On both weekends we camped at Wyke down camp site http://www.wykedown.co.uk which has excellent facilities and a well stocked bar that serves excellent steaks; oh yes and the owner is looking for some Saffa bar staff. On Easter weekend we headed out on the Saturday afternoon but last weekend we headed out straight after work and by 18:30 had the tent up and had beers in hand to catch the sunset while cooking up a chicken-ala-king.Heading out to the plains and taking the first grys-pad (dirt road to normal people and piste to the other bunch) was really exciting although nervy feeling the bike slide along on marbles but still in control which requires a fair bit more concentration than doing the same with a bakkie. The plains have a maze of roads and paths and tracks and the official take is that you may only use the Byways and Rights of Way (ROW's) but you quickly get lost and end up not being sure where you are legally allowed to be...still waiting for the warden to inform us.
Although it's really nice to get some miles on dirt road we are now a bit bored as it wasn't really challenging or even close to Van Zyl's pass level so we will be trying to find some more challenging trails next time we go.The first time we went to the plains Heino (NAMSA) met up with us and then last weekend his meisie Allesandra came alongs as well. It was great to have some pleasant company along on the camping trip and Ale got a chance to ride a bike (aided by Heino). It took 5 minutes and she had full control of the clutch...go get that license. Heino and Ale are heading off on the 1st May on their trip to Cape Town http://www.transafrica.wordpress.com/
