Just some more riding

Western Cape has probably the best motorcycle roads in the entire country, and fortunately it's all very close to Stellenbosch.

This sunday had beautiful weather, nice temperature and little traffic so we figured that a sunday ride would be in order (also called a "breakfast run" among riders).

I went out riding with Rudi (a friend I know from my motorcycle dealership) and some others. We went through Helshoogte (long sweeps), Franschhoek pass (tight bends and kneesliding, although watch out for the baboons!).







This one BP petrol station we stopped at had so many surveillance cameras that it was ridiculous. The ones in this photo are just a few of them, I think there's at least 30 cameras there. Too much money? ;-)





Here's Rudi with his 2007 ZX6R:




I rode that bike from Franschhoek back to Stellenbosch. It's quite a powerful bike (599cc fuel-injected inline-4 producing 131 horsepower...) The brakes have an incredible bite and only two fingers are necessary. Suspension is very stiff but very effective.

My only objection is that it feels less comfortable than the previous models of ZX6R and also the lack of torque. I'm not sure how long you can be on this bike before your wrists and back starts to ache. Nonetheless, it's a true sportsbike with great potential. Rudi's friend Tinny (left in first pic) rides an older ZX7R, it's heavier but I think that'd be a more suitable bike for me since I'm quite tall.

Building a pan flute

I woke up one morning and thought building a pan flute would be a neat thing. I have no idea why! It just made sense at the time. ;-) So I went to the hardware store (called Oranjeblanjeblou) and bought 2 meters of PVC pipe. I also bought some other stuff like sanding paper, a little saw, some rubber things for a plug, some wood and some super glue and black paint.

I found that the mathematical equation to calculate the length of the tube is:

TL = (S/F) / 4

Where TL is Tube Length, S is speed of sound (344m/sec), F is desired frequency.

I decided to make 13 pipes so I could have the western musical scale of A, A#, B, C, C#, D and so on. The frequency of A (actually A4) is 440Hz, and the frequency of C# is 554Hz, and so on.

To calculate the length I needed for C#, I would then do:

(34400/554) / 4 = 15.52 cm

Since I had some rubber things that I used to plug up the pipe, I found that I have to add their height (about 0.6cm) despite them not being hollow. I didn't know this at first so I spent quite some time sawing it down properly after realizing my mistake.

I also spray-painted it black, with the exception of the piece of wood I put on the back (not visible in the pictures).

The sound is good but it's very loud.. Maybe I should build a smaller one next time, and maybe one out of bamboo!

So.. there you go, a pan flute made out of materials costing less than 60NOK !

De La Rey lyrics

"De La Rey" is a popular song written and performed by Bok van Blerk, I've read the lyrics and I've translated it to English as an exercise. This song has been playing at all the nightclubs and bars here in Stellenbosch since I arrived in January, although often in a remixed version. The song is about the Boer war general De La Rey and the fight against the British army, who outnumbered the Boers by far. In this war the british set up concentration camps with horrible conditions, resulting in thousands upon thousands of civilian deaths.

Video


LYRICS (my English translation is in paranthesis)

Op 'n berg in die nag (on a mountain in the night)
lê ons in die donker en wag (we lie in the darkness and wait)
in die modder en bloed lê ek koud, (I lay in mud and blood, cold)
streepsak en reën kleef teen my (backpacks(?) and rain sticks to me)

en my huis en my plaas tot kole verbrand sodat hulle ons kan vang (and my house and my place are burned to coals so that they can catch us)
maar daai vlamme en vuur brand nou diep, diep binne my (but the flames and fire burn deep, deep inside of me)

De La Rey, De La Rey sal jy die Boere kom lei? (De La Rey, can you come lead the boers)
De La Rey, De La Rey
Generaal, generaal soos een man, sal ons om jou val. (General like a man, shall we fall with you)
Generaal De La Rey.

Oor die khakies wat lag (hear the british who laugh)
'n handjie van ons teen 'n hele groot mag (a handful of us against the whole great army)
en die kranse lê hier teen ons rug (and the cliffs are here against our backs)
hulle dink dis verby (they think it has passed)

Maar die hart van 'n Boer lê dieper en wyer, hulle gaan dit nog sien (but the heart of a boer is deeper and wider, they can still see it)
Op 'n perd kom hy aan, die Leeu van die Wes Transvaal (on a horse he comes, the lion from west-transvaal)

De La Rey, De La Rey sal jy die Boere kom lei? (de la rey, can you come lead the boers?)
De La Rey, De La Rey
Generaal, generaal soos een man, sal ons om jou val. (general as a man,shall we fall with you)
Generaal De La Rey.

Want my vrou en my kind lê in 'n kamp en vergaan (because my wife and my child are in a [concentration] camp, decaying)
en die khakies se murg loop oor 'n nasie wat weer op sal staan. (and the british's marrow runs over a nation which shall rise again)

De La Rey, De La Rey sal jy die Boere kom lei?
De La Rey, De La Rey
Generaal, generaal soos een man, sal ons om jou val (general like a man, shall we fall with you?)
Generaal De La Rey.

