You'll have to excuse that these pics have not been edited and are as originally posted at Wild Dogs Forum.
We started off from Johannesburg in Gauteng Province and headed South-East towards the South coast of Kwazulu-Natal.
Our First stop was in the town of Standerton for some Breakfast, From there we took some gravel to Memel, which is fast growing into a great weekend getaway place.
We then one of the few gravel passes into the Natal Midland, Mullerspass.
We meandered through the Midlands then passed Pietermaritzburg and on to our destination for the night, Port Shepstone. Past Pietermaritzburg it started to drizzle a little but not too much. After a long day in the saddle we finally reached the coast but still had some way to go to our overnight stop at friend of mine.
At last We are at the ocean.
Arrie and his BMW Dakar
Me and my Honda TransAlp
Seeing as it was not raining too hard we did not bother to put on our rain gear and pushed on. A few kilometres from my friends place it started throwing buckets and as we got there, we were drenched to the bone.
After a great Nights sleep we set off again down the coast towards our next destination of Coffey Bay.
We got our cloths moderately dry over night, but as we hit the road again, it started raining again. Luckily we turn inland at Port Edward towards Bizana.
This area is known as the Wild coast, and for good reason. This is part of the old Transkei region and very little real infrastructure development has taken place here since re-integration into the RSA. Therefore no large roads run anywhere close to the coast line, which make road construction here a challenge.
As we ascended the foothills of the Drakensberg Mountain range, we cleared the clouds and was soon dry and happy again.
Man this is a beautiful part of the country and I would dearly love to spent some more time here in future.
Arrie drying his socks against the exhaust of the bike after the soak we had earlier.
Our destination for the day was Coffee Bay, but we still had some way to go before we got there.
Just past Mthatha, at the turn-off towards Coffee Bay, it started raining again and we donned our rain gear. This last 80km back down to the coast was the wort riding I every had to do.
Constant rain, mist with visibility down to 50m, stray animals, potholes, stray vehicles and a very twisty bit of road made this a very unpleasant experience. But the sight we saw as we rode into Coffee Bay made it all better.
Our camp site for the night was a few kilometers outside Coffee Bay, called White Clay. This one of the most beautiful spots for a campsite I have seen. Surrounded by lushes green hills as far as the eye can see, and vertical cliffs on both sides.
We pitched the tent in the rain, explored a bit around camp, and then went looking for food.
We didn't get much sleep that night as the wind was howling outside, and I worried about the distance we had to do tomorrow if the weather stays like this.
The next morning dawned beautiful and bright sun light greeted us as we stepped out of the tent. It's gonna be an awesome day!
We wanted to see the Hole in the wall, which is a very famous natural structure in South Africa.
Due to the fact that we still had to get to Port Elizabeth today, and the roads was as muddy as Bolivia in monsoon season, we could not search very long for the right lookout towards the Hole in the Wall.
This is the best Photo I got.
Time for a Garage Pie and Cool drink !
Check the Mud!
The rest of the trip to PE went by uneventful and we saw some of the best Dual Sport areas in our country along the way.
We got to our friends place in PE at about 15h00.
Later that afternoon they took us to one of the local beaches to watch the sunset.
Imagine getting to see this every day. WOW!
Baviaanskloof was to be next on the menu, and one of the highlights of this trip for me.
We booked a camping site for the night at Uitspan camping ground, but did not know how long this trip might take. The total distance for the day would be around 220km only but by some reports this road can take quite some time to travel.
I'm so glad we did this part slowly and had some time to take in the scenery, as this is an absolute gem.
It is very difficult to describe how truly beautiful this place realy is, as you will find something new every time you visit it.
We arrived at Uitspan Camp site at around 13h00, and decided to just chill the rest of the day as this was the most intense riding either of us have ever done. But boundaries was tested and we managed to pass all of them.
Between sittin and standing, laying remains the best!
After some awesome homemade pies we rested a bit and when the temperatures went down a few degrees, a splash in the dam was the most refreshing that day.
Later that afternoon a bit of exploring was done. A fissure into the mountain provided us whith the best solution and the following photos speak for them selfs.
The next morning we took our time getting ready, and even sat down for a great breakfast. Our destination, and turning point for this trip, was Knysna.
Out of the kloof and to Uniondale via great gravel roads and then onto the Prince Alfret Pass, through some indiginious forrest to my friends' place in Knysna.
We spend an extra day in Knysna just relaxing and checking the area.
We visited Belvidere and Brenton-on-sea via the road running along the ridge on the western Head along the lagoon.
In Belevidere there is the most beautiful little Church, which makes for some great photo opportunities. Unfortunately I lost some of my photos including these.
Day 7
Now we headed back inland and back home. Our destination is a famaliy farm of a friend of mine in Smithfield.
This will be one of the longest stretches of the journey and we did not stop for photos too offten, infact I only have one.
This is the Beervlei Dam just north of Willowmore.
Day 8 and the last day of the journey for me.
From Smithfield we traveld along the Maluti Mountains in the southern and eastern Freestate to my parents' farm in Reitz.
What trip is complete in the eastern Freestate with out going through Golden Gate?
These two last photos are on my parents' farm 23 December 2006.
The next day I rode with Arrie to town and saw him off, as he still had to get his car in Johannesburg and get to his parents for Christmas in Ellisras.
Respect!!!
That's it folks.
Thanks for reading.
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