UNWRAPPING THE CAPE FOR CHRISTMAS

[wildside]

                           

                              UNWRAPPING THE CAPE FOR CHRISTMAS   -  DECEMBER 2015   :santa:


(I Know this is been posted a bit late  but we've had a busy start to the new year.)


Finally…no sleeps left….two very tired people drove out of Howick at 6 am Monday  morning, 14 December 2015, towing  a trailer loaded with 3 motorbikes, 2x 650 XR Hondas and a little Freeride. The planning and excitement of this trip is what has kept us going for the last 6 weeks during the long, busy days and nights of work.





We were initially disappointed about this trip being such a ‘tame’ one as we were both looking for more excitement and adventure. But due to family commitment we settled for this plan. Now that I look back it was a wonderful trip and just what the doctor ordered.

We were heading to Cape Town to meet up with our daughter Roxy and her husband Dan, who were returning from America on the day we were to arrive. The plan was to trailer the bikes to Cape Town, leave the vehicle ,trailer and Freeride with Dan and Rox and find our way back to the wildcoast where we would meet up for new year. The thought of this immediately got my spirits up and a holiday feeling started to settle in.

GRAAF REINETTE was our first night stopover. I have been keen for many years to visit the Valley of Desolation, within the Camdeboo National Park, and now was our chance. There are some amazing geological rock formations and these fascinating columns of dolerite reach heights of 120m which have been shaped over the years by volcanic and erosive forces of nature. The stunning views of the plains in the distance offer the tourist some amazing photo opportunities
  Here we bumped into some adventure riders, whom we vaguely knew, also heading in our direction so by now we were itching to get onto the bikes.






GRAAF REINETTE IN THE DISTANCE.









After a night with family in GEORGE we spent a night in MONTAGU at a divine little B&B called the Lemon Tree. Here we met up with an interesting couple from New Zealand. The guy, originally South African, had recently returned from India where he had toured in the Himilayan mountains on a Royal Enfield. He entertained us with some awesome stories around the breakfast table and once again the riding juices were flowing.



ARRIVING IN CAPE TOWN

The next three days in CAPE TOWN with the kids, were busy and entertaining. A visit to the V&A waterfront, breakfast at the Old Biscuit Mill, Cupcake gorging at Charlies Cupcakes, snoek braais with the in-laws and a full day of wine tasting in the Franschhoek wine lands passed the time away in a flash.



V&A WATERFRONT



WINE TASTING





CHARLIES CUPCAKES



BUYING FRESH SNOEK



SNOEK BEING CLEANED ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD

 

[wildside]

Day I:  20 December ~  280km

Time: 10 am – 6.30 pm

BELLVILLE, SIGNAL HILL, CAPE POINT, MUIZENBERG, STRAND, GORDONS BAY, ROOIELS, PRINGLE BAY, BETTYS BAY, KLEINMOND, HERMANUS.

After breakfast Sunday morning, 20 Dec, we were both togged up in our riding gear and with minimum luggage strapped to the bikes we were ready to head out.  Roxy and Dan were doing their ‘thing’ in Cape Town and meeting us at the Hole-in-the-wall with the bakkie and trailer in 8 days time. Hugs and kisses and good wishes passed between us and we were on our way at about 10 am.



We headed out on the N1 with me leading the way as I had a vague idea of where we were heading. This gave me some time to relax on the bike and get used to the weight of the luggage and backpack. This was our first long adventure ride using the Honda’s and I wasn’t sure if it would be as comfy as my previous XT that had taken me safely through many African countries.

I had a route planned in my head which would take us on the reverse route of the Cape Argus Cycle Tour. But first we wanted to get to Signal Hill and check out the view.
While heading through the center of town I happened to glance up a narrow cobbled lane and spotted the beautiful brightly colored Gorgian terraced houses on the right at the base of Signal Hill. This bright and cheerful looking neighbourhood is better known as Bo-Kaap and is the home to the Cape Muslim community.

Many of the residents are descendants of slaves from Malaysia, Indonesia and various other African countries who were brought over in the 16th&17th Century by the Dutch.  It would have been so divine to spend a bit of time walking through the many colorful lanes….but time was not on our side. So we just took a few photos to say ‘ek was daar’.








