Flipside
Pack Dog
I think the Baviaanskloof is one of those rides which every SA rider should have on his bucket list, so when Joburg Joseph said he is coming down for
a trip, it was an easy choice. We did Gatsrivier on his previous visit and we would have to up it for this one.
We left a drizzly Cape Town which opened up through the Bains kloof pass, then the longer Groentfontein detour at Calitzdorp to Oudtshoorn (this is a great piece of road).
Our first night was at Oue Werf Country House just outside Oudtshoorn (Fancy stuff)
We left early the next morning, I wanted to take the guys on one of my favorite routes in the area, which is riding the R62 then turning on to the Vlugt gravel road, and once there, turning left to Uniondale.
The road from De Vlugt is a twisty uphill gravel road, passing water pools and small waterfalls, and once you hit the tar, just before Uniondale, you'll find an amazing little kloof with swooping turns and not a car in sight.
Our next night's accommodation was at the Makkedaat Caves, don't bother taking food, you can buy some great Kudu boerewors from the tannie at the office, wood is also provided.
The next day the real Baviaans starts, the passes, the rocks and the water.
This is the road
Tired bones, the next night we camped next to the Gamtoos rivier after Willem and I drew the short straws to ride to Patensie for beer, the heat and the passes with their irregular layed down cement slabs had takes their toll.
The next day we headed for Steytlerville from Patensie, now this was a bit of a google maps misjudgement, what looked like a nice gravel shortcut turned out to be a very very tough ride, in blistering heat (topping 42 degrees at a time), we really struggled here. We were ecstatic to find a river and after that the road opened up to quality gravel all the way to Steytlerville, we reached Oudtshoorn by night time.
[flash=853,480]https://www.youtube.com/v/xKKiovCeZr4[/flash]
a trip, it was an easy choice. We did Gatsrivier on his previous visit and we would have to up it for this one.
We left a drizzly Cape Town which opened up through the Bains kloof pass, then the longer Groentfontein detour at Calitzdorp to Oudtshoorn (this is a great piece of road).
Our first night was at Oue Werf Country House just outside Oudtshoorn (Fancy stuff)
We left early the next morning, I wanted to take the guys on one of my favorite routes in the area, which is riding the R62 then turning on to the Vlugt gravel road, and once there, turning left to Uniondale.
The road from De Vlugt is a twisty uphill gravel road, passing water pools and small waterfalls, and once you hit the tar, just before Uniondale, you'll find an amazing little kloof with swooping turns and not a car in sight.
Our next night's accommodation was at the Makkedaat Caves, don't bother taking food, you can buy some great Kudu boerewors from the tannie at the office, wood is also provided.
The next day the real Baviaans starts, the passes, the rocks and the water.
This is the road
Tired bones, the next night we camped next to the Gamtoos rivier after Willem and I drew the short straws to ride to Patensie for beer, the heat and the passes with their irregular layed down cement slabs had takes their toll.
The next day we headed for Steytlerville from Patensie, now this was a bit of a google maps misjudgement, what looked like a nice gravel shortcut turned out to be a very very tough ride, in blistering heat (topping 42 degrees at a time), we really struggled here. We were ecstatic to find a river and after that the road opened up to quality gravel all the way to Steytlerville, we reached Oudtshoorn by night time.
[flash=853,480]https://www.youtube.com/v/xKKiovCeZr4[/flash]
