My father passed away at the end of November and I flew back to SA for his funeral. As executor of his estate I had allocated a bit of extra time for the trip in order to finalise his affairs, which ended up with me having a spare 8 days on my hands.
A very good friend of mine generously handed over the keys to his 1200 GS (which only had 5,000km on the clock and had never, ever seen dirt) so that I could set off on what ended up being a 2,300km "Back to my Roots" loop, incorporating the part of world that my dad was born in (and I had never been to) - the Eastern Cape.
Before setting out on the trip I had bought myself a paper map and armed with a marker pen I took advice from friends on which roads would give me a nice balance of tar and dirt - without planning anything too tough since the bike was shod with Metzler Tourances and I wasn’t used to riding with a full set of panniers as my own ride is an F800GS with Heidenau K60’s that are pretty good dual sport tyres on both tar and dirt and my luggage is generally a roll bag and a backpack ……..
Loosely, my route was to be:-
Durban - actually Hillcrest where my mate lives
Ixopo - via the Umkomass valley (great twisties!!) - I went to high school in Ixopo and we lived on a farm there
Creighton - to visit a friend
Kokstad - overnight stop
Matatielle - on the way but don't stop!
Rhodes - via dirt over Naude's Nek Pass (second highest unpaved pass in South Africa I believe)
Tiffendel Ski resort - the road up from Rhodes is hectic, the road back down the other side to Moshesh's Ford is "interesting" on Metzler Tourances
BarklyPass - magnificent bends on tar
Tarkastadt (on dirt) - where my Dad was born (don't bother going there .....)
Hogsback - home of the real Hobbiton
East london - to visit another friend
Morgans Bay - a rest day on the beach
Port St Johns - trying to stick to the coast
Lusikisiki - interesting traffic ........
Port Edward - a rest day at the Wild Coast Casino (no luck there but good cocktails by the pool)
Kelso - my folks had a beach cottage there when I was growing up
Durban - more friends and straight to BMW for a service and valet (no time to spit and polish before I flew out)
which looked like this when I set out :-
Now in drawing up this route, my friends fell quite distinctly into 2 camps - those that thought I was nuts and those that wished they could join me!
The ones that thought I was nuts were insistent that I didn’t know what I was letting myself in for. They thought I had become a “soft and ignorant foreigner” despite the fact that I had only left the country in my mid thirties after growing up for a large part of my life on a farm in rural Africa. They told of the dangers of the road - the herds of beasts that wandered aimlessly in the middle of blind bends, the potholes that swallowed entire vehicles, the corrupt traffic police, the insane taxi drivers that would run me off the roads and the violent locals that would rob me, rape me and then sell my body parts for traditional medicine …………
Unfortunately, it’s the voice of these delusional cowards that mostly gets heard outside of South Africa by potential tourists who instantly decide that their life insurance premium would be too high if they ventured near such a savage land. I personally believe that they themselves think that warning off foreigners makes them appear more “macho” in that they are able to survive against such stacked odds as they commute each day to their air conditioned offices in their raised suspension 4x4’s ………….. PAY THEM NO HEED!
The friends that wished they could join me told of practically deserted virgin tar, stretching for miles on end under a brilliant blue sky. Of mountain passes traversed by dirt roads that rose to the heavens and the glory of a limitless horizon without another soul in sight. Of quaint, rural towns where time was slow and beers still cost less than a quid. Sure, you would have to keep your wits about you, stay sharp, watch out for animals (and people) in the roads and of course the potholes could get quite big on occasion (to be fair I did pass a village where 2 kids were having a bath in a pothole that had filled during a recent storm ……) but wasn’t that what adventure was all about? Discovery with an element of danger? LISTEN TO THESE PEOPLE
South Africa is motorcycle UTOPIA and has something for everyone. From fast and sweeping bends to down and dirty gravel roads, from high mountains to glorious sea - and all in a day’s ride if you wish to push the pace - but why would you? Take it slow, savour each experience.
