EIGHT DAYS OF HEAVEN AND HELL ON EARTH

[Joyride]

DAY 7: The Hell to Laingsburg via Seweweekspoort

Leaving “The Hell”. What a nice place, to be visited again.

More swartberg pass.

Patat Farm Restaurant not far from the turn off.

Mother patrolling the perimeters

The siblings

The back road from the turn off from Swartberg pass towards Calitzdorp couldn’t be nicer even by order. It mostly follows the Matjies and Nels river and a few mountain passes and river crossings and eventually passes the Calitzdorp dam, which makes one wants to stop all the time.

The tarred road over the Huisriver pass is like a highway and soon we turned right towards the very scenic road through Seweweekspoort.

Snack time in Seweweekspoort

The last stretch for the day was a gravel highway which become tar and eventually leads to Laingsburg for the last overnight of the trip.
We always just drove through Laingsburg on our way so we took a walk through the town just to establish that we missed nothing.

 

[Joyride]

DAY 8: Laingsburg to Cape Town via Matjiefontein, Ceres and Bainskloof.

We discover a booklet containing stories from the locals about the flood of 1981 and read some of the amazing stories of survival and hardship.

The next morning we visited the flood level sign in the main street which is a constant reminder of the horrible tragedy that hit the small Karoo town so unexpectedly.

We skipped Matjiesfontein as we could not get accommodation there because of tour groups staying there and decided to push on to Die Tolhuis in Michel’s pas as we had breakfast in Laingsburg.

We took a gravel road leading from Matjiefontein and eventually connecting to the R355 towards Ceres, and I was pleasantly surprised. The sharp contrast of the Karoo in relation to what we experienced the last few days was not disappointing at all and made me realized that each part have it’s own beauty in a strange way.

The open landscape with small vegetation and mostly low mountains was still a refreshing sight. The condition of the narrow road, running alongside the Groot River and crossing it a few times was just good enough to keep one sharp and alert.

After another day of good, enjoyable riding we arrived home, thankful, blessed and tired but happy for the privilege to enjoy the piece of earth we saw over the past eight days.

The added bonus is of course that we were lucky to travel on motorcycle, an activity that we share and love to do and never take for granted after all these years.

We traveled 2300km and only had a defect battery, one puncture and a few minor horizontal parkings.

Thanks to all who joined on this unforgettable ride.

(The photos in this RR were taken from a collection contributed by all the members in the group)

 

[BradleyT]

Brilliant report!  Thanks for sharing :thumleft:

 

[BigEd]

Mooi man. Eeeeeendag ry ek weer saam. eepwall:

 

[Joyride]

Jislaaik.

Miffed I couldn't go with.

Can't wait for the rest of the RR.

Yes, a pitty indeed. Would’ve been nice.

Murphy never sleeps: only bike without a centrestand too  :biggrin:

I forgot about that. Makes the odds even worse. I’m working on that one though.

lekker lekker julle, nog 'n goeie een soos altyd !!

bly om die joburgers ook te sien :thumleft:

Ons sal moet doer onder gaan ry een of ander tyd. Sommer die bikes op die trein sit one way.

Mooi man. Eeeeeendag ry ek weer saam. eepwall:

Beloftes maak skuld, ou grote!! I’am watching you :mwink:

 

[Snafu]

Lekker RR Joyride!

 

[MellowJo]

Absolute Magic tour and great RR Ouboet!!

I think that I will save this link and use the route maps somewhere in the future  :mwink:

Glad that you guys came through safely .....

 

[Spore]

Your RR really makes me feel part of the trip, brilliant!! Thanks for sharing! :thumleft: :thumleft:

 

[BigEd]

Mooi man. Eeeeeendag ry ek weer saam. eepwall:

Beloftes maak skuld, ou grote!! I’am watching you :mwink:

Busted

 

[MellowJo]

Mooi man. Eeeeeendag ry ek weer saam. eepwall:

Beloftes maak skuld, ou grote!! I’am watching you :mwink:

Busted

Yup and you now have to tools (GS) as well, so no excuses ....

 

[Ride Alot]

Great idea MellowJo - just send me the invite as well !!
Thx Joyride for documeting this trip!!!

 

[Joyride]

Thanx guys. The pleasure of sharing this is all mine. :biggrin:

MJo, you're welcome, but I'll happily show you the route as well :mwink:

Mooi man. Eeeeeendag ry ek weer saam. eepwall:

Beloftes maak skuld, ou grote!! I’am watching you :mwink:

Busted

Yup and you now have to tools (GS) as well, so no excuses ....

Hahaha!! Ed, busted again

 

[JACOVV]

Dankie - baie geniet!!

Op my "To do List"

 

[Tubeless]

Thanks for sharing - enjoyed reading  :thumleft:

 

[Gerard]

A magic carpet ride.