Post by johan700x on Sept 12, 2021 20:47:19 GMT 2
On Friday 30 August a friend (Johan Kruger) and myself set off from Pretoria on a 4500km/10 day journey on a NC750XD and a NC700 Integra. We had everything that we required for camping except food which we would pick up as we went along.
Route:
• Friday – slept over in Wolmeranstad at Johan’ s family.
• Saturday – Augrabies falls camp site
• Sunday – Springbok, at Jakkalswater campsite
• Monday – Strandfontein, at municipal campsite
• Tuesday – Swellendam
• Wednessday – slept over at my daughter’s in Knysna
• Thursday – Port Alfred
• Friday – Coffee bay
• Saturday – Kroonstad at my mother in law’s
• Sunday – back in Pretoria
We tried to keep the distances to between 300 and 600 kilos a day. The only notable exception was from Coffee bay to Kroonstad which was about 870km including a detour due to veld fires.
We arrived in the wake of a serious cold front which dropped temperatures to around zero for the first two nights. While we were at Strandfontein a second cold front moved through. This meant that we never experienced serious heat (yo put it mildly). But for the cold you can always dress. However, we never saw any serious rain on the road. This we managed by checking on the weather on a daily basis with weathertoday.co.za (which proved very accurate with a 10 day forecast). We tried to time our travels to avoid the rain at all cost and managed that quite well.
The route took us through some of the most beautiful scenery our country has to offer. It was very wet after a good season and also very green. Namakwaland was covered in flowers and is all but boring; it is mountainous with beautiful roads. The Swartland was green with waving wheat fields and bright yellow patches of canola. The Boland was more beautiful than I remember, green and with imposing mountains. The garden route never disappoints but some of the most beautiful landscapes we saw was near Elliot in the Eastern Cape. The area near Coffee Bay was also pretty with the houses on every hill and the green pastures everywhere you look. If you plan on doing a similar trip, you don’t have to change much although there are some alternatives. For instance we decided to return from Coffee bay via the Eastern Cape in stead of KZN. The latter would have been much easier and quicker, but we opted for the more scenic route which proved very challenging on the day with fog, cold and howling wind for most of the way – exactly the way I like it!
Bikes:
The bikes performed flawlessly and we found them most capable for the long haul. I know there are more capable bikes but the NCs can also tour quite successfully. We kept the speed well below the national limit on most days, but when required they easily toured at 120+. These are very versatile bikes and as reliable as you will find anywhere. They really purred along beautifully and seemed to enjoy the trip as much as we did!
Equipment: Since we camped, we had to take a lot of stuff:
• Tent – two man, each.
• Stretcher – we found that the hiking stretchers are more compact than most other solutions and does not puncture! Desert Fox makes one if you can get your hands on it.
• Sleeping bag – I took two bags for the cold nights and that worked well. Mine packed very small since one is a down bag that I use as an inner for the other one.
• Chair – Desert Fox makes a very compact and comfortable camping chair
• Kettle
• Gas stove
• Braai-grid
• Table – Desert Fox
• Cutlery
All of the above (except the braai-grid) I managed to pack into the top case of the Integra. That was until I took them out! Thereafter I fastened the tent and chair on the back seat. My left pannier contained mainly my clothes and the right pannier the rain suit and warm jacket. Under the seat I carried a pump for flats and an emergency starter together with the normal tools and things. I also had an extra pair of gloves – one pair for cold and rain and one for better days.
It all worked rather well although I would think of getting a bigger top case if I planned on doing this often because the one that Honda supplies is rather small. The panniers are also not very big but I suppose that bigger ones will increase the wind resistance substantially. It would be very difficult to carry two people’s luggage with this setup though. When I toured with my wife a while back, we used a luggage roll and big (40+ litre) panniers on a BMW F650. It can certainly be done on an NC too with the right equipment, just not with the standard luggage setup of the Integra. If you use B&Bs rather than opting for camping there should be no problem though.
If you plan on doing such a trip start early and get the right equipment long before you set off. Also try to test it before the trip. Make especially sure that you can survive the cold if you plan on travelling in winter, which I found to be the best time of year because in summer you are bound to end up wet and that can be even colder than winter!
