Today we will be heading North while the rest of the crew will be heading East. Because we need to cover over 500km today we decided to give breakfast at 8am a skip and we leave at 7am. The air is clean and crisp this morning. In layman’s terms that means it is cold. I’m glad Marty reminded me of an old trick last night to keep the seat dry, a shower cap.
We cover the first 40km in an Easterly direction before turning North and this means riding into the sun.
We refuel in Victoria West a small town named after Queen Victoria (1844). Here we will turn North towards Kimberley via Britstown.
Turning North had it pros and cons. Obviously we turned away from the sun making visibility better but the wind picked up, blowing from the North-West. Anybody riding an Ural sidecar will tell you that the wind is public enemy number 2 (number 1 are long inclines). With a frontal area that resembles a brick shithouse you are literally fighting the wind. And to make things worse the wind chill drop the temperature by a few degrees. So I am glad when we get to Britstown. We intend to stop for breakfast at the Transkaroo Country Lodge. If you ever pass though Britstown you will be doing yourself a huge favor to stop here.
After breakfast we stop just outside Britstown at a padstal (as if we have not eaten minutes ago) for snacks.
When we get to Kimberley we ride into a huge mess. Apparently there is some school rugby tournament week going on and everybody and his dog is out and about. But that is not the worst of it. For some reason, that I am yet to figure out, the GPS insisted on routing us though a township (Greenpoint) with barely ridable roads. No matter which direction I turned Mrs. Garmin insisted. Eventually I just ignored it and followed the map to the point where we exit the town. And no there are no way points it was trying to find.
With some frustration we make it out of town and I am reminded again why we never ever pass though these towns. So why did we? Cleverly thinking that this is the last town we can stop at before reaching Hertzogville to get food. Normally small settlements have very limited facilities which also close early so it’s best to bring your own food and drink for the night. Well we ended up just getting the hell out of dodge without any food.
When we reach Boshof I notice a small shop selling pies so I make a quick U-turn. We find only small curry cocktail pies but it is something so we buy some. With the leftover snacks we can make a decent meal.
The last 60km to Hertzogville is a gravel section and we are told that with all the recent rain they’ve had some vehicles getting stuck in the mud. Definitely inexperienced drivers because we found the road in a fairly good condition and navigating the mud easy.
For most of the way we were flanked by rain clouds threatening us with a downpour.
As we ride into Hertzogville just before 3pm the first rain start falling.
The co-ordinates for our stay is way off on Google maps and luckily I suspect this when the GPS insist that it is still 30km to our destination. I decide to stop to make sure and as luck would have it I stop right in front of the sign indicating this is where we want to be.
The accommodation is nor here nor there but it is a warm bed. Our dinner of curry cocktail pies, rusks, biltong and sweets is more than enough to fill any holes. Just before sunset there is a huge commotion outside our window with people running around. Turns out that there was a snake that they unfortunately killed before I got there. I guess it’s safety first but I never like killing any animal.
Tomorrow is our last leg before reaching home and we will cover 430km.
30 April, 2022 at 21:25
Almost home. Enjoy the last stretch. Drive safely