Wednesday Day 2 Calitzdorp to Hankey 415 km 9h55min
Stayed in Dorpshuis bar & restaurant in Calitzdorp â?? R180 B&B with a small fridge in the room which was useful for putting my Camelbak in for the night. Supper (not included in B&B naturally) was ostrich goulash with sweet-potato but the patats tasted odd. Asked about it; they were done with a bit of orange juice and a custard topping. Bizarre, I was really puzzled. There is lots for me to discover about this land of ours.
I once went through Baviaanskloof in my diesel bakkie some years ago. Baviaans was the essential waypoint for my trip to the bash. In fact I came back through it with Journeyman & Snap Crackle Pop. It is fabulous but I was to discover other places that really â??pluked my hartsnareâ? on this trip.
Cement slab up to Oudtshoorn, sadly both the Trig Survey maps and Garmin do not distinguish which are the gravel roads so I took a minor road alongside the railway line which was in fact concrete slabs, if I had gone next door there was probably a gravel road just to the south.
But gravel from Oudtshoorn to Dyseldorp and beyond. This leads to the Kammanassie river. That is a lovely name & I very much wanted to see that area just because of the name. I went to quite a lot of trouble to get a kukumakranka plant for my garden then it vrekked because we had such a wet winter but I like the name so much I will get another & try again.
This is the road to the river.
Here is the road shortly before you join the N9 at Potjiesberg Pass. Oddly I donâ??t remember any pass at all even though it is marked on my map.
To Uniondale to top up with petrol and hurry on to Baviaans because I have a long days riding today. After turning off the N9 there are 37km of gravel vlaktes before the Baviaans passes, rivers & poorte. This is the beginning of the interesting bit.
Here is a panorama of one (the first?) of three passes you go through in Baviaanskloof
I was alone so waded through the watercrossings & left my camera & Zumo on the far side. I sat on the bike but paddled it through because dropping it in the water while alone would have dire consequences. When I came back through here with Snap Crackle Pop & Trailrider I still carried the camera & Zumo over but then rode through the water. This water crossing consists of two pieces about this size. Trailrider tells me that usually they are joined together in one very long crossing going round a bend.
The water came up nearly to the top of my Oxtar boots. They are said to be waterproof and so it turned out (they are almost identical to the BMW Savannah boots).
Going up the second pass I lost the front wheel on the side of the middlemannetjie as you see here.
I think this is the top of the second pass. Baviaans is all about going up one side, over the top and down the other then along the valley for a bit with water crossings and repeat that sequence again. It is real wilderness area with only the road to show that people have been here.
I took it slowly & carefully through Baviaans. The road was in pretty good condition but still the front wheel bucked and jumped over the rocks in many places. I find it much easier going up than down. There was a lot of smoke about from a fire somewhere towards the south. Only passed two other vehicles and a helicopter (which was still around when we came back 5 days later).
When I got to Hankey I rode around looking for a B&B sign but could not find one. The manager of the little Spar told me where to go. Turned out to be a self catering place. Asked where I could get a beer & get a meal. He (André) says he will organize the beer and ask his wife about supper. Comes back with 2 cold Amstels and asks do I eat pork? Yea. Then you can share my supper, Ronél
Ronel will cook extra. I was whisked off by another guest to see Sari Baartmanâ??s grave, the huge sundial and the pump station he is working on. When we got back this supper was waiting for me.
Putter Inn. André & Ronél Slabbert 083 270 9918. R125 per person I think. Supper was R35, beers R7. Huge room with excellent bathroom & fridge so I could once again stick my Camelbak in there. No pub or restaurant in Hankey it seems. Andre rides a 1200GS.
