5 Days of gut-wrenching mud and rain - but I survived and loved it!

Day 1  Montagu - Oudshoorn

Dramas. First our Angola trip had to be put on hold. Then our beautifully planned trip of doing Mpumalanga, Lesotho, Swaziland and back through the Transkei was cancelled due to sickness in the family. So we decided to do a shorter trip to Gamkaskloof, the Hell (small place in South Africa) and Baviaanskloof, so that if we were called back, we were close enough. And via as many dirt passes as possible.  

"US" would be my Italian friend Toni, on his KTM 990 called Jongosi. And myself, Jinx, on my BMW 650 called Brutus. 

We are both vertically challenged, both prefer picnics in the veld to sit down meals and both love bikes, adventure and riding. This combination worked for us. But would the friendship last after what it get's put through in the following days to come...?

Due to unforeseen circumstances we had a (very) late start. Toni arrived to a cold, wet farm in Montagu and soon we were on our way. At last our forever elusive trip had started.  Because the trip started almost a day late we decided to go via tar road. Later due to our late start and inclement weather we decided to stay over in Oudtshoorn and not go over the Swartberg pass to Prince Albert. Did I mention it was raining?

There was a music festival on in town, and one of the music groups were staying in the same establishment as us. What a surprise when we went to the bar for a drink, something we very rarely do, and find a band setting up. They were going to “warm up” for later that evening. 
Now Sakkie-sakkie South African cultural music) is not really our type of music, however we did enjoy the band, but had to refuse all the invites to join them later.. It felt as if we were part of the group, and they seemed disappointed that we would not be joining them. - Must be our irresistible personalities!We both retired early and sleep came easy as we had a long day on the bike, in the rain.

Day 2 - Swartberg Pass & Prins Albert

Getting a late start did not help us the following morning, with thunderous skies and a cold wind greeting us at the foot of the Swartberg. Stunning views were below us – and below the clouds and mist we rode into as soon as we gained altitude.

As we started climbing the winding narrow pass the rain came down harder and a cloud cover descended on us. The few tourists that came past in warm dry vehicles thought we were positively mad. Did I mention it was raining?

The higher we went, the colder it got and by the time we got to the look-out point at the Top, we were frozen to the bone and the wind almost blew us right back from where we came. 

As we made our way down the other side, something that felt like hail hit us pretty hard. The locals later told us it is called ice rain. In spite of the stinging we rode with our visors lifted, as we could not see through them when closed. 

A few bends after the top on the way down the rain stopped, the clouds lifted and we saw blue in the sky. We ended up stopping for almost an hour, drying out in the weak sunlight, admiring the views and taking photos.

The turnoff to Gamkaskloof is about halfway down the Swartberg pass. By now the weather had turned again. Raining...We met up with another biker (who was in a vehicle) at the turnoff to the Hell. Due to the bad weather and dense mist, he advised us to either go with extreme caution or rather not at all.

Not much to be seen in such bad weather, he said. But since we both have “done” the Hell three times before and never manage to get down there; we decided to go in - at least a little way.The decision to turn around was met with deep disappointment and frustration (something we seem to have to gotten used to lately). But rather safe than sorry and have something go wrong before we even begin our trip. Did I mention it was raining?

We had not gone very far back on the Swatberg pass when the sun suddenly peeked through the dark clouds. 

After a stop at the lookout point, we actually ended up riding the rest of the pass in lovely sunshine! As a tour guide I use to go over this pass so often, but this was my first time by bike – and what an experience! 

The many bends and curves could be followed all the way up to the highest tips of the mountains. The vastness and closeness both get experienced to the utmost intenseness. Somehow living IN the moment and not looking AT it. 

After crossing a river at the bottom of the pass we decide to have our picnic under the trees below the majestic backdrop of Liken-painted rock faces. 

We haul out the (espresso) coffee maker, buns, soup and everything needed to sit down to a feast. As the first cup of water starts to boil, the heavens opened above us. How we missed to check our backs is beyond me, but the rain caught up and before getting drenched to the bone, we packed up (without eating anything) and headed for the Prins Albert Camp site. Did I mention it was raining?

The lousy weather forced our hand and we decided to go for the accommodation instead of trying to pitch tents in the rain - and then get a wet tent down and loaded early the next morning. Unfortunately was it not only a Saturday night, but we were competing with 2 lots of wedding guests – so tenting it would be!

That night the weather turned out to be quite nice with no rain. Prins Albert’s camping site must be one of the nicest we have ever been to.

