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Departure: De Hoek Mountain Resort
Destination: Grootvadersbosch
Date & Time
2019-12-21 07h04
2019-12-21 15h10
Odometer (Philip)
Start: 109,429 km
End: 109, 757 km
Passes Travelled (11): Doringkloof [Gravel]; Huis Se Hoogte [Gravel]; Kruisrivierpoort [Gravel]; Huisrivier [Tar]; Seweweekspoort [Gravel]; Koueveld [Gravel]; Witnekke [Gravel]; Perdefonteinpoort [Tar]; Volstruisnek [Tar]; Klein Swartberg [Tar]; Die Outol [Tar]; Tradouw [Tar]
We traveled along the scenic gravel road that hugs the foothills of the Swartberg mountains along the Nels River to Calitzdorp. We stopped at the Coffee Shop for breakfast and refueled the bikes. There were a number of beggars hanging around the coffee shop so we sat on the veranda to eat our breakfast to keep an eye on the motorbikes.
After refueling, we took the R62 West and turned off onto the gravel road at Amalienstein to ride through the beautiful Seweweekspoort pass.
The R323 gravel road was in good condition and we made good progress. We turned South near the Buffelspoort Nature Reserve and decided to take a break at the intersection. I walked around Sean's Triumph in a joking manner to inspect it for parts that may have fallen off - There was no need as it is a well made motorbike. I then decided to inspect the BMW and noticed a damp patch near the front wheel. On closer inspection I noticed a fuel leak around the pipe leading from the secondary fuel pump. The fuel was also dripping onto the hot exhaust. I attempted to tighten the pipe to reduce the leak. As we were miles from anyone who could assist, we decided to continue but cut out part of the day's ride so that I could attempt better repairs at the next camp site. We were very conscious that the bike could burst into flames if any spark had to occur.
Philip doing roadside repairs to reduce the fuel leak.
We had to stop at the security gate leading into the Sambona Wildlife Reserve. They wanted us to redirect our route as this is a private game reserve. We insisted that they allow us to travel along the public road. The security guard called the command post who indicated that someone would escort us through the park. As it was a 30 minute wait, we decided to make a cup of coffee and enjoy some rusks. As I unpacked the pannier to get the coffee & cooker, I asked Sean if we should give the left-over braai from the previous day to the security guard. Not only did the guard get the left overs, I also made him a cup of coffee - This was the best thing that had happened to him all year.
The escort arrived and we continued our journey through the park. The security officials were very secretive as to what animals were in the park but I noticed there were Elephant droppings and I suspect Rhino as well.
We passed Ronnie's Sex shop on the R62 but the threat of leaking fuel kept us moving forward. Maybe we will visit on the next trip.
I asked around in Barrydale if there were any hardware stores to buy some Pratley's putty to fix the fuel leak. As it was Saturday afternoon, everything was closed except for the many restaurants that we passed. We continued to Grootvadersbosch in the hope I could spend more time repairing the fuel leak.
Grootvadersbosch is part of the Cape Nature and is set in beautiful forests in the mountains and is ideal for hiking. Their shop is not worth mentioning as it stocks nothing worth mentioning and it did not even stock wood to enjoy a camp fire. We realized we should have kept the food we had generously given the security guard. We ended up eating biltong, mixed nuts, dried fruit, rusks & Granola bars for dinner and finished off the red wine - We still enjoyed a good feast.
The fuel leak appeared to have got worse due to the constant vibrations riding the gravel roads.
I removed some panels to get a closer look at the fuel leak and realized the flange on the secondary fuel pump was cracked. There was nothing I could do, except pray that the motorbike did not burst into flames.
We would attempt to buy some Pratleys putty in one of the towns we passed through the next day to seal the cracks.
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