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Date: 2024-01-25
Departure From: Centurion
Departure Time: 05h55
Destination Name: Bloemhof
Arrival Time: 15h00
Total Travel time: 9:05 hours
Weather:
Clear skies
Departure Temperature: 17C
Peak daytime temperature: 36C
Odometer Reading (km):
Start: 136631
End: 137120
Total Distance: 489
Average Moving Speed: 71.9 km/h
Gravel Distance: 274 km
Gravel / Tar Ratio: 55%
Passes Travelled: [1]
Passes Travelled: [1]
Poeiernek Pass [Tar]
Trip Summary:
Trip Summary:
The first 95km was on tar road, except for 5km of gravel.
The real trip now starts. The gravel road was not bad but there were sections with pools of muddy water that had to be carefully avoided. At about 08h50 I hit the worst part as there was no way to avoid the slippery sticky red mud. The front wheel jammed up with mud and the bike fell. I took off all the luggage I could and moved it 20m further down the road that was dry. At about 09h30 a farmers wife, Barbara, stopped and offered her helper, Wikus, to assist.
One only had to move the bike 3m and the front wheel would not be able to rotate becase the mud guard clogged up with mud. This would cause the rear wheel to slide out and the bike would fall. I had to pry all the mud out between the mud guard and the tyre with a stick. This happened twice more but luckily Wikus could assist. Eventually we got the bike to dry ground. I paid him some money and thanked Barbara for her help and they disappeared down the road. As I started packing the bike, it fell over. The mud had clogged under the bike stand and I had misjudged the lean angle. I waited 30min before another farmer drove past. The driver did not really want to stop but I asked her nicely. She helped me lift the bike and I finished packing the bike. I had lost 90min on my travel time.
Since my mud pit, there was no traffic on the gravel roads. The rest of the ride was uneventful except after Klerksdorp I had to detour as a large truck was blocking the gravel road. I worked my way around through the local community RDP homes.
The roads were a mixture of gravel, sand, rocks and a little mud. Mud is my worst as you have little control of the outcome.
Mud + Bike = Gravity Wins
Boons Carltonville Turnoff
Example of the Gravel Roads
Entrance to Die Hoek Vakansie Oord
Caravan Park at Die Hoek
Camp Site between the Caravans
I arrived at Bloemhof and refueled the bike and bought 3 litres of drinking water to replenish my stock.
I use a camel pack on any trip and always drink a minimum of 1.5 litres. Today I drank 3 litres due to the heat.
I then headed to the Sandveld Nature Reserve on the Bloemhof dam. After confirming with them on 17 January that I would be coming through on motorbike and wanted to know if I should book in advance, the lady confirmed that I could check in on arrival, I was not told that motorbikes were not allowed. I tried to make my point but the rules were the rules. I do not recall seeing this limitation on their web page.
I decided to look for another camp site. I used Google and found Die Hoek Vakansie Oord Caravan Park. The Reception is about 1,5km from the caravan park. I paid the R250 and was given the access key to open the gate.
I was disappointed when I saw the entrance gate. Everything was not well kept and the little maintenance done is not done very well. There are a whole lot of old caravans that fishermen use to spend weekends fishing along the Vaal. The location is situated about 300m from the foot of the dam wall.
There are no real campsites, so I setup camp amongst the caravans where I at least had electricity. The ablusions where in a terrible state and are not kept clean. One plus is that they had hot water. Apparently, the site had been flooded 4 times in the past 12 months.
As I started preparing my meal, a van with 2 guys arrived who were staying in the caravan next to my camp site. They were contracting from Klerksdorp working in Bloemhof on a short contract. Their evening priority was fishing.
My dinner was fragrant Thai chicken curry with Basmati rice (Foreverfresh.co.za). I planned to work on my WEB details, however they had load shedding so I decided to have an early night.
Accommodation:
Accommodation:
Die Hoek Toilet
Die Hoek Vakansie Oord Caravan Park is not a well maintained park and camping sites are not well catered for.
The setting along the river is nice, however, this level of camping does not warrant the R250.00 per night that they charge.
Die Hoek Ablusions
The Route:
The Route:
Landmarks travelled passed:
Centurion
Pelinda Nuclear Plant
Telkom Satellite Station
Klerkskraal Dam
Inyala Private Game Reserve
Faan Meintjies Nature Reserve
Klerksdorp
Leeudoringstad
Makwassie
Bloemhof Dam Nature Reserve
Bloemhof
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