South Africans sure like their speed

While there's no denying that typical south africans like to go fast, sometimes the law catches up with them. Here are some excerpts from traffic related articles in South Africa, some are quite funny:


"Johannesburg - A traffic camera on the Olifantsfontein offramp on the N1 north caught a respected Schweizer Reneke farmer doing 140km/h in a 120km/h zone - on his tractor." (Perhaps it was a Lamborghini tractor?)


"In Alberton, a 38-year-old BMW driver was caught driving at 208km/h on the N12 near the Reading interchange. "Driving fast is my hobby. Don't think I'll ever drive slower," the BMW driver told police who later arrested him."


SA is full of government officials who believe having an urgent meeting qualifies for legalized speeding, as demonstrated by one JHB official doing more than twice the speed limit. He said, "Last week my flight from Johannesburg to Durban was delayed. But at the same time I had an appointment that had been planned for weeks. That to me constituted an emergency," he told the provincial legislature on Thursday."


"Johannesburg - A KwaZulu-Natal motorcyclist driver has been fined R102 000 by the Scottburgh Magistrate's Court after he was caught speeding, the SABC reported on Thursday.
Jan Hendrick was caught driving his motorbike at 295km/h." (that's 89000 norwegian kroners, quite a traffic ticket!!).


"Johannesburg - Nine men were arrested at the weekend for speeding. A 45-year-old man in a Ford Territory was doing 206km/h. He said he was going to play golf. It was 06:21."


"Johannesburg - A man caught driving at 234km/h in a 120km/h zone early on Sunday claimed not to have realised he was speeding, Ekurhuleni Metro police said. The 25-year-old in his BMW was one of five motorists pulled over in Germiston on the N3 freeway."


"Johannesburg - A 32-year-old man handed himself in to police on Monday after he was caught driving at 259km/h on the East Rand. The man, driving a BMW M3, was stopped by police on Linksfield Road in Edenvale on Sunday, but drove off before he could be arrested, said inspector Jimmy Maboko."


"Johannesburg - Metro police arrested five motorists on Sunday for speeding - including a Lamborghini driver doing 251km/h in Midrand."


"Johannesburg - The director-general of the department of social development, Vusimuzi Madonsela, thought he had the highway to himself as he sped along the N1 at 228km/h in his Mercedes-Benz on Saturday. But the Johannesburg Metro Police were lying in wait."


"Johannesburg - Six speeding motorists were arrested along the N1 past the N12 freeway on Sunday, Johannesburg metro police said. One man, driving a BMW, was "upset" at being caught as he had a laser-jamming device fitted to his car. He was travelling at 181 kilometres per hour."


Every excuse is stranger than the other.. "On Sunday seven motorists were arrested on the N2 highway near Linksfield. They were doing between 181 and 211 km/h in a 120 km/h zone. Mokheseng said the speeding motorists had several reasons for driving so fast. "One man said he was late for his flight, the other one said his mother was sick, a third man in a Ferrari said he had missed his flight and was trying to get to Cape Town on time". A 22-year-old man driving a Toyota Corolla at 193km/h told us he had the runs (diarrhoea) and that was why he was driving so fast."

Another motorcycle trip in the Western Cape

On saturday I went past gordon's bay and about 270 km into nowhere. I shot a few photographs along the way.

The roads in the western cape are fun.. lots of nice curves suitable for nice lean angles:


Gordon's Bay is a really nice place with beaches (including the famous one called Bikini Beach):


A lot of rich people seem to be living in Gordon's Bay, and houses like these are very common:


Such an odd place to park a bike...:


I look a bit tired in this picture... after many hours of riding :-)

Rugby

I went to a rugby match on Saturday. University of Stellenbosch vs. University of Pretoria. I've never attended a rugby game before, but I have to say rugby is an entertaining sport -- everybody seems to be chasing the rugby ball at all times and at times it's completely chaotic. Here's a couple of pictures I snapped at that game. Our team crushed Pretoria 50-32!




Quite a few fans showed up to witness the event:


There's no such thing as a rugby game without cheerleaders ;-)

License plates in SA

I know I have at least two family members who have always been quite fascinated by license plates, and I think they will like this post ;-) Personally I think the South African license plates are the coolest ever. So I grabbed my camera and snapped a few photos!

The first one is from the Eastern Cape. I like this one because it has an elephant in the background:



Here's one from the Free State, which has a Cheetah on it:


Here's one from the Limpopo province:


Here's one from the busy Gauteng province:


Here's one from Northern Cape with the springbok animal:


Unfortunately the license plates in the Western Cape have no cool background, they're just plain white. You can choose your own number/text though, like this guy did (Bergnoi is probably his/her last name):

Lente in die Boland

Lente in die Boland - which translates to "springtime in the boland". Boland is basically the region where I'm in right now, the Cape Winelands and Stellenbosch etc.

Koos Kombuis is a legendary folk singer in South Africa and his songs are widely known. I found this video on YouTube and I thought I could introduce you to his most popular song. The song is basically about having a good time in Stellenbosch and drinking a lot, like students tend to do. ;-) That's why this song is extremely popular very late at drunken parties.



Here's the lyrics... maybe this will also give you a better idea how afrikaans is like.

