"The old Wagon route from here over the Attaquas pass to Oudtshoorn side of the Robinson Pass is very extreme for motorcycles therefore I would suggest to rather do it in the morning as it can also get very hot midday. The cost is R200 per motorcycle and we will give you a map on arrival and you sign the indemnity here." ~ Danette Hesterman (www.bonniedale.com), March 2015.
Oxwagon Trail
Bonniedale Holiday Farm
So I would, over a period of many months, look for any and every opportunity to ride it, until I finally decided, in early December 2014, to plan a camping trip between Xmas and New Year's days. I would spend a few days in the Southern Cape, doing daily off-road excursions to places like George, Knysna, Still Bay, Witsand etc.
That plan came to nought, however, for two reasons:
1. The madam, while fully supportive of a solo ride spanning several days, made it known, in that unique way of the gender, without using a single negative, that it would not be wise, either in the short or long term, to attempt the Attaquaskloof Pass alone.
I am nothing if not attentive to the subtle communications of the gender, so I negotiated what I assumed was conditional approval by promising that I would not attempt the Pass, alone or otherwise, unless I was absolutely certain that I could do so safely.
2. The weather gods, it seemed, were openly against the idea and, unlike the madam, didn't care to be subtle about it. The weather priests' forecast for the area during the ride window was not good!
Now, it should be known that I am not at all averse to riding in the rain. I am, however, fully averse to the combination of riding in the rain, setting up camp in the rain, cooking, drinking, sleeping in the rain, striking camp in the rain, then continuing to ride in the rain the next day and the day after etc. Not to mention knowing you would have to do this before you leave home!
The weather forecast immediately brought the promise into play - it just wouldn't be safe to ride the old Wagon route during or after rain. QED - no Attaquaskloof Pass in December 2014 for me.
As great as my disappointment was, I would later remember to thank the weather gods, on two separate occasions, for their intervention at the time.
The first was when I received an invite, at the 11th hour, to join the party on the 2014 Baviaans Dash (http://www.bmwmccc.org.za/stuff-legends-2014-baviaans-dash-27-30-december). The madam was not displeased - not only would I get an opportunity to ride, I would not be riding solo!
The second occasion to thank the weather goods would come much later.
Fast forward to February 2015 when I received an invitation to join a small group on an overnight trip on the weekend of the 7th March which I declined because I had already committed to act as BMWMCCC Marshal on the Cape Town Cycle Race scheduled for the 8th. This trip was subsequently rescheduled and I duly received a fresh invitation to join the same group a week later. The double caveat, which only gradually became apparent and therefore caught me somewhat by surprise, was that I would not only get to nominate the overnight destination but organise accommodation and plan the route(s) as well.
Caledon Wind Farm
The astute reader would by now have concluded, correctly, that I proposed a visit to the Bonniedale Holiday Farm. My primary objective was to check out the place for a future visit. The secondary one was to ride the Old Wagon route, if at all possible.
The madam, once again, was not displeased - not only would I get an opportunity to check out the trail, I would not be doing it solo! One other member of our party of five agreed to riding the route so, after securing accommodation not at Bonniedale (it was nearly fully booked for a wedding) but at the nearby (~30km away) Dwarsrivier Country Getaway, we set off from Somerset West on the morning of Saturday 14 March. Our route took us almost exclusively on gravel south of the N2 for lunch at The Boathouse on the Breede River, across the river on the Malgas pont towards Witsand & Vermaaklikheid and on to Riversdale. From Riversdale it was cross-country to Herbertsdale where we failed to find fuel because the only filling station in town was closed when we arrived shortly before 4pm.
Malgas Pont: Ferdi, Marc, Jason, Tony & Cecil
Riversdale to Herbertsdale
This necessitated a detour - a return trip on tar over the Du Plessis Pass on the R327 - to The Point in Mossel Bay for a drink.
Mossel Bay: The Point
We received a warm welcome from our hosts Martin & Jenny Jeken on arrival and enjoyed a most pleasant stay at the Dwarsrivier Country Getaway, some 13km from Herbertsdale, in the Cloetes Pass.
