4000km to Clarens

It all started in December 2008 with a trip to George and a day trip on the old Knysna road from George to Knysna, also known as the “Seven passes road”. We both immediately said that we have to do these passes with the bikes. So our plan started for December 2009 to do our first real road trip. We will go down to George with the bikes and spend the first week with the family in Hartenbos and then travel back through the Eastern Cape. We will include Cape L’Agulhas for our Extreme point award.

So the planning begun… research for a new, smaller and lighter tent, bags to take with, routes to take, etc. Eventually we bought the K-Way Tourer tent – quite big, but folds up nice and small and only weighs around 5kg’s. Also included were new cooking equipment, small hiking pots, kettle, stove and gas lamp. Four new bags were made for the rest of the camping equipment, the inflatable mattress, the tent and sleeping gear. My bike was kitted out with a new Heidenau front tyre and wider foot pegs for all the off road routes we were planning to take. We also got the new F4 communication system and a Bluetooth dongle for my iPod to enable us to at least be able to communicate a bit on the long road.

Once we had all the equipment, we could hardly contain our excitement anymore and couldn’t wait to get going!

Day 1:
Finally the big day arrived and after everything was eventually loaded onto the bikes and properly strapped down, the GPS mounted, the Camelbaks filled, the new F4 intercom system linked, we were ready to go! As soon as we got onto the highway another biker came speeding past with one hell of a speed. Unfortunately we met up with him again only about 20km further on the road. He crashed into the back of a car and was lying next to the road, with his bike and the car about 100m away. This was a huge reality check to remind us to take it easy and to just enjoy the trip.

The initial plan was to take some back roads from Centurion to Gariep dam, but something went wrong on the GPS when I loaded the route and we basically had no GPS, with the only map on it the Colesberg map. From Parys we were forced to change our plans and head off to the N1, seeing that the back roads are not marked that well. Our first stop was in Kroonstad for brunch at the Squirrels Café, where they still have real beef burgers and chips. From there on we stayed on the N1 and soon reached Bloemfontein with 38C and this called for milkshakes at the Wimpy to try and cool us down a bit. After Bloemfontein we had a strong wind from the right, which gave me quite a sore neck. This accompanied us all the way to Gariep dam, our first stop for the night. We arrived there at 16h00, hot and tired and quickly set up camp, where after we went for a drink next to the swimming pool and a nap before dinner.

Day 2:
After a well deserved rest, we were up at dawn and it was time to test our new gas stove and 2 cup kettle for some early morning coffee. It took us almost 2 hours to pack up the camp and be ready to get going again. We immediately decided that we will have to drastically improve on this. We were back on the road again at around 6h30.

Our camp the first night.


Almost ready to get going again.


The Karoo was beautiful this early in the morning and the temperature was a very nice and cool 20C. At some stage it dropped down to 16C but overall it stayed very nice riding weather with the temperature at 24C most of the time and hardly any wind. On the way out from Gariep dam we saw some blue wildebeest playing. This was just the beginning of all the animals; later on we saw lots of cattle, sheep and donkeys. Some sheep were even standing knee deep in the water! They were probably also enjoying the cooler weather.

We stayed on the N9 all the way to George and enjoyed some very nice twisties through a number of passes, including Lootsberg, Potjiesberg and Naudesberg passes to name a few. We were really enjoying the road and the ride and just shook our heads at the Gautengers speeding past from behind and the Capetonians racing up north. They were surely missing out on all the beautiful scenery and Karoo smells that were enjoying. Life is so much better on the bikes!

Our first stop was for brunch at the Cool Cockerel in Graaff Reinett. We first discovered this place during our honeymoon in September and had a great meal then. This place is definitely worth a visit – the food is freshly prepared and the service excellent with a very nice setting outside in the gardens. It is also right opposite the famous old church in Graaff Reinet, giving you a wonderful view on the church.

The weather remained wonderful riding weather overall, but we did encounter some fairly strong wind from the left at some stage. This however gave me time to exercise my right neck muscle! I feared yesterday that I will develop a huge left neck muscle and nothing on the right! I should remember to tell my trainer about this – he thought I would (as usual) not get any exercise during the holidays! From Willowmore the wind changed and we suddenly had a back wind to accompany us all the way to the Outeniqua pass. Unfortunately we caught up with a Gautenger whose Prado could not go faster than 30 km/h, causing us to lose the opportunity for some very nice twisties through the pass.

We arrived safely and with a feeling of satisfaction in Hartenbos for the first week of our holiday. Today was an awesome ride!

