M
masehare
Guest
Upon planning our trip to Die Hell, Butch mailed me a map with a possible route in yellow that we can follow back to Cape Town and titled the mail "Die geel lyn min of meer". This turned out to be one of the best trips I ever had, even though we never saw Die Hell.
We set off early Friday (15-Aug) morning, following the N2 from Somerset West to Swellendam. The first major stop was Buffeljags for breakfast.
Stopping at Caledon for a smoke break. Mrs masehare & Butch:
After breakfast, we turned off at the Suurbraak road and kept going straight past the Tradouw pass turnoff - Topbox talked about a gravel pass going to Barrydale. The Gysmanshoek pass eventually led to Vanwyksdorp, Rooiberg pass, Calitzdorp and ultimately Outshoorn where we planned to camp in Cango Mountain resort. It was drizzling quite hard when we arrived in Outshoorn, so we ended up staying in a chalet for the weekend.
The first gravel just after Suurbraak:
A house at the same spot:
Butch deflating:
I need some lessons in packing:
Butch, somewhere on Gysmanshoek pass:
En route:
En route artistic shot:
Our home for two nights. Mrs masehare staring into the distance:
Boegoeblitz to keep us healthy and warm:
The next day we tackled the Swartberg pass, planning to go down to Die Hell and back again at camp before sundown. The rain was still hanging around and made the gravel exciting. When we turned off to Die Hell, things got even more exciting with the mud layer on the road. We decided it would be best to turn around and continue the Swartberg pass to Prins Albert for lunch. There we had a lekker lunch at the Bush Pub and then took tar back to Outshoorn via Meiringspoort. This is a must do road for everybody! Don't forget! Put in in your diary, you won't be disappointed.
GPS height near the top of Swartberg pass. Our chalet was at 400m:
Freaking cold and misty and rainy on the Swartberg pass:
Prins Albert church:
Bush pub art. I'm a sucker for exposed breasts:
The ladies maintaining one of the many stops along Meiringspoort. Respect for them, because they spend the whole day in the cold, keeping the stop tidy. The facilities would make a 5 star hotel hang their heads in shame:
We left for Somerset West again on Sunday, taking the proposed yellow line. The road went from Outhoorn to Calitzdorp via a gravel road (maybe Butch can remember more detail). After Calitzdorp the road went to Ladysmith where we had brunch. Then from Ladysmith to Montagu where we went through a private game reserve and saw some giraffe. Again, this was true DS roads - just what our bikes are designed for. Just before Montagu was the Ouberg pass (I think). Since we never saw Die Hell, this trip will be repeated in the near future - and I'll do it with a smile.
Another artistic shot on the way to Calitzdorp:
In the middle of nowhere:
Giraffe:
The turnoff to Hondwater:
We set off early Friday (15-Aug) morning, following the N2 from Somerset West to Swellendam. The first major stop was Buffeljags for breakfast.
Stopping at Caledon for a smoke break. Mrs masehare & Butch:
After breakfast, we turned off at the Suurbraak road and kept going straight past the Tradouw pass turnoff - Topbox talked about a gravel pass going to Barrydale. The Gysmanshoek pass eventually led to Vanwyksdorp, Rooiberg pass, Calitzdorp and ultimately Outshoorn where we planned to camp in Cango Mountain resort. It was drizzling quite hard when we arrived in Outshoorn, so we ended up staying in a chalet for the weekend.
The first gravel just after Suurbraak:
A house at the same spot:
Butch deflating:
I need some lessons in packing:
Butch, somewhere on Gysmanshoek pass:
En route:
En route artistic shot:
Our home for two nights. Mrs masehare staring into the distance:
Boegoeblitz to keep us healthy and warm:
The next day we tackled the Swartberg pass, planning to go down to Die Hell and back again at camp before sundown. The rain was still hanging around and made the gravel exciting. When we turned off to Die Hell, things got even more exciting with the mud layer on the road. We decided it would be best to turn around and continue the Swartberg pass to Prins Albert for lunch. There we had a lekker lunch at the Bush Pub and then took tar back to Outshoorn via Meiringspoort. This is a must do road for everybody! Don't forget! Put in in your diary, you won't be disappointed.
GPS height near the top of Swartberg pass. Our chalet was at 400m:
Freaking cold and misty and rainy on the Swartberg pass:
Prins Albert church:
Bush pub art. I'm a sucker for exposed breasts:
The ladies maintaining one of the many stops along Meiringspoort. Respect for them, because they spend the whole day in the cold, keeping the stop tidy. The facilities would make a 5 star hotel hang their heads in shame:
We left for Somerset West again on Sunday, taking the proposed yellow line. The road went from Outhoorn to Calitzdorp via a gravel road (maybe Butch can remember more detail). After Calitzdorp the road went to Ladysmith where we had brunch. Then from Ladysmith to Montagu where we went through a private game reserve and saw some giraffe. Again, this was true DS roads - just what our bikes are designed for. Just before Montagu was the Ouberg pass (I think). Since we never saw Die Hell, this trip will be repeated in the near future - and I'll do it with a smile.
Another artistic shot on the way to Calitzdorp:
In the middle of nowhere:
Giraffe:
The turnoff to Hondwater:
