Augrabies via the wet Verneukpan, 2500km circular route, a duo.

Lesotho has always been on my list of places to visit with my bike. That was the plan. My dear hippie friend moved to the Ingeli Mountains right in the middle of Kokstad and Harding and a visit to her is long overdue. But as life unfolds and as all roads in my heart lead to Verneukpan, as you all know by now...Harry said that we should rather do another Northen Cape trip and i'm obviously totally cool with that. So, change of direction.

Day 1, Knysna - Sutherland. The usual 7 Passes to George, then Oudshoorn via Montagu pass/Herold/Paardepoort and finally Prince Albert via the Swartberg Pass. We had breakfast in Prince Albert.

 Breakfast at La Di Dah, Prince Albert.

After breakfast we headed to the fuel station and had a rather bizarre encounter with a local drunk/druggy, but who really likes bikes. He spoke a mixture of Afrikaans and English and at times he wasn't sure which one to use...Unfortunately i didn't get any footage of this dude nor do we remember his name, but he rides a Honda XR650 and he wanted to sell his bike carrier rack to me (as if i need one). As i pulled in to the station he kinda pulled me aside and said he likes my bike.. "is it the 1190?" no, it's a 2008 640, i said. "Oh, and this (Harry's bike) is it the 1200 Super Ténéré??" no, it's the 660. He was obviously a bit drunk or high or whatever, but not normal. He carried on and on and wanted to race me from traffic light to traffic light, but Prince Albert doesn't even have any traffic lights!! LOL!! anyway, i managed to escape the dude, then he cornered Harry...he didn't get much out of Harry and quite bluntly asked Harry in Afrikaans: "het jy 'n paar drankies in??" English: "have you taken a couple of drinks??" Harry just said YES!! Then he wanted to escort us out of town, but by the time he had his helmet on, he started arguing with some of the petrol attendants who were trying to convince him to just leave us alone...we were gone before he got onto his bike. Surreal!!

 From Prince Albert we carried on to Merweville.

 We took the scenic route to the top of the mountain overlooking the entire town.

 The central Karoo Boundary.

 

We spent the night with Oom Witjan & Tannie Elsa at the Skurweberg 4x4 camp site just outside Sutherland. 

 Tannie Elsa making sure we have warm water!

After we set up camp, Harry realized that he forgot his sleeping bag. The weather was still very good but somehow the evenings can get quite chilly. So, i decided to cut the baby in half and gave him half of my sleeping bag.

We explored Sutherland the next morning before we headed off to Verneukpan.

We stopped in Williston to re-fuel and get some supplies for our night at the mysterious Verneukpan. Harry bought us both a little blanket at PEP and the colour he wanted was right in the middle of all the pink ones, and as he jumped to pull it out, about twenty other blankets followed. Anyway, we got our blankets and off to the liquor store for a cold beer which we will enjoy later on the pan. But, seeing that we don't really know the town too well, we went to the local bottle store, you know, where the locals shop, and not where the fancy tourists shop, and we saw this really funny sign in the store. If you're a habitual offender, your name gets on the list...

Trossie & Bennie Frans are not allowed in the shop!! 

 Here we enjoyed the left-overs from our braai with Oom Witjan & Tannie Elsa.

Magda, the friendly lady at the Swartkop Cash Store just outside Verneukpan.

 The funny thing is, March is their rainy season - and we didn't know this. As i engaged in conversation, she casually looked at the one local and asked him if he can confirm that Verneukpan is, in fact, flooded. He nodded without hesitation and at that point, Harry walked into the shop and i rapidly changed the subject as i didn't want Harry to find this out, in fear that he might just decide to turn around haha! i've seen photos of Verneukpan in flood, but never dreamt that i'd actually experience it!! i am beyond excited and can't wait to get there to see this spectacular site!! On a side note - Harry and i have a very unique friendship. He's a more conservative type and i'm a dreadlock free spirit type of guy (he calls me Predator now). We almost have a love-hate relationship, with a massive sense of humor.

Harry handing over the cash.

After we paid for our night's stay, Nicolaas informed us that he would have to lead the way to the gate via some other alternative route, due to the main road being too wet & slippery.  

 Nicolaas, our guide.

 Nicolaas left us here at the main gate. Now we are on our own, and Harry can finally experience the pan and it's solitude. For the lack of a better word, it was AWESOME!!

 Texture!

 Harry didn't seem to mind the wetness too much as you can see here!!

 Camping destination, The Bell.

This is why we come here - to be far far away from everybody!!

 Harry getting his tent out!

 Man on the moon.

 30sec exposure.

 23min exposure.
i didn't have a cable release to take this photo properly, but used a mixture of duct tape and cable ties to get the job done! 

 "if you can't fix it with duct tape - you didn't use enough!"

 Becoming one with the bell...

 The facilities in the background

If you look closely, there's a 9mm case just below the clock...that was what i used to get Harry out of bed. i fired a shot directly above his tent. He woke up real quick!! Classic example of the love-hate relationship!!

Time for some fun on the pan.

And this marks the start of our real wet journey towards Kenhardt. The Pan is 56km long and 11km wide, so we were expecting a lot of water. But this was just mindblowingly cool!! 

 Harry getting into it!! 

Harry made it safely to the other side with just two nose dives.  Harry preferred hooking it in 1st gear, sitting. Different strokes for different folks. 

 i also made it safely to the other side, after 3 dives in the refreshing muddy water. My approach to the slippery "road" was getting to 2nd gear, standing back on my pedals and cruising between 40 & 50km/h. i must say, having a bike with a centre stand is a big plus seeing that a sidestand won't be of any use in the mud. 

 Setting up camp at Augrabies.

 Augrabies Falls.

 Another ordinary miracle.

 Henry Basson, in charge of the accommodation at Riemvasmaak, with a lion-tooth-necklace. Ask him to tell you the story behind it, pretty cool.

 i spotted this nail in my back tyre...i know the number one rule is to let it be, but i couldn't help to check it out until i eventually got the whole thing out and luck was on my side, the nail was bent in the tick part of the knobbly so my tyre was all good!

 Enjoying a cold one in the hot spring!

 The kissing rocks!

Reflecting on all the beauty.

 Supper is served

i spotted a spotted genet.

 My attempt at a kissing rocks star trail (without a cable release).

As we left Riemvasmaak, we got to a T-junktion and because we don't use a GPS and i was semi-sure that we had to carry on straight, based on a memory of 6 years ago, we took the wrong road and ended up at this beautiful dead-end right by the river. Some awesome sand riding!

to be continued...