Beautiful Daleen, Enjoy and keep the photo's and reports comming.

I feel so much better about my packing now... (I don't travel light!)

Very cool!

Lekker trip! Man, that is one huge tent. Please tell me it wasn't the garage

Great stuff .. looking forward to the rest!

Great report, keep it coming.

Nice

Marnus wrote:Lekker trip! Man, that is one huge tent. Please tell me it wasn't the garage

Martin did want to park the bikes inside, but I refused.
That is the beauty of this tent, it is quite big when set up, but only weighs around 5kg and folds up a little bit bigger than a 2 man tent.

Day 3:
This morning we woke up to stunning weather in Hartenbos! Unfortunately my bike had to go in for its 10000km service and we couldn’t enjoy the great weather. The George BMW garage was very busy with quite a few GP bikes to service. The service however is probably as good as Bavaria and the staff very friendly. We spent this glorious day in a mall doing our last Christmas shopping and watching a movie while we waited for them to finish the service. We also handed in the GPS to be fixed. After they reloaded the GPS with the new 2009 maps, it was as good as new again.

Just look at the beautiful weather we missed out on!


Day 4 & 5:
The next two days were spent with the family swimming, sleeping, eating, playing beach volleyball and cricket and just laying on the beach. Great holiday activities!!!

Beautiful weather at Hartenbos!



Day 6 – Cape L’Agulhas
Today we were off to Cape L’Agulhas for the Extreme point award. We got up early and watched a beautiful sunrise!



We took the N2 from Hartenbos and got off the highway just after Albertinia, on the way to Stilbaai. This was our first dirt road for the trip and was an easy dirt highway. From Stilbaai we turned west towards Witsand and got off the tar again just before Jongensfontein. From here it was dirt all the way to just outside Bredasdorp. It was dirt highways all the way with some stunning scenery and an abundance of animals and birdlife – bontebok, meerkats, lots of bluecrane, storks (hope they weren’t trying to send us a message), ostriches, sheep, cattle and even an eagle! This felt like a real roadtrip!

On the road to Vermaaklikheid.




Some of the animals and birds we encountered.






At Witsand we boarded the Pont to cross the Breë River. The Pont is pulled across the river by two guys that hook a chain onto the cable and then walk the length of the Pont and then back again to pull the Pont over the river. It was quite an experience.

Our bikes on the Pont.



The guys pulling the Pont over the river.


The Pont that carried us over the Breë River.


From Witsand we switched places a bit and Martin took the lead as he was now tired of eating my dust. Luckily for me there was a bit of a breeze that blew most of the dust away before it could reach me. We made a quick turn at Waenhuiskrans to have a look at the famous cave, but unfortunately we were two hours too early for low tide – the only time that you can safely enter the cave.

We took another little dirt road from Waenhuiskrans to Cape L’Agulhas. We stopped for some very tasty seafood in Struisbaai and from there it was on to the lighthouse for the photos for out Extreme award. We wanted to go to the very end but after I had a light spill on the very loose rocks, we decided we were close enough.

At the most Southern point at Cape L’Agulhas.


We then turned back to the lighthouse to visit the lighthouse museum and go up into the lighthouse. Very interesting.

At the Cape L’Agulhas lighthouse.


The view from on top of the lighthouse – stunning!


From Cape L’Agulhas we decided to take the N2 back home, as it was getting quite late and we were due to join the family for Christmas Eve dinner. We made a quick turn through Swellendam and decided this is definitely worth a longer visit at another time. The town streets are lined with big old trees and there are beautiful old buildings. It looks like a place where you can spend quite some time to just relax and explore. We were back in Hartenbos again at 18h30 after a really amazing trip and a great day all around!

Wow pictures! Where were you guys when I went down there? It seems I stuck too much to the tar and missed out on some awesome stuff. Will just have to go back there

Nice report and stunning photo's.

Congrats on the Extreme point Agulhas is by far the most scenic of all the points!!!

Lekkerte! Baie baie geluk julle 2!!!!

Very nice!

Day 7 – Christmas!
We spent a quiet but very enjoyable Christmas with the family – eating a lot, opening presents and going for a long walk on the beach. Good times!

Day 8:
We woke up early in the morning with the sound of light rain on the tent roof. This was not good news as we were suppose to pack up and move to my brother’s place in Glentana for the night. Luckily the rain stopped fairly quickly and the tent was dry again by the time we had to take it down. Strong winds however spoiled the men’s plans for deep sea fishing. We spent the day playing games, doing washing and just relaxing overall. A last good rest before we would take off on our Eastern Cape part of our trip.

