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Riders: Philip Elliott & Sean Johnson
Distance: 619km
Travel Time: 12.54hrs
Vehicles: Motorbikes
Departure: 2015-12-21 06h22
Arrival: 2015-12-22 16h53
Passes: Moordenaarsnek Pass, Katkop Pass, Elandshoogte Pass, Naudes Neck Pass
The journey started in Hilton, Pietermartizburg, and continued to Rhodes where we slept the night before proceeding to Queenstown via Tiffendell.
For more details and pictures of this trip, go to:
Day 01: Pietermaritzburg to Rhodes
Day 01: Pietermaritzburg to Rhodes
Distance: 337km
Travel Time: 7.25 hrs
Departure: 2015-12-21 06h22
Arrival: 2015-12-22 18h04
Passes: Moordenaarsnek Pass, Katkop Pass, Elandshoogte Pass, Naudes Neck Pass
The ride from Hilton to Matatiel was very scenic with kilometers of winding roads through green rolling hills.
We stopped in Matatiel and I noticed that the front tyre of Sean's bike was looking flat. I pumped it up using the compressor that I carry on my bike and we rode to the nearest tyre place, Hi-Q Tyres. The repair man noticed the rim was cracked so he directed us to Tyres Vulcanising and Retreading who could weld the rim. We had ridden some very corrugated gravel roads at high speed. Once the rim was welded we returned to the Tyre place, refitted the tyre and continued to Rhodes. We lost about 2 hrs of travel time so we needed to make up lost time.
We stopped at MaClear and enjoyed a coffee break before heading up Naude;s Neck pass, the highest pass in South Africa at 2,508m.
We arrived at Walkerbouts Country Inn in Rhodes at about 18h00.
While sitting on the porch outside the Guest House, I saw a guy walk out that I recognised from over 20 years ago. It took me a while before I could remember his name. Eventually I called out his name, Rodger, and he turned around. He joined us for a couple of beers where we caught up on all the news. He insisted we stop by his farm & B&B (Den Hagen Farmhouse) a couple of kilometers outside Rhodes on our way up to Tiffendell the next morning for a cup of coffee.
Day 02: Rhodes to Queenstown via Tiffendell
Day 02: Rhodes to Queenstown via Tiffendell
Distance: 282km
Travel Time: 5.29 hrs
Departure: 2015-12-21 08h50
Arrival: 2015-12-22 16h53
Passes: Carlislehoekspruit Pass, Volunteer Pass (Bidstone Pass)
After breakfast we took the gravel road to Tiffendell. On the way we stopped off at Rodgers farm (Den Hagen Farmhouse) for a cup of coffee.
The farm is 3km from the start of the steep and winding gravel Carlislehoekspruit pass up to Tiffendell. Luckily the corners are cemented to provide traction around the tight bends.
Tiffendell has a 1000m ski slope. As it was "out-of-season", we were the only people there along with minimum staff to keep the place going. We had a nice cup of coffee at the restaurant. The manager advised us not to take the Volunteer Pass as it was in bad condition. Sean and I discussed it for a while and decided to continue with our journey.
The Volunteer Pass also leads to the infamous War Pass which is popular with extreme 4x4 enthusiasts.
Sections of the Volunteer Pass was rocky and very steep with loose gravel. At one point I had both the front and rear brakes locked and the bike continued to slide downhill.
Once we got to the bottom of the pass, we stopped to take a break in the cool shade of the forest before continuing to Barkley East where we stopped at a local pub for lunch and refuel the bikes. Our next stop was Queenstown.
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