Pretoria to Cape Town and Back October 2023 - November 2023, 8 day trip

akapieta · Jan 16, 2024

Hi all,

A little outdated as it was done end last year, but new here so thought I would share my experience!

So it was last year June, I was sitting at work and daydreaming about taking a long trip far away from bustling Gauteng. Next thing I knew I had my leave form in my hand on the way to get my manager’s signature. Now, I haven’t travelled much in my lifetime and always only dream of doing so, living through other people’s adventures. My time was now.

As the time was drawing closer and closer, nerves and all set in, stressing my nuts off. Not entirely realising what have I actually signed up to do here. I had 1 mission, Prince Alfred’s pass and Swartberg pass after subscribing to Footpeg diaries rider sequences, I needed to start living.

29 October 2023,
The day has finally come and the butterflies are swarming away in my stomach. Fill up my old trusty V Strom, check that I have everything, check and check again. So I head off leaving Pretoria heading west, I went past Harties continuing past Mooinooi and Olifantsnek dam. I opted to take the N14 up to Upington and then heading South from there. This is after all a sightseeing trip and who wants to stay on the boring N1? After a full day of riding I arrived in Upington. Armed with some Steers in the top box, I head out for my overnight stay in Keismoes just outside Upington. A full 952km for the day, tired being an understatement.

30 October 2023,
I depart from Keimoes, taking the R27 past Kenhardt with the V-Strom purring away and just eating the miles up in a dead part of the country. Stopping every 100-200km to have a smoke and hydrate up. I then joined up with the R63 to Calvinia. I arrived in Calvinia at about 15:00 the afternoon and got the bright idea, that I want to at least reach the West Coast by nightfall. Burning more daylight sitting on my backside on a curb at a garage and looking for possible accommodation on the West Coast. I finally settled on my destination, Veldrif. Now, I know the sun sets later on the West coast, but bear in mind, it is currently 15:45 in Calvinia and I am blissfully unaware what journey lies in front of me. I departed Calvinia and was greeted by a breathtaking scene, Van Rhynspass. Absolutely mind blowing standing at the top! I have my smoke, take my pics and head off again. Opted for the N7 South, with the road winding next to the picturesque Olifants River. I made a quick stop at the Citrusdal Caltex to fuel up. I was greeted here by a colony of feral cats, now, anyone that had anything to do with me know I have an extremely soft spot for these felines. So into the shop I go, to see what I can scavenge for them to eat. Chicken strips it is, at this stage I was also actually quite hungry but ended up giving them everything. This is where I look up and get a sobering reality, why does it look like its getting dark? Check the clock on the bike, its 19:15. Houston, we have a problem, I need to make up ground. I fly through the Piekenierskloof pass, cornering a V-Strom like its a MotoGP machine, well that is how if felt anyway putting this 6 speed box through its paces and using everything she has up to the 10500RPM redline. I slow down to a crawl at 60km/h entering Picketberg. The darkness of the night has now finally caught up with me which I so desperately tried to beat. Armed with only my brights I turn onto the R399, I had to slow down to 80km/h trying to give myself a fighting chance to avoid anything I might encounter on this unknown piece of asphalt. Pass a warning sign, wildlife, pass another one a little distance further, tortoises, what’s next I ask myself. Sidetrack, this is where my dear friend André Landman told me, he was in the same situation on a deserted road where his lights caught something in the emergency lane, a huge snake basking on the warm asphalt and only a few meters further he saw a local on a bicycle heading in the opposite direction roughly in line where the snake was. Can only imagine how this played out, haha! Anyway, finally get to Veldrif with fuel light flashing and grateful that I made it without incident. Plan of action is, check into my stay over for the night and quickly head out to the garage to grab a pie and coke, just to my shocking realization that the garage has closed for the evening in the meantime. Yup, this is definitely not Gauteng. Head back to the hotel and and have a uneasy feeling with the hotel staff leaving at 22:00 and the bike standing in the parking lot with no gates and no guards patrolling. I hatch up a plan that after everyone leaves I will push the bike to the back of the premises where the staff quarters are, so the bike just is out of sight from the main road. Again Gauteng paranoia kicking in full swing!

