Bel vir julle Ma's - Transkei off-road tour

Kevin Charleston's picture

It's a great adventure to ride on an off-road tour with Geoff. I'm challenged in ways that stretch my abilities beyond my belief in myself. 

And the days when he starts out by saying "today we're going to call for our mothers" - are the days when things get truly challenging. And those days are diamonds. They may be some of the toughest days I've had on the bike - but they are the days that I fondly remember.  But Geoff is there with all the skill and seemingly has everything under control; and the rest of the group pitch in to shove, lift, steady, pull and cheer every rider onward. And knowing we have a steady hand in the backup vehicle and trailer give us the peace of mind to push that little bit harder.

This was a good adventure.

Plenty of pictures can be found here. 

 

A huge vote of thanks to Geoff for setting this tour up and leading everyone through in one piece; and another to the ever-patient and willing John Gillespie: backup-driver extraordinary.

And another round of thanks to all who came on the trip and helped make it the success it was.

We're also very grateful to NTT Volkswagen for sponsoring the Amarok 4WD bakkie and some of the fuel for the trip - thanks Gerrit.

Unfortunately not everyone came back in the same way they set out: Tony Georgiou had an "off" and fractured his elbow. Relax: his bike is fine.

Charles also failed to return with us - but that was planned, he had a wedding to attend and flew out of East London.  [Mr. Badger spent way too much time on the trailer this trip Charles.]

Day 1 started with breakfast at NTT VW in Paarl. 11 bikes started out. A relatively simple day - up over Du Toit's Kloof, through Robertson and then the N1 from Swellendam. Bloukrans pass (officially closed) offered some interest, but it was otherwise a road run into Port Elizabeth. We stayed over at the City Lodge.

Day 2 we stayed on tar until after East London where Tony G joined us from under a bridge. We turned off for Kei Mouth and had lunch and a dram at the Bushpig pub before crossing the Kei on the ferry. 12 bikes on the first ferry, and then John with the bakkie and trailer on a second trip. A short run on some tweespoor gave us our first taste of Transkei gravel before we arrived at Trennery's our day 2 overnight stop. Gerrit took a closer look at the gravel whilst fiddling with his GoPro.

Kei River ferry-man (not paid yet)

Kei River ferry-man (not paid yet)

Tony Schlee on the way to Trennerys

Tony Schlee on the way to Trennerys

 

Early morning on Day 3 heard the rush of rain on thatch. Rolling over and trying to ignore it didn't make it go away. Our first day in the Transkei was to be a muddy one. The bridges are a bit odd - they have solid sides - which means the water rushes down the hill and fills them with water, creating a muddy strean running crosswise over the real river. And when the rain stops - they are filled with mud. 

Gerrit - excited about rain

Gerrit - excited about rain

Bridges become rivers over other rivers

Bridges become rivers over other rivers

The rain streamed down - which meant we didn't get to any tricky stuff other than the slippery gravel roads through to Mazeppa Bay. Arno had a muddy moment.

Mazeppa Bay hotel is quite pleasant when it's not raining. There was some brief respite - but mostly it teemed down, which made it hard to get boots and gloves dry. Fortunately, the resourcefule and rugged off-road bikers that we are, the roar of Pink-Barbie Hair-dryers soon filled the air to aid in de-soggifying kit.

Mazeppa Bay Hotel cat helping dry my gear

Mazeppa Bay Hotel cat helping dry my gear

Foot bridge at Mazeppa bay

Foot bridge at Mazeppa bay

 

Day 4 started, and stayed, in the wet. By now the roads were quite soaked - which meant for some slip-sliding-away. Both Geoff and Rob found some seriously slippery s**t, leading to close surface inspections. The nice thing about riding at the back is that you can see where that kind of "stuff" is by the piles of bikes, and can find a way around it.
We stayed at Kob Inn - where Charles proved himself King of the Cocktail Challenge - drinking the menu from top to bottom. I'm not sure if there's a connection between that and the amount of time Mr. Badger spent on the trailer?

