GS challenge 2008 location??

So it is that time of year again. Guess where the GS challange is going to be.

I guess it is going to be near a town that starts with a P....

What is your guess????

Pretoria ??....... LOL.......

pdekoker wrote:So it is that time of year again. Guess where the GS challange is going to be.

I guess it is going to be near a town that starts with a P....

What is your guess????

Pe...

Penge ?

Petrusburg

Quick little news flash to ponder over

GS Challenge for 2008 will take place on these dates.

Wednesday 24 Sep – Registration

Thursday 25 Sep – Day 1
Friday 26 Sep - Day 2
Saturday 27 Sep – Day 3
Sunday 28 Sep – Departure

The catch however is this; the venue is exactly 1661 km from George in the Limpopo Province.

Lots of wild game, dense forests (GPS battle to find satellites it is so dense) and a snake bite kit could come in handy.

Real Raider of the lost ark territory. The event takes place in a Ghost town!!!!

Line of sight or by road?

If by road - dirt or tar?

DaveS wrote:Line of sight or by road?

If by road - dirt or tar?

I would guess if you used the fastest option on you GPS you would come to the right answer. Thus mostly tar and only dirt if is much shorter than tar.

I am soooo curious.... PLEASE give some more hints???

Unfortunately the hints are issued by our German superiors and the want hear just ONE click!!

The normal mortal can therefor only but guess....

Will post more hints when recieved from the Fuhrer et al

Well, a couple of questions to the Fuhrer, should you happen to speak to him...:

When you say the nearest town starts with a P - is that accurate information?
And when they say it will be held in a Ghost town, is that also correct?

My guess is that it starts with a Pe... That is just a guess and may be totally wrong

The Fuhrer et al has issued the bit about the Ghost Town as per GSing post and it should be correct.

So what is your guess???

Well, there are 3 places in Limpopo that start with PE - Penge, Penina Park (in Polokwane) and Penninggotsha.

George to Penge = 1546km
George to Penina Park = 1483km
George to Penninggotsha = 1689km

My truer guess (outside of the pE - it starts with PH), is Phalaborwa (1669km).

The Ghost could be another lead - the movie with Val Kilmer, The Ghost and the Darkness, was filmed in Songimvelo Game Reserve, but that is most likely a false positive as it is in Mpumalanga, and is only 1527km from George. A search for ghost towns in Limpopo on Google proved to be futile - the only ones I could find is much closer than 1661km from George. Maybe there is someone out there that could find more?

This looks like it could be an interesting treasure hunt? If the Fuhrer and his SS could be persuaded to part with more info, forum members can hunt and track the clues??

I would say in the Tzaneen area...........

A few weeks ago, it would have been my guess as well, but I overheard someone saying that we should be preparing for lots and lots of sand...

But we also know the Fuhrer and his team were master illusionists and strategists, able to fool the general populace for long periods of time...

steyngert wrote:A few weeks ago, it would have been my guess as well, but I overheard someone saying that we should be preparing for lots and lots of sand...

Ever rode in a dry riverbed in the Limpopo?? They dont call it the Sandriver for nothing. Some parts of the river might also include sand banks. Luckily I love sand

Look what I found...
http://www.bmwmotorcycleclubcape.co.za/great-africa-gs-challenge

130 k's east of Tzaneen puts you in either the Kruger National Park (Where bikes are not allowed unescorted) or Phalaborwa (Which is not a Ghost Town last time I checked). We will be riding in the area but my guess is that the GS challenge site wont be there. I guess app 100km North of Lydenburg is closer to where the GAGSC site will be

We did a trip this past weekend to "Die Eiland" between Letsitele and Tzaneen. There was a lot of talk of BMW riders in the area.

If you read a bit further in the post you will see it is between Letsitele and Letaba (1556 and 1665 km from George)...
The 130 km was off the mark, I agree, but the fact that the farmers in the area have spotted GS's and surveyors for the GS challenge is a clincher for me!

I hope the GS challenge is as much fun as trying to find out where it is held!!

Hi guys,

From the Motorrad newsletter...

GS Challenge Registration Opens on Friday 1 August

That's right - Friday is opening day for GS Challenge registration. Oh and there are changes afoot at this year's event...

Entries this year will close on the 18th of August or after 700 entries have been received, and entrants will be able to (as in previous years) register via the website www.gagsc.com.


The GS Challenge is receiving a whole new look this year - gone is the old Great African GS Challenge name and in its place, the BMW GS Challenge, an event which is proudly marketed and hosted by BMW. A new black logo has been designed too.

In addition, there will be far more info about the venue released prior to the event this year than previous years - so keep your eyes peeled and on the website for all the latest info on this exciting event.

The venue announcement will also be made shortly on www.gagsc.com

News

2008 Event Location Revealed

Always shrouded in mystery, the exact whereabouts of the BMW GS Challenge have always been withheld from the entrants until the event is imminent.

In 2008 BMW Motorrad is breaking that tradition.


Due to word of mouth most prospective entrants already know that the 2008 event will be taking place somewhere in the Limpopo Province. Historically, the GS Challenge venue is typically a remote location seldom travelled or explored. And this year's Challenge is no exception. It's also a region steeped in history.

Travelling from the west the last fuel stop before the Challenge Camp site is at Letsitele, "Valley of the Dead" in Sotho.

Riding up from Ohrigstad in Mpumalanga the last fuel stop is Ofcalaco, a rather exotic African sounding name. It is actually an acronym for Officers Colonial Land Company, and was a region settled by retired army officers in the late 19th century.

The final destination was once the second largest town in the old Transvaal, was actually proclaimed a city, and the capital of the Lowveld.

In it's heyday it boasted a population of 5000. Originally settled around 1870, when gold was first discovered in the Murchison mountain range, it was another 20 years before significant deposits were found and miners swarmed to the area.

The town soon developed into a busy mining settlement with a police station, hospital, post office, hotel, bars, trading stores and an odd assortment of miners' cottages. The town even had its own newspaper, the Leydsdorp Leader.

Leydsdorp's prosperity, however, was short-lived, though; many miners died of fever and the village suffered from a shortage of water.

So, when gold was discovered in the Sutherland range many miners drifted further north and Leydsdorp gradually became a ghost town. In 1950, the last residents left and the village was abandoned.

On September 24th, Leydsdorp will once again, become the temporary home of a group of South African's who have a spirit for adventure, and a common cause - BMW GS adventure travel.

Tents will be pitched amongst abandoned gold diggings, a long-forgotten corrugated iron police station standing sentinel on a distant koppie.

Some of the streets, though recently marked with signposts are nothing more than dirt tracks carved through dense bush.

See you there...

booked, paid, and merchandise ordered!!