CruzaGirl
Puppy
It was Easter Friday, pissing down with rain in the big “G”. As a newbie to biking, never been on the Ben Schoeman and the torrential rain, I nearly gave it up as a bad idea. Luckily, I had my patient better half to support me. The only thing that got me on the tar was the thought of spending the entire long weekend in the Free State at Tullies’ Adventures and finely experiencing what adventure biking is all about.
Luckily for me, I replaced my road tires with some semi’s and felt nearly as confident as a stripper at Teezers!!
We headed down the Ben Schoeman & N3 around 09h00, still raining, but at least the massive exit had passed by then. Finally we reached our first stop at the Engen; thank heavens I was still in one piece although my nerves were shattered. After a couple of stretches, some general hand warming activities and a butt rub from the hubby; I was ready to tackle the rest of the trip. We took the R26 exit toward Frankfort. Reaching the quite town the only people to be seen were the tourists who were looking for a place to eat and the local farm workers showing off their cages through the main street. Finding a quaint “Porra Cafe” the only joint open, we had an incredible breakie for only 18 bucks, Wow. Yeah, we were slightly more than half way.
Incident free we continued on the R26 through Reitz toward Bethlehem, took the turn-off to Warden and then hit the dirt (snotty) road for 2,5km to Tullie’s farm. Obviously the rain in Gauteng had been around the farm area for over a week and for a newbie like me, it was the first introduction to a dirt road, wet and very slippery. Yippee, I stayed on the bike and at least didn’t make my name “gat”.
(genuine eastern Free State scenery)
Tullie & his wife Carene are fantastic people and we instantly made what I believe are lifetime friends. All I wanted to do was lie down and put a very soft pillow under my butt, however, Carene had organised the most amazing spread for dinner and we sat outside by the bonfire, drinks in hand watching the sun go down, with the definite smell of pig farming permeating the air. It took a couple of hours to decide with Tullie which trips we would tackle on Saturday, bearing in mind they were seasoned riders with two GS’s and my hubbies KTM 950 Adventure, and then my KTM 640 Duke, not quite an Adventure bike but after the weekend, I believe incredibly capable of off-roading, with my total lack of non-tar experience.
(our chalet @ Tullies)
(our very African bathroom)
(the view from the chalet)
We headed out, not too early, after a scrumptious farm breakfast, my heart beating like an African drum and armpits sweating like the pigs in the sty.
(departure Saturday morning)
Tullie decided to take me on a short dirt road, to familiarise me with the feeling and gauge my skill (non-existent) and then make the decision of what other passes we will cover the rest of the day. This short track turned out to be the most scenic and amazing 15 Km stretch with incredible rock formations of bygone eras. With Tullie & Piet, both off-road bike racers and my very experienced hubby, leading the way we reached the daunting task of navigating my first mud/water crossing ever. Wow, now I know what it feels like when the bikes’ arse slides out, as said in Afrikaans, ek het my gat gesien, without falling off the bike.
(the rock formations)
(the initiation dirt road)
After the initiation trip we travelled to Sterkfontein dam. The site over the dam was amazing with water shortages in certain parts of the country sounding like a myth. After a reasonable smoke break, some team photo’s where we looked really clean compared to what happened later during the weekend. Climbing up toward Little Switzerland and then meandering through the Oliviershoek pass we stopped for some refreshments (the old faithful hipflask) and we headed off toward Bergville.
(Flip, Jeanette, Tullie & Piet @ Sterkfontein dam)
(showing off my growing skills)
Tullie finally convinced us that we absolutely had to see the lost value and a tiny one horse town called Geluksburg. There are many famous stories associated with this valley and town, the most significant being that in 1948 a reporter found some people still hidden from civilization who ran away from them, this is possibly where some inbreeding still occurred, and perhaps the reporter arrived on a KTM, the true reason for running away.
(The famous newspaper report)
Rocking up at the local old age home, Tullie happily woke the folks up to open their pub and offer us some ice cold bear, these were great preparations for the next mountain pass, the Middledale pass into the lost valley. Begging the guys, yeah right, I just had to have a cold swim in one of the mountain streams, not quite deep enough for a dive but certainly refreshing. From there we finally had our fare share of butt burning activities and headed home for a great evening meeting up with some other bikers just returning from Katse dam.
(the lost valley)
We were supposed to meet up with some 4x4 cages, but decided to stay and let Tullie take us on a more adventurous and challenging trip on Sunday. We raised early, all bright eyed and bushy tailed and headed toward Warden, filled up and travelled past the famous Verkykerskop. Finally we reached the long awaited Normandiens pass into KZN toward Collingspass.