Geoff shows his muddy side

Geoff shows his muddy side

Backup slip-sliding-away

Backup slip-sliding-away

Kob Inn Sunset

Kob Inn Sunset

 

Day 5 - finally some sun! We were staying over again at the Kob Inn, so today was some comfortable outrides. We road out to the Shixini River in the morning - a stunning viewpoint; and then back towards the Ngadla river mouth for a break. Bumpy river crossing, a couple of muddy patches - nothing too tough. Back to Kob Inn for lunch, and then an afternoon outride. This was a bit tougher, but nothing seriously difficult. Unfortunately this is where Tony G had his "off" which meant an early return. He couldn't ride back, so the bakkie brought him in - with Arno riding Tony's GSA.

Shixini river view point

Shixini river view point

Tony G has an off

Tony G has an off

 

Day 6. Tony G left the tour this morning - John took him and his bike back to East London, where he drove himself home. We later heard that he'd fractured his elbow. Today Geoff spoke about mothers and telephones - the prelude for some serious "stuff".
Some tough rocky river crossings were exciting, a lunch-break at the pretty Xhora river mouth was a welcome opportunity to check our cellphones were charged for later mom-calling.

We crossed the Xhora river further upstream - another rocky crossing, with a steep sandy bank up the other side. Tony S had some fun and let his bike have a rest on the bank, but we all struggled to some degree - I certainly needed some assistance. Geoff empties his boots

Geoff empties his boots

Another tricky river crossing

Another tricky river crossing

A short ride took us to a steep, rocky and very slippery climb - the first of two. Only Arno managed to get his bike up with no assistance - he assures us he doesn't know how he did it. For the rest of us - it required tow straps and some heavy lifting. 

Even Mr. Badger took a nap, leaving Charles parked neatly on his butt alongside. A slippery patch to top the day off left me spinning my back wheel and needing some help. I arrived at the Ocean View Hotel in Coffee Bay desperately needing a drink. We stayed there for 2 nights.

Steep and slippery uphill - assistance required

Steep and slippery uphill - assistance required

Mr Badger takes a rest

Mr Badger takes a rest

Marius getting some strapping assistance

Marius getting some strapping assistance

 

Day 7 was a rest-day for some, and for the rest was another tough day in the saddle. Mr Badger spent some time on the backup - Charles ran out of petrol on the way to fill up.

A gratuitous picture of an empty Mr. Badger on the trailer

A gratuitous picture of an empty Mr. Badger on the trailer

Crossing the Bulungula was also a rocky ride. A steep climb a bit further on had us all waiting for the bakkie at the top. Unfortunately it overheated - and continued to do so. The next crossing over the Kuamanz Imnlama River would have been impossible for it though - the cattle-track on the other side would have been way too narrow for it.
This crossing was only moderately tough - but only 'cause there were plenty of hands to assist bikes over the slippery rocks. Without them it would have been virtually impossible. The cattle-track through the forest was "interesting" - with a deeply eroded ditch gouged through the middle. I think I left half of my clutch in the forest trying to get up and out of it.

Another assisted river crossing

Another assisted river crossing

Lunch near the Nqakanqa river was a deserved break. Some bike repairs by Tony (apparently he'd done some somersaults in the forest) and Charles (straightening Mr. Badger's front mudguard after his own forest encounter).

Transkei Lunch stop - with bakkie

Transkei Lunch stop - with bakkie

Geoff and his adventure took a bath in the Mncwasa river. Having observed his route, the rest of us made it across without too much indignity. Not an easy crossing - and a steep incline the other side.
A steep hill climb after the stunning Mwangwini beach gave us a few moments. Arno managed to get his foot trapped under his bike at the bottom - nothing serious, and Arno wasn't hurt either.
After that we took a stop at the "Hole In The Wall" view-site before heading back to the Ocean View for the night.