31 October 2023,
I got up at 04:30 to move the bike before the staff arrives, was a happy feeling knowing the bike is still here. Took a quick shower and went to attach my bag to the bike, right fork seal leaking! Quick wipe down I realise I probably need to find a bike shop in Cape Town to fit new seals, which now risks to ruin my entire trip! I take the R27 out of Veldrif towards Cape Town with the idea of this fork seal in my mind every km travelled. I pull into the Route 27 gas station opposite Jakkalsfontein Nature Reserve to assess this situation, hoping that by some miracle the fork seal has repaired itself. Wet again, I get some refreshments and stir up an idea to try fix this situation, from a video I once saw on Youtube. This involves a strip cut out of a plastic water bottle. Pop out the dust seal, run this little makeshift tool inside the fork seal lip and hope you remove some of the debris that causes this leak. Worth a try at least. Finish my little procedure and off I go again, hoping for the best. I keep on the R27, past Koeberg onto West Coast road and get a taste of home with the traffic conditions. Next up was Chapmans Peak, perfect weather blue skies & turquoise water in the bay! Absolutely breathtaking. Take some pics, sit and have a look around, take in everything. Its nothing short of spectacular! Fork seal still holding up well, phew! From here I made my way over to Gordons Bay, booked into a guest house, removed my boots and realised that these boots were carrying a little whiff of a very unpleasant odour coming from them. In their defence, I did spend the last 3 days in them. Slide into my Crocs, get some shorts on and head over to the local Spar for some foot powder to eliminate this whiff of un-freshness. It is also here that I made the decision to have a decent meal, first proper meal since the beginning of my trip. After a quick Google search I settled on Oceans 8 Seafood and Sushi Bar. Now, this is a semi-upmarket establishment, armed with my shorts and Crocs and a motorcycle that looks like something from an apocalypse with all the bugs attached to the front end. Can only imagine the waitress’s face when I said I need a table for one. I have to add, this has been one of the best seafood meals I have ever had, contributing factor might have been my level of hunger at this point! After this I spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach soaking up the warm ocean air.

01 November 2023,
Got up early, had a decent shower, doused my boots in foot powder again, waxed the chain and checked the oil. I went over to have breakfast at Cat Heaven. A coffee and gift shop dedicated to rescue feral cats in Somerset West. Had a toasted sandwich and spent an hour in the good company of 22 rescue cats, soul food! After this I hit the road again on my way to Herholds bay via Sir Lowrys Pass on the N2. I proceeded on the N2, at Stormsvlei I decided to take a small detour and have a look at Struisbaai and L’Agulhas, the most Southern tip of Africa. The wind on the R319 was hectic, probably exaggerating a little but was just short of gale force. Took my pics, had a smoke and proceed onwards using the R319 back to the N2 and Towards Swellendam. I proceeded on the N2 with nightfall approaching rapidly again, temperatures dropped and I was seriously getting cold now. This forced me to stop at the Engen just before Mossel bay and suit up. I was smart and left my winter gloves in the top box, but my balaclava stashed in my duffel bag that is strapped to my bike! DOH! I had to unpack my entire kit and found my balaclava right at the bottom of my bag. Wont make that mistake again. I pushed on into the darkness towards my destination. Again had to ride with brights on and at 80km/h only due to not being able to see anything! I had accommodation in Herholds Bay, an old colleague invited me to come visit her and her husband. I arrived in Herholds Bay at 20:30, with the hosts kind enough to have braai’d just before my arrival, I was greeted with a warm meal and a nice brandy and coke. I spent the rest of the evening chatting and just catching up! Bless their hearts for being so kind!

02 November 2023,
I slept in a little bit, today it was me and the 7 Passes road. I had a delicious home made breakfast, bacon, egg and toast, orange juice, coffee, the whole course! I said my goodbyes and proceeded to Tex Motorcycles in George to have my chain decently cleaned, adjusted and waxed again. Awesome bunch of people here, can highly recommend! I proceeded East and joined up with the 7 Passes road, again such majestic scenery, stop, take off your helmet and just listen to natures sounds with the cool air under the forest shade. Beautiful place, really amazing! I got to Knysna quite early, spent an hour at The Heads, video called all my colleagues to increase the jealousy factor and then headed into town to have a quick lunch. Sailor Sam was my choice here, had calamari and chips, was very good and at just under R100, what a delight! Went back to Knysna Lakeside which I booked for the night and had a quick afternoon nap. For dinner I decided on The Dry Dock as it came recommended from my friends in Herholds Bay. Food was ok (Not as good as Oceans 8 Seafood and Sushi Bar) , quite expensive and almost didn’t get a table due to them being so busy. So word of advice, make a booking if you plan on having a meal here!

03 November 2023,
Today its Prince Alfred’s pass, 68km of gravel. Was a little worried as the area received a lot of rain the week prior. Now, you turn from the N2 onto the R339 which is the Prince Alfred’s pass, be advised that you need to proceed through a informal settlement / township as you turn off the N2. I had zero issues, but be aware of this. This pass is amazing, you start off in dense forest, road was in a good condition with a pothole here and there but nothing the V-Strom and my Metzeler Tourance’s couldn’t handle. Its truly amazing, words cannot describe this. This is definitely a bucket list thing if you haven’t been here before. As you proceed through the forest it gets less and less dense and before you know it you go past a bend and you are on top in the mountains. This is where you get a sign, “Spitzkop viewpoint”, now if you are on the novice side with an extremely heavy bike, this gets a little worrying. Road going up is only 1km, but it is very washed out, steep at places, loose rocks, ruts, you name it. I almost came off going up and almost dropped the bike going down. When in doubt, flatout. Stopped over for lunch at Angies G Spot and proceeded on to Uniondale. Please also bear in mind, this pass has very little to no cellphone reception. Quick stopover in Uniondale, decided to push onwards towards Oudtshoorn via the R339, R341 & N12. Fuelled up in De Rust and pushed on. Arrived in Oudtshoorn at 17:00 and had a quiet night.

