Post by johangt on Feb 24, 2008 22:20:30 GMT 2
Mpumalanga, which means 'place where the sun rises’
We decided at the last minute to join the Johannesburg club on the tour. Due to unforeseen problems, we ended up spending most of the time alone:
- The hotel they booked into at Sabie was full
- We managed to get a place in Nelspruit (only 50 km's away at a special rate thanks to Discovery)
- The road between the two hotels were resurfaced and covered with FINE SAND! What an incredible dangerous ride!
ON THE WAY THERE
We met up with the friendly Johannesburg Club at the PetroPort on the N12.
After looking at the time and the different roads, it was decided that the toll road is not a bad idea after all and we left for Schoemanskloof. Here we split up and they went to Sabie and we went to Nelspruit for a well earned rest at the Emnotweni Hotel.
THERE
We joined the Johannesburg Club in Sabie after a real challenging trip on the R537 between Nelspruit and Sabie. The newly tarred road was covered in fine sand! We hated the sand but were grateful that the roads were being repaired, ensuring many a happy returns to this beautiful part of our country.
From here we did the Longtom Pass.
Lydenburg to Sabie
Long Tom Pass
The original Long Tom Pass was a treacherous one, steep hairpin bends and hair-raising drops. It was originally the route followed by pioneer wagon drivers transporting goods from Mozambique to Lyndenburg. The road tumbled over the so called Devil's Knuckles, and many wagons were lost in this area as it was so dangerous. Back in the old days, this road was a dangerous area where wild animals roamed freely and it was truly ‘the wild’. This coupled with the relentless mosquitoes made it a difficult journey and not one for the faint of heart.
We did this route with the club. Here I learnt something: There is no such thing as "the best pass in SA". Every pass is like a racing circuit, each with its own identity and character - that thing that makes it unique. Congratulations to Ina who endured a VERY fast ride through this pass. We did not scrape any footpegs, but this was the fastest Ina has ever gone through the corners with me (and the panniers). She even managed to take some video footage while sitting at the back!
This is what we looked like after the first pass!
This is where we parted company with the rest of the team. They were heading south and we desperately wanted to complete the panoramic route after being there some 25 years earlier. After saying our goodbye's, we headed back to Sabie to fill the tank.
Panorama Route
Our first stop was the Mac Mac pools.
Stopped at the Mac Mac pools and paid R10 each just to have a make our feet wet in the water and go to the toilet.
This place has actually been converted into a very nice site for day visitors to have a braai, play in the pools and just relax. Many locals were there early on the Saturday morning already.
Pelgrimsrust - Gold-diggers delight
Return to the gold rush days of South Africa. The little town of Pilgrim’s Rest offers a step backwards into South Africa’s history, complete with themed museums, and restored buildings… and the notorious Victorian-inspired Royal Hotel. The area is a favourite for overseas and local visitors and is well-equipped to handle all of the attention with a good offering of restaurants, bars and reasonably priced accommodation available.
Here we had some pancakes that just had too much baking powder in them, they let your tongue burn. Except for that is was very nice.
We also met up with a motorcycle from Pretoria Bavaria!
Just after Pilgrims Rest we left via Robbers Pass.
Robbers Pass
The road, now an easy-going tarred highway, follows the same route that the stage coaches and transport wagons traveled to and from Pilgrim's Rest.
In 1899 two masked and armed highwaymen held up the stage coach and robbed it of £10,000 worth of gold. They were never brought to justice. The second robbery (in the exact same spot) happened 13 years later (1912). The number 13 must have been an unlucky one for the robber (Tommy Dennison), for not only was his horse recognised, he also paid off his debts in town with the looted silver. Tommy was arrested and sentenced to jail for five years. He returned to Pilgrim's Rest as a local celebrity to start the Highwayman's Garage
Here we are at the beginning of the pass:
Travelling this pass was great! An accident earlier created two deep scars in the tar just as you go through a corner and the skills learnt at the BMW Academy came in handy.
Orichstad
When we travelled through Orichstad on Sunday morning the town was closed except for a garage, a bar and a cafe.