Geoff washes his bike

Geoff washes his bike

Arno crosses in style

Arno crosses in style

Beautiful beaches, pity about the ugly bikers

Beautiful beaches, pity about the ugly bikers

Herman on a charge

Herman on a charge

Hole in the wall (with added interest)

Hole in the wall (with added interest)

Day 8 started with Mr. Badger on the trailer. The bakkie had to be returned to NTT East London for investigation of the over-heating, and Charles was to fly out of East London that evening, leaving Mr. Badger trapped for the long ride home.
Gerrit followed on his bike to smooth the path. Unfortunately the bakkie couldn't be fixed - so NTT ELN loaned us a new one for the return trip.
The rest of us took the gravel roads back to the Kei River mouth - traversing easily in the dry the roads that had been rivers of mud 4 days earlier.
The good time we made, meant we could swing past the wreck of the Jacaranda - something we missed on the rainy days. Which brought us onto (oh joy!) sand. I don't like sand. I survived.
The road was really, really rough and jarring - I was quite glad to get on the Ferry and hit some smoother 'stuff'.
We stayed over at Crawfords Beach Lodge at Cintsa, about 30km north of East London.

Wreck of the Jacaranda

Wreck of the Jacaranda

 

Day 9 was a straight tar run from Crawfords to Tsitsikama Village Inn near the Storms river mouth.

Day 10 was another quick tar day - leaving before 8 and arriving back before 14h00 - in time to see Marc Marquez come a disappointing fourth in the Brno MotoGp.

 

Cast of characters: Geoff Russell (Tour leader), John Gillespie (Backup), Arno Russouw, Kevin Charleston, Rob Selig, Tony Schlee, Anthony Santana, Marius Fenwick, Charles Oertel, Tony Georgiou, Herman Ebersohn, Izak Visagie, Gerrit Nieuwoudt

 

 

 

Comments

Kevin Charleston's picture
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Pictures added

Andyman's picture
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Joined: 2007/06/22

Excellent ride report, thanks for all the effort.

So to have missed this trip.

Epic and a must on your list of club rides.

Andyman
Anyone can ride a bike fast....   But can you ride your bike real slow???

Salim Patel's picture
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Joined: 2012/03/28

Looks like good fun ... :-)

Thanks for sharing .

Tony's picture
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Joined: 2008/08/24

It was great FUN.

Great bunch of guys riding all sorts of roads/tracks in a beautiful setting. What more could you ask for?

The "special sections" each day kept us all on our toes and at times even the "liaison sections" were seriously challenging Tongue Out.

Unfortunately the photos do not do justice to either the beauty of the countryside or the technical nature of the riding.

PS great trip report Kevin.

 

A bend in the road is not the end of the road... unless you fail to make the turn. ~Author Unknown

Charles Oertel's picture
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Joined: 2007/04/14

Nice report Kevin.  Mr. Badger is not happy about all that trailer time either.

A trip like this becomes tremendous fun when you have some experience and skill and are fit.  As Geoff says, riding a dirtbike (or trials) helps a lot, and is fun in its own right.

Of all the trips I have done with Geoff, this was the most fun (other than Jurg se Kaya I suppose).

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Geoff Russell's picture
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Joined: 2007/09/25

Thanks for the report Kevin.

It certainly was one for the record books with all the rain and the seriously slippery roads/tracks/climbs/rivers. Keeping the big "Adventure" on 2 wheels and pointing in the right direction (most of the time) made this possibly the most testing Wild Coast Tour yet.

On the bright side you will all have to return with me on the next Tour so that you can then claim to have ridden the entire Wild Coast Extreme route. The treacherously slippery conditions meant that certain sections were un-rideable.

I also recon it is time to arrange another "Laid Back" Wild Coast Tour so that the partners can join us and experience lots of what we did.

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Joined: 2010/04/27

Great report Kevin, thanks. Great photo's as well. I did not realize you took so many pics.

Take responsibility for the energy you bring into the room!

Hans Ambulans's picture
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Lekker leesstof! Great pics Kevin!

Rob Selig's picture
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Joined: 2010/09/20

what was said above is all true.We all has a great experience on 2 wheels and would do it all again .

If you have not done a long trip yet then put it on your BUCKET LIST.I can now at least tick 1 box and would like to do some more in the future. 

Andyman's picture
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Joined: 2007/06/22

I read this report again, and then later a third time.

It really is a good read.

And worthy of a coffee table picture book.

Well done, this is a report of a trip to read again it only reads better.

