An early departure at 07:15 on Saturday morning saw us riding through light rain to meet up with Paul and Brent at Richwood Total garage. Leaving at 08:00 we headed over Kontermanskloof, Occultdale and the R45 to Malmesbury.
There were patches of drizzle and rain along the way. We stopped for breakfast and a chance to warm up at Cherry Lane in Malmesbury and to catch up with Paul and Brent, the Nav's nephew on his Yamaha XT660Z, who was riding with us for the first time.
Talulah, Paul's KLR blew a main fuse as we left Cherry Lane but got going again once the fuse was replaced. A rather confusing issue for the 'boys' as it took them a while to figure it out but a call to Jorg, aka Cape KLR, quickly resolved the problem - more about that later....
We headed on the gravel out of Malmesbury towards Moorreesburg which was quite muddy and slippery from the recent rains. We decided to take a short cut on tar to Moorreesburg and headed off on the Koringberg Road to the start of Kapteinskloof Road. By that stage the rain had cleared up, resulting in good riding conditions. Kurt Darren's "Kaptein span die seile' was driving all of us crazy inside our helmets as we meandered through the kloof, stopping at the lookout point for a breather and a smoke break.
Next stop was for a cup of street brewed coffee on the Lambertsbay Road with the weather looking like it was closing in on us again. The gravel road to Lambertsbay passes through the start of the citrus orchards where the oranges were hanging large and ripe.
We took a right to Witelskloof Pass through more orchards and a river crossing - an exceptionally beautiful stretch which ends on the N7 just before the Clanwilliam dam. We refuelled at Clanwilliam and stopped at the local Spar to get food supplies and beers for the guys, where after we headed off on the last 18 or so kilometres to our overnight self- catering house at Jamaka Organic Farm in the Cederberg.
Jamaka is an Organic Citrus farm and the house we were staying in was beautifully appointed just above the river, enveloped by the mountains. After a long day in the saddle, we sat down and soaked up the beautiful and serene surroundings in this magical place called the Cederberg while the Nav busied himself getting a fire going for the braai. Nothing beats a chop and boerewors whilst enjoying the stillness of the Cederberg, followed by a warm bed.
The next morning we got going at 08:00 and at 08:01 Talulah blew another fuse. Sadly she did not continue on our trip and Paul found himself being entertained by Vic and Jannie of Jamaka farm, until his wife Megan fetched him a few hours later.
We stopped for breakfast at Oasis where we bumped into Brent's boss Sias who was on a solo ride on his BMW. Our route took us over the Grootriver Pass with a couple of interesting rive crossings and out at the Southern end of the Cederberg were we turned left through Katbakkies and Swartruggens to the Tankwa Karoo farm stall. The speciality of the day was a rib burger chased by a cold coke. The place was packed with at least 20 bikes and a number of cars/bakkies.
As we wasted a few hours trying to get Talulah going, we hightailed it down the R355 down to Ceres and on through Slangrivier, Du Toitskloof and onto Stellenbosch where we said our goodbyes to Brent, then via Baden Powell/Muizenberg to get home just before 6pm.
DAY 1
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| The meeting point |
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| Breakfast at Cherry Lane in Malmesbury |
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| The 'confusing' moment... thank goodness Paul got Talulah back on the road |
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| Paul up ahead 'slip sliding away..... |
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| Regrouping |
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| R311 on route to Moorreesburg |
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| They all wanted to be in my 'favourite' pic, but.... |
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| .... only MY KLR looks at home in front of a windmill - what a beaut! |
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| Koringberg to the right |
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| Viewpoint at the top of Kapteinskloof Road |
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| Nav'less |
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| Coffee stop on the R365 near the Het Kruis railway siding |
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| Took a right to Witelskloof Pass |
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| Next -Clanwilliam for a fuel stop |
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| The Nav keeping an eye on the bikes as Paul & I go shopping for supplies |
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| 18km stretch from Clanwilliam to Jamaka organic farm up ahead |
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| Panoramic view of the gateway into the Cederberg |
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| Citrus orchards |
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The Cederberg received its name from the rare Clanwilliam cedar tree,Widdringtonia Cedarbergensis, which you will find in the Welbedacht and Krakadouw areas
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| Final stop for the day @ Jamaka Organic Farm -House no 5 |
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| Paul & the Nav lit a welcoming fire |
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| House no 5 |
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| "Peaceful" |
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| This is NOT the river...water streaming from the mountain down to the river |
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| Sunrise the next day |
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| Brent's Metzellers |
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| first trip on Paul's T63's |
DAY 2
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| Departing from Jamaka into the Cederberg on Sunday morning |
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| More confusion reigned as Paul's KLR sadly retired for the weekend |
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| The Nav lending a helping hand |
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| Vic, the farm manager loading Talulah onto his bakkie |
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| The TRIBE has SPOKEN......... |
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| Uitkykrivier |
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| Pic of the day |
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| Uitkyk Pass |
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| Blending in beautifully wouldn't you agree? |
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| Spectacular views from Uitkyk Pass |
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| On route to Oasis in the Cederberg |
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| The Nav going through our first river crossing |
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| Brent following close on the Nav's heels |
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| The Oasis for a well deserved brunch stop |
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| People visiting Gerrit @ the Oasis always leave with a smile... |
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| Even KTMs break down.... |
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| one can't get enough of the views in the Cederberg |
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| Aptly named 'Grootrivier' |
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| Brent enjoying the Cederberg magic |
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| Katbakkies Pass |
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| A derelict sheperd's ruin |
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| Looking good Brent! |
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| Traditional Twins - faster than a BMW without petrol |
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| Karoo taxi |
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| leaving Tankwa Padstal on route to Ceres |
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| Hard luggage - ooh eh eh........... |
WHAT a weekend! +/- 700kms travelled over two days.
Thanks Nav for yet another awesome trip and to Brent for joining us and seeing what the Bryants get up to on weekends. We missed you Paul on day 2 and we hope Talulah is out of the sick bay soon!
Safe travels everyone, till next time
- Angela -
4 wheels move the body, 2 wheels move the soul
email: adventureridersct@gmail.com
