KarenDARLING, WESTERN CAPE – TO KASANE (3421 km)
CONTINUED FROM EPISODE 1
30th July – Hermanus to Agulhuas
We stopped for breakfast at Stanford, a wonderful café named Die ou Meul, where, being month end back in Kasane, I brought out my laptop and did a lot of necessary work online. We also took the opportunity to view some alluring new footage from the action cam of some really exciting speed humps, and stop street lines.. decided to readjust its angle yet again!
While sitting there for a good few hours, over a few more cups of coffee, we met a delightful retired couple from Knysna who were breakfasting there with friends. They told us about their own identical model BMW motorcycle, and how they enjoy riding around together in this region. Tiennie got some good instructions on a route for us to take involving a fascinating pont and gravel road via Malgas, instead of backtracking on boring highways after our visit to Agulhas.
Eventually it was time to disconnect from Kasane and off we went again. One of our navigational solutions is that often two brains are better than one, and since I can’t see the GPS from where I am on the bike, we have a planning session over a map before we ride somewhere unfamiliar, and I memorise the routes and the key towns to aim for. Therefore my job becomes scouting for actual road signs, while the skipper concentrates on handling the bike, dealing with the traffic and viewing the GPS. Leaving Stanford, having “memorised” the route, we almost immediately reached a turn off advertising Gansbaai. I had a crisis of recollection as it sounded familiar, although not entirely right.. and the minute I become hesitant, then things become a bit fraught. When I was kindly asked to make a decision are we turning or not, as the turnoff is NOW, I needed badly to make a navigational decision. I knew we had to go “Somewhere-Baai” and since I was seriously annoying the biker boy by being indecisive, I took a 50:50 chance and picked Gansbaai.
Off we went, along the rather beautiful road to Gansbaai. On our left, was a wild profusion of interesting looking plants, obviously some type of fynbos. It eventually dawned on us we were riding past a whole jungle of proteas, some flowering, some at the budding stage. With the light behind the mass of plants, the colourful flowers were almost translucent, and lit up against the greenery a bit like stained glass. It was really entrancing, and if we had been on this road at any other time of year, we might never have experienced this! This was a good consolation for experiencing it all over again on our right hand side as we realized after several kilometres and quite a few discussions, that we were very possibly on the wrong road! We agreed instead of wasting fuel and time on a (maybe) wrong track, we should rather do a U turn and go back to the turn off where we had (maybe) gone wrong.
We felt better after turning around, and during this discussion minus the pressure, we realized that I should of course have been looking out for signs to Struisbaai, and not Gansbaai, so with the bonus of enjoying those proteas twice, we were able to get back to the turnoff, and headed for Struisbaai, via Bredasdorp.
We had seen on google via other travellers’ reviews, that Struisbaai had the “best mini supermarket in southernmost Africa”, so we excitedly parked the bike in front of it with very high expectations, as we needed to stock up on provisions for our night in Agulhas out in the wilderness of the National Park. I’m happy to say that it lived up to its reputation, featuring the most amazing variety of goods, to gladden any biker’s heart! Amongst other things, I even found a tiny biker friendly bottle of balsamic glaze, and added a bit more sophistication to our minimalistic onboard pantry!
The self catering accommodation in the Agulhas National Park was just as amazing as I had always known it would be.. and as one of my bucket list items, it did not disappoint! It was stunning, amidst the coastal dunes and vegetation. The view was astoundingly beautiful.
We parked the bike outside our chalet. I very unfortunately did a bad landing on the ankle here, so our walk down to the ocean was a frustrating hobble, but wouldn’t have missed it for the world!
Exploring along the totally unspoiled beach was fascinating. Amongst other things, we found an Oystercatcher’s nest in the sand, some weird alien-like plants (most resembling mini proteas) that popped up in the sand, amazing little crustaceans and a multitude of shells and pebbles.
