Archive of BMW Motorrad Club Cape (2006 - 2019)

When we upgraded from a Honda 125cc to an offroad capable F800 adventure, part of the idea was for us to ride together over long distances with off-road and camping. So when friends of ours told us their wedding venue was in Jacobs Bay we saw the opportunity.

The wedding was on Saturday (May 2018) so we decided to leave on Thursday mid-morning, have lunch in Tulbagh then head towards Cederberg Oasis, turn left to go through Nieuwoudts Pass or keep straight towards Clanwilliam and finally towards Biedouw Rivier to sleep over at Enjo Nature Farm.

Sadly, the weather forecast for that week changed as the day approached and we left on Thursday in heavy rain.

Fortunately, we've been building up our long ride gear for some time so we were good to go.  

(PS: We made a trip video as well which is at the end of this post)

It's pouring on the N7 as we get out of town. Poor visibility but massive grins on our faces. This is it! We stopped at Swartland Engen to check our gear and luggage. All good. Back on the road. Sadly we don't have comms yet but every time we stopped we'd open our visors and shout to each other:

• "Did you see those hills?"
• "Those bends were awesome!"
• "My fingers are cold", "mine are warm, the handle bar warmers are working" Hahaha! She was warm.

We made Tulbagh pretty easy even though it rained for 90% of the ride.  Had pizza at a quaint little wood fired pizza place in a beautiful, rainy town. We then decided to ditch the off road route that goes through Cederberg mountain because (1) this is our first long ride, (2) we don't have knobby tires, (3) it's been raining all morning (4) we are riding alone with only a basic tire repair kit and (5) I only have 1 year motorcycle experience (125cc) and 3 months GS experience.

At least the route is scenic and we get to ride through Nuwekloofpas twice. We turn right at R44 and go past Gouda. The R44 had roadworks and a stop-n-go which was sooo sweet passing car drivers on :) Feels so good to finally be those people who cut though traffic.

Finally the rain stopped and the ride to Clanwilliam went smoothly. By now it was getting dark so by the time we went over the mountain behind Clanwilliam (R364) towards Biedouw Rivier is was misty. Still, these two newbies with sore bike bums are having the time of their lives after 5 hours on the road! When we turn towards Enjo Nature Farm & the joy sets in even more: gravel road! Yay! That was a scary and exciting 40 minutes. Ditching muddy puddles, opening & closing farm gates, falling temperatures & the beauty of the mountains surrounding the valley. 

Enjo Nature Farm is an awesome place to stay in. The guest houses are spread far from one another so you really feel you're the only ones on the farm. Because we ordered food with our stay, they made sure the food was ready the moment we arrived.  The food is amazing and lots of it too including the breakfast which came with filter coffee.

The family that runs the business is so hospitable.

Accomm: R620 per night for 2 adults 
Dinner: R150 pp
Breakfast: R90 pp

They also have an honest bar.

Waking up in the middle of nowhere: No traffic. No phone signal. Perfect. And the breakfast was amazing!

The reigning thought between us was: "we should've come a day earlier." That's because we had to leave Enjo Farm after breakfast so that we are in Vredenburg by evening to be closer to the wedding venue in Jacobs Bay. Also we wanted to allow ourselves time to enjoy the ride.

The ride to Vredenburg was non eventful though. We stopped at Elands Bay and there's literally nothing to see or do there. We rode on the coastal line thinking we'd see the sea the whole time only to discover the sea is hidden by large dunes. Arrived at the guest house around 18:00 and settled in.

The next day we head to the wedding. We kuier, dance, party and back to Vredenburg.

On Sunday we took a relaxed ride home, through West Coast National Park, take a snack break overlooking the river, race a tortoise & take a break for lunch at Geelbek Restaurant. Then the very boring & super straight road and back to Cape Town via R27. 

Back home safely and still the reigning thought was: We should've left a day sooner and spent more time by Enjo/Biedouw Valley. At least we left ourselves a reason to go back.

Here's our trip video highlights: