Apologies to those of you who have been waiting in anticipation for the
ride report of our recent Lesotho tour.
The tour will be split over 3 blog posts so as not to bombard you
with too much info all at once. So please be patient, the next instalment to
follow within 24 hours. Something to look forward to…
The long-anticipated Lesotho week
started with us leaving Hout Bay together with Paul in the bakkie, 3 bikes in
tow early on Saturday morning. The trip
to Aliwal North is exactly 1000km and there is no way that you want to attempt
that on a KLR or other 650 single for that matter. Towing the bikes was definitely the better
option.
We planned to meet up with guys
from East London, PE, Cape Town and Johannesburg for a ride around Lesotho,
taking in Fouriesburg, Golden Gate, skirting the Drakensberg to Underberg, Sani
& Matabeng passes in Lesotho, Naude’s Nek, Rhodes and Lundeans Pass before
getting back to Aliwal North and heading home the scenic route via De Rust with
the bikes in tow.
The trip to Aliwal was uneventful
and longer than expected. There is
really nothing glamorous about spending 12 hours in a car – fortunately Paul
shared the driving. We met up with the group at the Toll Inn at Aliwal. Porra’s
bike had a leaking petcock and he was trying to fix it with Pratleys putty –
not a good start. Kwagga had a baptism
of fire, riding up with Baksteen and Frenchy. Mud is now his friend.
The Toll Inn at Aliwal is well
worth a visit with their historic bridge, the river and friendly animals. We parked the bakkie and trailer there
pending our return a week later.
We celebrated Jorg’s birthday at
the start of the tour and Baksteen very generously presented Jorg with an
entire box of condoms (probably 3000) for his birthday – go figure! We did something a bit more demure and had a
tshirt printed for him reading Jorg’emeister.
Rather fitting I thought as he is the master of all things mechanical
when it comes to our KLRs.
So without any futher ado..
Day 1 Cape Town to Aliwal North
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| Had to wake at sparrows to leave, so everything felt like a blur.... |
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| Hexrivier Pass |
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| had a giggle at the 'ice cold bodies' - what are these people transporting? |
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| ofcourse there were windmills along the way... |
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| 2 KLRs and an XT |
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The graceful Dutch Reformed Church in Beaufort West
DYK? The old church, built in 1930, was demolished and in its place the handsome new neo-gothic church was completed in 1892. The church was designed by the architect James Bisset and its graceful white spire is the focal point of the town. |
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| some serious looking BMWs on this trailer |
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| Can't imagine a belt driven chain is cheap to maintain... |
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| they are everywhere |
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| "The long road ahead" with Paul & David |
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| Arrived at the Toll Inn in the dark and joined the clan to watch the SA vs Japan game |
Day 2 Aliwal North to Fouriesburg
The first leg to Fouriesburg was
around 350km in windy weather with rain forecast for later in the day. We rode as many dirt roads as possible and
found scenic roads to Van Stadensrus, a little dorp that must have looked a lot
better 50 or 60 years ago, and it feels like you are travelling back in time in
the Free State. Porra was thoughtfully
leaving a trail of petrol just in case we need to find our way back.
Frenchy decided to go it alone
and discovered that the route preference settings on Garmin do make a
difference, so he spent most of the day trying to find us again.
We stopped at a very derelict
Wepener for fuel, and ran through to Hobhouse where we stopped at a delightful
spot for a longish break, decent coffee and freshly baked cake. The rain was threatening and we high-tailed
it to Fouriesburg on a combination of gravel and tar.
Porra’s bike was still leaking
fuel which wasn’t a good sign for the week ahead. The boys filled-up with (mainly alcohol) food
at the Country Inn, where we had stayed at the end of our previous trip to
Lesotho in 2013. Good hospitality, food
and a comfortable stay with a lot of rain overnight. McSack was enthralled by the local talent –
or maybe that should be the other way around!
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| Woke to a glorious day, ready to start our adventure |
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| Norbs' KLR was in the dog box because it sprung a petrol leak the day before |
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| Frenchie doing some last minute prep |
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| Views from the Toll Inn |
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| beautiful peacock plumage |
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| Where I go, birds will follow & the other way around |
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The Magnificent six arch sandstone bridge, built in 1881, guards the entrance to the Inn and is a national monument.
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| We were led down to the river by Skye the Labrador |
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| We found McSack |
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| The journey begins... next stop Fouriesburg - some footage below of the group leaving the Toll Inn |
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| our first Ry/Go - at least work is being done on the roads for which we are grateful |
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| Kwagga |
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| Glorious riding weather |
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| Jorg leaving the KLRs in his dust |
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| Baksteen with Norbs following hot on his wheels |
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| A rare sighting! Norbs on his fugly |
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| regrouped |
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| McSack |
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| playing it safe... i was hoping for a bigger splash |
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| Derelict house at Vanstadensrus |
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We stopped at the Workshop in Hobhouse for a cuppa and a slice of cake
What great hospitality! |
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| Must be good if Baksteen's little finger is doing the talking |
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| very unassuming from the outside but very welcoming on the inside |
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| The owner, an artist and avid biker, created this BMW looking piece of art |
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| Norbs kicking up some dirt |
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| the little blue bike vs its bigger cousin |
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| Norbs not feeling the love |
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| Zombi's? no.. Just the after effect of the Jagermeister it seems |
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Happy birthday Jorg'emeister
I especially had this tshirt printed for the birthday boy - seemed appropriate! |
(apologies for the smaller pics - cellphone pics not
great quality when passed on several times and enlarged)
Day 3 - Fouriesburg to Himeville
Monday morning arrived with a
gloomy sky, but thankfully the rain had more or less passed over. Porra’s bike was being objectionable and
refused to start. After various attempts
at towing (tanks Kwagga) and jump-starting, he was forced to make the call of
shame to Rick (his long-suffering brother) to come and fetch him from
Johannesburg. The rest of the group were
sadly forced to elect a new entertainment committee.
We left about an hour or so later
to Clarens for fuel, and on to Golden Gate for a slow drive through the
National Park. Golden Gate is probably
best viewed in the late afternoon or early morning on a clear day, and the
overcast conditions didn’t do it much justice.
We passed by Bergville and kept close to the Drakensberg on the dirt
roads through the villages. The young
kids all wave and are excited to see the passing bikes, while the school-going
teenagers are way to cool to acknowledge your existence.
The roads were reasonably good,
but the 400km that we had to cover at slowish speeds meant that the day was
quite long and we were thankful to reach Himeville in the late afternoon. The overnight stop at The Old Hatchery was
ok, we ate in their restaurant and did the chains and checked the bikes for a
last time before Lesotho. The rain was
still threatening and there were some showers overnight. Kwagga was trying to find a new radiator cap
for what ultimately proved to be a leaking gasket while Frenchy attempted some
trout fishing without success.
To follow:
Day 4 (Underberg/Sani/Mokotlong), Day 5 (Matabenge Pass/Qachas Neck), Day 6 (Naude's Nek/Rhodes)