I wore a normal riding jacket and jeans with long-johns and warm jacket underneath. When it was really cold I also wore the rain pants to keep the wind off my legs. One pair of gloves were designed for cold and rainy conditions. Barkbusters and maybe grip-warmers are a must since your hands tend to get very cold which in turn cools the whole body down. The Integra has very good overall protection but your hands are exposed.
Costs:
Fuel was the biggest cost and came to about R3000 for the 4500 kilos we covered. Camping was next at around R1500pp. Then came food at around R1000pp. Coffee stops accounted for another R500. That brings the total to about R6000pp. We kept the food costs down by eating once a day – we had a braai every night with no extras; meat only! This is not for everybody but it worked very well for us because it freed up a lot of time (and money). We are both on a carnivore diet (strictly animal products only) and eat only once a day as a rule. But anyway, you should not count the cost of food because you would eat at home anyway – unless you eat in restaurants and coffee shops. That is very cool but blows the budget. One meal can easily cost R500. Over ten days that comes to about R5000. Add breakfast to that (another R1500) and the eatery alone comes to R6500. Not a problem if you budgeted for that and can afford it. If you decide to sleep in B&Bs that would be another R4000 (sharing a room) which brings the cost to about R14500pp, more than doubling the cost for the round trip, which I suppose is still not too bad. But I always look at ways to optimise and doing a trip for under R7000 looked appealing to me.
We did not book a single night since we did not have a fixed plan, care of the weather, which dictated our route.
Roads:
We stayed mostly on the main roads and those were immaculate, but when venturing off the beaten track, we found the roads atrocious. Potholes were big enough to swallow the whole bike. The roads in the Western Cape we found to be in excellent condition though.
Summary:
Would I recommend a trip like this? Sure, it was all fun; we enjoyed every moment of cold and wet as well as the long days with more than 800 kilos and howling winds and sometimes perfect weather with sun and no wind.
What would I do differently? Not much; maybe electric grips for the hands and a bigger top case (like 45 litres or bigger). I should also rather have imported my stretcher because ours were rather heavy and slightly bulky (although they still fitted into a top case). My companion had trouble with his sleeping bag which was very bulky but did not keep him warm enough when temperatures dropped to zero. Rather pay extra for the bag(s). I prefer two bags so that I can use both when required and only one when it is warmer. And if possible get down bags because they pack much smaller and are lighter for the same warmth provided. My inner bag for instance weighs only 450g.
All and all, a very good trip, one that will be repeated sometime in future.
Route:
• Friday – slept over in Wolmeranstad at Johan’ s family.
• Saturday – Augrabies falls camp site
• Sunday – Springbok, at Jakkalswater campsite
• Monday – Strandfontein, at municipal campsite
• Tuesday – Swellendam
• Wednessday – slept over at my daughter’s in Knysna
• Thursday – Port Alfred
• Friday – Coffee bay
• Saturday – Kroonstad at my mother in law’s
• Sunday – back in Pretoria
We tried to keep the distances to between 300 and 600 kilos a day. The only notable exception was from Coffee bay to Kroonstad which was about 870km including a detour due to veld fires.
We arrived in the wake of a serious cold front which dropped temperatures to around zero for the first two nights. While we were at Strandfontein a second cold front moved through. This meant that we never experienced serious heat (yo put it mildly). But for the cold you can always dress. However, we never saw any serious rain on the road. This we managed by checking on the weather on a daily basis with weathertoday.co.za (which proved very accurate with a 10 day forecast). We tried to time our travels to avoid the rain at all cost and managed that quite well.
The route took us through some of the most beautiful scenery our country has to offer. It was very wet after a good season and also very green. Namakwaland was covered in flowers and is all but boring; it is mountainous with beautiful roads. The Swartland was green with waving wheat fields and bright yellow patches of canola. The Boland was more beautiful than I remember, green and with imposing mountains. The garden route never disappoints but some of the most beautiful landscapes we saw was near Elliot in the Eastern Cape. The area near Coffee Bay was also pretty with the houses on every hill and the green pastures everywhere you look. If you plan on doing a similar trip, you don’t have to change much although there are some alternatives. For instance we decided to return from Coffee bay via the Eastern Cape in stead of KZN. The latter would have been much easier and quicker, but we opted for the more scenic route which proved very challenging on the day with fog, cold and howling wind for most of the way – exactly the way I like it!
