Archive of BMW Motorrad Club Cape (2006 - 2019)

Day 1 1100KM Cape Town to Hobhouse Steve, Henny, Joe and I, met at the N1 one stop at 06:00 we thought it was cold then but only if we new what was in stall for us…………. I was quite tired as I’d only got to bed at 02:00 that morning. I had to grapple with map source and my route, for 3 hours, before I got it to work on my pc and then only could only download it onto the GPS. We mounted and made our way north, vents closed, inners, buffs and heated grips on. Brrrrrr cold cold cold…. Idea was to get to Laingsburg and have breakfast… the Hex river valley was -1 and at times I thought my heated grips were off…. Teeth chattering I pulled off at Touws River for coffee and breakfast. After a few warm cups of coffee and tucker we were on our way again temp now 8deg. We made good time through the day stopping for a late lunch at Three Sisters. On the road again we turned onto the R701 just after Colesberg. This road is awesome taking you all along the Garip Dam and some spectacular views of the area. +- 70km before Wepener we hit our 1st stretch of dirt of the trip, nice piece of road hard and flat. It was now getting dark and we had our spots on. About 20km before we got to Wepener we crested a rise and as our lights hit the road again we found a huge pothole in front of us. Nowhere to go I preloaded the suspension and tried to get over it, but being loaded and 2 up we couldn't get the back over. We hit it quit hard and not long after that got a burning rubber smell from the wheel. In Hobhouse found the torsion bar had bent and was now touching the tire. I called BMW on call and got the technician from Bethlehem. He advised that I should see if I can bend it straight if I wanted to carry on with the trip. We could only get to it in the morning so no use stressing about it then. We had a bath and settled in to our accommodation a quaint place called the Emily Guest house. Currently being renovated and fixed up, by Françoise and his family. After cleaning up it was time for food and a drink, word had it that the "Policie Broodtjie" was nosh to have. We placed our orders and headed to the bar. When arriving at the bar we found that the tradition in Hobhouse is that you have to introduce yourself by shaking hands with everyone in the bar as you enter. It was a festive crowd and before long we had all the towns' folk calling and making plans to help us. Day 2 360KM Hobhouse to Thaba-Tseka via Meyer brinks farm, Malealea lodge, MINI Sani and the days 8.5KM special stage We were put in touch with Meyer Brink the local quad racer. He has a farm 17km out side of town on the Lesotho border. What a great guy, he had my torsion bar off and straightened before Henny and I could change 1 of our tires. We found that Steve had also bent his torsion bar, not as bad as ours, as he wasn't that loaded, but enough to cause concern. Meyer had that fixed in no time too. After the fix and change to knobblies we made it back to town. We loaded up, said our thanks and good buys and made our way to the border. Meyer Brink helping Bent Bar We cleared the border both sides in 10min. I found them to be well organized and efficient; great to see, but we were about 5 hours behind for the day, the time was now 13:00. We made our way up to Mafeteng. 25km outside of Mafeteng, on the A2, we turned right to Malealea lodge. To Malealea So far the roads were all tar, so going was good. About 10KM before Malealea lodge, we were greeted with the first of the days dirt and a spectacular view of the range ahead. After a quick beer and rest at the Lodge we were back on the trail. 1st beer leaving Malealea Malealea Lodge: weather report I'd chatted to Glen the guy from Malealea tours who organized our accommodation at Thaba-Tseka the week before. He advised me that the road leading from Malealea was awesome and had what they called a mini version of Sani. Mini Sani I enquired about the note on my Tracks4Africa advising us of a Difficult section 8.5km before you turn right on the A5. He advised that it was difficult single track at times but the bikes should make it. I now call it the day2 "Special Stage" Mini Sani was indeed spectacular views, road and technical WOW we loved it. The last 8.5KM yes the special stage however tested us to the end. With the light fading we pushed hard to get through it, and all in all it only took us 2 hours to do the 8.5km. Lots of steep loose rocky climbs, with sharp bends. I should have known we were in for a test, when I followed the road to the left and the GPS told me to go straight. I thought at 1st it had got the route wrong as we were now riding what seemed be a goat track along the side of the mountain. At one stage I almost lost Joe when we dropped the bike; on the one side was a washed away rocky track on the other a 5 meter drop into a dry river bed..... On other occasions we had to climb 30cm step ups out of dry river beds, bash plate taking a bit of stick with the load. special stage: River crossing special stage: Steve coming through special stage special stage special stage: Steve coming up climb special stage At last we made it to the main section to Roma on the A5. It was now dark and we still had 180km to Thaba-Tseka. Lucky for us the roads now would all be Tar, but riding in Lesotho after dark is not advisable. lesotho at night We filled up in Roma and made our way to the A3 turning right to Thaba-Tseka. When riding in Lesotho you feel like you riding on continuous pass. On the A3 to Thaba-Tseka alone you ride through 6 passes: Bushman’s Pass, God Help Me Pass, Blue Mt Pass, Cheche Pass, Pass of Jackals and Mokhoabong Pass. We rolled into Mountain Star Lodge just after 21:30, a bit on the stressed side. Steve chose to lighten the mood with a rant and rave, he had after opening his top box....hehehehe the bag with the Sosaties had burst and all his things had a curry marinade over them. The animations behind the bike and the cursing took all the stress of the day away from me and I had a quite snigger. Henny too had a top box issue the bead gel's lid came off and all his things had a nice coat on it. Dinner and a beer saw us hit the sack. at thaba: steve washing out curry sauce Day 3 166KM Thaba-Tseka to Sani Backpackers via Sani Pass The idea was to ride up to Katze and then back down to Sani. However again I found that the Torsion bar was moving and we had to spend time getting that fixed. So instead Steve joined 2 guys, we met in the hotel, and rode up to Katze and then on the tar road to Ficksburg his home for the next year or 2. Henny and I took the back wheel off and then the bar to see what could be done to get it straight again. We found that the bar was now cracking possibly because it had been badly warn on the inside from the tire. Out with the Super Steel and wire, we mended, bound and pulled it straight. Back on we decided that we’d use the straps to help hold it in place. fix fix fix fix 30min job in all and we were riding out of Thaba-Tseka to Sani. We took it easy at 1st and it seemed like every bump was accentuated. I stopped about 20km later and every thing looked ok. From there we made good time cutting through the mountains on a good gravel road. About 80km out we started the climb into the snow line I stopped to take a few shots and check the bar. Only to find the brake line was now warn through and brake fluid was running out. We mended the line and hoped it would hold out through Sani. thaba to sani fix on the road We were now riding in the snow line and I can’t begin to describe the views, feeling and smile of glee I had on my face. Breath taking is all I can say. thaba to sani thaba to sani Kotisephola pass At the top of Kotisephola pass we were greeted by loads of 4x4’s who’d made their way out to see the snow. The direct result for us was the muddy, icy slush track going down the side of the hill……. Tricky to say the least, front wheel was sliding all over the place, and all the ruts and rocks were now hidden in the slush..mmmmm lovely. Kotisephola pass: Henny at top Kotisephola pass Kotisephola pass Kotisephola pass: View from the top Kotisephola pass: Ice/Slush road Kotisephola pass: Henny coming down With a skid here and there Henny and I made it down slowly. At the bottom of this pass you get the sign for Sani, a must stop for a photo and a rest. sani Sani: having fun on Sani We made our way to the Sani Top chalets and found hundreds of 4x4’s and bikes. I understand that 2000 people came through that post that day. 5 GS800 were parked outside a bungalow but no sign of the riders. We met two guys from Durban who left their bikes on the pass that morning, it was too icy from them to get to the top, so they had to get a lift in a van. We had a beer at the highest pub in Africa and then made our way down Sani. sani: beer time sani It too was hairy at stages, ice and snow on 3 of the bends but nothing too bad once you got through the 1st pitch. We got to Sani backpackers and off loaded. This accommodation was the best of the tour so far. Great set up and the amenities were 1st class. It was Steak night so we rode into town to the Himeville Arms, were everything went a bit off the rails. Food was OK but the company was outstanding. himeville arms: Himeville arms going a bit wild Great time to finish of the Lesotho leg of our trip. Next installment was going to be Rhodes and the War Trail…… Day 4 Sani Backpackers to Rhodes……..Ah East London 533km The next morning we looked at my offending torsion bar and it did not look good. All the straps had now warn through and we had it tied in with the warn out straps. Joe and I had a chat and we thought it best to try and ride back to CT. Henny the Goodman that he is was OK with it and decided to visit a few friends in JHB. So off we went and all was going ok till about 100 before Kokstad, the last strap broke. We cut another piece tied it and made the decision to ride to East London. I called BMW on call and got hold of Hein Kumm advised him we were on our way and to be ready should we break down before then. Traveling at 80km/h we made it to EL about 19:00, booked in to a hotel. Exhausted and demoralized we made piece with the fact that our holiday was now at an end. I was a long day to digest it but I know that next year I’m going to be back to do it all again, this time hopefully we can avoid the complications. We handed our bike to Hein and his team, they were great calling us along the way to make sure we ok and helping with getting the bike loaded to ship it back to CT. Richmond and BMW on call was a great help. Organizing a car to be dropped off at the dealer and talking us through the in’s and out’s of what to do and get sorted. We took 2 days getting back in our new GS Polo 1.4.