I kept my days quite short distance wise - only ever planning between 200 and 300km per day most days, allowing me time for a leisurely breakfast each morning that was always included in the B&B rate wherever I stayed, getting away around 10am and finishing up around 3pm most days. Each night I would book the next night’s accommodation via www.booking.com after checking the weather and having a chat with people in the bar to see if there was anything I should go take a look at or any roads they recommended me riding. Quite a few of the more remote locations provided dinner, bed and breakfast which on average set me back 35 GBP (600 Rand, local currency) for a decent place of a good standard in comparison with European lodgings - the only single exception to this was a one night splurge at the 5 star Wild Coast Casino for 142 GBP (R2,500). Where dinner was not included, steak, chips and salad followed by desert and washed down with 4 bottles of cider (thirsty work riding in the dust) would set me back around 13 GBP - can’t complain at that!
During the day, I’d take frequent rest stops (mainly pee breaks as I was drinking so much water!) and marvel at the vast emptiness of the land around me. I’d fill up with petrol frequently as I had no idea what the consumption of the 1200 was and I didn’t know if I could trust the trip computer so I ended up topping up the tank every 200km or so which cost between 4 and 6 GBP (R70 to R100). The animals on the road were a frequent hazard, but no worse than my recent ride to Romania to ride the Transfagarason. The dirt sections were easy in the dry but I got caught more than once in some serious rain storms which turned the unpaved surfaces into a treacherous muck that the Tourances simply could not find any grip on (you can read a detailed account of one of these occasions on my personal blog here) and when the muck ran out the rocks were slick and ragged, ready to shred me limb from limb but dropping a mates bike is simply not an option so slow and steady was the order of the day in all cases and I managed to keep the shiny side up during the whole tour.
I could describe the roads in detail but both you and I would be bored before I got finished so I’ve put a short video montage together to show a brief glimpse of what’s in store if you take the plunge and get your arse over there - which you should do - ASAP!!!
AND - as for the locals tearing me limb from limb for traditional medicine, the closest I got to any form of traditional medicine was being offered “magic mushrooms” by a roadside vendor in Hogsback …………..
A very good friend of mine generously handed over the keys to his 1200 GS (which only had 5,000km on the clock and had never, ever seen dirt) so that I could set off on what ended up being a 2,300km "Back to my Roots" loop, incorporating the part of world that my dad was born in (and I had never been to) - the Eastern Cape.
Before setting out on the trip I had bought myself a paper map and armed with a marker pen I took advice from friends on which roads would give me a nice balance of tar and dirt - without planning anything too tough since the bike was shod with Metzler Tourances and I wasn’t used to riding with a full set of panniers as my own ride is an F800GS with Heidenau K60’s that are pretty good dual sport tyres on both tar and dirt and my luggage is generally a roll bag and a backpack ……..
Loosely, my route was to be:-
Durban - actually Hillcrest where my mate lives
Ixopo - via the Umkomass valley (great twisties!!) - I went to high school in Ixopo and we lived on a farm there
Creighton - to visit a friend
Kokstad - overnight stop
Matatielle - on the way but don't stop!
Rhodes - via dirt over Naude's Nek Pass (second highest unpaved pass in South Africa I believe)
Tiffendel Ski resort - the road up from Rhodes is hectic, the road back down the other side to Moshesh's Ford is "interesting" on Metzler Tourances
BarklyPass - magnificent bends on tar
Tarkastadt (on dirt) - where my Dad was born (don't bother going there .....)
Hogsback - home of the real Hobbiton
East london - to visit another friend
Morgans Bay - a rest day on the beach
Port St Johns - trying to stick to the coast
Lusikisiki - interesting traffic ........
Port Edward - a rest day at the Wild Coast Casino (no luck there but good cocktails by the pool)
Kelso - my folks had a beach cottage there when I was growing up
Durban - more friends and straight to BMW for a service and valet (no time to spit and polish before I flew out)
which looked like this when I set out :-
Now in drawing up this route, my friends fell quite distinctly into 2 camps - those that thought I was nuts and those that wished they could join me!
The ones that thought I was nuts were insistent that I didn’t know what I was letting myself in for. They thought I had become a “soft and ignorant foreigner” despite the fact that I had only left the country in my mid thirties after growing up for a large part of my life on a farm in rural Africa. They told of the dangers of the road - the herds of beasts that wandered aimlessly in the middle of blind bends, the potholes that swallowed entire vehicles, the corrupt traffic police, the insane taxi drivers that would run me off the roads and the violent locals that would rob me, rape me and then sell my body parts for traditional medicine …………
Unfortunately, it’s the voice of these delusional cowards that mostly gets heard outside of South Africa by potential tourists who instantly decide that their life insurance premium would be too high if they ventured near such a savage land. I personally believe that they themselves think that warning off foreigners makes them appear more “macho” in that they are able to survive against such stacked odds as they commute each day to their air conditioned offices in their raised suspension 4x4’s ………….. PAY THEM NO HEED!
The friends that wished they could join me told of practically deserted virgin tar, stretching for miles on end under a brilliant blue sky. Of mountain passes traversed by dirt roads that rose to the heavens and the glory of a limitless horizon without another soul in sight. Of quaint, rural towns where time was slow and beers still cost less than a quid. Sure, you would have to keep your wits about you, stay sharp, watch out for animals (and people) in the roads and of course the potholes could get quite big on occasion (to be fair I did pass a village where 2 kids were having a bath in a pothole that had filled during a recent storm ……) but wasn’t that what adventure was all about? Discovery with an element of danger? LISTEN TO THESE PEOPLE
South Africa is motorcycle UTOPIA and has something for everyone. From fast and sweeping bends to down and dirty gravel roads, from high mountains to glorious sea - and all in a day’s ride if you wish to push the pace - but why would you? Take it slow, savour each experience.
I kept my days quite short distance wise - only ever planning between 200 and 300km per day most days, allowing me time for a leisurely breakfast each morning that was always included in the B&B rate wherever I stayed, getting away around 10am and finishing up around 3pm most days. Each night I would book the next night’s accommodation via www.booking.com after checking the weather and having a chat with people in the bar to see if there was anything I should go take a look at or any roads they recommended me riding. Quite a few of the more remote locations provided dinner, bed and breakfast which on average set me back 35 GBP (600 Rand, local currency) for a decent place of a good standard in comparison with European lodgings - the only single exception to this was a one night splurge at the 5 star Wild Coast Casino for 142 GBP (R2,500). Where dinner was not included, steak, chips and salad followed by desert and washed down with 4 bottles of cider (thirsty work riding in the dust) would set me back around 13 GBP - can’t complain at that!
During the day, I’d take frequent rest stops (mainly pee breaks as I was drinking so much water!) and marvel at the vast emptiness of the land around me. I’d fill up with petrol frequently as I had no idea what the consumption of the 1200 was and I didn’t know if I could trust the trip computer so I ended up topping up the tank every 200km or so which cost between 4 and 6 GBP (R70 to R100). The animals on the road were a frequent hazard, but no worse than my recent ride to Romania to ride the Transfagarason. The dirt sections were easy in the dry but I got caught more than once in some serious rain storms which turned the unpaved surfaces into a treacherous muck that the Tourances simply could not find any grip on (you can read a detailed account of one of these occasions on my personal blog here) and when the muck ran out the rocks were slick and ragged, ready to shred me limb from limb but dropping a mates bike is simply not an option so slow and steady was the order of the day in all cases and I managed to keep the shiny side up during the whole tour.
I could describe the roads in detail but both you and I would be bored before I got finished so I’ve put a short video montage together to show a brief glimpse of what’s in store if you take the plunge and get your arse over there - which you should do - ASAP!!!
AND - as for the locals tearing me limb from limb for traditional medicine, the closest I got to any form of traditional medicine was being offered “magic mushrooms” by a roadside vendor in Hogsback …………..
Looks absolutely beautiful down there. You've got an eye for a good photo too. Really nice. Another place on the wish list. Does your mate hire to just anyone
)