Signal Hill was awesome, offering some amazing views of a lovely city surrounded by mountains and ocean. There was ‘busyness’ all around us, paragliders experiencing an adrenalin rush as they ran off the mountain side, in the distance loaded cable cars heading up to the top of Table Mountain, hikers walking to the Lions Head, cars moving up and down the mountain side, ships cruising in and out of the harbor, far out towards Blouberg Strand kite surfers were catching cold Atlantic waves and thousands of tourists absorbing every wonderful moment of their stay in this busy and beautiful south west corner of Africa.










NOT SURE WHO THIS GUY WAS...BUT HE WANTED HIS PHOTO TAKEN.





We weaved in and out of the traffic down to the Camps Bay coastline and followed the coastal road from Hout Bay along the scenic drive of Chapman’s Peak Drive. Stunning views of the turquoise waters of the Atlantic coastline forced us to stop a few times as I tried to memorize as much as possible. Riding through Kommetjie and seeing the lighthouse took me back 36 years to our first visit to this area as a younger couple.



HOUT BAY





KOMMETJIE LIGHTHOUSE



The breeze was fresh as we rode along the magical area of Misty Cliffs which offers one a peaceful and quieter part of the peninsular. Even on a bicycle this is one of my favorite spots which reminds me that South Africa is such an awesome country.

Crossing over from Scarborough towards Smitswinkel was gusty, as it always is during the Argus cycle tour. When we saw the horrific long queue at the turn off to the Cape Point Nature Reserve we decided to give it a miss and continue towards Simons Town.By now we were looking eagerly for a place to eat and the Quarterdeck, near the naval base, was the spot.



ENTRANCE TO CAPE POINT NATURE RESERVE




SIMONS TOWN






Having only ridden about 100km it would have to be a quick stop as we still had a long way to go. The traffic was bumper to bumper and extremely slow all the way to and through Muizenberg on the R310. Thank goodness for motorbikes as zipping in and out of the slow moving traffic made it bearable. We skirted the coastline at the top of False Bay until we reached the M17 and headed north to the N2….apparently this was a safer option…which I regret now as I would have liked to experience riding through Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha.  Being on the highway was not so relaxing and it was a relief once we turned off south towards the Strand and Gordons Bay.

Riding on this narrow hillside road along the False Bay coast in the late afternoon light was a treat. From the Cape Point side of False Bay to the Hottentots Holland Mountain on the east side is a spectacular bay spanning about 35 kms. Sailors returning from the East used to mistake Cape Hangklip, just south of Pringle Bay, for Cape Point and navigate their ships into this bay , instead of the Atlantic side of the Cape Peninsular, finding themselves trapped and turning around was no easy task due to the strong currents and winds…hense the name False Bay.


LOOKING BACK ON GORDONS BAY




FALSE BAY

By the time we reached Pringle Bay it was late afternoon and the grey clouds were packing in overhead making the chill factor just bearable. It got windier and colder as we crossed over to Betty’s Bay. We were looking forward to reaching Kleinmond where we had decided to camp for the night. We soon turned off at the Palmiet Caravan Park sign. On arrival we were promptly stopped at the entrance and ushered to the one side to be told that motorbikes were not allowed!! I went to check at the office if campsites were available. They were… @ R400 a site/night and we were informed that we had to leave our bikes at the gate and carry our luggage in…can you believe it! By now it was about 6.30pm and we were keen to settle for the night. Thanks to our friend Google we found a room at Hermanus Backpackers for the same price! So we promptly head off for another 35 minutes of riding.

Now this was a comfortable and welcoming spot. A lovely old double storey house filled with interesting young travelers, foreign accents, big smiles and warm greetings. Hermanus is part of the Whale Route and every year from July to November these mammels swim along the cold waters of the Agulhas coast as part of their breeding cycle thus attracting many Captonians and tourists alike.

We promptly settled in and set off on foot in search of a restaurant in town where we rewarded ourselves with some tasty seafood.  This was a wonderful start to our adventure.

