The river also is the provincial boundary.
The wind has started to blow very strongly in the meantime. From Zastron all the way to Ficksburg (our next overnight stop) was an unpleasant, dusty, â??ruk-en-plukâ? experience. We reached Ficksburg at a time we were both quite gatvol for wind and dust!
Day 5 (24/09/08): Ficksburg â?? Rosendal â?? Lindley â?? Petrus Steyn â?? Heilbron â?? Sasolburg â?? Vereeniging â?? Johannesburg â?? Pretoria (all tar, 434 km)
The homeward leg was uneventful and, fortunately, with much less of the previous dayâ??s dust and strong wind. We initially enjoyed the beautiful Eastern Free State scenery, but when we reached the smoking chimneys of Sasolburg, we got the message: Itâ??s over for now.
Signing off, mission completed â?? Doringboom and Jaycee.
Good bye until a next time.
Doringboom
PS. The best pictures were all taken by Jaycee :glasses1:
