Archive of BMW Motorrad Club Cape (2006 - 2019)

This Namibia trip was awesome and a must-do-again trip. I regularly travel out to our producers to reinforce their logistics practices and cement relationships. I ride to all the farmers in the W Cape and if I can I take Annie along too. The farmers like her frank style and she has an attention to detail that helps me later. The trip to the Orange River grape farming community is an important one- lots of bad habits to break and better practices to entrench in ‘old style traditionalists’. Some stuck in their old ways, the younger eager to improve. Then there is Komsberg Farms, www.komsberg.co.za across the road, oops, river from the Augrabies National Park. Komsberg is also a spiritual experience. Annie's always keen to get a Namibia stamp in her dompas, so she was bok to go. We decided to mix the camping with hotelling. Stupid move for a short trip, long distances. Just that much more gear to carry. Annie did three firsts on this trip with her 650GS:- - She rode pillion on gravel for the first time - She rode with a pillion on for the first time on tar - She rode with a pillion on for the first time on gravel. Long distances, not short hauls. R46 other side of ceres: We packed the bikes Monday night 15th Dec and left bang on schedule 06h17 on Tuesday. Riding up to Ceres for the start is always tedious and Annie led me through the Bainskloof pass, Mitchells pass route. Ceres is NOT a tourist or traveler friendly dorp. Nothing opens before 08H00 and service is not high on their agenda. We met the first of many biking friends along the way. After waiting for the Spar to open we had to be happy with Ricoffee and sandwiches. They were fresh, but the sell by date was in FOUR DAYS TIME!!! Just goes to show how slow they expect business to be. R355 - 240 kilos of class road - maybe see 5 cars all the way: Ceres is NOT a tourist or traveler friendly dorp. Nothing opens before 08H00 and service is not high on their agenda. Stretching legs and identifying lanbdmarks: Well we got into our pace and the ride up the R355 to Calvinia in up to 40ºC was really lekker, the road is on excellent condition. R355 is in really good condition, R355 approaching the Bloukrans pass.: Calvinia is getting nearer... just theother side of the pass. This fantastic pass is about 10 k's long R355, rewarding views from the top of Bloukrans: It's getting on for 12H00, there are no shadows!!! Just before joining the R27 from Niewoudtville to Calvinia: Passing Annie who is at peace with her 650 Calvinia closes down on a public holiday! At the hotel we stopped for cold beverages and three 1200GS’s on their way to the States stopped for a drink or ten as well. Our dusty loaded GS’s contrasted sharply with their natty clean tar GS’s. I’m sure they had their share of dirt later on. The R27 took us to Brandvlei.: At 12H15, shadows long burned away by the sun, 42ºC and the tar is starting to run. Hullo!! Whatever the WINDPOMP joint once was, it aint now! Hoo boy, No further Comment. The rooms they offered for R195.00pp abutting the filling station even cockroaches don’t stay there. Phteuwhy! Dazed, we backed off and realized if Joseph n Marry were to pitch up there about to give birth they would ask rather for a stable! The Lonely church in Brandvlei- once home to a larger congregation.: a walk through town at 18H00 to get some exercise We found the Brandvlei Hotel. R260.oo for a double room. High speed fan and mozzie killer gadget with ensuite. Swimming pool, and hospitality you only find on the platteland. Jason, mine host and Garth the owner are just so chilled out. Very friendly and we will return! After an afternoon of drinking we asked for the bill and he said, “you know what you drank, there’s the price list, you tell me” Brandvlei- 29.6ºC after 18H00 Temp n time - 18H39.50 @ 39.6ºC: click to enlarge and see the detail on the ADC We ate a 5 course meal, swam many times and at 20H00 it was still 36ºC. Breakfast under inspection: Wed am, we left after a leisurely brekky of cereal, and the usual farmhouse plate under the interested gaze of Garth’s menagerie- 4 humungous Great Danes, one brak a mountain goat and seven cats. 60 k's out of Brandvlei: Only 60 k’s up the R27 to Kenhardt my bike did not feel right. I re-checked the tyres, then on the stand felt the wheels run free and decided it felt the same as it did last month when I ended up replacing the wheel bearings and seals. Then the words of an old song came spinning out as Annie came up, looked down at me in the gravel and said “Did you think I would leave you lying there, when there’s room on my horse for two. Never fear Jump up here And we’ll fight this fight we two….” She returned to Brandvlei and enlisted Garth n Jason. Gazebo shelter for 2 hours!!: Meantime I erected a gazebo, set up my chair and read my novel. With 3,5 of iced water sat out the two hours quite comfortably, keeping count of the 62 vehicles that passed me without even slowing down! And the cars just passed by......: This is plumb in the middle of Grootvloer I had stopped by a culvert to make bike recovery easy and so it proved. I had stopped by a culvert to make bike recovery easy and so it proved: VW cars returning from the annual speed test runs at Pofadder Ten minutes after the Corsa closed in, we were headed back to Brandvlei. A relaxed cool down and lunch at Brandvlei Hotel The pool was so weolcome at Brandvlei Hotel Then finally, after reducing a five pannier load to two, we left for Augrabies Hotel via Kenhardt, Keimoes and the N14. I fear the eco people