(Normandies pass)
(Looking down into KZN from Normandiens pass)
After a sumptuous make shift wors braai at a stream we headed, at that stage we thought home. However, about 2km’s after lunch, not sure if it was the extra weight, and not paying attention to the line Tullie took, I entered a large, deep and snotty mud pool. Feeling really confident and “so sterk soos ‘n yster” I proceeded through what I thought was the best line, obviously I only got three quarters of the way through and famous mistake, throttled down. The front wheel dug in and I flew over the handle bars and bought my own personal piece of KZN farmland.
(the supa dupa Wors braai)
(the mud pool & my farmland)
Breaking the clutch lever, and as usual leaving the spare at the farm, Tullie offered to race home to fetch the spare. The guys tried a number of fixing techniques including some cable ties and then “’a boer made a plan”.
(the fixing techniques – or so I thought)
(my bike has never been this dirty)
My hubby, Flip, road my KTM without a clutch, I jumped onto Wicus’ KLR 650 and he rode Flip’s KTM. In true team spirit fashion we slowly made our way through rain trying to beat the sundown toward Harrismith. Finally, Tullie arrived back with the spare clutch lever, fixed it and we all mounted our trusted familiar rides. We exited the dirt pass just as the sun went down and filled up at Harrismith and headed home for the last 80 km. Unfortunately, this is not where the story ended, as the Newby, it seemed I still needed to learn a vast amount before finally relaxing. Just outside Harrismith, in pitch dark, a local “plaas brak” ran in front of my bike, I hit him “one shot”, crapped myself, recovered well from a significant speed wobble and then clung on for dear life in a state of shock to finally reach “home sweet home” and downing a couple of double Jack’s on the rocks.
(leaving Tullie’s on Monday morning – note the grey sky)
On Monday morning rising early, with a very sore body, we headed back on the N3 rushing to stay ahead of the KZN to Gauteng traffic, we navigated the dreaded Gilloulies and then home. All in all it was an unforgettable weekend and we have just decided to book for the next long weekend to ride the rest of the 11 passes Tullie still has up his sleeve. This is without a doubt, the most amazing trip we have ever experienced and we strongly recommend Tullie’s Adventures, bearing in mind, it is not a B&B, you have to ride the dirt!!!
(Sunset @ Tullie’s – fond memories)
Luckily for me, I replaced my road tires with some semi’s and felt nearly as confident as a stripper at Teezers!!
We headed down the Ben Schoeman & N3 around 09h00, still raining, but at least the massive exit had passed by then. Finally we reached our first stop at the Engen; thank heavens I was still in one piece although my nerves were shattered. After a couple of stretches, some general hand warming activities and a butt rub from the hubby; I was ready to tackle the rest of the trip. We took the R26 exit toward Frankfort. Reaching the quite town the only people to be seen were the tourists who were looking for a place to eat and the local farm workers showing off their cages through the main street. Finding a quaint “Porra Cafe” the only joint open, we had an incredible breakie for only 18 bucks, Wow. Yeah, we were slightly more than half way.
Incident free we continued on the R26 through Reitz toward Bethlehem, took the turn-off to Warden and then hit the dirt (snotty) road for 2,5km to Tullie’s farm. Obviously the rain in Gauteng had been around the farm area for over a week and for a newbie like me, it was the first introduction to a dirt road, wet and very slippery. Yippee, I stayed on the bike and at least didn’t make my name “gat”.
(genuine eastern Free State scenery)
Tullie & his wife Carene are fantastic people and we instantly made what I believe are lifetime friends. All I wanted to do was lie down and put a very soft pillow under my butt, however, Carene had organised the most amazing spread for dinner and we sat outside by the bonfire, drinks in hand watching the sun go down, with the definite smell of pig farming permeating the air. It took a couple of hours to decide with Tullie which trips we would tackle on Saturday, bearing in mind they were seasoned riders with two GS’s and my hubbies KTM 950 Adventure, and then my KTM 640 Duke, not quite an Adventure bike but after the weekend, I believe incredibly capable of off-roading, with my total lack of non-tar experience.
(our chalet @ Tullies)
(our very African bathroom)
(the view from the chalet)
We headed out, not too early, after a scrumptious farm breakfast, my heart beating like an African drum and armpits sweating like the pigs in the sty.
(departure Saturday morning)
Tullie decided to take me on a short dirt road, to familiarise me with the feeling and gauge my skill (non-existent) and then make the decision of what other passes we will cover the rest of the day. This short track turned out to be the most scenic and amazing 15 Km stretch with incredible rock formations of bygone eras. With Tullie & Piet, both off-road bike racers and my very experienced hubby, leading the way we reached the daunting task of navigating my first mud/water crossing ever. Wow, now I know what it feels like when the bikes’ arse slides out, as said in Afrikaans, ek het my gat gesien, without falling off the bike.
(the rock formations)
(the initiation dirt road)
After the initiation trip we travelled to Sterkfontein dam. The site over the dam was amazing with water shortages in certain parts of the country sounding like a myth. After a reasonable smoke break, some team photo’s where we looked really clean compared to what happened later during the weekend. Climbing up toward Little Switzerland and then meandering through the Oliviershoek pass we stopped for some refreshments (the old faithful hipflask) and we headed off toward Bergville.
(Flip, Jeanette, Tullie & Piet @ Sterkfontein dam)
(showing off my growing skills)
Tullie finally convinced us that we absolutely had to see the lost value and a tiny one horse town called Geluksburg. There are many famous stories associated with this valley and town, the most significant being that in 1948 a reporter found some people still hidden from civilization who ran away from them, this is possibly where some inbreeding still occurred, and perhaps the reporter arrived on a KTM, the true reason for running away.
(The famous newspaper report)
Rocking up at the local old age home, Tullie happily woke the folks up to open their pub and offer us some ice cold bear, these were great preparations for the next mountain pass, the Middledale pass into the lost valley. Begging the guys, yeah right, I just had to have a cold swim in one of the mountain streams, not quite deep enough for a dive but certainly refreshing. From there we finally had our fare share of butt burning activities and headed home for a great evening meeting up with some other bikers just returning from Katse dam.
(the lost valley)
We were supposed to meet up with some 4x4 cages, but decided to stay and let Tullie take us on a more adventurous and challenging trip on Sunday. We raised early, all bright eyed and bushy tailed and headed toward Warden, filled up and travelled past the famous Verkykerskop. Finally we reached the long awaited Normandiens pass into KZN toward Collingspass.
(Normandies pass)
(Looking down into KZN from Normandiens pass)
After a sumptuous make shift wors braai at a stream we headed, at that stage we thought home. However, about 2km’s after lunch, not sure if it was the extra weight, and not paying attention to the line Tullie took, I entered a large, deep and snotty mud pool. Feeling really confident and “so sterk soos ‘n yster” I proceeded through what I thought was the best line, obviously I only got three quarters of the way through and famous mistake, throttled down. The front wheel dug in and I flew over the handle bars and bought my own personal piece of KZN farmland.
(the supa dupa Wors braai)
(the mud pool & my farmland)
Breaking the clutch lever, and as usual leaving the spare at the farm, Tullie offered to race home to fetch the spare. The guys tried a number of fixing techniques including some cable ties and then “’a boer made a plan”.
(the fixing techniques – or so I thought)
(my bike has never been this dirty)
My hubby, Flip, road my KTM without a clutch, I jumped onto Wicus’ KLR 650 and he rode Flip’s KTM. In true team spirit fashion we slowly made our way through rain trying to beat the sundown toward Harrismith. Finally, Tullie arrived back with the spare clutch lever, fixed it and we all mounted our trusted familiar rides. We exited the dirt pass just as the sun went down and filled up at Harrismith and headed home for the last 80 km. Unfortunately, this is not where the story ended, as the Newby, it seemed I still needed to learn a vast amount before finally relaxing. Just outside Harrismith, in pitch dark, a local “plaas brak” ran in front of my bike, I hit him “one shot”, crapped myself, recovered well from a significant speed wobble and then clung on for dear life in a state of shock to finally reach “home sweet home” and downing a couple of double Jack’s on the rocks.
(leaving Tullie’s on Monday morning – note the grey sky)
On Monday morning rising early, with a very sore body, we headed back on the N3 rushing to stay ahead of the KZN to Gauteng traffic, we navigated the dreaded Gilloulies and then home. All in all it was an unforgettable weekend and we have just decided to book for the next long weekend to ride the rest of the 11 passes Tullie still has up his sleeve. This is without a doubt, the most amazing trip we have ever experienced and we strongly recommend Tullie’s Adventures, bearing in mind, it is not a B&B, you have to ride the dirt!!!
(Sunset @ Tullie’s – fond memories)
