Archive of BMW Motorrad Club Cape (2006 - 2019)

Day 1: 490Km Jurg to Sendelings Drift, via Hondeklip baai, Kleinsee, Port Nolloth and Alexander Bay..... At least so we planned Having lost one of our tour members, Steve Thomas, the day before on the difficult sand road to Groenriver mond, we were down to 3 bikes. Steve managed the sand fantastically well and unfortunately just at the end of the trickiest of the first 10km sand section he lost a bit of concentration and came down. Thankfully with the help of a few transfers he was admitted to Garies hospital and then transferred to Cape Town. Groenriver ride group west coast roads We left at 8am on the Sunday morning about an hour before Geoff and his group, just in case the sand claimed another victim and we needed the back up vehicle. We all made our way through the tricky "twee spoor" section back to the road leading to Kotzersrus with out any incidents. What made it that more difficult was the fully loaded bikes, with all our camping gear and extra things we'd need for the week ahead. A rough calculation put my bike, including me, my pillion and our gear at +-500kg. After we all made it through the demanding section, the next stop would be Hondeklip Baai, via part of the route taken by Geoff and the second group the day before. That route took us on some awesome farm tracks and finally onto the main track to Hondeklip baai. It was on these farm roads that we passed 7 guys on GS's including 3 KTMs, they had left Springbok that morning and were heading South. It’s so nice to see so many duel purpose bikes out there these days. The main drag into Hondeklip baai is hard packed and fast, with a pass thrown in for good measure. We made some good time on this section and all looked well for reaching Sendelings Drift, or destination early that afternoon. Hondeklip baai Hondeklip Baai was originally one of the major ports in the area that allowed for the shipment of copper, mined in the Springbok area in the early 1800's. From 1876 the railway took all the copper to Port Nolloth, making Hondeklip baai redundant. Today you would be hard pressed to find anything of interest except a small shop, a gallery with some oil paintings and a few self catering chalets and of course the curious locals milling around the shop. Realizing that this small town had very little to offer we hit the road to Koingnaas on our way to Kleinzee. At the junction to Koingnaas we turned right into the Skilpad and Namaqua National Park and followed the roads to Klienzee. The roads in this area were awesome, giving up some exciting riding and spectacular views. But at the same time they were tricky in parts and about 30km before Kommagas, Guy came off in a sandy gritty section. Thankfully we had bike to bike communications and Johan immediately radioed me of the incident and we turned back to the scene. We found Guy in quite bad shape. Thanks to Andymans talk we all slipped into our damage control mode. Once Guy was stabilized and assessed we worked on the plan of action. JdJ and Tracy would stay with Guy and continue the great job of looking after him. Joe and I made our way to the closest town, Kommagas, where we managed to get the Police to drive the resident nurse to the scene while we waited for the ambulance from Springbok. When we got back Tracey and Johan had erected a shelter and ensured that Guy was well stabilized. The Police had found them and the nurse was attending Guy. The ambulance had gotten a bit lost taking the top road from Soebatsfontein. But in the end they made it there and got Guy on route to Springbok. We decided to take the shortest route to Springbok, according to the GPS. This took us through 2 amazing passes namely Wildeperdehoek Pass and Masselpad Pass. These were known as the Copper Way; the main route from Springbok to Hondeklip baai. Built by some 400 convicts from 1867 – 1869 the Masselpad Pass is named after the neat embankments of dressed stone. At the foot of this pass you can view the cemetery and the remains of the prison that housed the convicts during this time. It’s well worth the effort to take time out here. We couldn’t as we had to get to Springbok ASAP but I plan to get back there someday soon. Prison at the pass At the hospital it was confirmed that Guy had a fractured scapula, clavicle, a few ribs and a punctured lung. I understand that he got star treatment because everyone in the hospital was lead to believe he was Guy Richie Madonna’s husband. By the end of that evening we had laid down a few plans to get Guy and his bike back to Cape Town. Thanks to all those that offered their help and support to achieve this. The next decision was; should we continue or abort. I'm glad that we managed to work through the emotion of the day before and come up with a suitable alternative to make the tour work. We decided that we would reverse the tour as Springbok was originally our last night stop and now it would be the 1st and Sendelings drift would be the last. Day 2: Springbok to Hobus 390km We hooked it up the N7 to Vioolsdrift and then on to Hobus Campsites on the Fish River Canyon. The route took us along the Orange River on the Namibian side, on the D212. We turned north on the D316 to Ais-Ais and finally on to Hobus along the D324.The roads we experienced getting there were spectacular and sitting at 120km/h was no effort. The camp sites were very nice considering you're in a dessert and we made good use of the pool area. The other thing we had to get used to is the remoteness of everything and the lack of your luxuries. From the boarder post to Hobus there was nothing in way of road side shops or towns. We bought our food for the night in Springbok so we only needed to load up on beer and ice at the campsite shop. That evening we rode the 12km to the look out points to watch the sunset. The Fish River Canyon is the 2nd biggest canyon in the world, the Grand Canyon being the largest. Try making sure that you there well before the sunset to appreciate the changing light and awesome views. It truly is spectacular. Fish River Canyon Day 3: Hobus to Betesda Sossusvlei 528km Early next morning we packed up and rode to the Canon Roadhouse on the D601 to refuel, fancy that R8.81 per liter. From there we made our way to our next stop for food and supplies at Bethanie on the C14. We had breakfast at the Bethanie lodge, owner Karen was more then helpful and also happened to be related to the owners of Betesda, our next camp site, and add to that she was also great mates with Norbert the owner of Obelix in Luderitz. From there we took the C14 to Helmeringhausen and then the C27 north to Betesda. About 5km before the Maltahohe District sign you hit a tricky sand section, for 5km, if you not prepared for it it could catch you off sides. Johan and Tracey had a side stand here and the bike fell on his leg and caused a bit of damage to his groin area. From there the road gets better, but in parts was still tricky and had to be negotiated with caution. Our original idea was to get to the Sossusvlei permit office to get our pass for the next day and in so doing save a bit of time the next morning, but going was a bit slow and we decided to head straight to Betesda instead. About 56km from Bettesda you enter the plains of the Namibrand Nature reserve. If you get here in the late afternoon you find the plain teaming with game like Gemsbok and Spingbok. Plain in Nam We turned off on the D845 14km of some nice sand that took a bit of concentration to get through. We were greeted at Bethesda by Tony and his wife, great people and so friendly. Again another awesome set up with a restaurant, bar, pool and most importantly very good ablution blocks. That night we ate the 3 course meal on offer in the restaurant buffet style set up, eat as much as you like for R130pp, great value. Camp site at Betesda Day 4: Into Sossusvlei The idea with Sossusvlei is to get in as early as possible in the morning. Two main reasons: 1st the temperature and 2nd is for the great photo opportunities with the contrasting colours and shadows at sunrise. We got there at 06:30 as the gate was opening and made our way to the permit office to get our 24hour pass. The cost for a South African is R60pp and R10 for the bike. Dune 45 It's tar the first 65km taking you past the Fairy Circles and Dune 45 and on to the 1st parking lot. Sand into sossusvlei parking 2 I enquired about the shuttle service that now operates through the 4km thick sand to parking lot two, but it does cost you R90pp as a SA tourist and R120 as an international. We thought that we'd take the option to do it on the bike, it all started well till one of the 4 4x4 shuttles stopped in front of us. As we all know getting started in the thick stuff is the trick and we managed to drop the bike on the 1st attempt. By the time Joe and I picked up the bike and got ready to try again the other 3 shuttles had parked long side us to wait for the next show...30 odd Germans passengers with cameras out at the ready to fire… Thank goodness we managed to get up and out on the 2nd attempt. Once through the sand to the 2nd parking lot, the best option is to climb "Big Daddy" to get the view over the dead vlei and then to climb down the face into the vlei to get the shots of the dead trees. Dead vlei tree Coming out we had another "side stand incident", but this time due the lack of speed into sandy corner. As a word of advice to those visiting I would make 2 trips into Sossus. The permit is valid for 24 hours so you can enter as many times in that 24 