We walked/hobbled back to the chalet and sat out on our deck for the rest of the afternoon and evening, enjoying a few sundowners and a stunning sunset looking out to sea at this very southerly point of Africa. It was bitterly cold, and this somehow felt appropriate and arctic like!
Next morning we packed up, rode down towards the Agulhas monument, and were lured off the beaten track, to go and check out a shipwreck just off the coast.. off-roading again.. it seemed like a good idea at the time, however I started to have misgivings… As we headed towards the shipwreck, I noticed much to my alarm that the “road” we were embarking on looked to me like nothing less than a river of stone!! I very kindly offered to get off so that Tiennie and the bike could actually get through it, but my offer was rejected so I had to just keep quiet and observe the bike’s momentum being efficiently neutralized upon entry into the thick, deep bed of large pebbles! With weird crunching noises going on, the bike sank comfortably into the river of stone, and came to a stop! Since it was much lower down now, being well bedded in, I was able to hop off easily, and left the biker boy to it.
Liberated from my presence on the bike, he was able to “duck walk” it out, as due to the bike’s considerable weight we really did not want to have to try and pick it up out of the pebble bed!
The action cam stupidly contrived to be switched off yet again, during the bike’s amazing passage through the river of stone..the only time where it would have genuinely been interesting to see the footage. I do not think the action cam has ever been switched on again since then!!!
We retraced our steps, taking photos of the shipwreck from a more respectable distance, and went to view the Monument at the Southernmost point, a spectacular relief map of Africa. Here I am standing patriotically on top of Botswana!
31st July – Agulhas to Buffelsbaai via Heidelberg
We left Agulhas, really wishing for another day there, and considered the fascinating Malgas pont idea, but the number of calls and messages emanating from Kasane made us feel that it was really time to stop the southerly trend and start to point our wheels north. I added one more warm layer to my bike gear, and as a precaution also placed another accessible fleece in our top box in case of need en route, then off we went.
In Heidelberg, we randomly encountered the same lovely retired couple we had met in Stanford just a day ago during our working month end breakfast! What were the odds.. They were actually on their bike they had told us about, and were refueling about to hit the road after breakfast break. They were a bit surprised that we had not tackled the pont as recommended, and that we were back from Aghulas so speedily! We hastened to justify our boringness by explaining our circumstances as owners of a business a few thousand kilometres to the north! Just before we left, I had to raid the extra fleece supply and get that other layer on.
Our next destination was Buffelsbaai, just before Knysna. As we cruised along the scenic garden route road, despite the extra fleece, I started to really become very very cold. A new technique had to be learned to try and control the waves of freeze and involuntary shivering, by breathing… much like my mind control when biking on gravel roads!!
We cruised through the little town of Sedgefield, and remembered it being a really convenient place to stop for provisions, during past journeys on this route. Even though we had absolutely no stocks available for dinner, for some reason we convinced ourselves that we did not need to stop in this very convenient location, and would just find something in Buffelsbaai village as we had a vague memory that there was some kind of a shop there. As we rode along we noticed along the roadside, the effects of the terrible fires that had run wild in earlier months.
As we arrived in Buffelsbaai we visited the main campsite on the beach. In 2015, by car, it had been jam packed with campers and we had been turned away – this time due to low season we were actually the only people there, which was quite a massive contrast!
We set up the tent, left our luggage behind, and took a quick trip around the village, to see what we could buy. Unfortunately, due to low season, the little restaurant was closed and the adjoining shop was about to close for the day. It literally had nothing in it, so we decided to just keep on going to Knysna to “quickly” buy some provisions. Breezing along on the bike, we soon hit the Knysna traffic rush, much to our surprise! And we could not find any shops.. it’s not like travelling in a car where I can do the co-pilot thing and press the button marked “Shopping” on the GPS! With the bike that sort of thing calls for pulling off the road.. so I tried my best to do some proactive road sign viewing instead, and thus sent us on the most ridiculous red herring when I saw a huge signpost saying SUPERSPAR towering above most other buildings. Having forced the biker boy to do all sorts of manoevures in rush hour traffic, we got to my “Superspar” only to find it was just a billboard advertising the proud sponsor of some type of regatta, being right next to the lagoon!
We stopped at a garage and did the push button GPS method, and noted we were not THAT far from a shopping centre! I quickly ran into the garage shop to see if we could buy something there, but for some reason we decided to be fussy and this was not exactly what we wanted for our gourmet meal, having travelled so far for it! Eventually dodging the crazy rush hour drivers on steep gradients, we found the shopping centre and parked in an underground level parking, subjecting my ankle to a long flight of stairs, both up and down! We had at some point come to a special arrangement of psychological bargaining, to deal with our two totally unequal paces, in that the fast walker was permitted to walk at his normal pace without any guilty thoughts about the crawler behind him, and by the same token, nor did she have to feel like she was letting the side down and be tempted to sprint on the injured foot to catch up!
With a great sense of relief we finally met up at the bike, left and found our way out through the congested main street and back onto the main highway to the picturesque Buffelsbaai. While we had been shopping, 3 Spanish tourist families in motorhomes, had appeared nearby in the campground, which was in a way quite reassuring just to have some other souls around!
This evening produced icy temperatures, and drizzling rain. On with the bike rain gear, and we were sorted, and enjoyed our outdoor braai right on the edge of the ocean – no fences at all here, which was very liberating!
1st August – Bufflesbai to Humansdorp
Before we left Buffelsbaai, since we would be passing Humansdorp, we thought of our new friend John Peacock whom we had randomly met and shared some impromptu and crazy Makgadigkadi adventures with in Northern Botswana the year before! John residing on a farm near Humansdorp, and us being so close to his home, I contacted him just to say hello. Due to our unplanned travels, we tend to have an impulsive way of just saying hi, we’re in your area and thinking about you – and is there any chance in your busy social calendar that you would like to meet up at short notice, that sort of thing?
Since John had no idea we were biking around the garden route and not in Kasane, he was so surprised to hear from us and immediately and generously invited us to come and stay on the farm for a couple of nights. Due to our need to get back to Kasane we reluctantly declined, but a plan was made in his daily farm schedule for us to meet up at the Off Ramp on the highway that leads to his place. We would just say hi, have a chat, then he would get back to his day and we would get onto the highway to Port Elizabeth and ultimately Port Alfred.
We reached the spectacular Storms River One Stop and after a hand frostbite thawing coffee, I called John as instructed, to announce that we were about to hit the highway to his personal Off Ramp!
It was wonderful to meet up with our kindred spirit John, on the side of the road, despite the howling gale…
After a quick chat, we said goodbye, promising to try and meet up again before too many years passed by…
Instead of proceeding on the highway to Port Elizabeth as planned, we had a sudden whimsical urge to go and find a particular farm stall remembered from a 2013 trip, which had the most amazing pies.. this farm stall was on the way to Cape St Francis, which also happened to be the final destination on the list to catch up with our inherited luggage travel stickers!!
As we came to the intersection where the pie shop was supposed to be, we found it was either the wrong intersection, or the farm stall had closed during the 5 years since our last visit! After a bit of driving around we still could not find it, and decided the latter must be the case. A decision was made to drive on to Cape St Francis, find something to eat there, and officially visit the sticker location, thus ticking off two things off at once!
It was a lovely undulating coastal road, and we started to see the blue ocean in the distance, which was, as always, beautiful! We were just enjoying being out in the open, pretty much in the middle of nowhere with no immediate fixed plans, and loving the freedom of the road … suddenly, however, being fairly in tune with the bike I felt something was amiss.. so when I asked the bike skipper and got zero response, I realized it was time to keep quiet, make no sudden movements, and await further instructions or information on a need to know basis! All I knew was that the bike had stopped growling like a Formula 1 racing car, and had totally changed personality, now gliding as silently as the Formula E version, until, running out of momentum, it brought us gracefully to a stop on the side of the road!!!