 

[wildside]

DAY 2:  21 December ~ 175km

TIME: 11.30 am – 5 pm

HERMANUS, THE KELDERS, GANS BAAI, PEARLY BEACH, DIE DAM, SRUISBAAI, L’AGULHAS

We woke up to a quiet backpackers and went in search of coffee. By the time we were ready and packed it was raining and foolishly we hadn’t packed any rain gear….as it’s not Cape Town’s rainy season! We let the rain subside a bit and went in search of breakfast. Well, by the time we found a place we were soaking wet and like two drowned rats we sat out on the verandah of a eating place and shivered through our meal. The greyness soon lifted, as did our spirits, revealing a gloomy ocean but clearing skies in the direction we were heading and we were once again on our way.


A WET DEPARTURE.


WAITING FOR RAIN TO SUBSIDE

We decided to check out the rocky coastline at The Kelders. There’s not much open beach and masses of kelp line the coastline making it difficult to enjoy a good swim out into the ocean.



It was lunchtime by the time we reached Gansbaai, also known as the shark capital of South Africa. So if you want to fish or cruise amongst sharks then this is your spot.
We stopped at the parking area which overlooks the campsite and harbor. We decided to go down and investigate why cars and people were milling around the harbor. After paying our R5 entrance fee we drove down and discovered the attraction…Gansbaai Fisheries…a lovely smelly little blue shop that sold all sorts of fishy goodies….fresh, dried, pickeled, smoked and cooked. The shark bites and smoked fish satisfied Kingsleys appetite while I settled for peanut cookies.













I JUST COULDN'T RESIST THESE FLOWERS


Pearly Beach was our next port of call and once again the coastline was lined with cottages that looked down onto rocks and kelp and a grey unwelcoming ocean. The R43 continued to take us to Die Dam. The surrounding area is just scrub and bush with a campsite tucked away behind a small dune. The sandy access led us onto a lovely open beach.


WE SAVED THIS LITTLE CHAP ON THE WAY


PEARLY BEACH







ENTRANCE TO THE BEACH AT DIE DAM

On leaving this area we travelled inland on a gravel road with no traffic at all…so divine. Now it felt like our holiday had started. The scenery also started to change…no longer coastal fynbos and scrub but more farmlands with huge bales of hay decorating the newly cut fields. It was all quite pretty and didn’t resemble the Cape at all.
We soon entered the Agulhus National Park area and the scenery changed again to scrub and fynbos as we started to head on down south. I really enjoyed riding through this unspoilt terrain. After about 60kms of gravel we joined up with the R319 that led us into Struisbaai where we were treated to views of original Cape Dutch homes and a collection of fisherman’s cottages that surround a little bay.   We refueled here and went to look at the campsite which was one of our overnight options. Caravans and tents were right up against each other creating one large expanse of canvas roofing. This was a definite no-no! This little town was teaming with tourists.





A few more kilometers would take us to L’Agulhas. This was an awesome ride with several cottages lining the right of the road and the other side lined with grass, rocks and ocean. This was a relaxed and more humble little village. I was in love! On entering the village we passed a small but neat and almost empty little campsite and I immediately pictured our little green tent on the green lawn next to a braai stand. But more important was to get to Cape Agulhus, the MOST SOUTHERN TIP OF AFRICA. For me this was a great achievement and a tick on my bucket list…a rewarding destination for any traveler.

We passed by the candy stripped lighthouse which looms above on a small rise and this gave me some lovely photo opportunities. A short way further is a parking lot and a lovely boardwalk that led us to the spot that marks the area where the warm Indian Ocean meets the cold Atlantic ocean. L’Agulhas means ‘needle’ in Portuguese and it is said that Bartholomeu Dias noticed that the compass needle had moved several degrees northwards once they rounded this headland.
I found it strange that this was such a quiet area and there was no office demanding entry fees, no curio shops, coffee shops or restaurants….just an unspoilt, low key area boasting a hand full of tourists….just perfect!












