UNWRAPPING THE CAPE FOR CHRISTMAS

[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.

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

Hahahaha....true  :-\

 

[schalk vd merwe]

Hi Wildside nice to see you are back. Very nice RR and photos.

 

[wildside]

A few kilometers down the other side we came across the turning to the Gamkaskloof Valley, better known as ‘Die Hel’. A 48km route through some spectacular hills and scenery with  proteas lining the road made for a memorable and unforgettable experience. How could one take this warning sign seriously?







A sign  also warns the traveler that it would take about 2 hrs to reach ‘Die Hel’ and  despite it being rather rocky and a bit  sandy it was generally an ‘okay’ road with lots of twists and turns to slow you down which also required much concentration and a good sense of humour.
The going was good and it was amazing to see how the road zig zagged it’s way out of the valleys into the far distant mountains. We couldn’t actually believe that that was where we were heading.












I think you got the idea about all the proteas!




Having a quick rest in the heat of the day.


The long and winding road.....

We came across a few vehicles returning from Die Hel and as the roads were wide enough, passing was no problem. This was all good and easy and I couldn’t understand why some people had to be driven out of the valley under a blanket and others where nervous to go down unless they were in a big group. I suppose everybody has their own story or idea of the place.
After about 37kms of stunning riding we rounded a corner and there far down below the road wound its way down the mountain side all the way to the bottom to straighten out and run down the length of a green finger of vegetation which followed the base of two mountain ranges.

So this is the stretch of road that spooks a lot of people…the road that leads to Hell!  I just reminded myself to keep close to the mountain side, look in front and not down over the edge. There were some steep and tight corners and despite feeling a bit tense it wasn’t too scary.























Finally we were at the bottom with a sign welcoming us to this amazing World Heritage Sight – The Hell.   Whew…I had made it!




We could feel the intense heat….hence the name, but fortunately there was a mild breeze bringing some relief to this hellish hot place. Another 7km’s of riding through green bush led us to the restaurant. There were only two other vehicles and a motorbike in the car park…. these were day visitors and heading off out of the valley again. It was very quiet for holiday season. There was plenty of old paraphernalia lying around reminding the visitor of all the curious history in this secluded  and desolate valley.




I got chatting to the young lady in the restaurant who’s married to a chap who was of the fifth generation to be living in this valley with one entrance also being the only exit. This road was only constructed in 1962 allowing all the inhabitants of this settlement to head out of the isolated valley to civilization where they could spread their wings. But one family returned and resurrected the old homesteads allowing for curious travelers to explore and discover some fascinating history.
We had planned to camp but took a chance and asked about available accommodation. Luckily ‘Oupa Piets Plek’  was available.




I was so excited about spending a night in this original old homestead which was about a kilometer further along the road and tucked away in the bush up against a rocky outcrop. It was such a quaint place with low ceilings, squat door frames, small dark rooms, antique furniture, a cosy kitchen boasting an original esse stove and chimney and the walls were decorated with old original photos of the previous inhabitants. There was no electricity, only candles and a few solar LED strips, so it was rather dark and gloomy….. I was almost expecting a ghost to make an appearance.










On arrival Kingsley kindly got all our smelly washing out and tossed them into the bath, washed, rinsed and hung them out to dry.


We certainly know how to bring the tone of a place down.

We sat outside a while, sipped our wine and soaked up the tranquility of this unique spot.  We prepared our Christmas dinner outside which consisted of our good old standby…Tastic Mexican rice and wait for it….. chilli flavoured tuna ( my stomach does a bit of a churn when I think about it now!!) Desert was a piece of squashed home baked Xmas cake and custard. What more could we ask for?  


BLEH!!  :tongue:

This was Christmas eve and before the sun settled behind the mountains we were already in bed….exhausted but looking forward to another exciting  Xmas days ride.

 

[wildside]

I do apologise for the delay in this posting. Internet has been down for a while.  :deal: Hopefully I can get it finished today or tomorrow.

 

[wildside]

DAY 6:  Friday 25 December 2015  ~    306km                            CHRISTMAS DAY  :santa:

TIME:  8.00am – 5.30 pm

DIE HEL,  SWARTBERG PASS,   DE RUST,  DYSSELDORP,  UNIONDALE,  BAVIAANSKLOOF (Speekhout)

We both enjoyed our brief stay in Die Hel and marveled at how the people once survived down here with no roads. For me, it was a privilege having spent the night in this World Heritage Site and made me appreciate the hardships these folks had to endure.
There was no Christmas lie in or present exchanges for us….doing this trip was our Christmas gift to each other! We needed an early getaway to get out of this isolated valley and start the next leg of our trip…it was going to be a long day.

