4 Corners - October 2008

Original posting by Johangt

While at a club meeting some members got the award for doing the 4 corners of South Africa and there and then I decided to try this as well.
Ina is studying and she goes to our daughter in Stellenbosch once a year before the exams for a period of 3 weeks. I thought I would do the trip in these three weeks. But when Ina heard about it, she said that she has also not seen many of the places along this route - so I am fortunate enough to have company on this epic trip.

We have some parameters that we have to keep in mind:
10 September to the end of the month Ina will be joining our daughter in Stellenbosch to study for the exams
Ina writes exams from 8 - 14 October
The flowers in Namakwaland is beautiful end August and September
Malaria is at its lowest during August through October and with my spleen that has been removed I cannot afford this illness
Try and use as little leave as possible
Limit the length of the sections as not to get Ina fed-up with the trip AND give us enough time to visit places along the route that we have not visited before
So it looks like the best time for this trip is during the beginning of October when my Sarbanes Oxley year-end testing will be something of the past.

My first task is to identify the 4 corners on my GPS.
The next task is to identify the places we would like to see
Then identify the routes we will follow
Lastly divide the route into small sections for petrol and overnight purposes.

I will be making use of this web site extensively to draw from the experiences of the experienced travellers!

Reply by LeRoy

Sounds like a nice ride. Limit your daily distances to less than 500kms - gives you enough spare time along the way, sight seeing time, etc, and will also keep Ina happy. Personally when we travel we rarely do more than 500kms per day. Also travel 3 days, lay over 1 day. LeRoy.

Reply by Gert Steyn

It is a fantastic trip - did it at the end of March. Some experience gained from our trip:

We did the trip over 11 days (10 nights), and due to some technical difficulties on my clutch on one day and with a tire on one of the other bikes on the following day, we only did 600km's over these few days. The result was that the other days was just a tad too long. I would also recommend 500km trips - BUT try and get 1500km under the belt in the first two days. From Gauteng to Alexanderbay the roads are straight, fairly good and extremely monotonous. Don't waste too much time on these roads. The other bit that I found quite boring was from Ermelo up to Polokwane. In my humble opinion the worst road in SA. Very little that it offers in terms of scenery, there are trucks, bad drivers and potholes. Try and get this over as quickly and painlessly as is possible.

Allow yourself, after you have planned the whole trip, an extra day that can be taken whenever you want to (or need to, should you have any mechanical difficulties. Yes, I know, we ride BMW's, and it should not happen, but the unforeseen is a funny thing...).

Try not to book your accommodation in advance. At this time of year, you are pretty sure to find accommodation easy enough. Rather have a list of possibles with telephone numbers. Should you decide to spend more time at a destination, or decide to press on a bit, at least there are no deposits to worry about etc.

200km's before breakfast. Try and start your day early with a cup of coffee and a rusk. Drive then to a destination approximately 200km's before you have a leisurely breakfast. In this manner, you get a lot of riding done before the day even starts, and the rest of the day is very relaxing and you are never pressed for time or kilometers. Stop and take enough pictures! We were four riders, and took about 600 pics between us. Even that did not do justice to the beauty of the country or the trip. Let your wife practice taking pictures while driving. A decent camera will produce decent pictures at a decent speed.

Wear cycle shorts underneath your pants! Enough said...

The tip that I was given years ago for traveling internationally applies to motorcycle trips as well: When you have taken all the clothes that you think you need for the trip, place them on your bed. Alongside this, put all the money you intend spending on the trip. Then you halve the amount of clothes and double the amount of money. Then you should be OK!

Original posting by Richard Hussey

Go for it...!

I have also added my bit to the Long Distance Riding Body of Knowledge - see elsewhere on this site.

To my reckoning, the trip would go very well in around 18 days - a week more than we did. With a stop for washing every three days, one should be much better off than we were (luggage space wise). This is important when you have a pillion and even more so if your pillion is of the fairer sex...

The most important thing is not the itinerary, the route, the rate or the cost - the real reason is THE RIDE. Having just returned from 11 days in the saddle and with the circulation in our buttocks just returning, I realised that if someone suggested we have the bikes checked out and serviced to start it all over again next week, I would have done it all over again. To the delight of my bank manager and the relief of my wife, nobody did suggest it...

But there's always next year...!

WATCH THIS SPACE...!

posting by enduro

I am planning on doing this trip in Sept. Can i also draw on the experiences of those who have done it? Buccaneer and I had planned to do the trip this year and a few of us are going to do it in his memory. Anyone got exact routes and directions and any tips of where you stayed etc? Am looking at details ?

Enduro

What dates have you got planned? I was suppose to do the 4 corners with Bucc in 2006 but was unable to, so he went solo that year. I am also thinking of doing the 4 corners in Sept. I would like to possibly join you guys if there is space also in memory of Bucc

Admin wrote:posting by enduro

I am planning on doing this trip in Sept. Can i also draw on the experiences of those who have done it? Buccaneer and I had planned to do the trip this year and a few of us are going to do it in his memory. Anyone got exact routes and directions and any tips of where you stayed etc? Am looking at details ?

Contact Danie Peach or Andre Botha on this forum(may not yet have registered and may still be on old forum). They did most of the route with Bucc in 2006 when he did his gold extreme ride to the four points.

Myself and DotP rode the Upington/Port Nolloth/Alexander Bay leg as far as Clanwilliam with them.

1st night was Upington, Second night was Port Nolloth.