Day 9 – 8 passes!
After one last sumptuous breakfast with the family, we were off for the next part of our trip. We left Glentana with some light drizzle and nice cool weather. In George we turned off to the old Knysna road and soon we encountered the first set of twisties. We were still on tar but that soon ended. The road, full of puddles of water, winded through the forest and over interesting old bridges, past cows grazing in lush green meadows and every now and then there was a gap in the trees and we could see nice old farm houses. I would love to have a little farm in these beautiful mountains!

One of the historical old bridges.


Every now and then we encountered short stretches of tar, but were soon back on dirt roads again. We went pass a number of villages, including Karatara and the old Millwood gold mine, which we visited the previous time – very interesting! We covered all seven passes, ending with the Homtini and Phantom passes before we were back on the N2 towards Knysna.

On Phantom pass.


After battling through the peak traffic in Knysna, we turned off onto the R339 towards Uniondale to do the 8th pass of the day – Prince Alfred pass. This is definitely one of the most beautiful and picturesque passes we have ever done. The first part of the road winds through the forest and is lined with trees. The road then opens up a bit and winds through the mountains that are mostly covered with trees, shrubs and some wild flowers. We even saw some baboons and two field mice. One of the mice just stuck its head out of the bush but immediately withdrew again once he saw the bikes!

Stunning forest road.


Time for a body break.


We travelled all along a little stream, with some waterfalls and interesting stone bridges. It was an easy dirt road with just a couple of sharp turns and here and there some narrow stretches, but overall an easy ride. I am not sure if all the Sandton 4x4’s would quite agree with me about this though. We had to eat their dust every now and then as they came speeding past from the opposite direction. Some of these cars were driving quite fast and reckless and we frequently had to look for cover on the side of the road to ensure we are not run off the pass. All the bikers, quite a number of them, were very friendly though and obviously enjoyed the stunning scenery with us – no one was doing crazy speeds.

At the top of the pass.


One of the many little waterfalls.


Looking back on the pass.


Too soon it was the end of this stunning pass and we turned onto the R62 towards Humansdorp. It was now already late in the afternoon and we started looking for a place to sleep. We had no luck though and went through to Jeffresbay. We were even more out of luck as all the camping places were packed and no room to spare, not even in any guesthouses. We were forced to carry on to Port Elizabeth where we booked into the Protea Hotel at 20h00 at night. The hot shower and room service were most welcome after a long, but highly enjoyable day!

And then....?

You will have to wait a bit until I had time tonight to type up some more. Work is interfering again with my social life.

Day 10 & 11: Hogsback
From PE we drove to Grahamstown via Addo. We had no luck with the animals at the Addo National Park and only saw ostriches and bucks in the far distance. They were probably hiding from the scorching heat and sun. We had no such luck and had to push on. We stopped for lunch in Grahamstown, but were very disappointed with the service at the Madhatters. The old buildings were however a great attraction and we would definitely like to go back and explore them a bit more.

From Grahamstown we encountered some nice hip swinging twisties through the Ecca pass and right through to Hogsback. Just about 5km from Hogsback we suddenly left the heat and drought behind as we entered the land of fairies, trolls, hobbits and Tolkien through a cool and welcoming forest tunnel. This is an amazing stretch of route right into Hogsback, but unfortunately there was no place to stop for photos.

We booked into Granny Mouse House and went for a chilly, but exhilarating cool down in the swimming pool. The gardens are absolutely stunning and you can almost feel the peace and quiet. After a juicy steak at the historic Hogsback Inn, it was time for a well deserved rest.

Granny Mouse House.


Hogsback is a little green oasis in the mountains with a number of hiking trails all around the area. It is also an artist’s town with a number of art galleries, pottery studios and even a labyrinth and an abundance of guest houses to choose from. We first went down to the Arboretum to just walk around and admire the beautiful flora. Hogsback is filled with Hydrangea in all different shades of blue and purple, fox glove and arum lilies growing wild. We walked up to the 39 Steps waterfall and even saw a Knysna loerie on the way back.

39 Steps waterfall.




The gardens in the Arboretum.






After all the exercise it was time to put some of the lost calories back again. We had the most divine cheese cake ever – a white chocolate cheese cake!!! It was so good, we did not even leave any crumbs for the crickets.

The coffee shop where we had the best cheese cake ever!


Nothing for the crickets!


It was now time to visit the Camelot Fairy realm – a garden filled with sculptures of all kinds of fairies. Quite interesting, even if you don’t like or believe in fairies.

Some of the fairy sculptures.






