cloudgazer
Grey Hound
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2007
- Messages
- 5,135
- Reaction score
- 5
- Bike
- BMW F650GS / Dakar
One of the most exciting things for me about going away is the build-up. Looking at maps, finding accommodation, etc.
I especially enjoy the feeling I get the day before I depart, when I start looking at all the things I’m gonna pack and wonder how I’m going to do it.
Myself and 2 mates planned on spending the weekend at the De Hoop nature reserve. Unfortunately one of them had to pull out at the last minute.
That just left Coci (on a Africa Twin) and myself.
We had originally intended to leave mid afternoon on Friday as Ross couldn’t get out of work earlier, but now that he wasn’t going to be joining us Coci wanted to leave as early as possible.
Fine with me.
I hadn’t asked for leave or the day off or anything. But I figured as long as I showed up at work for a few hours it would be cool.
What a hectic Friday morning though!
Before work I shot off to Thornton to view (and purchase0 a pair of GS boots sold by I&Horse.
I got to work just after nine, and by ten was itching to go.
At 10h15, I said cheers to my boss and the team, and made a quick stop at the Waterfront, where I purchased a new sleeping bag and tent.
I met Coci at my mom’s coffee shop, where we had a snack, and decided on what route to take. We finally got going at about mid-day.
We took the N2 all the way to Caledon, and from there we hopped on to the 319 to Bredasdorp.
What an amazing road! Not so much the scenery, which is really just farmland, but the road itself. Nice undulating sweeping bends that even I enjoyed. For the first time I managed to keep my speed constant and steady, now matter how sharp or blind the bend.
We filled up at Bredasdorp, and a few kms out of town we finally hit the dirt.
I don’t know the name of the road, it doesn’t appear on my map, but it leads all the way to Malgas.
It’s one of those dirt highways, where it’s easy to cruise at 100kms or so. We didn’t bother deflating our tyres at all.
About mid-way to Malgas was the turn off to De Hoop. This 8 or 10km road was a lot of fun to ride, rocky, with a steep incline and decline or two.
Imagine my disappointment when we pulled up to the Reserve gates to find the road leading into the reserve was tarred!
Fortunately it’s only the first kilometre or so that’s tarred, after that its awesome dirt roads again.
De Hoop is stunning.
The really nice thing about it, is the space. The chalets and rondawels and the campsite are all really spread very far apart.
Unlike the campsites you find in the Cederberg, all on top of each other, here you can’t even see the next plot as there was trees and bushes in the way.
It gives a very nice isolated feeling.
Unfortunately the ground is a little uneven and dusty, which could be a muddy problem if it rains.
There is a kiosk and restaurant at De Hoop, but they charge restaurant prices for beer. So be warned. Even worse, they charge R1 per piece of wood.
A huge bonfire could be a costly affair.
We setup camp, wandered around a bit, made dinner, got a little tipsy and then passed out.
(My maid - ;D - She's not much to look at,but damn can she braai well.)
On Sat morning I awoke fairly early. Made a mug-sized espresso and wandered around the campsite for a few minutes trying to wake up.
Upon my return I found a group of baboons pilfering our campsite.
The bastards smashed all our eggs, stole a loaf of bread, tried to gnaw through a packet of sugar. They ran the moment they saw me return. One of them was in the process of opening the Tupperware with my coffee. He dropped it, and miraculously didn’t spill any of the Arabican gold.
About 10 minutes later the big male returned to see if we were still there. We were, and he pushed off for the day.
I was a bit concerned about all the monkey saliva on my packet of sugar, but I wasn’t gonna let the threat of monkey AIDS stop me from brewing another mug of sweet coffee.
Now I find on most rides the mornings are pretty hectic, get up, eat, and get on the bikes and go. It’s always so rushed.
Not this time!
We got the fire going again. I went and bought more eggs and bread ot go with our bacon and leftover kudu wors from the night before.
We only got going after mid-day.
We took a ride down to the coast.
The obligatory self-portrait
I though we’d be able to ride an entire loop of the reserve, but unfortunately the tracks are reserved for hikers and cyclists, so we returned the way we came and left the reserve.
