summer tour. so which way? natal or the cape?

[Kradmelder]

It is summer holiday season and kids will be with the x for a bit. After new year I take one of my bi-annual cross country rides.

The katoom is booked for a new rear tyre on the 18th and a service on the 3rd.

I have 2 routes in mind: both 2500 km on gps so about 3000 km including detours and deviations. About 1 week.

One is to the eastern cape. My home province and I have ridden most of it so end up looking for the remotest tracks. It will be Lots of gravel, remote tracks and very technical tracks through the mountains. And visits with old mates. Even if to more remote parts of the province I haven't been to specific parts, even if have been to the towns.

The other is natal. Crowded. No real remote places, very english, long gravel stretches very limited, but I don't know it so well. No mates to stay with.much more tropical so wetter and more mud. And lots of gorges. Could be tough but much more tar riding than I'm used to. Far more black villages and people on the roads. Gravel roads through the drakensberg may offer river crossings. In between the herds of cattle and beggars on the road.

My sense of adventure says go to natal as it is some new ground for me, but I wonder if I will be irritated by all the crowds and tar roads and development everywhere. 2 friends that ride with me said I won't enjoy natal for the crowds. No place to hit 100 kmh on gravel and not see a car the whole day. And riding tar for hours gets boring. I figure trips must be more than 50 percent kilometres on gravel. I won't get that in natal but may face different technical challenges

I'm swinging back and forth like a woman with pms...aarg.
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2011 KTM 990 Dakar
2009 BMW 1200 GS

[fatpies]

Kinshasa and Brazzaville?

Maybe even Harare, lots of 'darkies' to make your trek exciting!
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"It's easy to attack and destroy an act of creation. It's a lot more difficult to perform one"

[Kradmelder]

[Skyblue]

If I was you take the land rover and mount a sub-machine gun on it!

[Kradmelder]