Days 1 & 2 (of 15) – Cape Town to Uniondale / Uniondale to Jeffrey's Bay via Baviaanskloof
15-16 Dec 2013
The plan was to have no plan... This kind of plan kindles anxiety within the hearts of some, but brings true freedom to those who define the difference between traveler and tourist. To have no plan means to abandon the certainty of when you will reach your destination, where you will sleep, how far you will ride or how frequently you will stop for a meal, a photo or a rest break. For some this is too high a price to pay, but for the traveler this defines each exciting new day. With the absence of a plan falls away the pressure to keep up with the itinerary and the disappointment that comes with getting severely delayed. One's spirit is open to take in the beauty and splendor which is right before one's eyes without having to get to "the next thing to see". The destination is irrelevant while the journey and serendipitous experiences become a goal onto itself. This is the way that I like to travel on my motorcycle and two friends of mine were comfortable to join me for such a trip to Lesotho.
The absence of a plan creates a minor dilemma: the uncertainty about which direction to point one's front wheel in. This dilemma can be addressed by putting in lots of effort before a trip in order to learn what the possibilities are. If the possibilities are known informed last minute decisions can be made and a route may be chosen just before leaving and it may be open to change on a whim.
My friend, George, and I left on the morning of Sunday 15 Dec 2013 from Cape Town to overnight in Uniondale. Andrew was supposed to leave with us, but some last minute preparation and a severe lack of sleep (also attributed to preparation for the trip) led him to only leave Cape Town as evening fell - and with no plan this was no problem. He made it as far as George where he called it a night and joined us in Uniondale the following morning.
Then came Baviaanskloof. We left Uniondale quite late in the morning which afforded us less time than desired for the adventure at hand and so we made light work of the distance separating our origin from the start of the Baviaanskloof nature reserve. George was in front and was going much too fast for my liking. I remember doing about 100km/h trying to catch up to him... His dust trail limited visibility when I suddenly realised that I'm in deep sand. This realisation fell upon me as my bike went into a violent tank-slapper which got increasingly worse. Due to all his dust in front of me I could hardly see anything ahead. To no avail I was trying to get the handlebars under control. Then I gave up and accelerated hard which worsened the issue to the point where I was bracing my self for coming off at speed. Then I closed the throttle and the raging rodeo beast calmed down somewhat. Then as suddenly as it had come I was out of the sand! Thank goodness was my first thought as my spine was still frozen in the terror of the experience. By that time I had closed the gap with George to about 3 car lengths. He was doing about 80km/h when suddenly out of nowhere a large antelope shot across the road behind him and in front of me. How I missed it to this day I do not know - it was a very close call. Then I passed George, flagged him down and requested a more modest speed with which he kindly complied. After having stopped to take some photographs Andrew was further behind and unaware of the close encounters on my part.
Like much of the Little Karoo, Baviaanskloof displays similar contorted lines of rock to Meiringspoort and Seweweekspoort and has similar redish sandstone to De Rust and Oudtshoorn on the dryer side which faces Uniondale & Willowmore. We entered the gate to the reserve and had a quick photograph break before heading onward. Many large tortoises were out looking for water and found it usually in some of the river crossings that lay before us. I was looking around so much that my left mirror hit an acasia branch which stripped the female thread on the handlebar carrier (so my mirror made the remainder of this trip wrapped in a blanket in my top box). The natural beauty of this reserve is astounding and is highlighted in the geography, fauna and flora - it literally feels as if two eyes are not enough. We stopped for photographs often and enjoyed the wonder and anticipation of what waits on us around the next bend. This is truly a majestic place. One of the things which I enjoy most about motorcycle touring is the vastness of landscape which can be explored in one day - but this place is so spectacular that the only regret is really that it went by so fast. Here one should linger, slow down and take in - for such beauty, peace and tranquillity is a rarity coming from the city.