We took one of the dirt roads leading up to Swellendam. We didn’t go all the way to Swellendam, as we turned off on one of the smaller dirt roads. We planned on doing a loop that included Malgas before returning to De Hoop.
Malgas was a bit of an eye opener. I was expecting a fairyl large town. On my map it’s written in letters as large as Swellendam.
What a disappointment. It’s so bloody small it makes Wuppertal look like a thriving metropolis. It’s not even a town, certainly not big enough for one donkey let alone a horse.
That part of the world is a stunning place to ride. There are so many routes, and especially along the Breede River it’s very beautiful.
En route back to the reserve we stopped at a farm stall for get some lamb chops and other goodies.
We made it back to camp in time for some perfect sundowners overlooking the vlei.
We both slept well that night, especially since we’d really stocked up on the beers and ciders, and I’d had a good Skunk joint that made my brain leak out of my ears.
When we awoke on Sunday the sky was very threatening, worse than it had been all weekend. Stupidly I didn’t think it would rain, but as we started making breakfast it started spitting.
We decided to make a move and have breakfast on the road.
It really started raining before I had all my gear packed away.
The wind howled most of the way home, and it rained most of the way too.
We stopped in Napier at the farm stall for breakfast. What an awesome place. Well worth a visit.
I didn’t bother re-inflating my tyres, thinking I’d get better grip in the wet if they were slightly soft.
Man, the tar chowed my maxis!
We both got home safe, drenched and prune-like, but very satisfied.
A BIT ABOUT DE HOOP.
Beautiful. The campsite is great, if a little rough.
The chalets are stunning. There are 2 outdoor showers that remain private while giving you spectacular views of the vlei.
The staff are friendly and helpful, and they’re making further upgrades to the place.
I’ll be back there for another visit soon.
MY EQUIPMENT
I purchased a k-way treklite II.
Awesome, small and light and easy to setup. Although I’d recommend buying an additional ground sheet as the one on the tent is a bit soft. It’s about half the size and weight of my panama 3-person tent.
The sleeping bag is called a Zalmatte (I think) and weighs about 950 grams and is small enough to fit inside my panniers. A very good buy.
I especially enjoy the feeling I get the day before I depart, when I start looking at all the things I’m gonna pack and wonder how I’m going to do it.
Myself and 2 mates planned on spending the weekend at the De Hoop nature reserve. Unfortunately one of them had to pull out at the last minute.
That just left Coci (on a Africa Twin) and myself.
We had originally intended to leave mid afternoon on Friday as Ross couldn’t get out of work earlier, but now that he wasn’t going to be joining us Coci wanted to leave as early as possible.
Fine with me.
I hadn’t asked for leave or the day off or anything. But I figured as long as I showed up at work for a few hours it would be cool.
What a hectic Friday morning though!
Before work I shot off to Thornton to view (and purchase0 a pair of GS boots sold by I&Horse.
I got to work just after nine, and by ten was itching to go.
At 10h15, I said cheers to my boss and the team, and made a quick stop at the Waterfront, where I purchased a new sleeping bag and tent.
I met Coci at my mom’s coffee shop, where we had a snack, and decided on what route to take. We finally got going at about mid-day.
We took the N2 all the way to Caledon, and from there we hopped on to the 319 to Bredasdorp.
What an amazing road! Not so much the scenery, which is really just farmland, but the road itself. Nice undulating sweeping bends that even I enjoyed. For the first time I managed to keep my speed constant and steady, now matter how sharp or blind the bend.
We filled up at Bredasdorp, and a few kms out of town we finally hit the dirt.
I don’t know the name of the road, it doesn’t appear on my map, but it leads all the way to Malgas.
It’s one of those dirt highways, where it’s easy to cruise at 100kms or so. We didn’t bother deflating our tyres at all.
About mid-way to Malgas was the turn off to De Hoop. This 8 or 10km road was a lot of fun to ride, rocky, with a steep incline and decline or two.
Imagine my disappointment when we pulled up to the Reserve gates to find the road leading into the reserve was tarred!
