Zevonfontein, fun in the sun.

So the first BMW MCC Cape camp away is done and it really did feel good to once again throw a leg over the 800 and get out there, I hadn’t ridden the BMW since the Old Post Route.

I had planned it as an easy get back into it type of ride, even though I knew some of the riders had already been “Geoff’ed” earlier in the month. I also knew it would probably be hot and with the availability of a stunning rock pool in the mountains, it made a lot of sense to spend quite a bit of time just relaxing and cooling off. So that was the plan, and I almost got it right.

The ride there was kept short and I tried to use some gravel roads I hadn’t yet ridden, with the result that we got to Zevenfontein nice and early. After we had set up camp and had a bite to eat, although Tony had once again been eating all day (new diet), I invited the girls to go and spend the afternoon tanning at the pools and invited the boys to come with me on a “scenic” tour of the Ageterkliphoogte Valley’s end.

Okay, so my idea of a 2x4 trail and Derik’s (farmer) idea of a 2x4 trail differ somewhat, but even though the ride had its heart stopping moments, I think everyone enjoyed it, overall. I did hear some mumbled threats from a few people but I am still here in one piece. I even put my bike down in sympathy at one point as all but three of us I think had a tumble. I also learnt it is not the riding that is tiring, it is all the helping. Pushing 1200 after 1200 up the mountain eventually gets to you.

At the point where I thought I was going to expire from heat, we made it to the end of the “tour” and headed back to a welcome afternoon swim. Man I cannot explain how good it felt as you hit the water. The rest of the afternoon was spent swimming and relaxing back at camp while being entertained by Tony and Leon. A good evening around the fire followed later where supper and the usual banter and fun were the order of the day.

Sunday after early coffee and rusks, we set off to fill up in Robertson before retracing our steps and heading off towards McGregor and then eventually to the N2 just east of Riviersonderend. We stopped in the little town to have brunch and then carried on to Greyton, a bit of a detour to the Theewaterskloof Dam, Franschoek where we stopped to say our goodbye’s and collect our kit from the back up vehicle, and then homewards, nice and early.

So thanks to those that joined us, I had a blast. It was also nice to see some new folks as well as some folks I haven’t seen for a while again. To the 8 folks that pulled out Thursday / Friday, well, you missed out on a really lekker weekend.

Thanks again to Pam, Bianca and Trevor for us being able to enjoy the peace of mind of the backup vehicle as well. Much appreciated as always.

The next overnight camping trip is already booked, the summer fun run to Boegoeberg in the Englishmans Mountains up towards Clan William, weekend of 23/24 February with a visit to the Heerenlogement Cave in the planning. We always visit there in winter, I thought it would be nice to be able to swim and relax at the magnificent campsite for a change. In March it's back to Champagne, then we start on the new venues for 2013.

Please feel free to post your pics here, it my Tom Sawyer method of writing trip reports.

Thats it, so until next time, look after yourselves.

Cheers

Warren