Situated just outside Ohrigstad are the spectacular Echo Caves. These mysterious caves were discovered in the 1920's by the owner of the farm after his cattle mysteriously disappeared on the farm
Seeing that the road to the Echo caves is a gravel road, we decided to give it a miss and head towards the Blyde River Canyon.
Blyde River Canyon
At the meeting point of the Blyde River (river of joy) and the Treur River (river of sorrow) water erosion has created one of the most phenomenal geological phenomenon in South Africa.
Burke's Luck Potholes
The ‘Bourke’s Luck Potholes’ have taken thousands of years to form strange cylindrical sculptures carved by swirling water.
When we were here 25 years ago, we went in for free. This time it cost us R22 per person.
God's Window
The place was already closed when we got there at 5.15 in the afternoon but after a ministerial handshake of R5 each we were allowed to enter. Only afterwards did we see that just a kilometer on there was another "God's Window" that we could have seen for free.
;D Graskop
Harrie's Pancake Shop
A short drive from Pilgrim’s Rest lies Graskop, famous for it’s scenic waterfall and for Harrie’s Pancake Shop, known to serve up the best pancakes this side of the Kruger National Park. It is an established tradition to stop off here for a favourite sweet or savoury pancake en route to the Blyde River Canyon. A vibrant artist community exists in and around the area, and curio shopping opportunities abound
This place truly reminded us of Clarens and shows what can happen if you have a competent management team at the helm in the town. This is in stark contrast to the grasshopper mentality of the management team in Bethal who are destroying the whole infrastructure of the town.
Hazyview
Hazyview is a small farming town and is renowned for its banana industry. Among the many panoramic destinations, many tourists enjoy visiting the Shangana Cultural Village on the R535 to Graskop. Here many delightful goodies and curios can be bought.
Hazyview was too far to the east and we could not fit in enough time to see this town as well.
Kiepersol
Kiepersol is the name of an indigenous tree, also known as the Cabbage Tree. According to motor bike riders, it is one of the best areas in the world to go cruising and many motorbike rallies and tours are organized around here.
It was getting late and we had to return home. With all the road works we did not want to do too much travelling at night, especially not after 35 degrees during the whole afternoon on a motorbike!
Sabie
The Horseshoe Falls was aptly named so as it is in the shape of a horseshoe and is an exquisite sight. Not surprisingly then, the Horseshoe Falls have a circular appearance, and although the falls are not very high, they are very unusual. The Horseshoe Falls have been declared a national monument
ON THE WAY BACK
We woke up hopelessly too late to join the Johannesburg Club for the ride home. In my normal brilliance I forgot to take the telephone number down of anybody in the team - much to my embarrasment!
So Ina and I had breakfast and left for Johannesburg. We decided to take a route we have never taken before:
It started off very bad: We had roadblocks from Nelspruit on the R40 halfway to the R38. When this road is upgraded, it will be Great! The Feather-in-the-Cap Award goes to the minister and management team of this province for looking after the roads that brings in the visitors and keeps the businessmen able to do their work and bring in the money.
The R38 to Badplaas was an absolute pleasure! There were times that kilomteres passed without a straight road in sight! Gentle windings through the mountains with your wife on the back is the way to live!
We could not find a place in town to have a bite and a drink and ended up in the Forever Resorts for a nice toasted sanwich. We did not know at the time that this would be our lunch!
MISTAKE:
We should have taken the N11 to the N4 but instead we took the road to Bethal. This place is so run down that even the GPS got confused and wanted to send us on a 10km round trip!
The Grasshopper Award goes to the management team of this town. They are truly transforming this once beautiful town into a dung heap of unpaved main streets with potholes at the places where signposts are supposed to be. While you are looking for street signs you crash into another pothole on the gravel road that was once a main street.
There were no shops open the whole route to Pretoria to have a decent lunch or even a decent coffee - not even a decent toilet! We had more luck in the Transkei than in the road between the Aventura Resort and Pretoria. If there are any places to go on a Sunday afternoon, they are very well hidden!
We had some rain just after turning north on the R50. We decided to rather go to Pretoria instead of the original plan of Johannesburg so that we could have a late lunch with our son who is at the Pretoria Rugby Academy.
