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Departure From: Lydenburg
Destination: Mbabane (Swaziland)
Distance: 328km
Date & Time
2017-12-17 06h43
2017-12-17 14h52
Total: 8hrs
Weather:
Sunny and hot.
Sean joined me on this route on his Triumph Tiger 800 XCx.
Passes Taken: Masjiennek Pass (Lydenburg), Long Tom Pass (Lydenburg), Kaapsehoop Pass, Saddleback Pass (Barberton), Songimvelo Pass.
The owners at the Longtom Guest House recommended we stop at Misty Lodge for breakfast. A great breakfast with a terrific view.
The Long Tom pass is always a favourite except if there are many heavy trucks on the route. Luckily the pass was not busy early in the morning.
From the Long Tom Pass, we turned off onto the gravel road (R536) to take us through the forest roads that end up on the N4. We continued to Kaapsehoop village for coffee at the Bohemian Groove Cafe. Make a point of visiting this quaint village that has the highest rainfall in South Africa.
We went down the Kaapsehoop pass and after approximately 10km we turned left onto a forestry gravel road along the De Kaap valley to Glenthorpe. I followed a Tracks 4 Africa waypoint and ended up taking a very rough and unused forestry road. After wading through branches across the road and long grass we came across a path that took us to a more substantial road.
It was very hot so we stopped at Mcaully Picnic Site on the Queens River to rest and cool down before heading on to Barberton.
We refueled in Barberton before heading up the Saddleback Pass. Approximately 2 km from the Swazi Josefdal border post, we turned off onto the R541 to Diepgezet Village which is an abandoned mining village. The R541 has some steep winding corners. I changed down a gear on one corner and the rear wheel locked causing the bike to slide and introduce me to the rocky dirt road. This had happened to me on a previous trip but I managed to recover from the slide. Thank goodness to protective clothing and equipment along with crash bars on the bike. Damage was minimal and we continued more cautiously along the pass.
As we ascended the pass after the Ebutsini 4wd Trail area we came across a white car parked in the middle of the road half way up the pass. I slowed down to ask the driver if he needed help … as I looked into the car the driver was busy have sex … I gathered he did not need help and continued. When we reached the N17, we decided to continue to the Osshoek border post as dark thunderclouds had formed over the area we originally planned to travel via the Lundzi border post. Osshoek was not too busy, but still had queues.
For dinner, we enjoyed pizza at the Matenga Craft Restaurant in Mbabane.
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