Bikes:
The bikes performed flawlessly and we found them most capable for the long haul. I know there are more capable bikes but the NCs can also tour quite successfully. We kept the speed well below the national limit on most days, but when required they easily toured at 120+. These are very versatile bikes and as reliable as you will find anywhere. They really purred along beautifully and seemed to enjoy the trip as much as we did!
Equipment: Since we camped, we had to take a lot of stuff:
• Tent – two man, each.
• Stretcher – we found that the hiking stretchers are more compact than most other solutions and does not puncture! Desert Fox makes one if you can get your hands on it.
• Sleeping bag – I took two bags for the cold nights and that worked well. Mine packed very small since one is a down bag that I use as an inner for the other one.
• Chair – Desert Fox makes a very compact and comfortable camping chair
• Kettle
• Gas stove
• Braai-grid
• Table – Desert Fox
• Cutlery
All of the above (except the braai-grid) I managed to pack into the top case of the Integra. That was until I took them out! Thereafter I fastened the tent and chair on the back seat. My left pannier contained mainly my clothes and the right pannier the rain suit and warm jacket. Under the seat I carried a pump for flats and an emergency starter together with the normal tools and things. I also had an extra pair of gloves – one pair for cold and rain and one for better days.
It all worked rather well although I would think of getting a bigger top case if I planned on doing this often because the one that Honda supplies is rather small. The panniers are also not very big but I suppose that bigger ones will increase the wind resistance substantially. It would be very difficult to carry two people’s luggage with this setup though. When I toured with my wife a while back, we used a luggage roll and big (40+ litre) panniers on a BMW F650. It can certainly be done on an NC too with the right equipment, just not with the standard luggage setup of the Integra. If you use B&Bs rather than opting for camping there should be no problem though.
If you plan on doing such a trip start early and get the right equipment long before you set off. Also try to test it before the trip. Make especially sure that you can survive the cold if you plan on travelling in winter, which I found to be the best time of year because in summer you are bound to end up wet and that can be even colder than winter!
I wore a normal riding jacket and jeans with long-johns and warm jacket underneath. When it was really cold I also wore the rain pants to keep the wind off my legs. One pair of gloves were designed for cold and rainy conditions. Barkbusters and maybe grip-warmers are a must since your hands tend to get very cold which in turn cools the whole body down. The Integra has very good overall protection but your hands are exposed.
Costs:
Fuel was the biggest cost and came to about R3000 for the 4500 kilos we covered. Camping was next at around R1500pp. Then came food at around R1000pp. Coffee stops accounted for another R500. That brings the total to about R6000pp. We kept the food costs down by eating once a day – we had a braai every night with no extras; meat only! This is not for everybody but it worked very well for us because it freed up a lot of time (and money). We are both on a carnivore diet (strictly animal products only) and eat only once a day as a rule. But anyway, you should not count the cost of food because you would eat at home anyway – unless you eat in restaurants and coffee shops. That is very cool but blows the budget. One meal can easily cost R500. Over ten days that comes to about R5000. Add breakfast to that (another R1500) and the eatery alone comes to R6500. Not a problem if you budgeted for that and can afford it. If you decide to sleep in B&Bs that would be another R4000 (sharing a room) which brings the cost to about R14500pp, more than doubling the cost for the round trip, which I suppose is still not too bad. But I always look at ways to optimise and doing a trip for under R7000 looked appealing to me.
We did not book a single night since we did not have a fixed plan, care of the weather, which dictated our route.
Roads:
We stayed mostly on the main roads and those were immaculate, but when venturing off the beaten track, we found the roads atrocious. Potholes were big enough to swallow the whole bike. The roads in the Western Cape we found to be in excellent condition though.
Summary:
Would I recommend a trip like this? Sure, it was all fun; we enjoyed every moment of cold and wet as well as the long days with more than 800 kilos and howling winds and sometimes perfect weather with sun and no wind.
What would I do differently? Not much; maybe electric grips for the hands and a bigger top case (like 45 litres or bigger). I should also rather have imported my stretcher because ours were rather heavy and slightly bulky (although they still fitted into a top case). My companion had trouble with his sleeping bag which was very bulky but did not keep him warm enough when temperatures dropped to zero. Rather pay extra for the bag(s). I prefer two bags so that I can use both when required and only one when it is warmer. And if possible get down bags because they pack much smaller and are lighter for the same warmth provided. My inner bag for instance weighs only 450g.
All and all, a very good trip, one that will be repeated sometime in future.