Fortunately it’s only the first kilometre or so that’s tarred, after that its awesome dirt roads again.
De Hoop is stunning.
The really nice thing about it, is the space. The chalets and rondawels and the campsite are all really spread very far apart.
Unlike the campsites you find in the Cederberg, all on top of each other, here you can’t even see the next plot as there was trees and bushes in the way.
It gives a very nice isolated feeling.
Unfortunately the ground is a little uneven and dusty, which could be a muddy problem if it rains.
There is a kiosk and restaurant at De Hoop, but they charge restaurant prices for beer. So be warned. Even worse, they charge R1 per piece of wood.
A huge bonfire could be a costly affair.
We setup camp, wandered around a bit, made dinner, got a little tipsy and then passed out.
(My maid - ;D - She's not much to look at,but damn can she braai well.)
On Sat morning I awoke fairly early. Made a mug-sized espresso and wandered around the campsite for a few minutes trying to wake up.
Upon my return I found a group of baboons pilfering our campsite.
The bastards smashed all our eggs, stole a loaf of bread, tried to gnaw through a packet of sugar. They ran the moment they saw me return. One of them was in the process of opening the Tupperware with my coffee. He dropped it, and miraculously didn’t spill any of the Arabican gold.
About 10 minutes later the big male returned to see if we were still there. We were, and he pushed off for the day.
I was a bit concerned about all the monkey saliva on my packet of sugar, but I wasn’t gonna let the threat of monkey AIDS stop me from brewing another mug of sweet coffee.
Now I find on most rides the mornings are pretty hectic, get up, eat, and get on the bikes and go. It’s always so rushed.
Not this time!
We got the fire going again. I went and bought more eggs and bread ot go with our bacon and leftover kudu wors from the night before.
We only got going after mid-day.
We took a ride down to the coast.
The obligatory self-portrait
I though we’d be able to ride an entire loop of the reserve, but unfortunately the tracks are reserved for hikers and cyclists, so we returned the way we came and left the reserve.
We took one of the dirt roads leading up to Swellendam. We didn’t go all the way to Swellendam, as we turned off on one of the smaller dirt roads. We planned on doing a loop that included Malgas before returning to De Hoop.
Malgas was a bit of an eye opener. I was expecting a fairyl large town. On my map it’s written in letters as large as Swellendam.
What a disappointment. It’s so bloody small it makes Wuppertal look like a thriving metropolis. It’s not even a town, certainly not big enough for one donkey let alone a horse.
That part of the world is a stunning place to ride. There are so many routes, and especially along the Breede River it’s very beautiful.
En route back to the reserve we stopped at a farm stall for get some lamb chops and other goodies.
We made it back to camp in time for some perfect sundowners overlooking the vlei.
We both slept well that night, especially since we’d really stocked up on the beers and ciders, and I’d had a good Skunk joint that made my brain leak out of my ears.
When we awoke on Sunday the sky was very threatening, worse than it had been all weekend. Stupidly I didn’t think it would rain, but as we started making breakfast it started spitting.
We decided to make a move and have breakfast on the road.
It really started raining before I had all my gear packed away.
The wind howled most of the way home, and it rained most of the way too.
We stopped in Napier at the farm stall for breakfast. What an awesome place. Well worth a visit.
I didn’t bother re-inflating my tyres, thinking I’d get better grip in the wet if they were slightly soft.
Man, the tar chowed my maxis!
We both got home safe, drenched and prune-like, but very satisfied.
A BIT ABOUT DE HOOP.
Beautiful. The campsite is great, if a little rough.
The chalets are stunning. There are 2 outdoor showers that remain private while giving you spectacular views of the vlei.
The staff are friendly and helpful, and they’re making further upgrades to the place.
I’ll be back there for another visit soon.
MY EQUIPMENT
I purchased a k-way treklite II.
Awesome, small and light and easy to setup. Although I’d recommend buying an additional ground sheet as the one on the tent is a bit soft. It’s about half the size and weight of my panama 3-person tent.
The sleeping bag is called a Zalmatte (I think) and weighs about 950 grams and is small enough to fit inside my panniers. A very good buy.