Extremely reasonable with bathrooms to die for! Not to mention our neighbours. They noticed "wet chickens" would be an understatement and came to the rescue. I was offered a jacket (I had removed mine cause it was so wet and uncomfortable, but had something warmer (deep) down once I could off load my luggage. 

Not to mention an offer for a heater! After freezing by the early hours of the morning I put on the heater-fan and for the first time slept like a baby in my own little “heat-conditioned” tent.  A new but novel and wonderful experience... I’d been thinking all of the next day how on earth I could make extra space on my bike for a heater!

Chapman's Peak drive the way it SHOULD be seen!

Here is a video clip I made of our trip over Chapman's Peak. It must be one of the most beautiful and breathtaking passes in South Africa, if not in the world.

Join me with two more motor bikes and experience what beauty South Africa has to offer!

A hidden treasure

This post comes a bit late (OK, OK, a few months late!!). I have been meaning to share this for ages and life just goes by and when you wake up, summer has almost gone!!

Hubby and I invited a girlfriend (well, we invited two, only one could make it) along on a Sunday outing, not too far from us. We left on the Route 62, direction Barrydale. The winter was at an end and it was a quiet, balmy Sunday morning. The previous week we had some severe rain, but now everything looked lush, green and fresh.  It was deep into spring and summer was just poking its nose around the corner, yet the temps were still mild and ideal for riding.

Just as you hit the town of Barrydale, we took the turn-off to the Tradows pass, one of the more spectacular passes I have been on. Covered in yellow-bush, a kind of Protea that does not have a flower, but the yellow leaves – only this time of the year - light up the mountainsides with colour and splendour!

Looking down to the right, one sees the incredible gorge, also winding as far as you go, with the black, icy cold river running down below. The colour of the water is caused by tannin, which comes from the roots and plants the water passes along its way.  The water tastes divine and is perfect for drinking – if you don’t mind a bit of frog pipi or fish eggs, hiehie!

We turned off the road into a lot of bushes, a hidden little “detour” road of about 50 metres. As you round the bend, there is an opening in the bushes to the left and once we had parked the bikes and walked up in there, WHAT A SIGHT?!?

A stunning waterfall came cascading down the rock face, nestled between what looked like Tsitsikamma forest. It made its way into a dark pool and then spilled over into a winding little river, seeking its way between trees and roots, disappearing into the lush green nothingness not too far away. 

 

Right next to the pool was a lovely wooden picnic table with seats and we sat there in the coolness of the overhang of the trees canopy. In the calming sound of the dropping water and birdsong nearby we enjoyed sandwiches, hard boiled eggs, hubby’s lovely meatballs and coffee. 

After the meal, we rode on over the pass and back again – no twisties to be missed of course, not by me!! NO sireeee!! More spectacular sites and a cave with water dripping out from everywhere were also seen along the way…

Coming back on the R62 we had the stunning views of the valleys down below. Hubby rode on while my friend and I took a detour up a dirt road to look over another part of the valley and then we stopped at the dam on the family farm. 

 

Full to the brim and looking so inviting!! Trips like these just let me realise again how fortunate I am to be alive, to have the opportunity to bike to these places and most of all, to share it with people I love! 

Redimentes tempus. (Redeeming the time).

Table Mountain – A forgotten wonder!

I lived at the foot of Table Mountain for 7 years. In the city.  Since I was first a tour bus driver and later a tour guide, I never worked in the city, but was able to take to the roads and most beautiful parts of the country. In spite of living so close to it and going up Table Mountain at least once a week, I was still appreciative of its beauty. Now it’s been almost 10 years since we have moved away from the city and living in the country side. When I go to Cape Town, I only get as far as the Northern Suburbs and it has been a while since I have got up close and personal with the over 1000m high Sandstone and Granite beauty.

This weekend I was fortunate to see it again. I met up with friends on the other side of the bay and made my way back to the city just as the sun started setting over the water. Absorbing all this from my bike was more than I could have wished for! I caught a whiff of the sticky, pungent yet fresh breeze that made it’s way over the gentle little waves. What a sight!?! Table Mountain rose out the water like a 1st place Olympian to the podium! Only way more noble and majestically! A few ships on the water in front of it rounded off the picture perfectly.  I HAD to stop – a few times – to take a picture … to capture this magnificence and stare in awe. Did I really forget how awesome this landmark was?! Or am I just taking a look with different eyes? I don’t have the answer, but what I do know is this… 

There's reason this piece of rock is so well recognized by world travellers and loved by locals! It is a sight to behold – and never to be forgotten! 

 “I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” 

Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods

Another Adventure!