After a Savannah and an afternoon swim, we went to visit the Eco Shrine – homage to the earth, which consists of a number of paintings, sculptures and mosaics. It was quite interesting, even though some of the paintings were quite weird.

The Eco Shrine.


Stunning views from the Eco Shrine.


We then went for a forest drive with me as pillion on Martin’s bike. This was quite scary as some of the roads were fairly steep with sudden turns and I could not see where we were going. Very different from being in control of the bike! Hats off to all the pillions out there! Our trip to Hogsback was ended off with pizzas at Nina’s. This place is really a “food for the soul” place with all the beautiful flora around and the peace and quiet. Definitely worth another visit or three.

Beautiful!

Prentjie-mooi!!! Dit lyk wragtig of julle 'n vreeslike lekker tydjie gehad het. Ek is BAIE jaloers!!!

Corlia wrote:Prentjie-mooi!!! Dit lyk wragtig of julle 'n vreeslike lekker tydjie gehad het. Ek is BAIE jaloers!!!

Ons het dit verskriklik baie geniet! Maar die beste kom nog!

Ja, ek kannie wag om te hoor hoe julle eindelik by Clarens uitgekom het .

Moenie dat jou werk by jou skrywery inmeng nie!

Day 12: Doing 4x4 with a 2x2!
We left Hogsback feeling rejuvenated. As we had quite a stretch to go today, we decided to stick to tar as far as possible. From Hogsback there was just a short stretch of dirt road to the nearest tar road opposed to the long stretch going directly to Cathcart. The short stretch was a bit of a detour and went via Michell’s pass – we decided on Michell’s pass. The road started out quite a nice level 1 dirt road and quite scenic, almost bushveld like. I was leading and as I came around a bend it was suddenly 4x4 terrain!!! The road was very steep, full of fairly big boulders and parts of the road just washed away. There was no time to stop to pick the best line or even to just be scared! I slammed on the front brake and held it tight all the way down, but was still going at quite a speed; the road was just that steep. I just tried to remember everything I learned in the off-road course. And I kept telling myself, “look up”! Eventually I was through it and on level terrain again – soaking wet but feeling exhilarated and triumphant! We made it without a spill! Wow! That was really exciting! Definitely the most difficult piece of road we’ve ever done! Only afterwards when we consulted the Hogsback maps again, did we see that they say this pass is for 4x4 only! I would do this again in a heartbeat!

On the route to Seymour just after our 4x4 trip.




Crossing a little bridge.


At Seymour we turned onto the tar road again and from there it was all tar to Maclear. The road took us through a scenic and winding Nico Malan pass. We were now in real rural Eastern Cape. Even though is was quite dry and full of dongas caused by bad erosion, it was still a beautiful area filled with rolling hills. Everywhere was little rural villages and the cattle and boerbokke were roaming freely in the hills. It felt like we were the only white people for miles and miles. There are almost more GP cars here than in Gauteng!

In Engcobo we were suddenly in peak traffic and could hardly move! We were completely surrounded by cars, busses, minibus taxis and people! I was suddenly confronted by a wannabe very dark skinned Robbie Wessels who wanted to show me all his moves. I felt very uneasy as Martin and I got separated and this character did not want to move so I could get moving again. Luckily Martin pushed pass a car and was suddenly next to me again. We were very happy to leave Engcobo.

As we left Engcobo, we went through Satansnek pass. And suddenly it was lush and green again!!! This must be the heaven side of Satansnek. This is a stunning little pass, but unfortunately there was no place to stop safely and take photos. First of all, there was no shoulder and secondly the people were driving worse than the minibus taxis in Gauteng! One character, with a little Nissan bakkie loaded about three stories high, came around the corner way too fast! He was coming around the corner on two wheels only! I already started looking for an escape route, but luckily for both of us, he slowly dropped onto four wheels again! Just after that we saw a bakkie in the trees! We stopped as soon as it was safe, to take a couple of photos.

Just after Satansnek pass on the way to Elliot.




A flower from my husband.


From here it was stunning scenery and the road full of nice long sweeps and twisties. Arriving in Maclear we started looking for accommodation. The GPS showed only two places, so we decided to first try the Royal Hotel. The gardens looked very nice and the rates were very reasonable, so we booked a room. The hotel reminded us of the Royal hotel in Pilgrims Rest, but the rooms however were not as nice, very basic and the water a yellowish brown. It seems that the hotel is mainly used for long term accommodation. We also suspect that they might rent out the rooms on an hourly basis, judged by the state of the bedding, specifically the sheets. We opted to sleep ON and not IN the bed. The only options for dinner were either Kentucky or dinner in the hotel. We chose dinner in the hotel and it turned out to be not a bad choice at all! The prices were very reasonable and the food quite tasty. Luckily the noises from the pool room stopped quite early and we had a good night’s sleep.

