muzzy
Pack Dog
Day 1
Our tour started at 6.30am Friday 6th August at the one-stop garage on the R21 just outside Pretoria. Wayne, Edwin, Mario and Murray set of for Harrismith Wimpy to hook up with Danie who was riding up from Howick.
After some breakfast we removed all our excess winter clothing and set out for De Beers pass.
The dust was excessive due to road works being done and large trucks using the road.
The view down into Natal from De Beers pass was awesome everywhere you looked was brown or nearly brown. The tight twisty tar road down the pass was entertaining for me with my Metzeler Karoo T’s. I’ve always ridden off road bikes and getting use to the tar with knobblies is a new experience.
The tar road section was complete and we turned onto the dirt road heading towards Collings Pass. I enjoyed this section as it was a meander on farm roads through the countryside heading up towards the escarpment and the Free State.
We crossed over the road from this mornings ride and headed for Swinburne and the Hound and Hare English Pub where we had a lovely lunch and one or two or three or…..wetties. The table appeared to be drunk as every time I placed my wettie on it, my wettie would topple over and spill on the stoep floor. I noticed Danie’s wettie never left his hand, maybe that’s the trick.
Danie filled up with fuel and we set out for Bezuidenhoutspas. Rocks and more rocks I felt at home, riding my S10 down was a new experience for me but I was pleasantly surprised how easily it handled on the rocky sections. Danie was on the “Main Jet” as he pointed out and was off like a bat out of hell trying to set a new land speed record on his GS 650 with Edwin on his 660 Tenere hot in pursuit. Danie explained that a WFO was held there recently and he had something to proof that a GS650 could actually ride off road. Mario being new to adventure riding/off road riding was puzzling with the rocks and was floundering a little but surprisingly didn’t fall off.
We stayed at Bingelela Lodge for the evening, again the food was excellent but the wetties were even better after a long dusty day in the saddle. I managed to find a sober table so there was no more spillage. Four myprodols later and my babelas was sorted. Could have done with some ear plugs as Danie was attempting to complete the whole Dakar rally by constantly revving his bike in his sleep
Day 2
After a hearty breakfast we headed towards Nottingham Road. On turning a bend we noticed a track heading around the side of a forest and Danie and Edwin were off to do some investigating. Turned out the path meandered around the outskirts of the forest and the edge of the escarpment, resulting on some awesome views and riding track.
The dust on the road got the better of us and our throats got exceptionally dry. Being from Howick Danie had a keen sense of smell and managed to find a Shabeen where our thirst was quickly quenched with a wettie.
After our pit stop we headed down to Nottingham road for lunch and some more wetties. Danie was on the main jet again and had some fantasy that his GS650 could run with my S10. Eventually I caught onto his scheme and kept the S10 in 4th gear checked the mirror and when he tried his move I would accelerate away from him as soon as he got to my back tyre. This seemed to frustrate him more; sorry for him.
We managed to get a snap shot of a local adventure rider out on a Saturday morning
ride. I was sure it looked like a green GS1200 but I’ve been wrong before, seemingly.
After lunch we headed for Himeville via Lower Loteni
We arrived at Himeville and went straight to the Himeville Arms to again quench our dry tongues with yet more wetties. We stayed the night at a friends house and had a Braai and more wetties.
DAY 3
We were up bright and early so we could be at Sani border post before 8am. Himeville was cold as can be seen from Danies seat.
We were almost at the border post when disaster struck. Danies chain had snapped. Edwin headed back to Himeville to fetch a chain and soon we had the GS650 running again. Then I realized that my S10 was leaking oil. After removing the belly pan we noticed a nice imprint of the engine casing in the Aluminum belly pan and a small crack in the sump, this had happened on the road up to the border post in a large pothole/ditch.. We laid the bike over on my kitbag and applied some Pratley steel to the crack and ten minutes later we were back on track to Sani pass. The belly pan in a whole is a piece of crap and I can’t wait for an aftermarket one that’s at least 6mm thick.
We crossed through customs and headed up Sani Pass. There was a lot of traffic on the pass but we quickly passed them and headed up.
As the tight corners at the top of the pass started Mario had his first tumble. We helped him on his GS800 and he was off again to the next corner where the same process was repeated again and again. With some advice and pointers he safely made it up the most difficult section with no more tumbles and emerged victories at the summit. This had been his baptism of fire as they say.
Sani was no match for Edwin on his Tenere 660 and Danie on his GS650, they were on the main jet all the way.
We reached the summit and headed straight to the “highest pub in Africa” for, yes you guessed, a wettie.
After our wetties we headed out to conquer Kotisephola Pass. Mario had a tumble and Wayne and Danie headed back down the pass to help him. Wayne misjudged the terrain when parking his S10 and fell over damaging his side cover and pushing the fan motor into the radiator. After removing the side cover he bent the fan mounting back and was quickly on his way back up the pass. This was Mario’s last tumble of the tour and his riding ability’s increased with every km.
After going over Kotisephola Pass the views down the other side were stunning
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The road up to the T-junction on the A1 was all dirt, after turning left we rode on a newly tarred surface which still had lots of loose stones. This is when Danie’s fantasy of racing his GS650 against my S10 came back. He would catch me in the corners then I would leave him on the straights, killing my self laughing until Danie pulled the move of all moves and he was passed me. Later found out he had no back brakes and couldn’t slow down as his brake reservoir had come loose. A few running repairs and we were all off again. We headed for Khalong-la-Lithunya Pass of Guns, the tar road started to deteriorate into a mess of tar, pot hole, dirt, pothole, tar, dirt etc. This made us wake up a bit as the road was difficult to read. The mess eventually turned into dirt and we were all happy again.
We reached the top of Tlaeeng Pass and passed Afri-ski on our way down to Oxbow lodge.
At Oxbow lodge we had a wettie and something to eat.
After leaving Oxbow we traversed Moteng Pass, This is one serious engineering feat. The tar road wineds down the side of a mountain with many sharp corners.
We then headed toward Caledonspoort border, the set our targets on Clarens were we stayed the night. We headed of for dinner and drinks at Friends pub and left at the wee hours of the morning.(enough said)
Day 4
After breakfast we said farewell to Danie as he decided he liked Lesotho so much he was going home the way we came to Howick. We left Clarens and headed through the Golden Gate National park. The scenery was breathtaking with the sand stone outcrops.
We then headed down Lichens pass and headed home to Pretoria.
On the trip back to Pretoria two GSA 1200 caught up with us and came past us on the main jet. Being on my S10 I was offended that they had passed me at such a rapid speed, so I did what any decent S10 rider would have done, I chased them down sat next to them waved goodbye and left them as small images in my mirrors. I later got tired of this and slowed down and re-joined my possie. There was lots of laughter to be had by all.
We all enjoyed ourselves and there is talk of another trip early next year. Thanks to all concerned hope you had a great time
From left to right
Edwin/atkinse (XT660Z), Mario (GS800), Murray /Muzzy (S10), Danie (GS650),
Wayne (S10)
Our tour started at 6.30am Friday 6th August at the one-stop garage on the R21 just outside Pretoria. Wayne, Edwin, Mario and Murray set of for Harrismith Wimpy to hook up with Danie who was riding up from Howick.
After some breakfast we removed all our excess winter clothing and set out for De Beers pass.
The dust was excessive due to road works being done and large trucks using the road.
The view down into Natal from De Beers pass was awesome everywhere you looked was brown or nearly brown. The tight twisty tar road down the pass was entertaining for me with my Metzeler Karoo T’s. I’ve always ridden off road bikes and getting use to the tar with knobblies is a new experience.
The tar road section was complete and we turned onto the dirt road heading towards Collings Pass. I enjoyed this section as it was a meander on farm roads through the countryside heading up towards the escarpment and the Free State.
We crossed over the road from this mornings ride and headed for Swinburne and the Hound and Hare English Pub where we had a lovely lunch and one or two or three or…..wetties. The table appeared to be drunk as every time I placed my wettie on it, my wettie would topple over and spill on the stoep floor. I noticed Danie’s wettie never left his hand, maybe that’s the trick.
Danie filled up with fuel and we set out for Bezuidenhoutspas. Rocks and more rocks I felt at home, riding my S10 down was a new experience for me but I was pleasantly surprised how easily it handled on the rocky sections. Danie was on the “Main Jet” as he pointed out and was off like a bat out of hell trying to set a new land speed record on his GS 650 with Edwin on his 660 Tenere hot in pursuit. Danie explained that a WFO was held there recently and he had something to proof that a GS650 could actually ride off road. Mario being new to adventure riding/off road riding was puzzling with the rocks and was floundering a little but surprisingly didn’t fall off.
We stayed at Bingelela Lodge for the evening, again the food was excellent but the wetties were even better after a long dusty day in the saddle. I managed to find a sober table so there was no more spillage. Four myprodols later and my babelas was sorted. Could have done with some ear plugs as Danie was attempting to complete the whole Dakar rally by constantly revving his bike in his sleep
Day 2
After a hearty breakfast we headed towards Nottingham Road. On turning a bend we noticed a track heading around the side of a forest and Danie and Edwin were off to do some investigating. Turned out the path meandered around the outskirts of the forest and the edge of the escarpment, resulting on some awesome views and riding track.