04 November 2023,
Swartberg today. Got up, had a shower and fuelled up. Proceeded on the R328 towards Swartberg pass, beautiful road, very good condition tar which changes to gravel. Quite a steep climb up on Swartberg, beautiful scenery, good condition road. This pass is in good condition with normal cars going up and down no problem. Ruts and potholes here and there but nothing to worry about. Again, no words can describe this place, it is something you need to experience yourself! Got to Prince Albert just before 13:00, seeked out the most quiet place I could find and had probably the best cheeseburger ever, add nice cold beer to this (Only 1 if you plan on riding further) and you have a killer combo. The Rude Chef is the restaurant’s name, welcome to try, highly recommended by me. From here I made the impulsive decision to go check out Sutherland and slowly start making my way home. I used the R407, little bit of the N1 to Laingsburg. From here I turned North on the R354. Road was extremely quiet close to Sutherland that I parked the bike in the road, had a smoke and not a single car passed. Pure bliss! Got to Sutherland, filled the tank up, because apparently these small rural areas have got trading hours, no 24 hour service stations, go figure. Was glad to learn that Sutherland does have a OK Convenience store and I felt a little reckless and got a chicken and mushroom pie there. Total coincidence that I bumped into an old school buddy, that also happened to pass through Sutherland on his way to Louis Trichardt which I have seen last time somewhat 15 years ago. We set an appointment to do a star gazing tour at Sterland later that evening at 20:00. Now its worth noting, it was quite chilly in this area and I opted to keep on my motorcycle jacket the entire evening. Was a cool experience looking at shiny white dots through a telescope and learning more about the area. I went back to my overnight accommodation and watched some Karoo TV (Fireplace in my room), as there was no normal TV. Will I visit Sutherland again? Been there seen it, not much going on there and in all honesty, the stars were just as mesmerizing at Gariep the following night.

05 November 2023,
Got up around 09:00, checked oil, waxed chain, 100km of gravel to reach Frasersburg. I asked around and people advised me to stay off Ouberg pass alone, due to rough road conditions, also was warned to stay off the R354 to Calvinia due to sharp rocks and possible cutting of tyres. I went off the R356 towards Frasersburg, proceeded about 15km on tar to the largest telescope in the Southern Hemisphere (Out of interest sake, is unmanned and remotely controlled in Cape Town, who knew?), stopped and had a smoke and a bit of water. This is also where the tar ends and gravel starts. I got up to a comfortable 80km/h and all of a sudden hit a patch of deep sand, had a very violent steering shake and almost went down. This is probably the closest I came to going down in my time I owned the V-Strom, she is a heavy pig and this is where it shows. Its only by grace that I stayed on. This unfortunately set the tone for the entire day for me as I was down in the dumps after this and most definitely had skidmarks in my undies. Counted down the kms to Frasersburg stopped every 20km which felt like an eternity. Came across a run over Cape Cobra in the road. Shame poor little guy. Its also worth noting there is absolutely no cellphone reception and only saw 1 other vehicle for this entire 100km of gravel. Farms are quite far apart, so you can easily run into trouble here. Take note. Road is in a good condition, washed out here and there but can usually see this quite far in advance and slow down accordingly. Got to Frasersburg and have never been this glad to see a tar road in my entire life. I opted for the first tar road out of Frasersburg which happened to be the R353, also pretty deserted but tar is in a very good condition. I joined up the N1 before Leeu-Gamka and proceeded North on my way to Gariep. Got caught in an annoying speed trap in Beaufort West, which arrived weeks later, 92km/h in a 60km/h zone. Ouch. The N1 was horrible as always, trucks overtaking each other, just flashing their headlights for you to move into the emergency lane, not a great experience. Proceeded on the N1, saw quite a big storm in the distance and was convinced I was going to get wet for the first time this trip. Just before Colesberg there was now 2 storms, East and West of the N1 and it stayed this way to Gariep with me staying in between them the entire way. Lucky me. Stayed over at Raptor Ridge Lodge on the R701 North of the Gariep Dam. Nice place with gas geysers and a very decent shower. The stars here was magnificent to say the least, matching if not better than Sutherland. Worth mentioning. Had a very pleasant stay over.

06 November 2023,
Homeward bound, did a quick run through Gariep, was already tired before the day even started. Uneventful. Stopped over in Bloemfontein to grab some Steers and pushed on. Also needed to fill 100ml of oil here at this point, first time this trip. Got to JHB, right in peak traffic. Welcome home. Got home at 19:30 right back in the thick of the rat race. Bum broken, sore. But oh boy, what an experience!

4640km Total
24km/l best fuel consumption
18km/l Worst fuel consumption
21km/l Average fuel consumption
100ml oil topped up

Desert Fox EZ Arm used as phone holder and charger.
Desert Fox Throttle Ease (Awesome inexpensive piece of kit)

Had no issues and the fork seal did not leak the entire trip again. Not even 1 flat tyre. Will I do it again? You bet, this will be a tradition now yearly at least!

Somewhere past Kenhardt