I unnecessarily requested permission to get off, and as we stood next to the bike on the side of the road, a few choice words filled the air while we tried to figure out what had just happened! Almost immediately, one of our internet customers from Kasane phoned in for urgent assistance with their internet problem, so we had a bit of distraction while sorting that out. I have to say, I was smiling to myself at the absurdity of it all, watching the phone call in progress, sheltering from the blustery cape wind, during a breakdown drama!
Internet crisis in Kasane solved, with the person on the other end of the line having no idea of what we were actually doing at the time, probably picturing Tiennie at his desk at Kasane Computers… we again got back to discussing our options.
Roadside repairs were ruled out. The bike simply would not start, and it sounded so dire that Tiennie suspected the timing chain might have broken.. not roadside repairworthy at all. The dreaded topic of the tow-in truck was next. Rand signs flashing before our eyes, we realized that we would have to probably get the bike to Port Elizabeth, 110 km away. However, we are always prepared for this type of thing when on a bike trip so we mentally adjusted to the new financial reality, and I could already feel my credit card starting to sizzle with excitement at the prospect of its unexpected outing. The next step was to find a tow-in service to rescue us, and since we had not actually gone that far yet, I decided to surprise John with a phone call, having just said goodbye, see you in Africa sometime…
Much to John’s amazement, he found himself suddenly re-involved in his biker buddies’ lives! However, rather than just recommending a rescue tow in service, this champion friend rose to the occasion, abandoned his day on the farm and started directing operations for us and our stricken bike to be collected by him and his personnel, and loaded onto his own truck!! Our stay at the farm, in easier times declined due to the big rush to get home, was now re-offered, and gratefully accepted!!
While we sat on the side of the road, looking at the coastal view and enjoying the peaceful eastern cape morning, we had several drivers stop and see if they could somehow help. One colourful Cape character saying “I’m a biker myself, and will never drive past a biker brother!” It was all very heartening. One hears so many negative things about SA and thus the prospect of being stuck on the side of the road down there is not always a great one.. this all cheered us up no end!
Eventually John and his team came and rescued us and the bike! We all arrived at John’s office in Humansdorp, and while the men did their thing, I met his lovely wife Cathy for the very first time. We became instant friends, she and I quickly dashing off to visit a wine shop to stock up for our evening together … the lady at the till commented how nice it was to see such old friends enjoying each other’s company, and we just looked at each other and laughed out loud, realizing we had actually only known one another for about 30 minutes at this stage!
Back at the farm, John enjoyed himself thoroughly, unloading the bike from the truck using his JCB, and we stowed it safely in his workshop, ready for attention the next day.
The next morning, Tiennie investigated the breakdown. To his absolute joy, having dismantled half the bike, the problem was located!! Luckily it was only a faulty fuel pump .. which had deprived the bike of fuel, and therefore it had just… stopped.
While considering the next move, speculating about the next step: probably a new part to be ordered from BMW Motorrad dealership in Port Elizabeth, Tiennie suddenly to his surprise, managed to get the pump going again! The revitalized fuel pump was then put back in the fuel tank, where it worked… then stopped again. Fuel pump back out of the tank, it still refused, until John eventually issued a polite request for the offending pump to be handed over to him. In the best magician style, he gave it 3 taps with a screwdriver, and it obediently burst into life, and I am happy to report, worked for a multitude of kilometres thereafter!
By the end of that day we had a fully functioning bike, and were confident that it would take us safely homewards, so enjoyed our second night on the most hospitable and beautiful farm. This enforced time of rest, with no jumping on and off the bike seemed to have completely cured my ankle once again. I resisted the oh too familiar urge to offload the latest “heavy” tube of Arnica gel with John and Cathy, and very maturely learning from my past experiences, decided to rather carry it along as a protective amulet against any further ankle dramas..
To be continued in Episode 3…….