Day 13: Naudé’s neck pass!
Today was the day we looked forward to the whole trip! We got up very early and left Maclear at 6h45. We immediately left the tar as we left Maclear and turned right towards Rhodes. Naude’s neck pass is on the road that connects Maclear and Rhodes. This was the most awesome road and the most beautiful pass we have ever done! Yes, I know I said that about Prince Alfred as well, but that was before we went on this road! We breathed in the fresh mountain air as we stopped for the first photos of the day after doing only about 5km!



The road just got more amazing as we carried on! We passed a little stream and waterfall and the landscape was filled with green rolling hills. It looked like a picture postcard of Switzerland with the green grassy hills and cattle scattered around.


They obviously had quite a bit of rain as there was an abundance of wild flowers everywhere in all the different colours you could think of – purple, blue, pink, yellow, orange, white and red.

Just some of the wild flowers we saw.












One field filled with purple flowers.


It took us about 4 hours to complete this pass, just over 100km. This was partly because there were sections of the road that was quite technical, with lots of loose rocks, sharp turns and parts of the road washed away. I would definitely not do this pass with my car, unless it was an Avis rental. The rest of the time was spent stopping frequently to drink in the stunning scenery! This place was just so beautiful, it brought tears to my eyes!

Some of the awesome scenery.


Stopped by the cattle.


Looking back on parts of the pass.


Rocky roads.




On top of the world!


At the highest point of the pass. This pass is the highest in South Africa (The top of Sani pass is in Lesotho).


The pass is declared a national monument.




We had to stop for a photo at the famous telephone booth. Apparently the telephone stopped working a couple of years ago and was never fixed again.


Stopped by the cattle again. We had to switch off our bikes to let the cattle pass. They were quite skittish with the engines still running.


Twisties on the way down. Luckily not as steep as Gamkaskloof.




The road turning around Bobbejaanskop.


Another little farm road going into the valley.


Riding next to the river.


We were very sorry when the pass eventually ended in Rhodes. The four hours flew by without us even noticing! This was just an awesome, stunning route! But as we entered Rhodes, we realised we now built up quite an appetite and started looking for a place to eat. Rhodes is fast turning into another little Clarens or Parys with little art galleries, shops and guesthouses. We stopped at an art gallery cum curio shop cum coffee shop with only three tables. It was run by a very funny old guy. He only helps one table at a time and is the owner, waiter and cook. He seriously declared that he will be run off his feet it there are more than three tables. We suspected that his wife normally runs the coffee shop, since he had to phone her for prices when someone wanted to buy a hat. We ordered some toasted cheese sandwiches and after hearing the other people rave about the scones, also the last two scones. The scones were definitely worth it. The only other item on the menu in terms of cakes, was chocolate cake. His wife bakes two sweet items for the day and that was what you could order. When it is finished, that is it, no more sweet things. The old guy was also giving running commentary of what he was doing and didn’t like it at all when someone interfered, not even to clear the dishes! This was definitely our most entertaining meal of the trip! Well worth a visit.

Scones and toasted sandwiches.


After our meal it was suddenly very hot outside. We decided to skip the planned dirt road along the Lesotho border and headed off to Barkley East and tar roads. This was mainly because it was now quite hot, we were getting tired, and it was also getting late and a huge thunder storm was brewing on the horizon. The scenery also changed considerably and was dull compared to what we have just experienced.

On the way to Barkley East.


We managed to just stay clear of the storm the whole way up to Lady Grey. We thought to stop in Lady Grey for coffee and wait for the storm to pass. We however had no luck as all the places were closed. Only then did we realise that it was New Year’s Eve and everybody closed early. We decided to carry on and just caught a few rain drops outside Zastron. We booked into the Highland guesthouse and were welcomed by Dimpho who runs the guesthouse. She also cooked us a very tasty meal after we found out the only restaurant was closed for a private function. We spend a quiet New Year’s Eve drinking champagne and watching the fireworks. We will definitely recommend this place again. Today was the most awesome ride so far!!!

Daleen, it's really a treat to read your ride report! You certainly have a talent for writing - perhaps you can consider a book one day! And great pictures too

Like wow man!

Marnus wrote:Daleen, it's really a treat to read your ride report! You certainly have a talent for writing - perhaps you can consider a book one day! And great pictures too

Thanks Marnus! It is on my to-do list.