Sutherland made headlines in 2005 with the unveiling of SALT (South African Large Telescope), the largest telescope in the southern hemisphere. The town quickly realised that tourism is very good business. Currently there are 33 guest houses in Southerland, with 5 different restaurants (including the hotel). These figures are is totally amazing when you see how small this little town is. Further more, the tourism office is the most active that I have encountered in South Africa.
91 mirrors of SALT
There were BMW tours to Sutherland in 2005 and 2006. Originally Sutherland did not appear on the events list for 2007, but the members asked and the committee scheduled a tour to Sutherland in July 2007. The tour was moved forward by a month, compared to the other tours. This was done to be in Sutherland in the hart of the winter, to experience the reported Sutherland COLD. More about this later.
The July date happened to fall in Padlangs’s holiday. Only one thing to do! On Thursday the GreenMamba headed up route 62 to Barrydale. The overcast morning delayed the start. In Barrydale I had to make a decision: Country Pumpkin, or not? Yes, Derrik (the owner of Country Pumpkin) treats the biker community very well – but we want to see the “other” side of Barrydale. We finally booked in at Country Garden House. An elderly couple that are doing what they obviously enjoy, always a winning recipe. This large country town (much larger than Sutherland) has a huge number of daytime coffee shops, but only two restaurants that stay open after sunset. We opted for “A Place in Time”, 4 four seater tables and 1 two seater table. Yes, only 18 seats inside this restaurant. Just the owner and his wife, no other staff. There was only one local couple in the restaurant, all the other seats were filled with tourists. Despite this the conversation, between the different tables, were more active than at a family gathering. The GreenMamba was a major topic of these conversations.
Country Garden House in Barrydale
Friday morning (Friday the 13th) we left Barrydale at 9. Which way to go? Fortunately there are no tar roads between Barrydale and the N1. Only one thing to do. Oudtshoorn, Meiringspoort, Prince Albert, Laingsburg, etc. But wait, I am getting ahead of myself. Before we could set of, I needed a few litres of water to get the ice of the GreenMamba. When I got back to the bike to dry of the seat, the water had iced up again – on the seat. Outside Barrydale the snow on the mountains explained the cold. By the time we got to Ladismith my toes were frozen inside my boots. Fortunately we were kitted for Sutherland. Between Oudtshoorn and Meiringspoort there was more snow on the mountains. This was my first time through Meiringspoort on a motorcycle – words fail me. Let me put it this way, when the club goes to Oudtshoorn in October, the wife and I are having a picnic in Meiringspoort. A word of caution, the road between Meiringspoort and Prince Albert begs for a top end run – apparently there is a lot of wild life that crosses the road. (The four legged kind.) In Prince Albert we had lunch at the Lazy Lizzard. Another place worth of a second visit. The portions are very generous.
Meiringspoort
The 110 km section between Matjiesfontein and Sutherland is actually a dangerous piece of road. The danger being that the long straights and gentle sweepers lulls you into a false sense of security, and then suddenly a few sharp corners. After 80 km then road starts climbing steeply, 600 m in 10 km. Half way through this pass there are a number of sharp corners. Low and behold, the owner of Jupiter was sitting next to a 400 cc Suzuki that she had just crashed into the mountain side. Somehow she managed to crash into the mountain side, with the bike leaving marks for 16 m, with virtually no damage to herself. She was wearing a jean and a jersey!! No tear marks, she chipped a piece of bone in her elbow and will be wearing a sling for a few weeks. With no cell phone reception, we eventually agreed that my wife will stay with her while I race into Sutherland to get help. Just as I started the GreenMamba a local car stopped and took Marna into Sutherland.
Not the place to be "verlate" - Verlatekloofpass
Saturday we took the day trip to the planetarium and took a tour of the local church. This church has a very rich history and is well worth a visit. Around 3 the on-road group arrived in Sutherland. Not long after that the off-road group made an appearance. With almost ten people in each group we are sure to get the “down-and-dirty” of each ride – watch this space. Saturday night at Jupiter …. (Ons kan mos nie hieroor uit praat nie.) Thanks Cliff.
Ignore a damsel in distress
It would seem the COLD of Sutherland is no more than an urban legend. It never got below –3. Same story as last year, “You should have been here 2 weeks ago. Toe was dit darem koud.” The days were sunny, with no wind. More reminiscent of summer, than winter. The ride back on Sunday was an absolute pleasure, again perfect weather. We were keeping “a good pace”, as I wanted to get home to watch the MotoGP. I got home in time – and fell asleep in front of the TV.
Snow on the mountain, mirror in the dam, Hexriver valley