Day 4 : The last day via Moedverloor, Clanwilliam and Piketberg home400km, approximately 50% gravel.
We woke up to a misty morning, so had a leisurely start.
Our hostess kept on saying we should wait for the mist to clear before we leave, or we may miss some of the flowers. None of us said it (we are not rude)
but the flowers is a bonus – we came for the ride!So ride we will. We head out of Nieuwoudtville direction Papkuilsfontein to get onto the Moedverloor road.
Soon we are there
and encounter another first for this trip: Dried out mudspoors.
As is customary by now, the leader has stopped and we discuss our approach. As is also customary by now, it does not contain many words, but the essentials are there:
• When in a difficult situation, look at the exit
• Do not change track once you entered a spoor
This time it works, and we ride off into an amazing part of the countryside.
Nieuwoudtville is a biodiversity hotspot straddling both the northernmost extent of the Cape Floral Kingdom and the Succulent Karoo biomes. It has one of the highest concentrations of bulbs and cormous plants (geophytes) in the world – of the 1 350 flower species on the Bokkeveld Plateau, more than 300 are geophytes found in the vicinity of Nieuwoudtville. (see getaway.co.za)
In the foreground here you can see restios, one of the plants in the Cape Floral Kingdom. Incredible when you remember that we are still on the plateau!
This (I think) is part of the protea family, another from the Cape Floral Kingdom.
The road has its share of gates, this one with a rather special (and very new – the wrapping has not been removed) sign on it.
We descend into a valley
and the road winds its way along rugged mountainside.
Suddenly we reach the end, where it joins with the road coming down the Botterkloof pass.
We take a break
before we set off to cross a very full Doringrivier.
Hard to imagine that in a month or two’s time, this will have reduced to small stream, maybe even dry up completely!
Next is a quick stop at the “Englishman’s grave” (The grave of a British soldier that died here during the Anglo Boer War.)
Then we cross the tarred Pakhuispas and refuel in Clanwilliam, before we take a last stretch of gravel – the paleisheuwel road running alongside and to the west of the N7. No photos here, and I do not know why, because it is unique in its own way. It starts off with some deep ravines and then opens up to reveal farms – with fields of proteas in full bloom.
We were heading for Kardoesie, but missed the turn-off and then decided to go to the Eendekuil Hotel. We pulled into the parking lot only to be told that it is now a rehabilitation facility and no, they will not be serving us anything!
So off to Piketberg, where the Spur provides lunch before we head home.
In conclusion, a truly memorable experience. Verneukpan may be off the bucket list, but, living in a country that provides the range of options ours do, it does not leave me with any shortage of destinations.
I trust you have enjoyed the journey with us – until we ride again!
Topic: Verneukpan, the second attempt (Read 12269 times)
