Motorbikes on Rockeries Pass

We spoke to Leonard at the MCC about it and he says that they inform all motorcyclists that they are allowed to "play on the roads", but not ride on the trails at all. Clearly, this is not being followed - he did say he would confront the group about it later that day. Like any high-impact activity, this group may justify their actions by claiming that it's just a few of them which doesn't cause much damage. My concern is that the word gets out and soon the whole place gets ripped up...
Has anyone else seen evidence of this before? Perhaps on other passes too?
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I would recommend that these motorbike riders try Ifidi Pass next. Its much more scenic though probably best done from top to bottom in the first instance. Owing to the soft sand near the top section, its best to get a bit of speed up when leaving the watershed.
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Stijn wrote: We spoke to Leonard at the MCC about it and he says that they inform all motorcyclists that they are allowed to "play on the roads", but not ride on the trails at all. Clearly, this is not being followed - he did say he would confront the group about it later that day.
Confront the group later? I don't know, surely people like that should be fined massively right off the bat. This is the problem in this country, when you're eventually caught, you know the law is so lax not much will be done. I hope they get caught and properly prosecuted.
Very sad to hear. First time I've ever heard of a motorbike heading up a hiking pass in the Berg.

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Of course I don't condone what these ignoramuses are doing. It should be stopped before the word is spread around and they arrive en mass. How come they don't seem to know general facts about the environment and wilderness areas, or are they just vandals at heart?
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- BobbyStanton
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Not saying that these are the guys that went up rockeries, but it seems there is some popularity for the area. Here we go youtube motorcycles enduro - At least 5 riders that i could see. Perhaps someone who knows the area well will be able to id the approximate route that they are using from the small views of the topography on the vid.
Perhaps Andre John Du Toit knows something about it. www.youtube.com/user/underbroek21
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- Serious tribe
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The damage that vehicles have done on illegal 4X4 routes around the top of Sani is quite shocking. When I did Thaba Phinong last year, there was a car in the saddle between Thaba Phinong and Mqatsheni. I pointed out to the driver that what he was doing was harmful to the environment and was also illegal, and got some kind of "I don't care" style response.
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Stijn wrote: Well this is the thing... correct me if I'm wrong but is Rockeries Pass even in a protected area? Is this activity strictly illegal and enforceable or is it simply a collective awareness of the environment that has prevented this in the past?
Ah ha, I didn't know. A real shame, I wonder why it was never added. As a motorbike rider myself I would expect others to use common sense and stick to legal trails than can be maintained, on such steep terrain the damage done by knobblies is pretty proper. Anyway, there are always those that will never listen.
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The land is owned by the Ingonyama Trust as it is tribal land. Discussion about adding it to the WHS goes back for decades. The proposed reserve has recently been agreed on, is mapped and GPS-ed - but the cable car has set this process back a long way now, as the cable car can't be in a WHS.AdrianT wrote: Ah ha, I didn't know. A real shame, I wonder why it was never added.
There isn't much info on the project in the public domain, but you can read up on what is in the public domain at Intrepid's website on this:
maloti-drakensberg.co.za/treasure/
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