You must all have hated Geoff at some time, but once back in camp loved him all the more for taking you way beyond the comfort of the amrchair or desk and giving you this challenge. It's clear a lekker group dynamic developed where you all pitched in to make each bike get across successfully.

Many a campfire tale lies there within.

Well done.

Andyman
Anyone can ride a bike fast....   But can you ride your bike real slow???

BobGoode's picture
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Joined: 2010/10/07

Lekker report Kevin.

I miss those 'afkak' days, but not the mud.

Sorry that I couldn't get to visit at Coffee Bay. The Mthatha office peasants are revolting so work life is quite interesting http://www.polity.org.za/article/nehawu-statement-by-the-national-education-health-and-allied-workers-union-demands-that-immediate-action-be-taken-against-the-regional-manager-of-public-works-in-umtata-260820140-2014-08-26 

Let it be.

Charles Oertel's picture
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Joined: 2007/04/14

Ja Bob, we were waiting for you and wondering what happened.

Strangely, the afkak was never as bad as Geoff made it sound beforehand.  It was the dreaded anticipation that was worse than anything.

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Charles Oertel's picture
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PE Girls

As we rode into PE at the end of the first day, I couldn't help noticing the PE girls.  They are beautiful and capable - can-do kind of people.  Thank heavens I snagged myself one 24 years ago, otherwise the events in the bar that night might have gone differently:

We were having a beer in a very festive pub, where various sports teams were celebrating - including a bunch of pretty, athletic women playing a drinking game (turned out they were swimmers).  One of them asked me to be her drinking partner, and I (being the chivalrous kind), helped her finish her down-down.  Little did I know this would prepare me for things to come at Cob Inn.  Anyway, I had a little chat and left them to their game.

Kei Mouth

Last time I was here was during the GS Eco when we stayed at Arena and also enjoyed a sprinkling of rain and rode in mud.

 

Excitement on the Kei ferryExcitement on the Kei ferry

This is the start of the off-road.

 Kyk noord en ...Kyk noord en ...

 First attempt at the Jacaranda

After our overnight at Trennery's, we woke up to rain.  No worries I told Geoff, we should easily be able to reach the Jacaranda, since that is a sandy road (completely forgetting that there are many kilometers of muddy roads before you get to the sand).  I had ridden those roads stukkend in pouring rain with Rusty and his brother-in-law Ralton.

About 15km from the sandy road, after a particularly slippery descent and deep water crossing (during which Mr.Badger got some muddy water in his air-intake), Geoff decided we should turn around for fear the road became impassable on the way back.  I reckon we turned around just in time, as things were getting dodgy fast.

We managed to reach Mazeppa Bay without incident and were congratulating ourselves on having mastered mud.  Or so we thought...

Kevin on the bridge at Trennery'sKevin on the bridge at Mazeppa Bay

After checking in to Mazeppa Bay, I thought I should check my airbox and filter, and was greeted with a torrent of muddy water.  Spent some time drying out the airbox and thanking my lucky stars that the 1150GS does not suck water into the cylinders from the bottom of the airbox.

That night the skies really opened.  No more mr. nice guy...

Buckets of rainBuckets of rain

 Really riding mud

Leaving Mazeppa Bay at first things were business as usual with the muddy roads.  I was lying second behind Geoff when suddenly, on a perfectly fine-looking stretch of road, Geoff's bike slid out from under him.  I had to stop in short order, but there was zero traction.  I used my pins as outriggers and managed to slide to a stop without falling.

After that we could no longer assume anything about what slippery mud looked like.  We had a number of offs, but all learned where to find traction, and how to keep things smooth.

Thankfully I do a little sideways skid on the grass as I cross a field on the way to work, and going around one corner my back wheel stepped out and I took the corner sideways.  Heart in mouth.

Kob Inn Cocktail Challenge

Apparently one has to compete in the cocktail challenge.  Geoff had warned us about this menu of about 12 cocktails, and that Tony Schlee was the reigning champion, and that nobody had ever managed to finish all drinks on the menu.  I dreaded this, not being a big drinker (67kg and a cheap date).

To further up the ante for an insecure overachiever like me, Geoff laid down the following rules:

  1. You could not withdraw until you had bought a round, and
  2. The loser had to pay for the drinks of the winner

Right, so I could not afford to lose (my PE wife would kill me), and I had to buy one round.