  We have been looking forward to this part of the ride as we had heard so much about the Baviaanskloof and seen awesome photos in the travel magazines. Now it was for real. 
We handed in our keys and  said out farewells to Marionette, a brave lady for hanging around and being a wonderful hostess and ambassador for Die Hel.

My heart was racing slightly as we approached the tight switchbacks heading out of this amazing valley. I kept reminding myself that I got down here and all will be fine getting out of here. Well, before I knew we were at the top of this particular section and the rest of the way was a breeze.
We stopped to admire the proteas and on sitting quietly at the side of the road we were amazed to hear all the bird song. Hundreds of tiny birds flitted in and out of these huge plants obviously finding some nutrition amongst the remaining flowers. It was fascinating to watch and a pleasure to be part of.






NOT SURE WHAT OOM KOOS DID TO DESERVE THIS KLIP.










As we neared the Swartberg Pass the mist and clouds came pouring over the mountains on the right of us. I expected a misty ride down the other side of the of the mountain but it was only overcast and chilly. We stopped for an early Christmas lunch at some little road side family restaurant and animal farm before taking a left turn towards Rus en Vrede. This was a divine, scenic 30km ride. Initially it was a bit slow going as it was a windy road but it soon opened up to a lovely stretch of road. It was on this section that Kingsley went onto reserve and we limped into DeRust to find fuel. Guess what….No fuel!!!   Xmas Day and the fuel station was closed!








I saw a number on the window advertising the Breakdown guy, which I promptly phoned. Hendrik was not available as he was on his way back from Mosselbay, however, a few minutes later his wife phoned back to say they were still 20 minutes from Oudshoorn and they would purchase fuel and bring it to us if we didn’t mind waiting. We had no option but to wait. Thanks again to another friendly and helpful guy who invited us to wait in the garden of their little holiday resort.

It was early afternoon by the time we refueled and we had lost a fair amount of time so we sped off towards Dysseldorp which was a tiny and scruffy little town. After heading in the wrong direction through some sort of township we eventually found the correct road. A well maintained gravel road led us through the dry dusty Karoo once again past Koutjie and Daskop, south of the Kammanasieberge. There were a few farms scattered in between the 75 km’s of vast open dry spaces. A few km’s before we reached the N9 the green farm land returned and prettiness prevailed.

It was about 3pm when we reached Uniondale – our next stop for fuel. We were now keen to get to our destination. We rode northwards out of Uniondale and took the first gravel road to the right that would take us to the Western entrance of the Baviaanskloof…Dutch for ‘Valley of Baboons’






Again this was a good road to make up for lost time. There was plenty of accommodation along this route and we decided that wherever we were at 6pm we would spend the night at the closest available place.
Arriving at the Nuwepoort Pass, the official western entrance to the Baviaanskloof,  in the low light of the day made for incredible and memorable views. The orange cliffs were highlighted and glowing, the shadows long and dark, the high cliffs on either side were intimidating and it gave this pass a mystical feeling.  The different folds of the rock were fascinating and hard to perceive how they became so beautifully patterned.

 

[wildside]

We slowly worked our way through these magnificent mountains trying to absorb it all. Being rewarded with this awesomeness makes all the hardships along the way so worth it.
This was a wonderful introduction to the stretch of road that would lead us to the Baviaanskloof. We were soon out in the open again and crossed several dry river beds before arriving at our landmark and turnoff to Speekhout.







The 2km driveway wound around some hills and led us to an old farmhouse were a rasta guy directed us to our ‘off-the-grid’ shack. This was a small rectangular building constructed from reeds and corrugated iron. It was very basic but had all we needed to be comfortable. It was so quiet and peaceful and tucked up against a hill. The outside loo and shower was also made from reeds and lined with a white painted canvas. We had LED lights, hot water and charging facilities on their ‘off grid’ system.  Perhaps it wouldn’t appeal to many people but we loved the quaintness of this setup.
















A quick unpack and Kingsley was off to find some Xmas Cheer, in the form of beer, at Uitsig, a few kilometers down the road. I relaxed with a cup of coffee in the scruffy but interesting garden and was entertained by a little shrew munching a left over nicknack. Peter, the guy who owns the property, is into Bonsai and I think this was once his spot.

Such a perfect place to unwind and end a Christmas day.

 

[Lem]

This is such a lekker ride report.

Always nice to hear someone from another province's perspective about your backyard.

glad that you had fun  :thumleft:

 

[Black_Hawk]

Baie mooi RR met pragtige foto's. Dankie dat ons kon saam ry.  :thumleft:

 

[wildside]

DAY 7:    SATURDAY - 26 December 2015   ~  120 km

TIME:    9.00am  -  3.00 pm

SPEEKHOUT, WESTERN ENTRANCE (BAVIAANSKLOOF), EASTERN ENTRANCE (BAVIAANSKLOOF), PATENTSIE.


