Riding through the Eastern Cape Karoo

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We got up a bit later today as the energy levels were not what they were supposed to be. Continuous late nights take their toll I guess.

A quick stop in Elliott to say goodbye to Glen and we were on our way, heading West.



Tar roads unfortunately but still scenic, this being the Eastern Cape.

Riding past the Otto du Plessis Pass and Barkers Neck Pass turn-offs were heartbreaking, but what can you do? I'll just have to come back.

We ride through Ida...



... and past Indwe to Dordrecht.

The picturesque little town of Dordrecht was established in 1856 as a Dutch Reformed parish and named after the town of the same name in the Netherlands. During the Anglo-Boer War, burghers from the Free State annexed the town and declared it part of the Free State. However, after the war it was reintegrated into the Eastern Cape.

I have been wanting to see this town since my friend Eisbein rode through here a couple of years ago.

Rural towns like these all have beautiful churches and the steeple is often the first thing you see as you approach a town. The Church can also be an indication of whether the town will be interesting and have a rich history. You could almost say that the church is the "face" of the town. The first impression. The thing that get's photographed.

Dordrecht makes a good first impression.





The Burgher Statue in front of the town’s Dutch Reformed Church is a monument to the Boer victims and casualties of the Anglo-Boer War. The inscription reads:

"Ter gedagtenis aan die Burgers wat die duurste offer op die altaar van die vaderland gelê het. - Die Tweede Vryheidsoorlog 1899-1902"

I am sad that we don't have more time to spend in these interesting towns, but we refuel and head out. Scenery on the way to Molteno:


(Photo by Gryph)



Molteno has some interesting churches of it's own:







Still heading West away from the Drakensberg the landscapes start leveling out. Gryph enjoying the ride:



Having had enough of the tar roads we hit the first gravel on the way to Hofmeyr.




(Photo by Gryph)



And all of a sudden we come across this:


Our maps did not indicate that there are a pass here, but we're so glad there are! Score!!!

The Grootdoornhoek Pass runs over the Bamboes Mountain Range in the Karoo.



This beautiful mountain range begins in Molteno and forms part of the Drakensberg escarpment, which splits into the separate ranges of Stormberg, Bamboes, Suurberg, Nieuveld and Komsberg as it enters the Eastern Cape.



This surprise made my day.



Having done some research on this pass after my trip I came across this:



This is a waterfall on the pass. We did not see it but I'll be sure to look for it if I pass here again. The photo is from this website.

Being back on gravel the frequency of photos also increase significantly.



Scenery towards Hofmeyr:



And there lies the pretty little town of Hofmeyr in the shadow of the Bamboes Mountain Range in the Karoo.



Originally called Maraisburg, this town was established in 1873 and renamed after Jan Hofmeyr, a linguist and champion of the Afrikaans language.

The face of Hofmeyr:



This church is not as impressive as some of the churches in other towns, but it's pulpit has an interesting story. Before it was installed the pulpit was used at the christening of Paul Kruger, the last president of the Transvaal Republic. Wow! Now there is something to boast about!

It was lunch by now so we stopped at the Karoobos Farm Stall for some boerekos.





Hofmeyr is also closely tied to the discovery of the Hofmeyr Skull, a 36 000 year-old homo sapien skull found in a dry channel bed of the Vlekpoort river, just outside Hofmeyr. The skull supported the hypothesis that humans evolved in Africa before 200 000 years ago.

With full tummies we head further West into the Karoo:



The landscape seems flat, but surprises you every so often with something like this:



This is the Grootbrak River. No, not the one near George, the one near Hofmeyr.



I certainly didn't expect to find a river of this size here. The river runs into the Grassridge Dam.

More Karoo gravel highways. You don't really lose time travelling by gravel in the Karoo as the gravel roads generally are in good nick.



The scenery also varies as you ride along.



Eventually we link up to the tarred R61 between Graaff-Reinet and Cradock and travel over the Wapadsberg Pass (English: Wagon Tracks Mountain).



Wapadsberg Pass links up with the N9 and takes us to Graaff-Reinet via Naudesberg Pass:



In-ride perspective:



It was late afternoon by now and George was still 350km away. We were well and truly fatigued and a phone call revealed that it was raining in the Southern Cape. Decision time. Do we continue or do we sleep over? Continuing to George would mean riding fatigued in the dark and in rain, risks unnecessary to take. Gryph really REALLY wanted to sleep in his own bed that night though. Just then Bentap, who were in our group to Wartrail (Africa Twin), stopped next to us. You guys are sleeping over at my place tonight! This offer could not have come at a more opportune time!

Gryph had other ideas though. He wanted his own bed and that was that. It's been a long trip and he wanted to get home. So he decided to continue alone into the night despite the offer of free lodging - a decision that had me really worried.

Bentap also invited Hamster over for dinner and we had a nice evening chatting about the trip to Wartrail.

Real Camdeboo hospitality:



Our worries were put to rest when Gryph phoned later. He rode in the dark, in rain and in heavy mist but he made it home safely. .
And tonight I did get my early night.







Source: Eastern Cape

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Day 5

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We wake early and refreshed to a beautiful day! With the bikes refueled the previous evening already and no tents to pack we also get an early start after a quick breakfast (2 bananas ).

We have to reach at least Graaf Reinet today, but will travel further if we can. That said we're still on holiday and don't just want to hit tar home. There is still some scenery to be seen along the way. And so with the fresh air in our faces we hit the gravel Karoo roads



Lovely roads these - gravel highways that's an absolute pleasure to ride.



Smidty crossing a single lane bridge.



And the view from the bridge:



This is the Kraai river - the same river we spent time at yesterday in the Maloti!

We are on our way to the Penhoek Pass via Jamestown. All these little towns have beautiful churches.



The group is still in very high spirits and we joke and laugh where-ever we stop. The sons ate a lot of peanuts and three bean salad on this trip which in itself was a source of lots of laughter so when I saw this we just had to take a picture. To Afrikaans people the joke will be self explanatory.



Penhoek Pass. The name dates from the days of the ox wagon. The original road followed a kloof or narrow glen in the mountain, the top part crossing a broad rocky face several metres below the last ridge. The rock was so slippery and the gradient so steep that the oxen were unable to pull the wagon up. A peg was therefore fixed in the rock ledge, and as soon as the oxen in front reached it, the whole team was outspanned and a long chain was fastened to the wagon shaft. The chain was twisted once around the peg and then hooked again to the team, which was now facing downhill. In this way the oxen found it easy to pull the wagon uphill while they were straining downhill. And once this steepest and most difficult section was passed, the last stage was easily covered. When the present road was built in 1952, the rock face was unfortunately blasted away and the peck disappeared.



At the bottom of Penhoek pass we opt for a gravel shortcut towards Boesmanshoek Pass.



But first a quick stop in Sterkstroom:





Boesmanshoek Pass. This is one of the highest tar passes in the country and it regularly gets closed in the winter due to snow. At this altitude we could feel that the bikes had a little less grunt.



Molteno:



Our next point of interest was the Battlefield of Stormberg. The battle of Stormberg was one of three British defeats early in the Boer War that together became known as "Black Week".

Black Week saw the British in South Africa suffer three serious defeats in six days. The first came at Stormberg (10 December 1899), where an army under Sir William Gatacre suffered a defeat after a badly handled night march. Next came Magersfontein (11 December 1899). This saw the defeat of an expedition under Lord Methuen that had been attempting to relieve Kimberley. Finally, on 15 December 1899 the commander in chief in South Africa, Sir Redvers Buller, led his army to defeat at Colenso, ending his first attempt to relieve the siege of Ladysmith.

This was the worst run of defeats suffered by the British army since the Napoleonic wars. I was at the Magersfontein site on my Love & War trip, so I had special interest in this site. Hopefully I'll be able to visit the battlefield at Colenso also in a future trip.

The GPS guided us to the battlefield, or so we thought. We soon realized we were riding on private land and ended up at a farmstead. As it turns out there is no museum, no monument, nothing at this site. But this is where it happened:



As dawn broke, the British (after a long night march) at last came in sight of the Kissieberg. A small Boer picket with one 75mm Krupp gun opened fire. Although Gatacre's force had merely to march around the hill to force the Boers to retreat, about half the infantry rushed forward without orders to storm it. They found that the hill was a typical kopje, ringed by a vertical rock face, which they were unable to climb. The British guns came into action, but shelled the British infantry already downrange.

The other half of Gatacre's force began to fall back in disorder. Gatacre gave the order to retreat to Molteno. Mounted Boer reinforcements appeared and attacked from both sides. The retreat of the exhausted British infantry was covered by the mounted infantry and the artillery, although two 15-pdr. guns were lost. Not until they reached Molteno did Gatacre realise that over 600 men had been left behind on the Kissieberg. Hopelessly cut off, they were forced to surrender.

In the three humiliating defeats the British Army suffered by the Boer Republics at the battles of Stormberg, Magersfontein and Colenso they had 2,776 men killed, wounded and captured. The Boers suffered during the same period some 286 killed, wounded and captured.

The day was heating up, so we stopped for some refreshment.



Lovely spot under the trees next to a dam.



I saw another entry for "Stormberg" on the GPS and Asterix and I decided to go investigate. This is what we found:



Apparently the British had already retreated from this fort before the battle of Stormberg happened.

Time was not on our side and we had to hit the road. Steynburg:



This town has several beautiful churches.



Two more passes between Middelburg and Graaf Reinet:







And Graaf Reinet probably has the most beautiful church of all!



It was only three in the afternoon and we were here already, so we decided to push through to Willowmore (I have family there). That way we'd only have a short hop to George on the last day.

On our ride today Smidty suggested that we stop every half hour to stretch our legs and it worked a charm! We just did not get as tired as the previous days. At one of the stops Smidty Jnr asks: "What's that blue stuff all over your engine?" What??



Seems like my radiator is leaking Now what? I phoned Honda George (on a Saturday afternoon) and they had me check this and that. There was no leakage where the bike stood and it only seemed to seep a little when I was riding, but it looked worse because the wind sprayed it everywhere. The radiator reservoir even still had water in. I was told to ride it home, constantly checking the reservoir for an indication of how fast it leaks.

I filled the reservoir and we set off. I stopped often to check it but the water level only dropped very very slowly. At least I now had photographic evidence that that Honda's indeed does have blue blood Also, now I too have a story to tell! Around camp fires I have heard owners of other brands tell stories about blown engines, popped shocks, snapping axles and such, all the while accusing me of having a "boring" bike because nothing ever breaks. But now I too have a story

The Beervlei Dam near Willowmore: Not a drop of water!



Arriving in Willowmore the radiator reservoir had not even dropped to the half way mark.

And just look at our lodgings tonight.



Asterix and Smidty Jnr in the splash pool while we braai (BBQ):



This was another good day. We enjoyed the ride and the company and the regular stops worked a treat! We rode 622km today without getting as tired as previous days.

Tomorrow we head home.







Sources: Romance of the Cape Mountain Passes; Wikipedia; History of War

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