lecap
Bachelor Dog
Eight days between Knysna, Sutherland and Cape Town
The departure was set for the 22nd of September.
As things go we were running late. Instead of packing I had spend the Friday with work and servicing my new DR.
822km on the clock had to do for the 1000km service.
Escaping from the Mother City via Malaanshoogte and Slent Road we had the first opportunity to test the handling of the loaded bikes on gravel. All feeling and looking well we turned off towards Hoogstede Road and eventually ended up on the R 44 to Wellington.
We called at the Kalabash on the far side of Bain's Kloof to watch the Boks play Tonga.
Black clouds and cold wind chased us up Gydo Pass towards the Cederberg after we filled the tanks and the 10l jerrycan in Ceres.
We stayed in a small guesthouse in Op Die Berg. We could catch a glimpse of blue skies in the direction of the Karoo while heavy rainladen clouds kept on pouring over the mountains from the West.
The next morning brought unchanged weather conditions. We topped up the tanks with five litres of petrol bought from our hosts. The last few kilometres of tarmac road to the Katbakkies Pass turnoff were done in a light drizzle. Luckily the conditions changed to Karoo weather as soon as we hit the dirt.
The weather got warmer and sunnier with every kilometre and after crossing the Doring River we headed into the Tankwa Karoo in beautiful sunshine and watched some mini â?? twisters develop over the plains.
At the Junction near Onder Wadrif some previous visitors decided to shorten the distance with a couple of cold ones.
I wonder how long these tins will last in the arid Karoo climate?
After crossing the dry bed of the Tankwa just above the impressive falls into the Canyon we headed for and climbed up into the Roggeveld using one of the old acces routes up the Ouberg Pass. At the bottom of the pass we met a Toyota tazz coming down. The further we went up the more we felt sorry for the little car.
In the Highlands of the Central Karoo we had to share the road with some â??localsâ? before we reached Sutherland, our next overnight stop after 210 km on the road.
The next morning in Sutherland was freezing cold and I transferred the contents of the jerry can into the DR650 and we went to the Petrol station to fill up Mrs. LeCapâ??s bike.
The Djebel was also a bit low on oil and they only had some odd viscosities of engine oil: 25W60 (very unusual for a place as cold as Sutherland?) and single grade. Yikes! The Djebel had to get a top up with the 25W60 â??Honeyâ?.
A few kilometres South of Sutherland we took the turnoff towards Merweville.
The road starts off as a good and straight stretch of fast gravel passing through a seemingly endless plateau. You have to be careful not to miss the left turn to Merweville which is gated to make things interesting. From here the road gets much more scenic and exciting and soon the first kloofs of the Dykwa catchment appear. As we reached the boundary of the Central Karoo and the border of the Northern Province we had the impressive panorama of the Leeu Gamka Karoo opening below us.
The air was crystal clear and we could see the range of the Groot Swartberge more than 100 km away towards the South and Southeast while the red cliffs of the Karoo escarpment towered around and behind us.
Leaving the escarpment behind it finally got warm. We passed through Merweville and Prince Albert Road and took the R 407 to PrinceAlbert where we filled up and had a late lunch break.
The Swartberg Pass took us into the Little Karoo and we reached our overnight quarter for the next two nights in the mountains 20km North of Calitzdorp.
The next morning we left on a day trip to Die Hel. With the bikes stripped of most of the luggage we made the way to the top of the Swartberg Pass and the Gamkaskloof turnoff .
The road turned out to be in quite good condition and the grader was still busy fixing some washed out places.
A bravely tackled switchback full of sand and loose gravel came at the cost of a broken mirror and a slightly bent brake lever for Mrs. LeCap.
Crossing two streams and descending down Elands Pad were impressive but uneventful.
Although it did not freeze over things have changed dramatically since my last visit in Hell six years ago. I could not believe how busy the place is now. We even met a guy on a Harley! The Gamkaskloof Kiosk being not more than a shack in 2001 has evolved into a shop and restaurant.
On the positive there is the permanent presence of Cape Nature staff looking after things in the valley and on the campsite.
To my surprise the valley was bone dry and the crossing of the Gamka also offered no excitement at all as a concrete flooddrift now spans the river.
On the way back we had to go through the water again:
I was impressed to see the little Djebel gointg through everything like pulled by a string.
I also managed without problems although I was not too happy with the DR's OEM Bridgestones.
We ended the day travelling back over Swartberg Pass into the Little Karoo.
The next morning saw us crossing the Swartberg Road and making our way to De Rust via the Oude Muragie Road. A few kilometres of tarmac took us to Dysselsdorp and from there it was back on dirt along the Kamanassie River to Uniondale.
From there we took the road throughthe Uniondale Poort to Avontuur and crossed the R62 into Prince Alfred's Pass. 25km before reaching Knysna we took Kom Se Pad swiftly ignoring the "No Motorcycles" sign. It clearly showed a motorcyclist pulling a wheelie and it thereby did not apply to us as we were out to some scenic riding and not to perform stunts.
The next morning it was time for some bike maintenance again before we left for the Outeniqua Mountains and Rooiberg.
As you can see you don't need a centre stand as long as you have a decent tire lever.
The way through the Attakwaskloof was mostly bone dry and sandy. Lots of loose gravel made for interesting riding and the scenery made sure it does not get too boring. We stopped halfway on a farm for refreshments.
Some Attakwaskloof scenery:
And a last water crossing:
We spend the night in a private game reserve just outside of Van Wyksdorp on Rooiberg Pass.
The next morning we crossed over the Rooiberg and here you can see why it's one of my favourites:
As we reached the R62 in Calitzdorp we saw a guy on a mandarin yellow R1150GS negotiating the highly technical main road of Calitzdorp Meerkat style. :
The Huisrivier Pass took us to the Seweweekspoort turnoff and back onto dirt.
From there it was 220 km almost entirely on dirt through the Karoo. We rode through the Rooinek pass and past the Anysberg Nature Reserve and reached the Cape Winelands with nothing but semi - desert around us.
A stunning trip with its ever changing landscapes and the grand final through the second Ouberg Pass. The Langkloof just before Montagu threw a few more water crossings at us. The 245km leg from Calitzdorp to Montagu was the only one requiring me to switch to reserve.
We reached our destination of the day in Keurkloof above Robertson after travelling 320 km. It was the longest daily distance of the trip.
The last day was an easy one leaving Robertson via the Le Chasseur Road and taking the Hammannshof road to Rooihoogte. Near Le Chasseur we passed two DS riders on a KTM and a BMW Dakar(?).
From Villiersdorp we went over Franschhoek Pass and added the dirt section of Robertsvlei Road to the list of challenging roads travelled (just graded, not compacted, lots of sand and loose gravel)
We took Hellshoogte into Stellenbosch and carried on on the R304 and R 312 into Durbanville and over the hill to Edgemead.
Next trip: By train to PE. Return by bike.
Or Northern Cape?
The departure was set for the 22nd of September.
As things go we were running late. Instead of packing I had spend the Friday with work and servicing my new DR.
822km on the clock had to do for the 1000km service.
Escaping from the Mother City via Malaanshoogte and Slent Road we had the first opportunity to test the handling of the loaded bikes on gravel. All feeling and looking well we turned off towards Hoogstede Road and eventually ended up on the R 44 to Wellington.
We called at the Kalabash on the far side of Bain's Kloof to watch the Boks play Tonga.
Black clouds and cold wind chased us up Gydo Pass towards the Cederberg after we filled the tanks and the 10l jerrycan in Ceres.
We stayed in a small guesthouse in Op Die Berg. We could catch a glimpse of blue skies in the direction of the Karoo while heavy rainladen clouds kept on pouring over the mountains from the West.
The next morning brought unchanged weather conditions. We topped up the tanks with five litres of petrol bought from our hosts. The last few kilometres of tarmac road to the Katbakkies Pass turnoff were done in a light drizzle. Luckily the conditions changed to Karoo weather as soon as we hit the dirt.
The weather got warmer and sunnier with every kilometre and after crossing the Doring River we headed into the Tankwa Karoo in beautiful sunshine and watched some mini â?? twisters develop over the plains.
At the Junction near Onder Wadrif some previous visitors decided to shorten the distance with a couple of cold ones.
I wonder how long these tins will last in the arid Karoo climate?
After crossing the dry bed of the Tankwa just above the impressive falls into the Canyon we headed for and climbed up into the Roggeveld using one of the old acces routes up the Ouberg Pass. At the bottom of the pass we met a Toyota tazz coming down. The further we went up the more we felt sorry for the little car.
In the Highlands of the Central Karoo we had to share the road with some â??localsâ? before we reached Sutherland, our next overnight stop after 210 km on the road.
The next morning in Sutherland was freezing cold and I transferred the contents of the jerry can into the DR650 and we went to the Petrol station to fill up Mrs. LeCapâ??s bike.
The Djebel was also a bit low on oil and they only had some odd viscosities of engine oil: 25W60 (very unusual for a place as cold as Sutherland?) and single grade. Yikes! The Djebel had to get a top up with the 25W60 â??Honeyâ?.
A few kilometres South of Sutherland we took the turnoff towards Merweville.
The road starts off as a good and straight stretch of fast gravel passing through a seemingly endless plateau. You have to be careful not to miss the left turn to Merweville which is gated to make things interesting. From here the road gets much more scenic and exciting and soon the first kloofs of the Dykwa catchment appear. As we reached the boundary of the Central Karoo and the border of the Northern Province we had the impressive panorama of the Leeu Gamka Karoo opening below us.
The air was crystal clear and we could see the range of the Groot Swartberge more than 100 km away towards the South and Southeast while the red cliffs of the Karoo escarpment towered around and behind us.
Leaving the escarpment behind it finally got warm. We passed through Merweville and Prince Albert Road and took the R 407 to PrinceAlbert where we filled up and had a late lunch break.
The Swartberg Pass took us into the Little Karoo and we reached our overnight quarter for the next two nights in the mountains 20km North of Calitzdorp.
The next morning we left on a day trip to Die Hel. With the bikes stripped of most of the luggage we made the way to the top of the Swartberg Pass and the Gamkaskloof turnoff .
The road turned out to be in quite good condition and the grader was still busy fixing some washed out places.
A bravely tackled switchback full of sand and loose gravel came at the cost of a broken mirror and a slightly bent brake lever for Mrs. LeCap.
Crossing two streams and descending down Elands Pad were impressive but uneventful.
Although it did not freeze over things have changed dramatically since my last visit in Hell six years ago. I could not believe how busy the place is now. We even met a guy on a Harley! The Gamkaskloof Kiosk being not more than a shack in 2001 has evolved into a shop and restaurant.
On the positive there is the permanent presence of Cape Nature staff looking after things in the valley and on the campsite.
To my surprise the valley was bone dry and the crossing of the Gamka also offered no excitement at all as a concrete flooddrift now spans the river.
On the way back we had to go through the water again:
I was impressed to see the little Djebel gointg through everything like pulled by a string.
I also managed without problems although I was not too happy with the DR's OEM Bridgestones.
We ended the day travelling back over Swartberg Pass into the Little Karoo.
The next morning saw us crossing the Swartberg Road and making our way to De Rust via the Oude Muragie Road. A few kilometres of tarmac took us to Dysselsdorp and from there it was back on dirt along the Kamanassie River to Uniondale.
From there we took the road throughthe Uniondale Poort to Avontuur and crossed the R62 into Prince Alfred's Pass. 25km before reaching Knysna we took Kom Se Pad swiftly ignoring the "No Motorcycles" sign. It clearly showed a motorcyclist pulling a wheelie and it thereby did not apply to us as we were out to some scenic riding and not to perform stunts.
The next morning it was time for some bike maintenance again before we left for the Outeniqua Mountains and Rooiberg.
As you can see you don't need a centre stand as long as you have a decent tire lever.
The way through the Attakwaskloof was mostly bone dry and sandy. Lots of loose gravel made for interesting riding and the scenery made sure it does not get too boring. We stopped halfway on a farm for refreshments.
Some Attakwaskloof scenery:
And a last water crossing:
We spend the night in a private game reserve just outside of Van Wyksdorp on Rooiberg Pass.
The next morning we crossed over the Rooiberg and here you can see why it's one of my favourites:
As we reached the R62 in Calitzdorp we saw a guy on a mandarin yellow R1150GS negotiating the highly technical main road of Calitzdorp Meerkat style. :
The Huisrivier Pass took us to the Seweweekspoort turnoff and back onto dirt.
From there it was 220 km almost entirely on dirt through the Karoo. We rode through the Rooinek pass and past the Anysberg Nature Reserve and reached the Cape Winelands with nothing but semi - desert around us.
A stunning trip with its ever changing landscapes and the grand final through the second Ouberg Pass. The Langkloof just before Montagu threw a few more water crossings at us. The 245km leg from Calitzdorp to Montagu was the only one requiring me to switch to reserve.
We reached our destination of the day in Keurkloof above Robertson after travelling 320 km. It was the longest daily distance of the trip.
The last day was an easy one leaving Robertson via the Le Chasseur Road and taking the Hammannshof road to Rooihoogte. Near Le Chasseur we passed two DS riders on a KTM and a BMW Dakar(?).
From Villiersdorp we went over Franschhoek Pass and added the dirt section of Robertsvlei Road to the list of challenging roads travelled (just graded, not compacted, lots of sand and loose gravel)
We took Hellshoogte into Stellenbosch and carried on on the R304 and R 312 into Durbanville and over the hill to Edgemead.
Next trip: By train to PE. Return by bike.
Or Northern Cape?