I was looking forward to today’s ride. There are apparently 43 river crossings zigzagging  over the two main Baviaanskloof and Kouga Rivers but only about one third of them are water crossings. So I was prepared for a bit of water and rocky crossings.

It was about another 40 km’s to the western entrance of the Baviaanskloof Reserve and it was a pretty ride. There is a fair amount of accommodation along the way and, as a lot of you might know, it is necessary to book during peak season.  There are some lovely low water bridge crossings and the road is good. The 197km narrow valley passes between two mountain ranges, the Baviaans Mountains on the north side and the Kouga Mountains on the south side, both being part of the Cape Fold Mountains. These mountains offer the tourist some beautiful scenery.


















It was along this stretch of road that we came across a stray blesbuck. He was walking casually along the road and wasn’t spooked by the noise of our bikes. Kingsley slowly passed him and I watched as he walked towards an entrance to a farm. Once I thought he was out of the way I continued on and when I glanced at my mirror I saw him chasing me. I immediately thought he was fed up with me and was making an aggressive approach so I accelerated. He continued to chase me. Kingsley saw what was happening and stopped and I pulled up alongside him. The blesbuck stopped just short of us. It turned out that this little chap was friendly and was just looking for company. He walked around fearlessly but kept his distance. We took some photos before heading off. On glancing back in my mirror there he was running after us yet again. I felt so sad leaving this friendly little chap. I can only imagine that he was once someone’s pet who has been allowed to roam free.












At the entrance one has to buy a permit in order to gain access. Once inside the reserve things changed drastically. I don’t know what gets done with the entrance fee money but it certainly doesn’t go into the Road Maintenance Fund! Out came the Rescue (homeopathic anxiety pills).

There were two vehicles towing trailers in front of us and we soon caught up with them as they were much slower on the rougher sections.  They allowed us to overtake and we continued up the narrow and windy pass. The road was extremely narrow with some serious drop off’s (thank goodness for Rescue). Taking deep breathes I stuck close to the mountain side and as a result nearly had a head on with a vehicle slowly making its way down and around the same tight corner. I reluctantly stopped and after a sheepish wave and ‘jammer Oom’ continued up the pass aware of his warning that there were more vehicles heading on down.  I have no idea how these vehicles manage to maneuver around each other on these narrow switchbacks as the there was quite a bit of traffic heading up and down with very little room for error. It was definitely easier and safer on a bike. We soon headed down towards a river crossing and found some shade and stopped for some recovery time.

 

[wildside]

There is so much beautiful vegetation along this route and I can now understand why it has been declared the Cape Floral Region World Heritage Site.  Apparently it boasts one of the richest plant regions in the world. However, in amongst all this plant life lurk some nasty critters as well.  As I rounded one corner I saw this long mustard coloured snake across the left half of the road and as I approached it pulled back and rose up to about half a meter. I was too close to stop so immediately accelerated and abruptly pulled my left leg up as high as possible in order to avoid a strike. My heart was pounding in my chest as I realized that it was the dreaded Cape Cobra and I rode on thankful that we had managed to avoid each other.

The roads became even narrower and the vegetation was overgrown and closing in on us. We came to another river crossing….this time no low level bridge…but two tracks through a huge expanse of dirty water covering small loose rocks and edged with long reeds. It continued around a corner so we could only hope that there was no vehicle coming our way as there was nowhere to pull over. I would let Kingsley go ahead and check out the lay of the land….or should I say water, he would then stop and wait for me to catch up, he would move off again, stop and wait and so we continued till we rounded the corner and reached the other end without any mishaps. . Before setting out this morning I was prepared for Kingsley to take my bike across as we had heard some interesting stories about how long and deep these crossings were and about bikes going into dips and falling over. We had obviously chosen some good lines and perhaps the water levels had dropped.














The next water crossing was even longer and we repeated the same process and once again got through without any fuss. I was actually enjoying these water crossings and felt that I had managed quite well. Needless to say our boots were now soaking wet.

 

[wildside]

Now the ‘fun’ began and the serious stuff tested the working ability of my Rescue. I was totally unaware of this next steep section heading up yet another mountain pass….perhaps just as well. I had thought all the mean bits were over, but I was wrong. The road became narrow with the broken remains of two concrete strips, potholes, loose rocks as well as 4x4’s and motorbikes moving in both directions. I have no idea how I stayed on that bike but I must have acquired some sort of riding skills somewhere along the way  because I managed to avoid any incidences whilst passing the slower vehicles moving up and the impatient ones coming down.

I was so busy concentrating on the poor excuse for a road in front of me that I didn’t even get a chance to admire the view (I wish we had some Gopro footage of this section as I would have loved to review it)  Finally we reached the top of the plateau and stopped at the entrance to Bergplaas where I managed to gather my wits and mend my boots. Both the soles were peeling off the boots, thanks to all the water crossings, and Kingsley did a sterling job keeping them in place with cable ties.




I soon felt confident enough to get back on the bike and head off for the final 18 km’s. The descent was fine and made for easy riding and the views were impressive. We had now crossed the second mountain range.  It was with a sigh of relief that we exited the Eastern side of the Baviaanskloof Reserve.





The plan was to stay at Kubu Kaya but there were no campsites available. The rest of the route to Patensie was  scenic and we saw some great sights. Not far from Patensie I ran out of fuel and we had to drain some from Kingsley’s bike. Something to bear in mind is that there is no fuel available, no cellphone network and no banking facilities within this stretch of mountains so one has to be organised.





We eventually found some accommodation in Patensie where we did some boot repairs, laundry and much needed relaxing.

 

[wildside]

DAY 8:  SUNDAY -    27 December 2016    ~    406 km

TIME:  6.30am  -  3.00pm

PATENSIE,  HANKEY,  PORT ELIZABETH,  PORT ALFRED,  EAST LONDON,  CINTSA WEST (Buccaneers Backpackers)

We were on the road by 6.30am and because of this early start the highway leading up to P.E wasn’t too busy. We decided on this route because of time restraints and had initially planned to work our way through some back roads. Our first stop was at Colchester where we braved a breakfast which was quite entertaining as we had a new waitress serve us who lacked all people and serving skills and a good old laugh sorted out any problems.
Our next stop was at the yacht club in Port Alfred. For some reason we weren’t thinking straight and this long boring road put our minds into neutral and we forgot to refuel. So of course I ran out once again about 30 km south of EL. Fortunately we had some spare fuel in the bladder. There are no photos for this section of the ride as I had lost interest and was feeling irritated and bored. The hectic wind pushed and pulled us all the way into EL. It was a great relief when we turned off the highway towards Cintsa and worked our way down to the coast.

It was mid afternoon by the time we arrived at Buccaneers backpackers. We both breathed a sigh of relief as we took in the welcoming surroundings. They offer a variety of accommodation and at the bottom of the hill tucked away in a big clearing we found our campsite. There was plenty of space and the people were pleasant.

Not long after we pitched our tent, showered and settled down we received a call from Roxy to say they were an hour away from us and needed to find accommodation. After making numerous unsuccessful phone calls we managed to convince the receptionist to allow them to share our site with us. After a delicious supper at the backpackers we enjoyed a few drinks at the pub and headed down the hill. We made Dan as comfortable as we could in the front of his bakkie and Roxy squeezed in next to us. It was a strange setup but we all enjoyed ourselves and our time together.

 

[wildside]

DAY 9:  MONDAY -  28 December   ~   +/- 250 kms

TIME:   7.30 am  -  2.30 pm

CINTSA,  MORGANS BAY,  KEI RIVER, WILLOVALE,  HOLE IN THE WALL.

We all left at the same time and Rox and Dan went back to EL to buy groceries and we headed off to the Kei River where we refueled and bought some rolls and cheese to munch on the way. We arrived at the ferry and immediately got on board – good timing. I always enjoy the ferry crossings and find them such a treat.






We soon stopped on the side of the road and had a bite to eat.




By the time we arrived at Willowmore we were so hot and thirsty. We had only travelled this route once before on our way back from the Kei River bash and without a GPS we would never have found our way to Hole in the Wall. We were both complaining bitterly of sore bums and I needed to stop frequently to rehydrate. Despite it being a pleasant route I started feeling quite agitated and wanted this ride to end. You will notice that there are fewer photos. I had a reached a point where I couldn’t have been bothered to take photos. Stopping frequently would just delay the arrival time




We just never seemed to reach the Zitulela Hospital road where we were to cross over. I was now so tired and started riding slower and just wanted to get to our cottage chop chop. We eventually popped out on the road about 10 km from Hole in the Wall and just down this road we passed Dan and Rox. We quickly made plans to meet at the Hotel and we made a bee line for a well deserved  G&T and cold beer. We didn’t even give the Hole in the Wall viewpoint a second thought….so sadly no pics.




It was a great relief to arrive at the cottage safely with Dan and Roxy. So, it was off with the boots and dusty kit and onto the stoep for sundowners, beautiful view and another week of rest and relaxation.





It was a satisfying feeling having planned this whole trip and for arranging to see so many new places and experience amazing passes. It certainly was a great achievement for me and a memorable Christmas shared with my wonderful hubby and best friend. :love3:




                                                                               :wave:

 

[Single Cylinder]

What a great road trip. Thanks.  :ricky:

 

[1ougat]

:sip: Make you want to ride  :thumleft:

 

[westfrogger]

A wonderful read. Thank you.  :thumleft: