Day Trippin' with Jupiter...

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So after a long absence of bike rides, or, more specifically, rides on my own bike, the universe smiles and everything works out perfectly for a quick trip with the Southern Cape Wild Dogs.

A good friend from the Eastern Cape called Jupiter (not that Jupiter, but he also travels ) is coming for a visit. He's been in the Southern Cape before (but only on the main roads) so we're going to show him what the Southern Cape has to offer.

I am one of the first to arrive early on this Sunday morning and even the weather plays along on this magnificent spring day. The view from the gathering point:



And soon more dogs arrive. We're a good group today and so far it's all different bikes, just the way we like it.

Jupiter's black Yamaha 660 Tenere on the left, the man himself wearing the orange jacket (easy to spot throughout the report ).



It's a quick hop from here to Mossel Bay where we'd meet the rest of the pack. Dirtcopper leads (on gravel of course).



In Mossel Bay we meet up with more riders at the harbour. The plan is to have breakfast before we ride.



"Kaai 4" (Quay 4) is where we have breakfast. Somehow I have not been here before. What a great spot!



It's very rustic, you can even sit "outside" and chill with a cold one overlooking the ocean.



The food is prepared right there, with a "boma" fireplace right in the middle of everything. Very well priced too - Roosterkoek with mince and salad: R25



I can't even begin to tell you how close this was to the end of this report... This is such a nice venue we almost stayed here for the day. Even as I was getting on my bike I was not sure about whether I'm staying or going.

But in the end we did the "right thing" and showed Jupiter and Veldbrand (who recently moved here from Gauteng) our valley.

For some reason Dirtcopper took the lead again. He led us to the nearest gravel and the ride began.

First turnoff, second turnoff...

All of a sudden there were no lights behind me. Now what?

Stop and wait. Nothing. Right, turn around and see what happened. At the 2nd turnoff I find Lonerunner and Gryph. DC took a wrong turn. Everybody will turn around as they realize the back riders are not there anymore. And so we wait.

These Honda's have run together often.



Eventually the other bikes start coming back:



With Dirtcopper now relegated to the back of the pack the ride continues. The route runs past / through various game farms and the pace Lonerunner (the now leader) is setting is a relaxed one, with lots of opportunities to stop for photos.



The first stop - everybody in high spirits!



My trusty TransAlp. I missed riding her. It will happen much more often from now on!



The ride continues and the sedate pace allows you to take it all in. Just look at this. We truly live in Eden.

And of course Dirtcopper and Albert does the "meerkat".



We're heading towards the mountains and, eventually, Attakwaskloof. Attakwaskloof (as opposed to Attakwas Pass) is a kloof that runs "on" or "in" the Langeberg mountains between Attakwasberg and Cloetesberg (the pass runs over the Attakwas mountain to Oudshoorn).



As such when you ride here, you are not really "over" the mountain and in the Klein Karoo yet, but you're definitely not in the Southern Cape anymore. You're sort-of in between, until you exit the kloof just North of Cloetes Pass in the Klein Karoo.

But I am getting ahead of myself. Another stop in the plantation as we start to ascend the mountain:



Lonerunner's XT. Old School is cool.



Myself in action:


(Photo by Jupiter)

Starting to cross the first mountain streams:



Riding in the Kloof is really special. Some riders even stand up to get a better view!





Every time I ride here I see something different / the seasons changed / the light falls at a different angle, etc. I can't help but stop every so often to take a picture or just to take it all in.





The next picture is of the spot where a thriving town called "Woeska" used to be. Amazingly the route we're on was the main route North from the Cape for 180 years from 1689-1869, linking the “Grasveld” around Mossel Bay with Kannaland in the vicinity of Oudtshoorn. With the later construction of the Robinson Pass, the Attakwaskloof & Pass fell into disuse.

When the road fell into disuse the town disappeared. Some old ruins here and there is all that remain.



Some more pics of the splendor that is Attakwaskloof:







The road through the kloof joins the R327 between Herbertsdale and van Wyksdorp just North of Cloetes Pass, and we promptly turn South to cross the mountain into the Southern Cape again.

Jupiter riding in Cloetes Pass, notice the old fort on the mountain:



Closer shot:



Cloetes Pass was built in the 1850's as a link between Mossel Bay and the Klein Karoo. It's a gravel road that only carries an estimated 47 vehicles per day. A shot from the top down to show where it runs:



And here, in the mountains, you find a biker's pub where we'd have our lunch.





And of course we too have to mark that we've been here.



The pack:





And from here we say our goodbyes and head back home. A quick shot of the Southern Cape on the way back:



It was good day today. All this in less than 200km. What a privilege to live in Eden.

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What is in a name?

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Well, it's been a while since this little exploration started, but it was not forgotten. And as it happens another opportunity to go explore presented itself at last.

My wheels for today's journey was the aptly named Dodge Journey, a capable 3.6L V6 with enough ground clearance to handle anything today might throw at it (I hope ). Also note how clean it is... for now.



Today I approached the area from a different direction, finding myself North of the Breede River traveling in an Easterly direction. In Beutler's day they would have been traveling East between the Breede and Zonderendriver, so that's where I needed to be. I crossed the Breede River on the R317 towards Stormsvlei, via the Red Iron Bridge:



The Red Iron bridge could easily be mistaken for a train bridge from a distance. It was built in the early 1900's, but apart from that I could not find any meaningful info on it. Structures like these have always fascinated me. Bridges connect people. Bridges provide safe passage over swollen rivers. Bridges allow the adventurer in you to go see what lies on the other side.



And today the Breede River was swollen, overflowing it's banks after the recent rain:



The road hugs the Breede River traveling east, and even includes a little pass. It's not spectacular as far as Western Cape passes go, but there you have it - Hessekwasnek Pass:



Soon the road comes to a T-junction and right across you are presented with this:



Now I am pretty sure had Beutler's party come across this all those years ago, they would have stopped and so did I. Wagon loaded with the newly acquired provisions I hit the road again.

The first gravel - you can see the earth is well and truly drenched at the moment.



Some scenery of the winter landscape:



Once again I did not have my T4A GPS, so I was merely following my nose with only a general idea of what direction I had to travel in.



Two roads diverged in the Overberg, and I, I took the one less traveled by...



And that has made all the difference!
(with apologies to Robert Frost)



Beginning to move down to the Zonderendriver valley.



The dense row of threes in the distance show where the river runs.



I stopped at the homestead to make my presence known, but no-one was home. I don't like being on some-ones land without permission, but the river was so painstakingly close now. I decided to drive the last couple of 100 meters to the river.



And there is was, overflowing it's banks between the trees.



Here wagons had to camp for days waiting for the river to run down. And here I am, on the exact same spot.



The Breede and Zonderend rivers converge mere kilometers from here, with Swellendam being North East, and more importantly, North of the Breede river. I wonder why travelers on their way to Swellendam crossed the Zonderendriver to get to the Southern side, only to be confronted by a full Breede River 8km further on? Surely crossing the Breede river higher upstream would have been a better option? I makes little sense to me now, but I am sure they had their reasons back then.

Some more scenery on the way out:



And just as I thought my little adventure was over, I was confronted with the same problem Beutler had! An impassible route due to flooding!



While taking the photo a truck approached, weighed the options of taking the detour, and decided to go for it.



That didn't seem so bad? At least I know the bridge is intact. Should I chance it? Why not?



Well, let me give you some advise. When a road is closed, don't chance it! It's NOT worth it. I drove over the bridge, but the water was much higher / stronger / faster than I anticipated! A wall of water quickly formed next to the car and I could feel the force of the water trying to push me off the bridge. I made it, through grace. Luckily I was in a big car with reasonable clearance!

The rest of the journey home was spent looking at the Canola fields in full bloom and reflecting on what I have found.



What is in a name?



Juliet did not attach much importance to it, but in this case there was more in a name I could have ever imagined. History, exploration, adventure. A name is the link of a place to it's past. I believe in traveling informed. It makes for a much richer travel experience and if you travel informed, a name is where your trip begins. So, Juliet, there is a lot in a name after all! When I first went to see what lay over that hill, some people would only have found a dead end, but because of the name, I now know that I stood where true explorers and adventurers once stood before. And that is very cool.

The last map of my travels:


(Click for full size map)

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