It was getting late as we headed back to the village where we passed by another campsite on the right, where the office is, and once again a tent village dominated the camping area. The little campsite we preferred is obviously a municipal one and not popular as the lack of  fences surrounding it offer the wary camper no security. This allowed anyone to walk through the area on their way to the beach. This area is not lit up but the nearby street lamps offer enough light. The clean ablution block is kept locked and we were given our own keys to enter. Setting up our tent in our quite little space was a test of our patience and tolerance of one another and despite the wind hampering our progress we managed to hang on to and erect the tent before divorce was declared. It was a comfy little spot close to the rocky beach and far from the madding crowd.

 

[windswept]

Come on China, need more. :sip:

 

[wildside]

Hahahaha....yus this takes time. Working on it  :ricky: More tomorrow 

 

[wildside]

DAY 3:  22 December ~ 192 km

TIME: 9 am – 7.30 pm

L’AGULHAS,  ARNISTON, BREDASDORP,  OUPLAAS, MALAGAS, WITSAND, VERMAAKLIKHEID, JONGENSFONTEIN, STILLBAAI.

Kingsley pulled out our reliable cooking facilities and made us an early morning cup of coffee which we enjoyed whilst the rest of the happy campers in our ‘exclusive’ campsite started to wake up. It was a beautiful day.
A quick pack up and a short ride to the little harbor in Struisbaai for breakfast was a good idea. It was a busy little spot with eager fishermen heading off out to sea to test their fishing skills. The calm sea was dotted with colourful wooden fishing boats bobbing off anchor.
The busy harbour seems to be the heart of most little coastal villages.







After about 20km out of town we turned right onto a gravel road that led us to Arniston. This dead-end road is a detour well worth taking and is another popular tourist destination where, again, everything centers around the harbor.  The bright white walls of the old fishing village, known as Kassiesbaai, on the coastline beyond the harbor, has been declared a national monument, and are offset by the bright turquoise sea and brightly painted fishing boats.









Before heading off I checked my map and Kingsley punched in Ouplaas on his GPS which led us to the Elandsvlei Farm turnoff. This was a good gravel road which eventually took us past a farm and our first gate, however, by the time we had passed our fourth gate the road had become jeep tracks. This should have been a hint that not all was okay, but we forged on ahead trying hard to trust the GPS. These tracks eventually led us to an open expanse of dry, ploughed up fields with fences to the left and far right. The GPS was convinced it could get us across and Kingsley bumped his way over the dry clods and found something that might have once resembled a tractor imprint. He indicated for me to follow….which I reluctantly did as I liked to believe that there was some sort of exit on the other end.
Once off the ploughed field the tracks where no more and we dodged thorn bushes, ant hills, porcupine holes and other threatening looking bushes and headed for the 10 foot fence where we found  two gates….both locked…with no intention of letting anyone or anything through or over. I’m not sure if we had gone far enough but I assumed that on the other side was the De Hoop Nature Reserve and we were denied access. This little –known gem has much to offer the visitor and apparently the best way to explore this rugged and deserted coastline is to walk the three-day Whale Trail.











The only thing now was to turn back out of this hostile corner and to continue on the tar road to Bredasdorp where we needed to refuel and find an ATM. After about 18km out of town we turned right  onto another good gravel road and tried to make up for lost time. This area was so dry and there was no sign of any crops. Only the odd flock of sheep or herd of cattle could be seen within the dusty lands. This was a long stretch of road and Ouplaas was made up of a few dwellings and after a blink we passed it and were looking forward to Malgas. We were passed by two other adventure riders who shot passed us on a crazy hurry and made us feel like we were taking a slow cruise in the park. At one intersection we decided to stop for a rest and were soon joined by another friendly chap on a motorbike who was heading to Infanta to meet his girl friend. After a brief chat we departed.