Here some pics from the trip:
Breakfast in Ventersdorp


Lunch at Kuruman Spur


Bridge over Orange River at Upington


Port Nolloth guest house


Port Nolloth dinner


Filling up in Bitterfontein on way to Clanwilliam


Lunch at Nancy's Tea Room in Clanwilliam

one day.....one day (if I can just find the time )

Ja, ja I know stop talking and do it

Big up and respect for the peeps that completed it allready........gold or silver, doesn't matter......hell I'll even take bronze

Hubby and I with 2 of our kids (14 and 19 year old daughters) as pillions, on a 650GS and a 1200GS, visited the 4 corners last December. We didnt rush it. It was an 18 days December holiday with a difference - I'll do it again!

Read about our family's 4 Corner trip here:
http://bmwclubs.proboards28.com/index.cgi?board=trips&action=display&thread=388

Long overdue to share the info on the places where we stayed . . I'll do it soon.

BMW wrote:Hubby and I with 2 of our kids (14 and 19 year old daughters) as pillions, on a 650GS.............

probably the biggest reason why I say respect...........well done again

ShawnR wrote:Enduro

What dates have you got planned? I was suppose to do the 4 corners with Bucc in 2006 but was unable to, so he went solo that year. I am also thinking of doing the 4 corners in Sept. I would like to possibly join you guys if there is space also in memory of Bucc

We haven't decided on dates yet- will choose dates that suit everyone wanting to go- so far myself and two others from TB - You are more than welcome to join - the more the merrier and safer!! If everyone drops out i am DEFINATELY going -just need to get a GPS before then cos let me warn you I can get lost in my own backyard ;-(

Enduro wrote:
We haven't decided on dates yet- will choose dates that suit everyone wanting to go- so far myself and two others from TB - You are more than welcome to join - the more the merrier and safer!! If everyone drops out i am DEFINATELY going -just need to get a GPS before then cos let me warn you I can get lost in my own backyard ;-(

Enduro, let me know when you ready I'll make a plan for your with a GPS.

If it was not so close to the Sept 08 Train Trip and the Nov 08, 12 year anniversary trip we would have loved to come along. Nevertheless - we will do our 2 remaining points sometime. LeRoy

LeRoy Olivier wrote:If it was not so close to the Sept 08 Train Trip and the Nov 08, 12 year anniversary trip we would have loved to come along. Nevertheless - we will do our 2 remaining points sometime. LeRoy

What points u need? I know that Danie Peach needs Kosi Bay and may do it December 13- 16.

My girlfriend and I intend riding to Kozi Bay next weekend. Our plan is to first do the 4 conrners seperate, get the silver award and then we'll go for the golden award.

Kozi Bay would be our first corner. Can anybody suggest a place to stay? We are not going to take camp gear along and are therefore looking for a self-catering type unit for 2. Furthermore, I think it's close enough to ride there in one day?

Any advice would be appreciated!

Sias wrote:My girlfriend and I intend riding to Kozi Bay next weekend. Our plan is to first do the 4 conrners seperate, get the silver award and then we'll go for the golden award.

Kozi Bay would be our first corner. Can anybody suggest a place to stay? We are not going to take camp gear along and are therefore looking for a self-catering type unit for 2. Furthermore, I think it's close enough to ride there in one day?

Any advice would be appreciated!

Pongola Caravan park has chalets - tel: 034 413-1789.

We stayed at 'Dive Inn' B&B in Pongola
Contact Rina 034 413 1439

thank you guys!

I was wondering... Is there a specific reason why not in Kozi Bay itself?

Very thick sand my friend.
There is backpacker type accommodation on the main road, but I dont have contact numbers.

BMW wrote:.......Very thick sand my friend.....

me likes very thick sand.........lekker soft to fall on........over and over again

DaveS wrote:
Pongola Caravan park has chalets - tel: 034 413-1789.

Thanks Dave.

We ended up staying in Pongola Caravan Park. We were heading for Lake Jozini via very scenic route, but ended up in Pongola as a result of a fueling miscalculation. It was just after 17h00 so we decided to sleep over rather than arrive at Jozini in the dark. We found the next morning that we have made a very good decision.

The next morning we went to Kozi Bay border post for the photo and then to Sodwana where we slept over only to head back to Pretoria yesterday . I still need to do a trip report, do have some photo’s…

Would love to see some photos and the trip report!

Some comments & experiences from my round trip in 2006. I only booked the first night's accommodation in Upington because it is quite a long stretch & you don't want to search for a place to sleep when you get there. For the rest I found it easier to be flexible (obviously depending on the season). I never battled to find accommodation on the day. This way I did not have to chase the next pre-booked place & could stay where the wheels took me. It is not a race (unless you want to beet the record for shortest time) so enjoy our beautiful country & make time to stop as often as you like for photos etc., this is not an opportunity that comes often. Start with a relatively new set of tyres, especially the back one. I had to replace mine half way & it is difficult to find spares on the way. Keep the fuel tank at comfortable levels, especially going to Alexander bay. One tends to speed because of the long straight roads and it sucks the juice. Ask Dot what happened to her! Just in case, travel with a plastic syphen pipe. There are beautiful roads & passes in the Western Cape so plan to spend an extra day or two there (Bainskloof pass is a must!). We stayed in Ceres and it was stunning. From Saint Lucia to Kosi Bay, be on lookout for animals, pedestrians & lots of speedbumps. Not a road to speed or attempt in the dark. Enjoy, it is an experience of a lifetime!...Andre

Andre wrote:Ask Dot what happened to her! Just in case, travel with a plastic syphen pipe.

Classic example of taking the weather conditions into account as well. Strong winds plus the combination of speed results in much shorter than usual distances covered on a tank. Luckily a camel pack pipe has many uses!