Micro-adventures can be different things to different people. For someone who only gets a break once or twice a year, it might be a quick one-nighter trip, and just opening the maps, choosing a destination, and planning that short trip might be a mental micro-adventure in itself.
For myself, however, the best micro-adventures are the spontaneous ones. A simple thought that comes up at 11 AM, getting on the bike at noon, and finding myself somewhere totally unexpected by 1pm, only to be back in the office by 2pm, reinvigorated to complete the working day.
Since my first 2 Hour Holiday, followed months later by a 2 Hour Safari, I have realized just how much can be done in two hours.
Where was I going? Truly, I had no idea. I turned left. Ahead of me was Outeniqua Pass and a spirited ride through a beautiful pass seemed like a good idea at the time. And then I simply kept going. Riding through Waboomskraal, known for growing hops, I took the first gravel road in the Klein Karoo because of the “Flood damage” sign.
Such things draw me like a moth to a flame. Most of the damage have been fixed. Roads, even back roads, are well maintained in the Eden District.
The road took me to a little church in a small settlement / railway siding called Zebra.
I have ridden past here before, but I’ve never stopped to really look at this church. The building reflects classic rural Klein Karoo style with whitewashed stone walls, a simple pitched tin roof and wooden sash windows. It appears to be well maintained.
(I later learned that the Zebra Church has found new life as the official final destination of the Hope Camino (the Calitzdorp Klein Karoo Pilgrimage). Hikers begin at the Dutch Reformed Church in Calitzdorp and cover approximately 141 kilometers over seven days, finishing at the doors of the historic Zebra Church.)
When the road forked again the track toward Mount Hope looked inviting, but having been there before, I opted for a quieter farm road instead. It wound past scattered cottages, where friendly farmworkers looked up to wave enthusiastically as the bike rolled by. After the recent heavy rains the whole area is green and beautiful.
I crossed the Kliprivier (Stone River), again. It originates in the foothills of the Outeniqua Mountains and meanders through agricultural land before joining the Olifants River (which eventually feeds the massive Gourits River system). When thunderstorms or mountain rain occur these rivers can change dramatically from a dry riverbed to a powerful flood within hours. Hence the “Flood Damage” sign from earlier.
Following the road I came across this.
The nearby Blossoms railway siding was named after the farm Blossoms. In the days before good roads, sidings like Blossoms were vital to farming communities. Farmers would bring produce by wagon to the siding, where it was loaded onto trains bound for Oudtshoorn, George and beyond.
In recent years, the name "Blossoms" became household news in the Little Karoo due to the massive Blossoms Emergency Water Scheme. The region sits above a major groundwater reserve, piping millions of liters of water per day over 22 km into Oudtshoorn.
I noticed the name for a different reason. I recall seeing the farm advertising a self-catering unit, a restored historic milking parlor converted into a private cottage. The farm also hosts a variety of game species, including Cape Buffalo, Giraffe, Sable, Golden Wildebeest, Kudu, and Springbok. So I continued, crossing the Kliprivier, again.
Now, my Adventure Bike can take me anywhere.
Except into a Buffalo enclosure!
So this was the end of the road, for now. We will be back in a suitable vehicle and staying for the night soon!
A random Klein Karoo house on the way back. Imagine growing up here.
The gravel road eventually spat me back onto the tar and with time ticking, it was time to head back. What litre-class adventure bikes lack in tight, technical single-track, they more than make up for when you need to cover ground. The stretch home was dispatched quickly, effortlessly, and in absolute comfort.
In just two hours, I carved through a mountain pass (twice), stood in the quiet shadow of a historic church, exchanged waves with smiling strangers, stopped at tranquil river crossings and found a new destination to visit soon. It was a complete reset, compressed into a single lunch break.
You just need a machine, an open road, and the willingness to trade sixty minutes of routine for sixty minutes of the unknown.
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