Day 2 - Kloof to Kloof

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This morning we were up bright and early. What a setting. This look at this!



How can being in a place like this not lift your spirits?

The ride out started with some nice and cool water crossings. Dr Dirt bringing the Katoom through:



Eikeboom:



Like I said before the roads are a pleasure to ride. The locals told us that this will only stay the case till the next rains come



Trailblazer coming up the pass:



Saying goodbye to the kloof one last time.



It was Dr Dirt, Eikeboom and Trailblazer's first visit to The Hell. They were not in a hurry to leave this wonderful place.



The ride out towards Swartberg Pass:







Back on Swarberg Pass we continued to ride the rest of the Pass towards Oudshoorn. Like I said it was the first time Trailblazer was seeing all of this. We stopped at "Die Top".

The view North:

The View South:


Riding down these scenic passes I often switch off the engine and just "free" down, focusing on the scenery, sights, sounds and smells. You never get tired of riding in places like these

Trailblazer, Eikeboom and Dr. Dirt cruising down:



We head to Calitzdorp for lunch and to meet up fellow Wild Dogs "Pad" (GS1200) and Dusty (GS650) via the gravel road running along the Southern slopes of the Swartberg Mountain range.


A solitary house along the road.



The Calitzdorp dam:



We met up with Pad and Dusty at the Queens Bikers Pub for lunch and soon we were back to our best form, joking around and having a good ol' time

After stocking up on fuel and supplies we headed out. Tonight we sleep in Attakwaskloof.

Rooiberg Pass towards Van Wykdorp - Eikeboom rounding the corner:





Riding along with the fresh air in my face all of a sudden a bee flew into my helmet and got stuck between my helmet and my cheek Not again... I performed an emergency stop and got my helmet off as fast as possible, only to see the bee fly away. What luck!

A quick stop for refreshments and regroup.



Eikeboom has this habbit of setting up his camera on a stone or something, setting the timer and running back to be in his own picture. At this spot he decided on a high shot and he climbed up on some rocks the set the camera up. We told him there is no way he'll be able to get back from there in time... Well, as often happens good advice gets ignored He hit the button and set off faster than Castor Semenya down that mountain. He had impressive speed down the downhill So much so that he picked up a speed wobble while breaking the sound barrier and his brakes failed him completely! He came to a halt in a helluva dust explosion at our feet In a flash he was up and posing in case the picture has not been taken yet And guess what...

He made it!


(Photo provided by Eikeboom)

Looking at the above picture you'd never know what transpired just moments before. Talk about posing!

Van Wyksdorp:



Crossing the Gourits river:



The magnificent Attakwaskloof:



Everybody negotiated the marbles successfully. We were especially proud of Dusty who was nervous about it beforehand but crossed it like an expert. "Marbles? What marbles?"



And finally at camp we all had a few cold ones to celebrate the day It is here that I saw to what extremes GS luxury can go. Talk about "ingerig" (rigged)! Pad had everything. And I mean everything. He started with a Bloody Mary with all the trimmings and it was downhill from there... Crisps, snacks and salamis were unpacked. This was a Royal feast!



And the goings-on of the previous night was to be repeated


(Photo by Dusty)



...but with one exception - for the first time I was out voted as to who the loudest snorer was I was on my game. I did my best. But it was unanimously agreed that I have been dethroned big time. Pad seems to be the new champion. Well done my friend. Wear the crown with pride We will have a rematch one day






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