hours. Get there in the morning as the gate opens and don’t get tempted to stop and take pics of the dunes going in. Instead get to the dead vlei in the morning get your shots and then come back in the afternoon on the setting sun and get your dune shots then. * Just a small “did you know” The shuttle service operates every day of the year the coordinator recons, they do 200 trips a day, not bad considering the park gets +- 1000 cars a day. Each shuttle takes 13 people and they wait till they are full before they go. Assuming the 200 trips is correct @ 13 people per trip x the lower fair of R90, he’s making R234000 a day. Now assume they only work 300 days that’s a whopping 70Mil a year. Of course the owners brother approves all the governments tenders, funny that. Day 5: Bethesda to Luderitz 520km Due to the sand on the C27 JdJ wanted to take the C19 and the C14 to get to Luderitz. It was fast going and we made good time. Watch out for the calvets on the C14 there are many and if taken too fast you could come left. Even though it was just before midday we managed to see the Feral horses at the look out spot. We finally rolled into Luderitz by Lunch. We stayed at Obelix and Norbert was a legend making sure that we settled in and enjoyed the great bar/indoor braai area that he has set up there. The restaurant of choice is Ritzies, great food huge portions and not expensive at all. The other option is to arrange with Norbert to use the indoor braai and make your own food. The facilities at Obelix is outstanding and the only place to stay when in Luderitz. Norbert is and excellent host and beware you can get stuck with him over a few telling war stories. Great fun. Day 6: Kolmanskop Ghost Town The whole idea of going to Luderitz is to see the old Diamond town. We started early and made our way down to the once prominent diamond mining town. In 1908 the 1st diamond was discovered at one of the stations just outside Luderitz, by one of the station workers. He gave it to the station foreman and once confirmed he was a millionaire in weeks, the foreman that is. The diamonds were literally picked up in the sand and once the government found out that was when the Sperrgebiet was outlined. But by the 1950's the town was dieing and eventually deserted and consumed by the desert. The town is now a famous destination for anyone coming to Luderitz and an awesome opportunity to take great photos. There is a photography sunrise/sunset pass that you can get for R132pp and it gives you access to the town for the whole day. The other option is R42pp and means you can only enter the town at 09:00 till 16:00, it includes a tour at 09h30 and 11h00. They are trying to renovate and reclaim the town to preserve it and prevent it from disappearing beneath the dunes. Tour at Kolmannskop Kolmannskop From there it is a 17km drive to the Dias Cross; the wind can be hectic out here but it’s so worth the ride out there. Dias Cross Note: There is a 2nd ghost town called Elizabeth Bay that we wanted to do; however, you need to get security clearance to visit this town which can take 3 to 4 days before approval is granted. Day 7: Luderitz to Sendelingsdrift 360km The road to Rosh Pinah is tar so you can make short work of it, only the last 20km to the boarder is dirt. We made it to the boarder and crossed on the pont. Pont crossing JdJ decided that he wanted to push on to Port Nolloth, 180km to reduce the next days distance and to get in the Curry Cup final. We decided that we would spend the last night on the Orange River instead and wake up that bit earlier. Day 8: Sendelings Drift to Cape Town We had two options back home; down to the coast via Alexander Bay to Port Nolloth and back in land to Steinkopf or through the mountains on the road to Eksteenfontein and then on to Steinkopf, the latter option cut out 50km. I took this option and it turned out to be one of the best passes of the tour for me. Last Pass Home It was great road conditions with just enough sand sections to have your heart rate pick up a beat or two when crossing the occasional river bed. We made good time and took 3 hours to get to Springbok. From there it was a business ride home and we rolled in to our drive at 14:00. In closing, Namibia was awesome from its people, roads, country side and climate. I would suggest that you plan your stops for food if you camping very carefully especially your meat and veg. Other then that you can get anything else where there is fuel. Thanks to all the guys for the help with info leading up to the tour and those that made it some of the way, you were missed and I wish you a speedy recovery. Johan and Tracey we enjoyed the riding with you guys and most importantly to my pillion Joanne who makes me look so much better then I am on the bike.