Day 3 - Jansenville to Prins Albert
Waking up in the Karoo after a big storm during the previous afternoon is something. Something very special.
The Springboks grazed very close to the camp.....we packed up and had to wait in Jansenville for the petrol pump attended to arrive for a work with a very bang babelaas!!
Church in Jansenville
Tonight we crash in Prins Albert where my Dad has a house that his in-laws are looking after. That will be our base camp for the next two to three days while we ride the passes and surrounding areas.
We hit the gravel and 30km later we met up with Boer who was on holiday on his in-laws’ farm.
The famous: "good morning how are you"
He took us on some excellent gravel tracks to Steytlerville where we had a makulu brekka!! Saw some BMW’s with no dust on whatsoever….we both just grinned! *stir stir*
When then said cheers to Boer and headed for Willomore with the last sections the famous single lane cement road. Interesting to say the very least. We got bored and got on the gravel….Cocky on the left and me on the right. Lekker rustige cruising with an inner excitement boiling inside of me……we are getting closer and closer to my favourite part of the country – The Western Cape.
I was like a little boy by now struggling to sit still on the bike and itching with the prospect of what is waiting for us. This is why I ride a bike…well….one of the many reasons why!
We had a beer at the famous coffee shop in Willomore and headed for Uniondale.
High five for good riding again
On the way to Uniondale we both greeted this old Kombi at the same time
There we stopped at Swanze Gat gastehuis to confirm our booking in a couple of days’ time but no one was home. I will have to do it over the phone in the next day or two….didn’t get to everything before we left.
We took the back road into De Rust on the gravel…..pure bliss and it was a special ride…..partly because we got chased down with a regte befokte kort klein Boer with a moerse attitude…..and temper. No peeeeeekchas….he was fuming and I wasn’t gonna look for trouble!
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We got lost at a stage and we must have travelled through his farm…..and he is shouting and screaming because we are making noises and scare the baby Ostriches.
I didn’t see one baby ostrich…nevermind a moerse groot een. Anyway….”regtig jammer oom…sal nie weer gebeur nie…watse kant toe is De Rust samblief my Oom”…..did the trick and we were allowed to continue….with no damage done to us…or our scooters. Our ears on the other hand……… :dousing: :lamer:
Hmmmmmm.......
In De Rust there were just bikes…..all kinds, colours and flavours. Once again Beemers with no dust on….he he! Most of the bikes were standing at The Plough Inn Restaurant…but it seems like nobody knows what is happening in the back garden of Nicki’s place in the main road.
The courtyard where we had lunch...
Die Haan relaxing and telling hilarious cape bergie versin jokes......sien djy....
:imaposer: :imaposer: :imaposer:
It was a Sunday…so we opted for the lunch special….leg of lamb with veggies and washed it down with a beer. It was getting late and we had Swartberg Pass to do still into Prins Albert. We bumped into Gareth (Slug), a friend of mine and also a Wilddog who was there for the BMW Bike Fest.
I planned our arrival in the Hell on the day after the Fest finished….I knew that on all the surrounding roads there would be lots of traffic and plenty bikes.....and best we avoid that if possible at all. This was to bite us a bit later.
We took the Oudemuragie gravel track and once again it was spectacular. I know of a little road that deviates from the main road so up the koppie we went and absorbed the view. We joined the main tack again and stopped quickly by the Raubenheimer dam.
Friendly Boer giving us lots of space
I must just say that whenever we encountered cars on the roads...we always waited till they saw us and gave space...and when they didn't give space...well then we had to wait. We also almost thanked them and was very polite...friendly and courteous.....so you see...we are good people....even though we live on the Dark Side *stir stir* :imaposer:
We wanted to stop at the Cango caves but decided to push on. We hit the bottom of Swartberg pass now in the shade of the mountain with the sun quickly dropping. For months I have been speaking to Cocky about this ride…..I know every corner, switcheback and stone on that pass almost….and finally…it was right in front of me.
Cocky dropped of a bit….he explained at the top that he wanted me to enjoy it alone and focus on the road. I felt good….confident….and gave it some stick. My soft aggressive rear tyre must have thought…this is heaven…and it certainly felt like heaven. Couple of times I had to tell myself to calm down…cause I was going faster and faster and I wanted more. I imagined being Marc fricken Coma for a second! Me and my new white Gaerne’s nogal.
One or two cars on the way but nothing serious.
Right at the top we stopped for photos again and there was three young guys sitting at the bench with their coolbox on the left side and bakkie on the right. Not sure for how long they have been chilling there…but their faces was blink gedrink…very friendly and curious about our bikes and our trip and we found ourselves each with an ice cold beer in our hands within seconds…whether we wanted them or not.
The end was almost there so we gulped it down and got ready to leave. Just as we got onto our bikes….we heard this noise coming from the same side as what we came from. An old twinport beetle with two rasta students. They stopped briefly….asking how far it was to The Hell still. It was almost 17:00 and they haven’t even entered the Gamkaskloof road yet……and that alone takes two hours in a car…..longer with that beetle for sure…and it didn’t have a good beat to it. We wished them well and down we went. That night I thought about them a couple of times….and hoped they had no instances with that beetle in the dark.
It was all fine until we started with the steep decent on the other side and the sharp switchebacks. Here we encountered several big luxury 4x4’s and Hilux bakkies…all with trailers and not willing to give an inch. Couple of close calls with them just stopping wherever and whenever they want.
Bliksems….. I swore at them inside my helmet and I could see from Cocky’s body language that he was fuming. Before we went down I told Cocky to stop at the stream at the bottom for some peekchas but by the time we got there….without even consulting each other we just went straight pass it. There was no way in hell that we were going to allow that hostile and dangerous convoy pass us again.
We rolled into Prins Albert……and the hectic downhill in my mind was long forgotten….big fat grin on my face…man…..this feels like home….I wanna stay here ALL the time……forever. :3some: :3some: :3some:
We packed off…had a shower and then relaxed on the stoep with Trevor (Honyo) and Tannie Joan. Honyo made a moerse Karoo braai and Joan pulled out all the stops with the rest of the grub. Magie vol….ogies toe….could have been the brannas that added to that puppy feeling as well.
Tomorrow it was to Hell and back. I was there the year before on my solo trip…..big BMW Block of Flats with Anakees on so I was keen to see how the Katoom with the tyres will perform. It was a first for Cocky so we were both looking forward to the trip. Little did we know…that it would literally be Hell!