After a hearty breakfast, Jason and I set off around 08:15 on Sunday morning for the 30km ride to Bonniedale. The other three members of our party would leave an hour or so later and wait for us at the Eight Bells Hotel, at the bottom of the Robinson Pass on the R328, at around 10:30.
Attaquaskloof: East towards Bonniedale
The ongoing (wedding) noise which greeted us on arrival at Bonniedale around 9am, only served to confirm the wisdom of our decision not to have spent the night there. Apparently, only the wedding guests who passed out got any form of sleep the previous night.
Notwitstanding the sleepless night, the owners and their staff greeted us warmly. We received a thorough briefing on the route, with what I perceived to be a hint of scepticism that Jason and I would be able to successfully clear the first hurdles on the route on a KTM 990 Adventure and BMW R1200GSA, respectively. There was particular, and repeated emphasis, which I must admit, in hindsight, was well justified, on the so-called rock face, and subsequent loose, rocky climb which we had to negotiate shortly after crossing the river right at the start of the route. The briefing was liberally interspersed with repeated offers of "You can come back here, once you've had a look at the trail, and we'll refund the cost of the permit if you decide not to continue!" Other than Jason being asked to enter his name and contact details into some kind of log - only one of us was required to do so - there was neither sight, nor mention, of the indemnity we had to sign, which just served to support my suspicion that we were expected back forthwith.
So off we went, at 09:20, into the Kammarivier and out onto the sandy track on the opposite bank, about 50m downstream, without any problem. A little bit further, and the real route started with a "bang". For me, that is. Not a bang of the audible or explosive kind, but "bang" of the Afrikaans variety which translates into s**t-scared. This is when I thanked the weather gods for the second time for their intervention back in December. There was no way I was going to ride it then, there was no way I was going to ride it now! I resolved, and announced, without blinking, that I would return directly to begin, collect my R200 and take the easy route to Eight Bells.
The Rock: Not-as-flat-as-it-seems!
Jason was clearly also impressed by the rock-face confronting us. He was not the least bit impressed by my total disregard for my own ego. So we walked up and down "bangklip", he trying to find the best line to ride up, me repeating the line about going back. Both English and Afrikaans are very rich, expressive languages. Both, however, have a finite limit on the number of ways one can say "no!" so, after a good many walks up and down, and constant but not at all aggressive selling by Jason, I agreed to give it a go (don't ask, I don't know!).
Bangklip: No, it's not my droppings!
He gave it one last look, got on his bike and took off. He was probably just one bike-length shy of making it to the top when his rear wheel lost traction on a smooth, angled surface, and slid into a "depression". He managed to put the bike down gently and together we manhandled it back to a point from which he could get going again. We then started to address the problem of pushing or pulling my bike up. In fact, we attempted both options for the full 12 seconds it took me - I suspect Jason knew all along - to realise that there was only one way to get my bike up there. So I backed up, stood up and rode all the way up! It was so remarkably easy - after the fact, of course! I am still utterly amazed at the incredible power of these machines! (Don't ask about the line I took, I still don't think there is a line!).
Yeeee-haaa!
Line: ?
What line: ??
It took me a good many stop-start minutes to reach the top of the climb, whereafter things sort of levelled off for a relatively easier ride. The ride is by no means easy after that - we stopped several times to rest and look around - but it never gets even close to "bang" again.
There was a huge fire in the kloof a few weeks ago with the devastation still highly evident. It does not, however, detract even in the least from the beauty of the area. The Attaquaskloof Pass is well worth the effort it takes to get there and on to the "plateau".
We had both run out of water, we had started with full camel-backs, by the time we reached the top of the Pass which is also, coincidentally, the mid-point of the trail. Fortunately it was a relatively quick descent and exit.
We completed the 22km trail in 2 hours and 13 minutes, reaching the R328 at the top of the Robinson Pass just after 11:30, where we found a note that the others had decided to move on towards Vanwyksdorp. We caught up with them about 50km further and continued to ride the rest of the way to Vanwyksdorp and on to the Country Pumpkin in Barrydale where we split up.
Thanks to Jason, Marc, Ferdi & Tony for a truly memorable ride!
* This report won the monthly Ruslamere Trip Report trophy.