Oudshoorn via back roads, Seweweekspoort, Oubergpas to Montagu

Click here to see map: 

Map of 1st day

As I did my previous trip solo, I dared not do the back roads which I really wanted to, because when you get stuck on a quiet road, it can get very lonely after a few hours, not to mention unsafe!


 Fortunately Abie was on his way back from East London and we decided to hook up at Oudtshoorn. Although not very far for me, the off-the-beaten-track roads can take a while to do if one really wants to appreciate what’s around you.

I rode up from Montagu the previous day, with rain-laden clouds waiting to open on me at any moment, as I took the winding tar road through fruit farms and over mountains to Oudshoorn. Although overcast with a misty rain right along the mountains, I never really got very wet. But the heavens DID open up once I was safely in Oudshoorn. Abie did not hit it so lucky and rode in pouring rain from De Rust and arrived in Oudshoorn looking like a washed out rag – OK, not quite that bad! Only my attempt at silly humour! But he did not need a shower that evening!

Dark, heavy clouds awaited us on departure the next morning. According to my phone’s very trustworthy weather forecast, we were going to have 0.3 mm of rain for the day, and in my books, that is non-existent. So we did not put on our raingear and left in the direction of the Swartberg Mountains.  The road we were going to take started at the foot of that spectacular range. Less than a km and the drops were falling. Within moments we had to pull over under some trees and get the raingear out - and on!! WHAT a mission when you are balancing mid air, your shoes are dirty and the clothes are unwilling!  As it is, there is barely enough room for me in the rain gear, let alone me WITH all the riding gear and padding!

We were heading in the direction that was not only dark, but we could see the pouring rain all along the foot of the mountains. By the time we got to the first turn off, I was salivating for a hot, milky Wimpy coffee (and I am not even a big coffee drinker!). The rain was coming down in buckets and there was NO way we could get onto muddy gravel in this weather. Yet Abie turns in and says he just wants so ride in a little way, and since we are on tar, I follow, wondering how far before he will decide that the reason we can hardly see in front of us, is due to rain?! 

At the next turn-off, I hope he has come to his senses and that we can head back for a dry seat and hot coffee (breakfast would also be welcome!).  He says he just wants to feel what the gravel would feel like, let’s push on a bit. WTH?! Serious? Really?!? The rain is hammering down so hard, I was expecting my visor to crack at any moment, and this crazy coot wants to push on to FEEL the gravel?!? So on we go, and instead of the km or two I expected, we rode through farms between the mountains for I guess about 15km. By now I was having fantasies of hot chocolate and soft eggs! We get to the gravel (at last) and what does this guy do?? He bangs with his foot on the gravel and declares he thinks it is fit for riding!! But the choice is mine he says. If I feel we should rather turn back, that is fine with him. 

Now since I have never ridden wet muddy roads before – oh wait, that one time in the Transkei, where I came off my bike TWICE in less than a km!! So yeah, my bet is it is much safer to get back to warm coffee, dry roads and less chances of breaking my neck! And for every fall, Abie will have to help me get my bike up, the mirrors can break off, everything will be covered in mud and my ego can actually also do with no falling! I am still formulating the pros of getting the hell out of there and Abie says: Lets ride in a little way and see how it goes; we can always turn back if it looks bad…

WHAT??!!? In spite of every heartbeat racing in my throat and my mind screaming to turn around, I nod in agreement and off we go! Although the road is hard, I am sure it is slippery as can be and I take the bends in absolute terror.  Any coffee and cold is now forgotten. I am as stiff as a 3 day corpse and I could not help wondering if a motorbike can sense fear like a horse and if I would be bucked off at the next turn. I was wiping clingy raindrops from my visor and tears down my cheeks all at the same time.  Rivers were over flowing and lovely waterfalls were coming down the mountains. I guess my appreciation was less than adequate at that stage, but my main aim was to stay on the bike. By now both bikes (and riders) were covered in mud, but the rain had subsided. The next moment I was eating dust. Literally within 30 metres, we were riding from mud to dust! You can imagine the havoc the dust was causing on my drenched clothes and bike. Fortunately I am crazy enough not to worry about that at the moment - until I get home and realise I cannot clean either!