The dust on the road got the better of us and our throats got exceptionally dry. Being from Howick Danie had a keen sense of smell and managed to find a Shabeen where our thirst was quickly quenched with a wettie.
After our pit stop we headed down to Nottingham road for lunch and some more wetties. Danie was on the main jet again and had some fantasy that his GS650 could run with my S10. Eventually I caught onto his scheme and kept the S10 in 4th gear checked the mirror and when he tried his move I would accelerate away from him as soon as he got to my back tyre. This seemed to frustrate him more; sorry for him.
We managed to get a snap shot of a local adventure rider out on a Saturday morning
ride. I was sure it looked like a green GS1200 but I’ve been wrong before, seemingly.
After lunch we headed for Himeville via Lower Loteni
We arrived at Himeville and went straight to the Himeville Arms to again quench our dry tongues with yet more wetties. We stayed the night at a friends house and had a Braai and more wetties.
DAY 3
We were up bright and early so we could be at Sani border post before 8am. Himeville was cold as can be seen from Danies seat.
We were almost at the border post when disaster struck. Danies chain had snapped. Edwin headed back to Himeville to fetch a chain and soon we had the GS650 running again. Then I realized that my S10 was leaking oil. After removing the belly pan we noticed a nice imprint of the engine casing in the Aluminum belly pan and a small crack in the sump, this had happened on the road up to the border post in a large pothole/ditch.. We laid the bike over on my kitbag and applied some Pratley steel to the crack and ten minutes later we were back on track to Sani pass. The belly pan in a whole is a piece of crap and I can’t wait for an aftermarket one that’s at least 6mm thick.
We crossed through customs and headed up Sani Pass. There was a lot of traffic on the pass but we quickly passed them and headed up.
As the tight corners at the top of the pass started Mario had his first tumble. We helped him on his GS800 and he was off again to the next corner where the same process was repeated again and again. With some advice and pointers he safely made it up the most difficult section with no more tumbles and emerged victories at the summit. This had been his baptism of fire as they say.
Sani was no match for Edwin on his Tenere 660 and Danie on his GS650, they were on the main jet all the way.
We reached the summit and headed straight to the “highest pub in Africa” for, yes you guessed, a wettie.
After our wetties we headed out to conquer Kotisephola Pass. Mario had a tumble and Wayne and Danie headed back down the pass to help him. Wayne misjudged the terrain when parking his S10 and fell over damaging his side cover and pushing the fan motor into the radiator. After removing the side cover he bent the fan mounting back and was quickly on his way back up the pass. This was Mario’s last tumble of the tour and his riding ability’s increased with every km.
After going over Kotisephola Pass the views down the other side were stunning
The road up to the T-junction on the A1 was all dirt, after turning left we rode on a newly tarred surface which still had lots of loose stones. This is when Danie’s fantasy of racing his GS650 against my S10 came back. He would catch me in the corners then I would leave him on the straights, killing my self laughing until Danie pulled the move of all moves and he was passed me. Later found out he had no back brakes and couldn’t slow down as his brake reservoir had come loose. A few running repairs and we were all off again. We headed for Khalong-la-Lithunya Pass of Guns, the tar road started to deteriorate into a mess of tar, pot hole, dirt, pothole, tar, dirt etc. This made us wake up a bit as the road was difficult to read. The mess eventually turned into dirt and we were all happy again.
We reached the top of Tlaeeng Pass and passed Afri-ski on our way down to Oxbow lodge.
At Oxbow lodge we had a wettie and something to eat.
After leaving Oxbow we traversed Moteng Pass, This is one serious engineering feat. The tar road wineds down the side of a mountain with many sharp corners.
We then headed toward Caledonspoort border, the set our targets on Clarens were we stayed the night. We headed of for dinner and drinks at Friends pub and left at the wee hours of the morning.(enough said)
Day 4
After breakfast we said farewell to Danie as he decided he liked Lesotho so much he was going home the way we came to Howick. We left Clarens and headed through the Golden Gate National park. The scenery was breathtaking with the sand stone outcrops.
We then headed down Lichens pass and headed home to Pretoria.
On the trip back to Pretoria two GSA 1200 caught up with us and came past us on the main jet. Being on my S10 I was offended that they had passed me at such a rapid speed, so I did what any decent S10 rider would have done, I chased them down sat next to them waved goodbye and left them as small images in my mirrors. I later got tired of this and slowed down and re-joined my possie. There was lots of laughter to be had by all.
We all enjoyed ourselves and there is talk of another trip early next year. Thanks to all concerned hope you had a great time
From left to right
Edwin/atkinse (XT660Z), Mario (GS800), Murray /Muzzy (S10), Danie (GS650),
Wayne (S10)
