Archive of BMW Motorrad Club Cape (2006 - 2019)

After weeks of scouring the web for suitable routes and countless hours spent tweaking the selected route on Mapsource - I wanted to find a route that avoided the N1, N2 and R62 yet was suitable for a "solo" ride - Adrienne and I finally set off on Friday morning enroute to Wilderness.

I'd been anxiously watching the weather reports every day for at least a week before our departure. The rain earlier in the week (Mon-Wed) really worried me as the map indicated one or two little river (Groot river) crossings on the road between Ceres and Matjiesfontein. A quick call to Charl (Red Adventure) and Andy on Thursday confirmed that the roads were in good condition (and dry). Andy also suggested we take a slight detour from our planned route (more on this later).

Having dealt with the worry of the potential river crossing I shifted my attention to packing for the trip. I have a set of hard Krauser panniers and a large BMW soft bag - decisions, decisions! I finally settled on the soft bag with tank bag combination for two reasons. One, everyone says it's wiser to use soft luggage when riding offroad and more importantly, two, there would be no space for Adrienne to buy any "goodies" on the trip.

OK, route sorted and luggage selected. Ten minutes to pack for the three days leaving enough time to recheck (for the third or fourth time) that the routes were correctly transferred to my GPS. Plugged in the last of the host of electrical devices (2 x cellphones, 2 x bluetooth comms, rechargeable batteries, video camera) and off to bed.

After a restless night we were up bright and early, donned our gear and got under way at 07:15 - destination Ceres via Bainskloof. The early morning chill was invigorating and we soon got to Wellington. There are not many things better than riding over Bainskloof in the early morning sunshine with not another vehicle in sight.

Rider

and Pillion

After a leisurely breakfast at the Wimpy in Ceres we setoff again. A quick stop on the R355 to deflate tires, set the suspension and switch off the ABS and then off to Matjiesfontein. The road is as promised, in good condition - ideal for a first solo ride (with pillion). We soon settle down to a steady but relaxed pace as we cover the next 90km through a beautiful, desolate landscape.

Great road

Great scenery

Unfortunately our solitude was interrupted all to soon as we turned onto the N1 for the short dash to the Ultra City in Laingsburg to refuel and stretch the legs. Off again, right turn into Van Riebeeck Street (R323). After about 22km a left onto gravel again - now we're riding parallel to the Klein Swartberg mountains on the way to the Seweweekspoort Pass.

About 10km after turning off the R323 we turn right (the turnoff is signposted "Rouxpos") and head deeper into the mountains to the next valley. This is Andy's detour - a stunning beautiful valley!

The Detour

All too soon the valley ends and we continue to the start of the Seweweekspoort Pass. As a (non-practicing) geologist this ranks right up there as one of the most awesome streches of road - the scale of the scenery and the geology is absolutely breathtaking.

The sediments forming the Cape Supergroup were deposited around 400M years ago in an elongated southern ocean. Folding and uplifting of these formations took place much later, around 250M years ago resulting in the Cape Fold Belt. Entering the poort you're in Cape Supergroup quartzites, with magnificent folding. The little stream that is ever present today cut this valley over many tens of millions of years.

Magnificent folding

The poort has a number of blind corners. The possibility of "meeting" another vehicle around a corner requires a liberal application of sensible riding, especially when travelling alone. So we rode a little slower and hugged the extreme edge of the road on all corners. This has the added benefit over and above the safety aspect, one gets to spend a little longer in this amazing pass and get a better look at the rock formations. Fortunately the road was quiet that afternoon and we only saw three vehicles.

We exited the poort and turned onto the R62, through the Huis Rivier Pass and onto Calitzdorp for a well deserved lunch.

Lunch

After lunch we continued on the R62 and turned off onto the R328 (just before Oudtshoorn). Shortly after crossing the Kandelaars River we turned left onto a 27km gravel road which terminates on the N12 just below the Outeniqua Pass. 

Shortcut to N12

This route avoids having to travel through the traffic in Oudtshoorn and is far more scenic and enjoyable. We did however run into a bit of traffic.

Platteland traffic jam

The Outeniqua Pass was "damp" - I'm still not sure whether it was light drizzle or low cloud. The ride through George onto the N2 and into Wilderness was uneventful (read boring). We checked in at Moontide B&B and explored the lagoon before supper.

Wilderness

We spend Saturday mornig at the craft market in Sedgefield. The soft luggage decision soon proved to have been a wise one as Adrienne saw all manner of goodies which "unfortunately" we couldn't pack on the bike. We had a light lunch at Pomodoro's and spent a leisurely afternoon exploring Wilderness. We ended the day with an excellent dinner at The Girls.

We left Wilderness at 09h00 after a late breakfast on Sunday morning. Straight (?) down the N2 until the R327 just after Mossel Bay. After 38km we stop outside Herbertsdale, a sleepy farming community in the valley of the Langtou River, to stretch the legs and deflate tires.

 Herbertdale surrounds

The road from Herbersdale to the R323 was a big "improvement" on the tar covered earlier that morning from Wilderness to Mossel Bay.

Herbertsdale to R323

We passed The Bikers Pub (Dwarsriver Lodge) and went over Cloetes Pass before reaching the R323. A short dogleg and we were back on gravel heading towards the R62 and Barrydale. There are major roadworks on this 35km section of gravel with large sections being ripped up. There were one or two interesting moments as the road surface unexpectedly changed to very loose, almost sandy sections. Fortunately we got to the R62 without any incident.

We had made good time and reached the Country Pumpkin just after 12. We stopped for a well deserved milkshake and were soon on our way again. Once again we crossed the mountains, this time over the spectatular Tradouws Pass to Swellendam for lunch.

From Swellendam we followed the R60 to Robertson. A left (U-turn) off Voortrkker, over the railway line, followed by a right (after 17km) onto the last gravel section of the day past the Amathunzi Game Lodge takes us to Villiersdorp. From here we turn onto the R45, over Franchhoek Pass and onto the N1 for the final stretch home.

We arrived home just before 17:00, a little tired but in high spirits. We covered just over 1,000km - roughly 60:40 split of tar and good dirt roads.