Our Magical SA Trip

For months we planned and plotted.  We packed, weighed and re-packed.  And finally the day came for us to saddle up and head off on our tour around the country – a trip of firsts – to experience places we have never been to before.

At 07h15 on a fresh Highveld morning, we set off from Alberton – first stop within 1 hour or 120 km’s.  We reached Heilbron within these parameters, made a quick stop, phoned some friends and got back on to seek warmer areas.

The Eastern Freestate is beautiful to ride.  The ever-changing landscape and looming mountain ranges are a joy to experience.  Do however watch out for potholes as there are plenty of them and a lack of concentration can ruin your day.

Renewed and refreshed after a good night’s sleep, we were ready for the next leg.  And the Eastern Cape did not disappoint.  Our route took us through a stunning Burgersdorp, very friendly Steynsburg, tiny Hofmeyr and enchanting Cradock – where we stopped for ‘roosterkoek’ and coffee at the Schreiner Tea Room.  The town has a special feeling about it and all the old beautifully restored buildings take you back to a long forgotten era.

We stopped in Cookhouse for fuel and met some very interesting people.  Up to this point we enjoyed glorious weather, but just as we were about to tackle the Olifantskop Pass, Mother Nature decided it was time for a shower.  Kitted out in our ugly rain suits we hit the pass, battling strong winds and pelting rain – a hairy-scary experience for both rider and pillion.  We had to stop in Paterson just to catch our breath, but the rain did not take any pauses.  We battled on to Port Elizabeth – the rain having abated a little, but the genuine PE wind was so strong that I thought I might lose my helmet in the process.  We were actually happy to reach a city that offered some protection from the wind with its tall buildings.

We checked into the Road Lodge Hotel in Summerstrand (on Iron Man Weekend) and spent a glorious evening walking the pier and enjoying the sights and sounds PE had to offer.  Even though the wind and rain was bad today, at least the roads were in excellent condition.

Friday morning dawned with not a patch of clear sky anywhere to be found.  For the first time on this trip I did not want to ride, but my hubby persisted and we left PE at 07h15 in the pouring rain and rush hour traffic, trying to outrun the rain.

For our efforts, just outside of PE we were rewarded with the most spectacular rainbow I have ever seen in my life and we couldn’t help to stop and just stare in awe at the wonder of nature.

As we didn’t have far to travel for the day and as we had actually reached the ocean, we decided that we will take it easy and enjoy everything there is along this route through Tsitsikamma.

Cold and miserable we arrived in Jeffrey’s Bay and were blown away by its ‘magicalness’.  The town is beautiful, the people friendly and if we didn’t have time-restraints we would have just stayed there for a couple of days.  J-Bay is awesome and we will definitely go back there again.

Next stop on ‘faff’ day was the Storms River Bridge.  ‘WOW’ is all I can say.  This area must surely be one of the most beautiful parts of our country.  The lush vegetation, stunning countryside, amazing rivers and ravines we crossed.  We were kind of sad to cross into the Western Cape.  The Eastern Cape deserves a tour of its own, with excellent roads, wonderful people and the glorious scenery, this province is totally underrated.

Leisurely travelling on, we stopped in Plettenberg Bay to see what all the fuss was about.  We were a little disappointed as Plett has become very commercialised and we couldn’t find their main beach or a pub to watch the rugby at.  But we did enjoy a wonderful cup of Chai Tea, re-negotiated our route and headed off to Knysna.

If Jeffrey’s Bay blew us away, Knysna made us think twice before handing in our nomination for ‘Best Place Visited on the Trip’.  Expecting it to also be very commercialised, we were pleasantly surprised by the great people there – from the friendly helpful lady at the Info kiosk, to our wonderful lodgings at Paradise Heads (with a breathtaking view of the Knysna Lagoon and The Heads) to the excellent food, vibe and staff at Harry B’s.  Again we didn’t want to leave and after a shaky start to the day, the weather had cleared up and the day ended on a high.

Day 4 arrived and we had to leave the wonderful Knysna to experience some more firsts on our trip.