A mountain pass greeted us and I thought that we had perhaps already passed the long river crossing (for which this reserve is famed by off-road adventurers). I shared my thoughts on this with Andrew and George who were glad of it. George was ahead with Andrew generously spaced behind. As I caught up to Andrew I noticed that the luggage on his carrier frame was loosely hopping as he navigated the uneven pass. I quickly caught up, stopped him and told him that he had lost most of his luggage. This was the first time that this had happened (but not the last). I passed three huge 4x4's on the narrow pass heading towards me as I was racing ahead to stop George and get us turned around to help Andrew find his lost luggage. After turning back with George we raced past the three 4x4's again in the direction we had come from and George spotted and picked up some of Andrew's luggage in the road (Just as well we got to it before the three 4x4's flattened it!). Eventually we caught up with Andrew who had by that time gathered everything he had lost with the exception of an empty red 10L jerrycan for fuel. We found a generously spacious corner and parked the bikes there while Andrew went even further back to look for the missing jerrycan. After it was retrieved we enjoy a welcome packed lunch of braaibroodjies and lamb tjops which was leftovers from the night before.
Onwards we went and arrived at the long river crossing which was dry enough to show a significant stretch of surfaced rocks in the centre over the length of it. This was no big challenge for us and it was in at the deep end and out at the shallows before heading up the concrete reinforced tweespoor pass at the far end. This proved quite an unpleasant challenge for some but all made it safe with undamaged bikes to the other side. Arrival at the Patensie gate around 17h20 afforded us the opportunity to pour excess water out of our boots (which was completely waterlogged by all the river crossings) and a look at a map to find accommodation for the night. Misreading Andrew's excessively detailed map of the Baviaanskloof I proceeded to a farm stall about 5 km before Patensie (I mistook the farm stall icon on the map for the backpacker's icon on the map which were very similar). Once again this road to Patensie was astoundingly beautiful with high hills consisting of white river rock conglomerate and valleys planted with citrus trees to the foot of the mountains. If I were to have guessed what they farmed with there only from the smell I would have bet on Sunlight dishwashing liquid! There were dense deep purple and rich red blooming bougainvilleas on the edge of the road for long stretches. When we arrived at the farm stall it was clear that the opportunities to overnight were limited and we headed on towards Jeffrey's Bay where we were sure of the existence of backpacker's accommodation.
In Jeffrey's Bay we stayed at Mentorskraal in a backpacker's dorm with more than 50 beds! Luckily (and unbelievably) we were the only guests! The people were very friendly and helpful and we were very tired and thankful to have a roof over our heads. We headed off to the Spur for supper and got to bed way too late! George joked that there were enough beds to play musical beds, but I was too tired to take him up on it. The next day would bring a new adventure to an unknown destination - but surely it would take us closer to Lesotho.
15-16 Dec 2013
The plan was to have no plan... This kind of plan kindles anxiety within the hearts of some, but brings true freedom to those who define the difference between traveler and tourist. To have no plan means to abandon the certainty of when you will reach your destination, where you will sleep, how far you will ride or how frequently you will stop for a meal, a photo or a rest break. For some this is too high a price to pay, but for the traveler this defines each exciting new day. With the absence of a plan falls away the pressure to keep up with the itinerary and the disappointment that comes with getting severely delayed. One's spirit is open to take in the beauty and splendor which is right before one's eyes without having to get to "the next thing to see". The destination is irrelevant while the journey and serendipitous experiences become a goal onto itself. This is the way that I like to travel on my motorcycle and two friends of mine were comfortable to join me for such a trip to Lesotho.
The absence of a plan creates a minor dilemma: the uncertainty about which direction to point one's front wheel in. This dilemma can be addressed by putting in lots of effort before a trip in order to learn what the possibilities are. If the possibilities are known informed last minute decisions can be made and a route may be chosen just before leaving and it may be open to change on a whim.
My friend, George, and I left on the morning of Sunday 15 Dec 2013 from Cape Town to overnight in Uniondale. Andrew was supposed to leave with us, but some last minute preparation and a severe lack of sleep (also attributed to preparation for the trip) led him to only leave Cape Town as evening fell - and with no plan this was no problem. He made it as far as George where he called it a night and joined us in Uniondale the following morning.
Then came Baviaanskloof. We left Uniondale quite late in the morning which afforded us less time than desired for the adventure at hand and so we made light work of the distance separating our origin from the start of the Baviaanskloof nature reserve. George was in front and was going much too fast for my liking. I remember doing about 100km/h trying to catch up to him... His dust trail limited visibility when I suddenly realised that I'm in deep sand. This realisation fell upon me as my bike went into a violent tank-slapper which got increasingly worse. Due to all his dust in front of me I could hardly see anything ahead. To no avail I was trying to get the handlebars under control. Then I gave up and accelerated hard which worsened the issue to the point where I was bracing my self for coming off at speed. Then I closed the throttle and the raging rodeo beast calmed down somewhat. Then as suddenly as it had come I was out of the sand! Thank goodness was my first thought as my spine was still frozen in the terror of the experience. By that time I had closed the gap with George to about 3 car lengths. He was doing about 80km/h when suddenly out of nowhere a large antelope shot across the road behind him and in front of me. How I missed it to this day I do not know - it was a very close call. Then I passed George, flagged him down and requested a more modest speed with which he kindly complied. After having stopped to take some photographs Andrew was further behind and unaware of the close encounters on my part.
