Camping with a Motorcycle Part 1

Ready to go!

My husband and I love touring our beautiful country, South Africa on our motorbike. We travel from one town to the other, overnighting at B&B’s along the way. We also love camping. Last year we decided to make our bike touring more affordable, we would camp wherever we stopped. Although I’d learnt to take a lot less luggage since we started biking seven years ago, now I had to to take even less.

Our bike has three hard cases which fit on the back and sides. It also has a tank bag, which as the name suggests, fits on the fuel tank. My husband always says that two and a half of the hard cases are mine while the remaining half is his. (This is not true; I pack very lightly. I don’t even take my hairdryer or high heels!)The tank bag is for our wet weather gear - Drizabone jackets from Australia, without which we would not go biking - hiking boots and flat shoes. It also contains tools and a general repair kit for the motorbike.

Camping in Golden Gate Highlands National Park

When we go camping, we leave the “top box” at home. This is the hard case that fits behind my back. That space is used to carry the tent, sleeping bags, gaper pads with tent poles inside them and the tool kit. The tank bag still houses our wet weather gear, hiking boots and comfortable shoes. The camping lights and stove and basic utensils are secured inside the wet weather gear.

As you can imagine, when we arrive at a camp site and begin to set up our teeny tents (we also use them when we hike up the mountains so they have to be teeny because we carry them) we are the centre of attention. I must admit, we do look quite incongruous with our small set-up alongside campers with a caravan and side tent, a double cab pick up, a trailer...

My husband looking towards Mushroom Rock in the Park
I took this photo from the top of Brandwag (Sentinel) Butress. Below, the road to Kwa Zulu Natal, runs through the rest camp in the Park. You hike up the contour path of the mountain and access the top of the butress with the help of the chain visible in the photo. You have to hold on and know where to place your feet; one slip and you could end up tumbling down the mountain onto the road a few hundred metres below
Breaking up camp and loading the bike

We have great fun riding and camping like this although it can be a bit challenging when the weather is inclement. We cannot hide in our tent so we often end up sitting out a storm in the central cooking hut which most campsites have.

We’ve also made a lot of friends. One evening we were struggling to cook our food in very windy conditions. Our small gas cooker would not boil water to cook our rice and vegetable mix. Our neighbours saw this and eventually sent their children across with a dish of hot stew and rice and dessert! (My husband was thrilled to have meat- I ate his dessert along with mine)

Of course, the upside of this type of travel, is that we pay a third of the price for accommodation and the fun is priceless!

To be continued...

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