Wednesday 10 March 2010

Moto S.A. DAY 13 & 14. uMtentweni to Underberg & Drakensberg.



12 February 2010
Again it was a very early start. We left Umtentweni and refuelled (Trip: 3,403 km) just across the bridge going south towards Port Shepstone.
(Click pic to enlarge.)

Then it was the N2 towards Kokstad. Note the kiddies walking to school.

Soon the turn off to Oribi came up on the right-hand side.

The scenery was very beautiful.

It is still quiet and dark ......!



We rode through beautiful scenery to the Oribi Gorge Hotel where we stopped for a sunny open-air breakfast. Very nice.



The whole Oribi area is lovely. We passed a very pleasant and sunny morning looking at, and taking pictures of, the outstanding vistas.
We took the sand road from Oribi Gorge Hotel to Leopard Rock. Deon, if you are reading this, thank you for the pointer!



The view from the Leopard Rock Restaurant......

........ looking both ways.

The balcony-veranda at Leopard Rock.

The scenic tarred road back towards the N2.

Finally back on the N2 and pointing towards Harding and Kokstad.

We took the turn-off into Harding for fuel for the bikes and for ourselves!


The fuel was OK, but we decided to press on another 58 kms to Kokstad for lunch.

So, back on the N2 and about 40 minutes to Kokstad.
At Kokstad we stopped at Cassandra's for lunch. It was very good.


Cassandra's, from the inside. Recommended if you are ever in Kokstad.

It was soon time to make tracks for Underberg and to find somewhere to stay for the night, get freshened up, have a beer and get a meal.

We rolled into the little town of Underberg - almost literally under the Drakensberg.


It was Friday evening and busy! We found a really great B+B called Tumble In.

It is an art finding the right B+B. Fortunately that gift was not absent! Tumble In was perfect.

OK, the first two necessities were satisfied - a place to stay and a freshen up. Now to sort out a beer and a meal.
Let's get to the Underberg Hotel.

At the Underberg Hotel we had a beer outside in the courtyard and .................


a beer inside at the bar!! Hmmmm.....another Castle please. W.C. Fields once said, "Everyone should believe in something. I believe I'll have another drink!"


Actually, we only had two beers. Then it was time for dinner. Roxy's at the Hotel was fully booked. Well, it was Friday night and everybody was in town. The bar was buzzing and we should have thought ahead. No problem, we went to The Grind Cafe and had a great meal. Tomorrow is another day and we had, anyway, decided to stay at Tumble In for two nights, not just one. Roxy's Restaurant tomorrow night maybe.



13 February 2010
Saturday morning dawned bright and sunny. With most of our gear left back at the Tumble In we fired up the motos and headed for the mountains. The Drakensberg Mountains are extremely beautiful and the Saturday morning ride onwards and upwards was amazing.

The temptation to stop and take photos was overwhelming at every turn.


The weather was beautiful, hot in fact. This mountain stream was also just too much temptation. Park the bikes. Ditch the moto clothing. Get in the water. Any questions?

Refreshing or what! Hot sun and cool water. In fact the water was pure enough to drink.

In fact I DID drink some - having made sure that I was upstream of Dr "KT"M.

Is this a lizard on a rock? Looks like it has shed its skin!

This is my VERY HAPPY face! Now where are my moto keys?

On the way back to Underberg from Garden Castle we came across The Lake Tavern at Castelburn.

The view, and the lunch, were both excellent.


This time we made no mistake. We made a reservation for dinner at Roxey's Restaurant at the Underberg Hotel. This is Dr M's starter!


The next morning, after another brilliant breakfast, it was time to say goodbye to Marion and Bob Mulder, proprietors of the excellent Tumble In.
Click Here for the link.

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