 

[wildside]

Arriving at Malgas was like riding into an oasis. Descending to the Breede River was a beautiful sight. As we wound down the windy road we were treated to a stunning view of the lovely wide river lined with  tall trees offering the wary traveler plenty of shade. A few dwellings line the river. There is a hotel and campsite and what looked like other guest houses all within a small area of the pont. This was the highlight of my day…. Crossing over the Breede river on the only man- drawn pont in South Africa. It cost us R18 per bike and was well worth it. It can only take two cars at a time and is powered by a cable, some chains and two very strong men who wear a harness strung over their shoulders which is attached to a chain. These chains are flicked around a thick cable, they take up the slack and walk slowly back and forth dragging the heavy pont across the river. It has been in operation for many years and offers the passenger a unique experience.














Witsand, also known as the Whale Nursery, boasts the highest concentration of Southern Right Whales on the South African Coast.  This little village is now a popular destination for Christmas visitors and the  beach front restaurant was bustling with beach goers and the crowd of noisy teenagers next to us freaked Kingsley out and encouraged us to leave early. We took a drive through the residential area and got a stunning view of the wide river and the huge bay that offers visitors a playground for water sports. However, it was too busy for us and the campsite was chock-a block with tents one on top of the other. This was not a place to spend the night so we were keen to move on. Just outside Witsand, at the intersection, is a petrol station and small shop. My bike only has a small tank and I can only travel up to 170 km per tank…on reserve, so I fill up at every opportunity.






So it was now off to Jongesfontein. Heading north for 12 km on the tarred R322 led us to a gravel road heading east to Dasserklip where we turned back towards the sea and rode through a quaint and interesting little outpost called Vermaaklikheid. 


THIS WAS AN INTERESTING LITTLE SHOP IN VERMAAKLIKHEID


Once again it was easy travelling along a well maintained gravel road with dry dusty farms and dusty ostriches creating even more dust by running around frantically as they were spooked by the noise of the motorbikes. We could pick up some good speeds on this road which was just as well as my numb butt was protesting even more. I was also battling to focus through an insect splattered visor, dusty glasses and tired eyes. This ride just seemed endless and I was so looking forward to pitching that tent and calling it a day.

It was 5pm when we rode into Jongensfontein. After checking out this place on the internet I had decided it was the place to spend the night as it appeared to be a quiet little spot and away from the hub of Stillbaai. It was because of this assumption that I decided it wasn’t necessary to reserve accommodation and we could cruise in and choose a special spot….like we had done on all our previous rides. Well…what met us as we rode down into Jongensfontein was a canopy of canvas spread out what was obviously once a decent campsite, rows of caravans surrounding this mess of canvas  in like a laager style, small chalets encompassed the caravans and finally behind this mass of shelter there were bigger cottages.

There were people everywhere. My heart sank as I realized what we had arrived at. Somehow everyone had the same idea to come to this quiet little spot at the ocean. To cut a long story short it took us about an hour to realize we were not going to find accommodation of any kind here. With mixed feelings of disappointment and relief we rode the next 8km to Stillbaai.  We settled ourselves at a little restaurant near the river and I called Roxy to ask her help in finding us somewhere to stay. Kingsley went off in search of the campsite we had stayed in 30 years ago but saw the same village of tents as before.
All the B&B’s I called were full but somehow Roxy managed to find us a room at the Stillbaai River Lodge about 1.5 kms away. This was an awesome old Cape Dutch home that was built sometime between 1912 -1920. It was packed with history and tired travelers.





AN AWESOME VIEW

 

[Grasshopper]

Lekker trip, please continue ...

 

[JonW]

Lovely Ride report so far Karen, beautiful pictures.

Kingsley is looking like a hippy  ;D

 

[wildside]

Lovely Ride report so far Karen, beautiful pictures.

Kingsley is looking like a hippy  ;D

Hi Jon....thanks.
mmmm....he is looking a bit on the wildside hey 

 

[COLES]

awesome photo,s the color of the houses in the cape are just beautiful

fantastic r r thank u for sharing

 

[skydiver]

A nice read, thanks for sharing.  :thumleft:

 

[Big-G]

Awesome trip report
really looking forward to the next instalment...................... :sip:

 

[Jaakmh]

Awesome RR so far. Please continue.......quickly


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[wildside]

DAY 4: 23 December ~  245KM

TIME: 9.30am – 4.30 pm

STILLBAAI, RIVERSDALE, GYSMANSHOEK PASS, RONNIES SEX SHOP, ROOIBERG PASS, CALITZDORP.