Daar's 'n dorpie wat ek ken daar tussen die blou berge
En die lower van die eike oor die straat
Dis die land van Adam Tas en Simon van der Stel
Waar die mense van Gauteng soos die Capies kan leer praat
Dis daar waar ek gewot het, ek het daar leer skryf en lees
Maar die meeste van die tyd was ek in 'n party gees
Wie kan die werk verstaan, wie kan die drank weerstaan
As die onderdorp jpou roep vir 'n groot, groot fees

Koortjie:
Dit was lente in die boland, in ons mees gesuipte jaar
Daar was Tassenberg in elke glas, al die hormone het baljaar
Stellenbosch was niemandsland, eksamens ook net om die draai
Maar ons was jonk gewees en ons was dronk gewees
Die hele lewe was 'n bring en braai

In die Akker en Die Dros het ons oor naweke gedrink
en vir vriende en mooi meisies hulle glase vol geskink
Na die riviertjie by Die Laan het ons al steierend gegaan
om te kafoefel en te vry in die lig van die maan
Ek het haar daar ontmoet, sy was so oulik en so soet
Die nooentjie van my drome, ja, dis waar
Nou woon ons in 'n huisie, maar ek onthou nog daardie wysie
Van die gejol en die gefuif van ons beste jaar

Blog commenting now possible for anyone

I discovered that it's possible to enable anonymous comments! That means you don't have to be a Google-user to leave comments anymore.

Don't hesitate to leave a comment. I like feedback :-)

A visit to the Franschhoek mountains with the Hyosung

I've ridden my new bike (a Hyosung GT650S 2005 model) to the Franschhoek mountains two times now. I have to say this is my favorite road so far... it has some awesome curves that are perfect for this bike. The road surface is pretty smooth as well and it's perfectly suitable for the Hyosung's stiff suspension.

Here's a couple of photographs of the city of Franschhoek itself and the surrounding areas.





The motor is a 650cc liquid-cooled V-twin, which is naturally unbalanced, so I'm having a bit of trouble with too much vibration on plastic parts, but that's easy to fix once I get time to tighten some bolts.





I've updated the february album on my website, click here

A hike up Table Mountain

On sunday a few friends and I hiked up Table Mountain in Cape Town. It's approximately 1086 meters high, and its top more or less resembles a table, hence the name "Table Mountain". The afrikaans name is Tafelberg. Ons het die Tafelberg geloop en dit was a groot plesier! To anyone going to Cape Town I really recommend this hike, the view is amazing. You'll spend about 1.5 hours to 2.5 hours reaching the top, depending on your physical fitness (I used 1.5 hours, so that means I'm ready for a bigger mountain now, obviously. Hehe).









The following picture is of Robben Island, the island where Nelson Mandela was a prisoner.


For more pictures, click here.

Brunost

I brought Jaco Geldenhuys (Computer Science professor) a brunost from Norway. He appreciated it very much, as you can see from his wide grin. Now he's going to Finland to teach there for 5 months. I'll be taking one of his courses in the second semester of 2007.

A challenge for the reader

I'd like to challenge the reader to see if he/she can understand some afrikaans. Here are a few sentences, try to translate them to Norwegian or English. The winner will get a rock or something similar. ;-)

(1) "Kan jy asseblief stadiger praat?"

(2) "Waar kan ek die badkamer vind?"

(3) "Waar kan ek handboeke koop?"

(4) "Hoeveel kos dit?"

(5) "Ek weet nie!"

(6) "Watter taale praat jy?"

(7) "Ek wil 'n kar vir die naweek huur. Hoeveel kos dit?"

(8) "Waar is die naaste vulstasie?"

(9) "Draai die eerste straat regs, dan links net anderkant die kerk"

(10) "Waar kom jy daarvan? -Ek kom van Norweë!"

Good luck!

Campus area

This is just a nice photograph I took in the campus area.

If you want to check out more of my pictures, go to my PICTURE GALLERY
Remember to click "Next page", there are several pages of pictures.

Our language teacher

This is Marisca Coetzee, our Afrikaans language teacher. I believe she's 31 and lives in Brackenfell, a suburb of Cape Town. She's really good at teaching and manages to keep it interesting all the time. This photograph is taken at the wine tasting day.

Wine tasting at the Fairview wine farm

All the 3 language classes went on an excursion yesterday. The university rented a bus that took us to the Fairview wine farm, where we could do winetasting and cheesetasting (they get the cheese from goats). They had all sorts of wine, both white and red and dozens of different kinds of grape. They apparently import all their barrels from France.

Actual photos of the apartment

My previous post was titled "Apartment" despite its lack of actual apartment pictures. Hopefully this post fixes that :-)
My bedroom is nearly 25 square meters. Pretty good, I think! We also have a garden, but I forgot to take a picture.

Apartment

I found an apartment with two lovely Norwegian girls from NTNU. We're moving in today. The rent is approximately R2000/month, which translates to about 1700 NOK if I'm correct. The standard is pretty good too.
Here's a photograph of the founder of the city (I think.. didn't look so closely, hehe).
I'll be back posting more soon!