Like much of the Little Karoo, Baviaanskloof displays similar contorted lines of rock to Meiringspoort and Seweweekspoort and has similar redish sandstone to De Rust and Oudtshoorn on the dryer side which faces Uniondale & Willowmore. We entered the gate to the reserve and had a quick photograph break before heading onward. Many large tortoises were out looking for water and found it usually in some of the river crossings that lay before us. I was looking around so much that my left mirror hit an acasia branch which stripped the female thread on the handlebar carrier (so my mirror made the remainder of this trip wrapped in a blanket in my top box). The natural beauty of this reserve is astounding and is highlighted in the geography, fauna and flora - it literally feels as if two eyes are not enough. We stopped for photographs often and enjoyed the wonder and anticipation of what waits on us around the next bend. This is truly a majestic place. One of the things which I enjoy most about motorcycle touring is the vastness of landscape which can be explored in one day - but this place is so spectacular that the only regret is really that it went by so fast. Here one should linger, slow down and take in - for such beauty, peace and tranquillity is a rarity coming from the city.
A mountain pass greeted us and I thought that we had perhaps already passed the long river crossing (for which this reserve is famed by off-road adventurers). I shared my thoughts on this with Andrew and George who were glad of it. George was ahead with Andrew generously spaced behind. As I caught up to Andrew I noticed that the luggage on his carrier frame was loosely hopping as he navigated the uneven pass. I quickly caught up, stopped him and told him that he had lost most of his luggage. This was the first time that this had happened (but not the last). I passed three huge 4x4's on the narrow pass heading towards me as I was racing ahead to stop George and get us turned around to help Andrew find his lost luggage. After turning back with George we raced past the three 4x4's again in the direction we had come from and George spotted and picked up some of Andrew's luggage in the road (Just as well we got to it before the three 4x4's flattened it!). Eventually we caught up with Andrew who had by that time gathered everything he had lost with the exception of an empty red 10L jerrycan for fuel. We found a generously spacious corner and parked the bikes there while Andrew went even further back to look for the missing jerrycan. After it was retrieved we enjoy a welcome packed lunch of braaibroodjies and lamb tjops which was leftovers from the night before.
Onwards we went and arrived at the long river crossing which was dry enough to show a significant stretch of surfaced rocks in the centre over the length of it. This was no big challenge for us and it was in at the deep end and out at the shallows before heading up the concrete reinforced tweespoor pass at the far end. This proved quite an unpleasant challenge for some but all made it safe with undamaged bikes to the other side. Arrival at the Patensie gate around 17h20 afforded us the opportunity to pour excess water out of our boots (which was completely waterlogged by all the river crossings) and a look at a map to find accommodation for the night. Misreading Andrew's excessively detailed map of the Baviaanskloof I proceeded to a farm stall about 5 km before Patensie (I mistook the farm stall icon on the map for the backpacker's icon on the map which were very similar). Once again this road to Patensie was astoundingly beautiful with high hills consisting of white river rock conglomerate and valleys planted with citrus trees to the foot of the mountains. If I were to have guessed what they farmed with there only from the smell I would have bet on Sunlight dishwashing liquid! There were dense deep purple and rich red blooming bougainvilleas on the edge of the road for long stretches. When we arrived at the farm stall it was clear that the opportunities to overnight were limited and we headed on towards Jeffrey's Bay where we were sure of the existence of backpacker's accommodation.
In Jeffrey's Bay we stayed at Mentorskraal in a backpacker's dorm with more than 50 beds! Luckily (and unbelievably) we were the only guests! The people were very friendly and helpful and we were very tired and thankful to have a roof over our heads. We headed off to the Spur for supper and got to bed way too late! George joked that there were enough beds to play musical beds, but I was too tired to take him up on it. The next day would bring a new adventure to an unknown destination - but surely it would take us closer to Lesotho.