What can I say about today other than “Wow….what a great day.”

We had originally planned to take the gravel road north that would take us directly into the town of Riversdale but decided at the last minute to head away from the coast on the well used tar road which meant about 15km of riding on the N2.  We were so keen to get away from the crowds and head inland.
There is a little gravel road pass called GYSMANSHOEK PASS that lies between Garcia Pass (R323) and the Tradouws Pass (R324) and goes over the same Langeberg mountains. So after much checking out Google Earth and my newly acquired ancient second hand Readers Digest Atlas from the SPCA shop we had an idea of the route. (This Atlas shows all the little insignificant farm roads and indicates the farm names as well and was a great help.)
We found the turn off to the Korentepoort Dam and as we rode in a westerly direction the scenery became more beautiful….mountains lined with forests and the beautiful waters of the dam at the foot hills beckoned for me to stop and take photos.








I was fascinated by these old dilapidated buildings


We fumbled a bit with our directions as the GPS didn’t want to pick up this route. After about 30kms or so we found the insignificant little turn off to the right at the hair pin bend.
I had been a bit apprehensive about this pass after reading an article in a magazine about two guys on bikes who had ridden up this pass and made mention of how bad this road was. But fortunately for me another friend of ours, who always travels on the back roads, had driven this way a few days prior to us and gave me the thumbs up  :thumleft:. So now I was keen. :ricky:


This aged sign post is your land mark


The turning to the right is the start of the pass.

Shortly after we turned off it became two little tracks with some loose rocky coverage and it appears that there are two farms in this area which use this road. The scenery was impressive and the remains of burnt protea bushes lined the pass for a lot of the way. We wound our way up through the mountain, on what turned out to be a nice gravel road, onto a lovely flat plateau within the trough of surrounding mountains. It was beautiful. The loose gravel road ran the length of this trough where it turned left and wound its final ascent offering some amazing views back down where we had come from and then equally awesome views down the other side of the mountain once we reached the top. It certainly  was not as hectic as I had anticipated.












Road leading out of the pass


Riding out of the pass


Looking back down into the trough of the pass.



At the top.


The Klein Karoo behind us

 

[wildside]

Once we worked our way back down the other side into the Klein Karoo we joined up with a well maintained gravel road and turning left would take us to the R62, north of Barrydale and just south of Ronnys Sex Shop.
By the time we arrived at this notorious motorbike pitstop it was extremely hot. The quaint little pub is decorated with bras, undies, nappys, ties and graffiti adourned the walls. Visitors from all walks of life find the need to check out this unusual little joint and have something cold to drink and a snack at ‘The Roadkill Restaurant’  before continuing on their journey.


Just another old building on the way down the other side





We headed off north towards Ladismith but were looking for a gravel road turnoff to the right that could get us off the tar. It was hellish hot riding on the tar and we were surprised to experience these pockets of heat. About 5km before R323 and just before the Grootrivier we found a gravel road which was narrow and appeared unused and took us through some very dry scrub land in the Baviaanskrans area (not to be confused with Baviaanskloof). After about 12 km we turned right onto the R323 and a few more tar kms got us to a left turning that would take us towards Van Wyks Dorp.



By now we were feeling so dehydrated and the sun was beating down us…so different from the cool coastal temperature. We enjoyed this stretch of unused road as we could ride abreast and out of each other’s dust cruising at a fair speed. I had made friends with my new Honda and was starting to feel very comfortable on it as it never missed a beat.







We made up some time on this stretch and after riding a few kms on the R327 and turning off at the Calitzdorp sign would take us towards ROOIBERG PASS.  This was a divine route offering lots of twists and turns. A welcoming cool wind was giving us a good thump every now and again. As I rounded one sharp bend I was greeted by a ghostly cloud of dust snaking its way down the pass….it appeared quite ominous.  This Pass weaved its way in and out, up and down through the Rooiberg Mountains. It looked like good hunting terrain and despite its harshness it had its own beauty and the views were magnificent as we headed on down into the green valley south of Calitzdorp.