We decided at the last minute to join the Johannesburg club on the tour. Due to unforeseen problems, we ended up spending most of the time alone:
- The hotel they booked into at Sabie was full
- We managed to get a place in Nelspruit (only 50 km's away at a special rate thanks to Discovery)
- The road between the two hotels were resurfaced and covered with FINE SAND! What an incredible dangerous ride!
ON THE WAY THERE
We met up with the friendly Johannesburg Club at the PetroPort on the N12.
After looking at the time and the different roads, it was decided that the toll road is not a bad idea after all and we left for Schoemanskloof. Here we split up and they went to Sabie and we went to Nelspruit for a well earned rest at the Emnotweni Hotel.
THERE
We joined the Johannesburg Club in Sabie after a real challenging trip on the R537 between Nelspruit and Sabie. The newly tarred road was covered in fine sand! We hated the sand but were grateful that the roads were being repaired, ensuring many a happy returns to this beautiful part of our country.
From here we did the Longtom Pass.
Lydenburg to Sabie
Long Tom Pass
The original Long Tom Pass was a treacherous one, steep hairpin bends and hair-raising drops. It was originally the route followed by pioneer wagon drivers transporting goods from Mozambique to Lyndenburg. The road tumbled over the so called Devil's Knuckles, and many wagons were lost in this area as it was so dangerous. Back in the old days, this road was a dangerous area where wild animals roamed freely and it was truly ‘the wild’. This coupled with the relentless mosquitoes made it a difficult journey and not one for the faint of heart.
We did this route with the club. Here I learnt something: There is no such thing as "the best pass in SA". Every pass is like a racing circuit, each with its own identity and character - that thing that makes it unique. Congratulations to Ina who endured a VERY fast ride through this pass. We did not scrape any footpegs, but this was the fastest Ina has ever gone through the corners with me (and the panniers). She even managed to take some video footage while sitting at the back!
This is what we looked like after the first pass!
This is where we parted company with the rest of the team. They were heading south and we desperately wanted to complete the panoramic route after being there some 25 years earlier. After saying our goodbye's, we headed back to Sabie to fill the tank.
Panorama Route
Our first stop was the Mac Mac pools.
Stopped at the Mac Mac pools and paid R10 each just to have a make our feet wet in the water and go to the toilet.
This place has actually been converted into a very nice site for day visitors to have a braai, play in the pools and just relax. Many locals were there early on the Saturday morning already.
Pelgrimsrust - Gold-diggers delight
Return to the gold rush days of South Africa. The little town of Pilgrim’s Rest offers a step backwards into South Africa’s history, complete with themed museums, and restored buildings… and the notorious Victorian-inspired Royal Hotel. The area is a favourite for overseas and local visitors and is well-equipped to handle all of the attention with a good offering of restaurants, bars and reasonably priced accommodation available.
Here we had some pancakes that just had too much baking powder in them, they let your tongue burn. Except for that is was very nice.
We also met up with a motorcycle from Pretoria Bavaria!
Just after Pilgrims Rest we left via Robbers Pass.
Robbers Pass
The road, now an easy-going tarred highway, follows the same route that the stage coaches and transport wagons traveled to and from Pilgrim's Rest.
In 1899 two masked and armed highwaymen held up the stage coach and robbed it of £10,000 worth of gold. They were never brought to justice. The second robbery (in the exact same spot) happened 13 years later (1912). The number 13 must have been an unlucky one for the robber (Tommy Dennison), for not only was his horse recognised, he also paid off his debts in town with the looted silver. Tommy was arrested and sentenced to jail for five years. He returned to Pilgrim's Rest as a local celebrity to start the Highwayman's Garage
Here we are at the beginning of the pass:
Travelling this pass was great! An accident earlier created two deep scars in the tar just as you go through a corner and the skills learnt at the BMW Academy came in handy.
Orichstad
When we travelled through Orichstad on Sunday morning the town was closed except for a garage, a bar and a cafe.
Situated just outside Ohrigstad are the spectacular Echo Caves. These mysterious caves were discovered in the 1920's by the owner of the farm after his cattle mysteriously disappeared on the farm
Seeing that the road to the Echo caves is a gravel road, we decided to give it a miss and head towards the Blyde River Canyon.
Blyde River Canyon
At the meeting point of the Blyde River (river of joy) and the Treur River (river of sorrow) water erosion has created one of the most phenomenal geological phenomenon in South Africa.
Burke's Luck Potholes
The ‘Bourke’s Luck Potholes’ have taken thousands of years to form strange cylindrical sculptures carved by swirling water.
When we were here 25 years ago, we went in for free. This time it cost us R22 per person.
God's Window
The place was already closed when we got there at 5.15 in the afternoon but after a ministerial handshake of R5 each we were allowed to enter. Only afterwards did we see that just a kilometer on there was another "God's Window" that we could have seen for free.
;D Graskop
Harrie's Pancake Shop
A short drive from Pilgrim’s Rest lies Graskop, famous for it’s scenic waterfall and for Harrie’s Pancake Shop, known to serve up the best pancakes this side of the Kruger National Park. It is an established tradition to stop off here for a favourite sweet or savoury pancake en route to the Blyde River Canyon. A vibrant artist community exists in and around the area, and curio shopping opportunities abound
This place truly reminded us of Clarens and shows what can happen if you have a competent management team at the helm in the town. This is in stark contrast to the grasshopper mentality of the management team in Bethal who are destroying the whole infrastructure of the town.
Hazyview
Hazyview is a small farming town and is renowned for its banana industry. Among the many panoramic destinations, many tourists enjoy visiting the Shangana Cultural Village on the R535 to Graskop. Here many delightful goodies and curios can be bought.
Hazyview was too far to the east and we could not fit in enough time to see this town as well.
Kiepersol
Kiepersol is the name of an indigenous tree, also known as the Cabbage Tree. According to motor bike riders, it is one of the best areas in the world to go cruising and many motorbike rallies and tours are organized around here.
It was getting late and we had to return home. With all the road works we did not want to do too much travelling at night, especially not after 35 degrees during the whole afternoon on a motorbike!
Sabie
The Horseshoe Falls was aptly named so as it is in the shape of a horseshoe and is an exquisite sight. Not surprisingly then, the Horseshoe Falls have a circular appearance, and although the falls are not very high, they are very unusual. The Horseshoe Falls have been declared a national monument
ON THE WAY BACK
We woke up hopelessly too late to join the Johannesburg Club for the ride home. In my normal brilliance I forgot to take the telephone number down of anybody in the team - much to my embarrasment!
So Ina and I had breakfast and left for Johannesburg. We decided to take a route we have never taken before:
It started off very bad: We had roadblocks from Nelspruit on the R40 halfway to the R38. When this road is upgraded, it will be Great! The Feather-in-the-Cap Award goes to the minister and management team of this province for looking after the roads that brings in the visitors and keeps the businessmen able to do their work and bring in the money.
The R38 to Badplaas was an absolute pleasure! There were times that kilomteres passed without a straight road in sight! Gentle windings through the mountains with your wife on the back is the way to live!
We could not find a place in town to have a bite and a drink and ended up in the Forever Resorts for a nice toasted sanwich. We did not know at the time that this would be our lunch!
MISTAKE:
We should have taken the N11 to the N4 but instead we took the road to Bethal. This place is so run down that even the GPS got confused and wanted to send us on a 10km round trip!
The Grasshopper Award goes to the management team of this town. They are truly transforming this once beautiful town into a dung heap of unpaved main streets with potholes at the places where signposts are supposed to be. While you are looking for street signs you crash into another pothole on the gravel road that was once a main street.
There were no shops open the whole route to Pretoria to have a decent lunch or even a decent coffee - not even a decent toilet! We had more luck in the Transkei than in the road between the Aventura Resort and Pretoria. If there are any places to go on a Sunday afternoon, they are very well hidden!
We had some rain just after turning north on the R50. We decided to rather go to Pretoria instead of the original plan of Johannesburg so that we could have a late lunch with our son who is at the Pretoria Rugby Academy.