Since the map I had and the GPS Abie had, were not too wonderful, we rode along more on a sense of feeling than KNOWING where we were going! We turned left at a T-junction indicating Calitzdorp and the next moment we were riding between the most incredible red mountainous outcrops! Almost like painted mushrooms between the lush green backdrop of newly leafed Thorn trees and other kinds of Acacia. Sediments which are rich in an iron mineral called Hematite which oxidized in the warm humid climate to a reddish colour, gave Red Stone Hills its name! What a site! Unfortunately by the time I stopped to take pics, the clouds had covered the bit of sun and taken away some of the spectacularness (yep, my made-up word!) of the colours. Shortly after that we hit the tar road, headed to Calitzdorp and found a place that would serve coffee, but not breakfast. As we munched an energy bar and coffee the owner told us we MUST take another road before we leave, as we missed some great views by turning into the Red Hills road.  

So we took a detour first, and saw some more stunning views, including a huge dam overflowing. And more winding, pass-like gravel road into the Little Karoo. We turned back after about 10km, as we wanted to do the Seweweekspoort pass and unsure how the weather was out that way. 

It    It started drizzling as we entered the winding, muddy road through the picturesque, rocky walls of the Seweweekspoort. While having coffee, I had asked Abie if he was scared going on the first stretch of wet dirt road and he said no, never. One must just relax and the bike will take care of itself. Somehow that answer had totally calmed me down and I felt if he was not afraid, I had no reason to be. So when we hit the very wet road, I made a mind switch. I relaxed, looked around and really enjoyed what I was seeing. The most incredible rock formations, as high as one can look and as far as you can see. Add beautiful flowers, greenery, waterfalls and rivers and I had just discovered one of my new favourite destinations! I lifted my visor, and the wet stinging of the raindrops against my cold skin was such a stark reminder that I was alive! Invigorated actually! I could pick up several different smells as we rode: A smell of some kind of wild flowers or shrubs (yeah right!), Jasmine at one stage and a strong minty smell another time. 

Shortly after entering, we stopped for lunch consisting of buns with ham-flavoured liver pâté (the kind you just squish out the tube wrapping), some dried fruit and a shared apple, washed down with water. A meal fit for a king (or his servant) – no matter, we were soaked, full and happy!

I do believe this amazing “portal” through the mountains would not have looked as intense and beautiful if it was a dry, hot and dusty day. We had several water crossings over the two days, and places I had never seen water in, were over flowing. Here the dust had been washed away and the colours were bright and brilliant. Awesome!!

Once through to the other side, the road opened up and we were on a big, wide, well maintained gravel road. Although the road was in a good condition, it circumvented a very long stretch of mountain range before we could get to the Warmwaterberg hot springs. By now the clouds had lifted and we had a dry road and sunny skies. 

I saw the place where I came off my bike a few years back and severely smashed my knee. Much less intimidating from the other side. Or might it be that I was so tuned into the danger? Or maybe just the fact that now there were enough signs and warnings to keep World War 3 at bay?!!

We opted to go and refuel in Ladismith, as the 70km distance that was told to us by the coffee shop owner was actually a neat 180km! We could have been stuck in the middle of nowhere! Since we were staying across the road from Ronnie’s Sex shop, we had to go and have a drink there to wash down the mud, dust and tiredness of the day.

Day 2

Click here to see the map: 

The 2nd day map

10 Minutes from departure, we were still unsure which route we should take the following day. We decided to go through the Sanbona Wildlife Reserve. We had a bakkie escort us all the way through, never going over 40km/h. We hoped, but did not see any animals and we were not allowed to take pics if we did see some. There were some Springbok and once just out of the reserve, we saw some beautiful Gemsbok. 

                                           

From here it was a big, open (and pretty straight) road, lined with flowers and plants stretching to the hills on either side. Everything was still very green due to the rain of a few weeks earlier. 

After stopping for pictures, I opened up a bit to catch up, only slowing down at the low water crossings, (which is an artificial bridge that allows crossing a river or stream when water is low). All were dry except the last one, which I saw too late and entered at a fairly high speed, getting everything single thing on that bike drenched – yours truly included!

At least I have now discovered that soaking wet clothes make for a cool ride on a hot day!

At the bottom of the spectacular Ouberg Pass, we turned off onto a rough, narrow little track heading over the mountains and via some farms into Montagu. The view from up there was beautiful!

 

We had to keep our wits about us, as it was hard work riding up and down the (technically challenging) rocky slopes. But all worth it!! My sister lives close by and we popped in for something to drink, where she went and showed us a big dam with Koi fish. In spite of not being the greatest fish-fan, I really found these fish quite stunning!

Once again I had an absolutely amazing trip, with no problems along the way, good company and breathtaking views. Abie was a pillar of strength and thanks to him, I got to overcome my fear of wet muddy roads and saw one of the most spectacular roads around!

Mud for make-up and gasoline for perfume – I'm a Dirt bike diva !!