View of the Rooiberg Pass


Heading on down into the valley on the other side





This green strip of vineyard running parallel on either side of the river was a welcoming sight

It was late afternoon and we were keen to find Bosvarkie…a pub and campsite somewhere in the middle of this greenery. We arrived at a deserted little parking lot, empty campsite and what looked like and abandoned pub. Disillusioned, we climbed off our bikes and went to investigate. We entered through a doorway and to our surprise found a fully functioning pub….we were the first guests though. The father and daughter staff were very pleasant and we gulped some much needed refreshments and started to feel very comfortable and relaxed here. The wind was gusty outside and it was suggested that we camp in the sheltered grounds of the pub and not in the designated campsite around the corner. We pitched our tent next to the little plunge pool…our own private Jacuzzi… and made ourselves quite comfortable.






The food was divine and more and more people popped in to socialize. Apparently it’s a popular spot for motorbike gatherings and there were signs of Wilddog graffiti on the walls…the guilty parties should know who they are. As we headed to bed so the neighbourhood woke up and the pub came to life.  Bosvarkie was the place to meet, eat and be merry. I’m not sure what time the party ended but it gave me a good opportunity to listen to some lekker Afrikaans ‘liedjies’.

 

[Chrisl]

I wonder what happened to Wildside and Kingsley? They used to ride Yamahas. eepwall:

 

[wildside]

I wonder what happened to Wildside and Kingsley? They used to ride Yamahas. eepwall:

I was very sad when I sold my bike but Kingsley was having electrical troubles with his Tenere so we decided to sell both and replace with Hondas...both having the same bike meant carrying only one set of spares etc. and easier to maintain.

 

[Chrisl]

I wonder what happened to Wildside and Kingsley? They used to ride Yamahas. eepwall:

I was very sad when I sold my bike but Kingsley was having electrical troubles with his Tenere so we decided to sell both and replace with Hondas...both having the same bike meant carrying only one set of spares etc. and easier to maintain.

He could have bought himself an XT 600E :deal:

 

[wildside]

DAY 5:   24 December  ~  120km

TIME: 10am – 2.30 pm

CALITZDORP, GROENFONTEIN, KRUISRIVIER, SWARTBERG PASS, GAMKASKLOOF (Die Hel).


After a slow pack up and a brekkie at the Ebenharts Restaurant in Calitsdorp we stocked up with a few  treats  for our trip down to Die Hel where we were to spend Xmas Eve.


I can't resist a xmas decoration



The next 55km’s was one of the most scenic and beautiful rides that I’ve done in a while.   We took the narrow  gravel road that heads north out of town and then eastwards towards Groenfontein. This road weaved around the edges of the Calitzdorp Dam then in between small holdings which boasted some real old fashioned little dutch homes. I slowed my pace right down and tried to absorb  these surroundings…it was all so quaint and fascinating.








The old Postoffice




There were small bright green strips of vinyards, patches of onions, rows of olive trees, small fenced off areas for ostriches, some art galleries and a few welcoming guest houses follow the same course of the little river that snaked around the surrounding mountains and dominated this area.



We crossed over many little concrete drifts. This must be a difficult area to travel in during raining season as all this drifts would be under water.
After about 25km there’s a turn off to the left that si sign posted Cango caves. I had to wait here for about 15 minutes for Kingsley, who had continued straight, before realizing he was on his own.




Another rescued tortoise being introduced to Santa


We eventually approached the Swartberg Wildlife Reserve which ran along the base of the Swartberg mountains. We stopped to look at some giraffe that were, strangely enough, lying down in a clearing. These poor creatures looked so out of place in this low Karoo bush. Further along we saw some handsome kudu staring curiously at us. This fascinating stretch of road ran parallel to these mountains for about 43 km’s and then became tar. The  little village of Matjiesrivier was made up of a patchwork of green fields and vineyards.



We eventually arrived at the R328 and turned left to head up the Swartberg Pass. The clear sunny day allowed us to enjoy some great views on the way up. There wasn’t too much traffic on the pass and this made for easy riding.