Klipbokkie / Marakele Moto Camping Weekend

The most recent motocamping trip was to Klipbokkie, across from the Marakele National Park, we had spent a fair bit of time planning this trip and the routes. Unfortunately it started with tragedy, as one of my mates lost control of his GSA, in some sand, and totalled the bike and ended up with 2 skull fractures, not a nice scene to come across. Main thing is he's ok and now looking for his next bike, more than likely a KTM. We did a fair bit of dirt to get to Toeka near Bela Bela, where we stopped for a hearty boere brunch. Again another beaut of a campsite, we had arranged for them to purchase all our food for us and they had over delivered with the sheer quantity of food. We would eat like kings and queens, but things would not go according to plan and Joe and Irm would be left alone with a mountain of food. The facilities are clean and neat and well kitted out, there's a massive bar onsite and free wi-fi at the bar, there is no cellphone signal at the camp. We enjoyed a cold one after setting up camp and then settled down to braai. The scenery is spectacular to say the least As far as the route goes, we changed the planned route, as we only left the Bela Bela hospital at around 3.30pm and sunset was just after 5pm. We decided to take the tar road to Rooiberg and then the dirt from there, the road conditions are very challenging, just what we like, plenty of rocks, ruts and sand. The highlight was Bakers Pass which takes you to the entrance to Klipbokkie. https://youtu.be/wvD25fRY0II?si=drpTzxWd8qSVYM15 The next morning we settled down to some decent coffee and breakfast, but this is where the enjoyment ended. The KTM 890 was up to it's old cold start tricks and needed to be towed to get running. I decided to call the weekend quits and head home, as who knew if the bike would start the next day. Monday it was off to KTM and it turned out, as I had been telling KTM Centurion for a few months now, that the valve clearances needed adjustment. The bike has been starting 1st time and running better than it ever has, since the valve clearances have been adjusted to spec. This was the planned route for day 1 of the trip, this is from Bela Bela. I ended up doing this route back home: This was the planned route for day 2 of the trip: This was the planned route for day 3 of the trip: I definitely plan on doing this trip in the not to distant future. What camping gear did I use? Tent: Nature Hike Cloud Up 3 Ultralight 3 person tent, it has a decent sized vestibule and access is great, plus offers plenty of space to store all your luggage and gear. Sleeping Mat: Sea to Summit Ether Light XT (regular), I love this mat, as it's fairly quite and close to 10cm thick and more so offers plenty of thermal protection from the cold ground. Pillow: Therma-a-Rest Large Compressible Pillow - this is a very comfortable pillow, is close to a full size pillow and feels like a normal pillow. Sleeping Bag: First Ascent Explorer Down Sleeping bag, this offers a lot of freedom of movement and actually packs fairly small. Chair: Desert Fox Camping Chair, a super comfortable chair, but also replaced after this trip. Table: Desert Fox camping table, this is a nice to have item, but it's super convenient when you need a flat surface for your cooker, it is fairly light, packs small and is quick to assemble. Luggage: Main luggage was 2 x Kriega OS-18 Adventure Pack bags, attached to the Kriega OS Base and then the Kriega OS-6 Adventure Pack bag for my tools, the tools are in the Kriega Tool Roll. The tool bag was attached to the Kriega US40 RackPack Drybag, all my camping gear was packed into this bag - which in total now weighs in at less than 9kg's. I used the Giant Loop Zig Zag handlebar bag to carry some basic tools and Alpine ear plugs and the Uswe Outlander 9 hydration bag and 2l Uswe bladder, in the bag I had some snacks and a cap, for the harsh African sun. Group Riding - on this trip we all stopped at turns and junctions, as we were a small group, this keeps everyone together and allows for a quick break to hydrate or stretch the legs. Tyres: I used the Mitas Enduro Trail XT + on the front, for added grip and the Dakar version on the rear, for added longevity. Tech Used: Cardo Packtalk Edge, in-helmet comms. I primarily use the Cardo Packtalk Edge to listen to music, streamed from Spotify, and take and make the odd phone call to my wife and children, I avoid work related calls when I'm away on the bike. Navigation: for this trip I used my UleFone Armor 8 Pro 4G Rugged Smartphone for my navigation needs, with the OsmAnd+ routing and mapping software. Main reason is the OsmAnd+ software is a lot more responsive and accurate than the Garmin Zumo XT ever was. I used the SP Connect Universal mount to attach the phone to a SP Connect mount, which I 3D printed. It offers an AMPS adapter that houses the SP Connect phone mount, this is attached to a Vanasche Motorsport GPS mount for the bike.