So arriving at the venue it becomes clear that this will not so much be about car vs bike, but more about the adventure a Suzuki can offer you, whether you prefer 2 or 4 wheels. Also, it will be a nice and intimate affair. No riding in the dust of 20 other riders.
We’ll be 4 bikes and 2 cars, plus another car for the camera crew. That’s right, we’ll be followed by a professional camera crew, just like celebrities. When Suzuki does something, they do it in style! Most of the photos in this report by the talented Mr Rob Till and team.
Our route for Day 1:
Heading along the N2 we aim for Tradouw Pass which will take us over the Langeberg Mountains and into the Karoo where our Adventure will start in the small town of Barrydale.
And of course we have to work in some en route refreshments before we tackle some gravel.
The Tradouw Pass (which means Womens Path in the old Khoi language) is a 16 kilometer drive through rugged mountain scenery. Originally built by Thomas Bain this is truly one of those Cape mountain passes that you must ride.
Barrydale is a quaint little town full of B&B’s, restaurants, art galleries and such. One of those small towns that just came alive and where, despite it’s small size, you can spend days just exploring the eclectic shops and places.
We stopped at Diesel and Crème, famous for the best milkshakes... in the world.
These come in the most interesting flavours. Crunchy & Honey. Banana & Peanut butter. Red Velvet and Cream Cheese. Oreo, Nutella or even Zoo Cookie! You get the picture.
Word to the wise: Drinking one of these before you eat will mean not finishing your meal.
So after lunch a bunch of sugar-high motorcycle journalists headed out on South Africa’s Route 62, a tar road that runs East and West through the Klein Karoo.
And one of the obligatory stops on this route is Ronnie’s Sex Shop of course!
Ronnie’s is a road side bar and restaurant (The Road Kill Café) that became a famous rural stop after some of Ronnie’s friends added “sex” to the building’s name. Brake marks on the road surface tell the story of how almost no car passes this shop after reading the name. Haha!
But adventures seldom happen on tar roads and man made attractions. We were headed to, or rather through, the Swartberg Mountain range via Seweweeks Poort.
The team doing their thing:
And this is where the adventure came looking for us. Our first taste of the rain.
Heading into Seweweeks Poort:
There is an array of stories as to where the poort got it's name from, most of which are folklore. One story is that it was said to take 7 weeks for the brandy smugglers to get their wares from Beaufort West to Ladismith via the poort. Yet another insists that it took 7 weeks for the authorities to capture a cattle rustler who had disappeared into the kloof. The most likely version is that it is named after the Seven Weeks Fern (Polystichum Andiantiforum), which in Afrikaans is called the Seweweeksvaring, which grows all over the poort in moist places and crevices.
Regardless, the real story here is the breathtaking scenery. The Seweweeks Poort is probably the most beautiful 18 km stretch of gravel road anywhere in South Africa. This road is an absolute joy to ride and if you have never been here it should be on your bucket list!
Whether your adventure is on two or four wheels, Suzuki has you covered!
At the Northern end of the Poort you emerge in the Greater Karoo and it is here we turn right to head into Bosluiskloof via Bosluiskloof Pass.
On this side of the mountain we got a slight respite from the rain, but now we were chasing sunlight.
Bosluiskloof Pass is not well known at all. It is off the beaten track with only one way in and out. But it is so worth it! And we were the only ones there.
Our destination for the night:
Look at this!
My lodgings for the night. This sure beats a tent!
This is a photo-heavy post, but the area we were in caused sensory overload! I dozed off that night in the deadly quiet of the Karoo. If this was Day 1, I could not wait for Day 2!
No comments:
Post a Comment