may have a warrant out for me for the 14 million miggies I killed on that N14. It was genocide on a grand scale but they just kept coming. The bigger ones are crunchy while the smaller ones are very acidic. Hotel dinner tasted great and my trusty back up team in the office had re-scheduled my visit to the production areas. The Chill train for grapes at Kakamas: We spent Thursday meeting depots, producers, on the phone and doing work from the back of the 650GS. I have to admit we did over 200 k’s in plakkies, t-shirts n shorts which was really dumb as the tar was melting at 44ºC and the radiation was roasting our feet while the engine heat was roasting our thighs. We would have been better off in full ATTGAT. Bt to visit Orange river farmers in long pants of any type is a sin far worse than roasted legs. And they appreciated it immensely. I had to test machinery a few times later that afternoon and night to check if it all still worked! Rain cooled us in the late afternoon and we returned to the hotel for dinner and a restful sleep with aircon going full blast. Friday we left at 07H00 on good gravel to the N10 and then to the Ariamsvlei border post. Quiver trees abound in the arid semi desert The D202 runs South and into the semi desert.: It drops between mesas into the lowveld. road is just fine. What were they talking about??! Everyone had been telling us how terrible the gravel roads were. Poor Annie was so nervous by the talk, but the roads were fine, lots of patches of loose sand but nothing we were not accustomed to. The SARS and SAPS border officials made me so proud to be South African. Service was fast, helpful and friendly. Ditto for the Nam teams. We breakfasted with our forwarding agent at the border and torqued up the loosened sub-frame bolts- a common 650GS problem. Then we tackled the 60 k’s of dirt back down to the Orange river and Komsberg Farms www.komsberg.co.za Everyone had been telling us how terrible the gravel roads were.: Contrary to many warnings, the trip was eventful because of breathtaking vistas and changing flora as we descended the 200 meters down the pass. The work started the moment I kicked the side stand out at the pack shed and then we went off for a lunch and to settle in at the guest cottage and lapa on the river bank. And then work. The resident liguaan: If you are patient, you will see lots of game We toured the farm, worked, talked and chilled out on Friday and Saturday. Komsberg is chicken soup for the soul in many ways. Strong ethics, huge faith in literally moving mountains and figuratively moving mountains. Michel and Andy inspecting grapesWhat was once bare savannah now holds over 100ha of top quality table grapesself sustaining and innovative, the farm makes it's own bricks 100 ha of Hoodia are cultivated from the farm nurseryThe Hoodia is grown from seed in the huge nurseryIn the packshed - export grapes make your mouth water It was an enriching revitalisng experience I would like again. Sunset over the Orange riverriver rafters drifitng by: Tour groups paddle downstream by the by The lapa on the river bankExploring biker heavenrocks that naturally decorate the hillsroads that twist in amongst remote hills n hidden valleys, stark beautySpecial moments atop the 'mountain of hope', vineyards spread out below Sunday am saw us off at 06H45, again the border crossing was made very pleasant by the SARS & SAPS personnel. A different gravel road via Lutzputz to Keimoes and then retracing our steps home via Brandvlei. The gravel road via Lutzputz had everything from stones, rocks, white powder, and red shifting sand to long stretches of good clean dirt road. I amazed still how I never once tensed up or did the ‘death-grip’ thing. On the last West Coast Tour, I made my peace with all types of sand and found the techniques work if applied and lost all fear of sand. Some good runs on sandy roadsThrough Lutzputz and on to Keimoesshort stop to rest the butt That 605 GS just ate kilometers and clawed through sand, never slower than 60kph in the deep stuff.. Loaded down with >240 kilos of load but it still did everything we asked. On Tar Annie wanted her bike back and she ended up taking me pillion on tar and on the R355 dirt, finding to her surprise that all the shit people spoke into her was unfounded and she could do this very well. In Brandvlei we met kindred spirits from Pretoria on a 1200GS- this couple were touring with no agenda. “Where you going” “dunno, where does that road go?” Where you staying over” Dunno, we’ll see when it gets dark” “When you going home” “Dunno, when our bums are too sore to ride much more” I slept for about 45 minutes while pillion so was very fresh for my stint. R355 gave us a fast smooth transit down to Ceres We were in Ceres at the Spur while Geoff Russell’s Wuppertal ride group was inflating tyres at the garage. Post script: It turns out the bearing replaced 20o0km’s ago collapsed. A very rare thing indeed. I trust all will be well in a week. Meantime, Robbie J, on hearing of my upset insisted upon riding out at 06H00 on Wednesday and lending me his 100 000km 1150GSA to continue adventuring while my steed is in hospital. Thanks very much to Charles for his unselfish help in bike recovery. Thanks to others who also were prepared to drop tools and help. On Monday Charles and I picked up HD's trailer, left Cpt at 13H30 and hauled the 522km's to Brandvlei Hotel, loaded the bike in 15 minutes and hauled the 530 km's back down. Offloading the bike at the Atlantic Motorrad garage at 04H20. What a marathon. Then back in the office at 09H45.