Well, I got to the competition late, and two cocktails were already waiting for me on the bar.  By the time I was able to buy a round, we were at cocktail 5 or 6.  Then I was more than half-way - and the last two cocktails are virgin (no alcohol - which is why nobody had ever finished the menu, serious drinkers like Tony regard them as pointless).

Somehow I get to the last two, and nobody else is still drinking.  I think I am home and dry (so to speak), because the last two would be easy for me to handle.  But the bar lady says: "I cannot serve those cocktails to you - they are for children"!  Luckily John Gillespie suggested we have those cocktails with Tequila added, and pretty soon I am the Cocktail Champion of Kob Inn and being escorted to my bed by Rob Selig and unable to talk or walk properly.

The next day during the outride I was somewhat fragile, but otherwise fine.

The Riding

Words cannot adequately describe the riding once we were out of the mud.  It was sublime.  Some of the obstacles Geoff knew well and would walk us through it and tell us how to help each other get our bikes through.

Mr.Badger is the heaviest bike on the trip, and I was wary of getting him stuck and requiring everyone to have to try get him out of trouble.  So I did my best to make it through most things - and riding trials certainly helped.

Tony and I also formulated a strategy of trying the obstacle early in the queue, while we still had strength to make it - rather than exhausting ourselves helping others and then needing help in return.

The rut

One obstacle that had me surprising myself was a ridiculous donga/rut on a single-track out of a valley.  We had just crossed a tricky river, and when I rode up to park my bike had come to a fork where the left was impassable, and the right fork looked doable.

I parked on the right, and you guessed it, the route went up the left.  Kevin, myself, then Tony and Arno were at the back.  To manage the donga, you needed to keep momentum, and ride on either side and cross the gap where possible/necessary (and for heaven's sake stay out of the rut).

Kevin in front of me had a problem and I was forced to stop.  He got going again, but Tony behind me was in trouble, so I walked back to help him and Arno.

When I got back to my bike I started off OK, but then dropped into the rut and came to a sudden halt that twisted my forks and fused both my headlamps.

I am unable to get the bike out of the rut without help, but Kevin is gone, and Tony has problems of his own behind me.  If Tony got going, I also did not want to cost him his momentum.

So I do the only thing I could do - straddle the rut with my legs, and gently ride Mr.Badger along.  Miraculously he finds traction (the Karoo IIIs are awesome), and we progress uphill.  I am dreading the end of the donga - it is two big rock steps and I cannot see how I could get a 70kg trials bike up there, let alone 260kg of portly badger.

But, I have no choice.  So I build a little momentum and get Mr.Badger up the first step, with his front-wheel on the face of the second step, almost vertical and me desperately holding him up.  I cannot hold on much longer, and my legs can take no more.  I blip the throttle expecting very little if not a loop out and Mr.Badger ending up upside-down in the rut.

But no, he again gets traction (thanks Metzeler) and clears the second step to climb out of the rut.  I am in two states of mind - annoyed I had not negotiated the rut in the first place, yet proud I had done the seemingly impossible in recovery.

(Disclaimer: No badgers were harmed in this adventure:  I pulled out Mr.Badger's toolkit, loosened the fork bridge, and re-aligned the front wheel over lunch)

More photos of the trip below:

PosingPosing

Incredible ridingIncredible riding

Hole in the ...Hole in the ...

 Trailer time

There was no fuel in coffee bay, and we had to ride some way to another town.  Mr.Badger ran out of fuel and to save time he went on the trailer (maybe I should have lay him down on the right side to get the fuel from the other half of the tank).

Anyway, he ended up on the trailer the next day on the way to East London, as I needed to catch a plane from East London to my nephew's wedding in JHB.  Too much trailer time.

Ag nee manAg nee man

 But who knows?  The day after I collected him, the fuel pump packed up - so maybe he would have ended up on the trailer anyway.

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Tony's picture
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Joined: 2008/08/24

Good memories Smile. Thanks Charles.

A bend in the road is not the end of the road... unless you fail to make the turn. ~Author Unknown