We travelled to Wilderness and had a ton of fun on the beach.  Although we ride a Triumph Tiger – a dual purpose bike – it is currently fitted with road tyres and not beach tyres.  So when my husband decided the Tiger also had to enjoy the beach, I did complain heavily.  Needless to say, we got stuck and had to ask for help to get back onto the tarmac, but we got our photo-opportunity and were by now so relaxed that I couldn’t even stay mad.  This was yet another first we experienced.

Here we met the wonderful Maureen at the Info Centre at the Lighthouse, who set us up in a super guesthouse – Trade Winds – overlooking the wonderful L’Agulhas.

We took a walk to the Most Southernly Tip of Africa, and even though I expected it to be more dramatic, it was still a wonderful experience to enjoy.  Dinner at Angelo’s was great and the walk back to our guesthouse gave us time to get some exercise and ponder our wonderful trip to date.

On Sunday – day 5 – we had a short hop over to Hermanus to meet up with some friends.  We decided to make the trip there more interesting by taking the dirt roads from L’Agulhas to Elim, Die Dam and on to Gans Bay, putting the Tiger through its paces.  The gravel roads were great and for the most part better than some potholed tar roads we have travelled.

From Gans Bay we travelled over Stanford and on to Hermanus, where we spent a week with our friends riding the local areas.  During this week we clocked up another 1000 km’s visiting Gordon’s Bay via the scenic route, riding Route 62 on to Warmwaterberg Spa and crossing over the Du Toitskloof Pass on the alternative spectacular route.

Then it was time to continue our trip around SA.  We planned to travel to Cape Town all the way along the coast and Chapman’s Peak, but by the time we reached Rooiels, the wind was so bad and we struggled so much not to get blown off the mountain, that we decided to stick to the N2 straight into Cape Town.

Once there the wind was better and we had some time to do some sightseeing before heading off to Bloubergstrand, Darling (to visit ‘Evita se Perron’), Yzerfontein and ending in Langebaan.

We knew this would be our last beachy-moment, so we decided to stay at the gloriously grand Farmhouse Hotel set right on the edge of the Langebaan Lagoon.

We went on a wonderful walk on the banks of the lagoon and were treated to a ‘National Geographic Moment’- sunset.   The hotel was wonderful and reluctantly we got up the next morning to carry on with our trip.     Bad mist outside of Langebaan made the going tough, but by the time we reached Velddrift the sun was greeting us proudly.  We travelled over Piketberg, Citrusdal and Clanwilliam, before stopping for a bite to eat and route re-working in Vanrhynsdorp.   As this was a trip of firsts, we decided not to take the traditional road onto Springbok and Upington, but to head inland – into the heart of the Karoo.  

The Karoo has a magic of its own.  Even though there isn’t an abundance of vegetation (or life for that matter), it still is worth a visit.

We crossed the fantastic Vanrhyns Pass, pushed past Nieuwoudtville and Calvinia, on to Williston.

Day 14 had a leisurely start to the day as we were planning to have another ‘faff’ day, seeing as the weather was great.

We stopped in Kimberley and spent a lot of time visiting the Big Hole.  From there we rode to Warrenton and then Bloemhof to check out the vast Bloemhof Dam.

And at that moment my wise husband decided to lengthen our route for the day.  At first I was fine with the idea, but by the time we reached Bothaville – having travelled over Hoopstad and Christiana – I was ready to walk home.  The roads were in an utterly disgusting state and very dangerous.  I wanted to cry I was so scared, but I eventually did see the method in his madness – ride the potholes while you can still see them and not with the rising sun in your eyes.

At this point I had to admit that my husband was right and I was wrong.  For tomorrow it was only 100 km’s home, which we can enjoy at a very leisurely pace and get home well rested, rejuvenated and happy.

In total we rode 5000 km’s over 14 days, spent 54 hours in the seat and visited 6 provinces.  The weather did play havoc some days, but for the most part we enjoyed blue skies.  Our bike was true and strong, not giving us a moment’s hassle, and the shared experience between my husband and me is something to treasure forever.  Seeing the country on a bike is the only way to do it and even though I am a real city girl, I will definitely recommend a trip like this to anyone.