The campsite at Jongensfontein will always stay one of my favourites, but sadly, one should avoid weekends as the noisy crowds move in. Our neighbours were partying till 3am... The setting of the caravan park is beautiful and we had a lovely spot under the milkwood trees.
I got going at 7:45 am after saying good bye to Andre and Hettie, my ex neighbours from Knysna, who were spending the weekend in the campsite. The wind was in my back and there was cool cloud cover for the first part of the ride. Road surface was a bit rough, but things improved gradually. About 20km's into the ride, I was caught from behind by Laurence, a gentleman from Cape Town with a holiday spot along the Duivenhoks River. We cycled together to Puntjie (where I saw a Rooikat (caracal) along the way. After a quick photo stop, we tackled the ride back to the main road going to Vermaaklikheid, where Laurence stayed behind and I started the serious climbing of the day. But this time, the clouds had disappeared and things had warmed up considerably.
The countryside is incredible. Just rocks everywhere and one can't believe how any animals can survive here. This is a major ostrich and sheep farming area.
I stopped counting when I got to 120 Blue Cranes, our very stately national bird. Always a pleasure to see these graceful creatures. At one spot, I was having a race with a Yellow Mongoose - I did not win....
When I crossed the Duivenhoks River, I could not help myself, and had to stop to dip my head in the water to cool off. From there on the wind picked up speed and by the time that I got onto the tar road going into Witsand, I was being pushed off the road by a South Easterly, blowing just off my nose. Hard work and even going downhill, I had to gear down and could only manage doing 11 to 12km/h!
Total distance for the day: 85,72km
Time spent cycling: 5:26:45
Time on the trail: 6:30:55
Calories: 2214
Ascent: 967m
The campsite in Witsand is not too hot and it is a real Afrikaner spot. As I write now, the Boeremusiek is blaring in the background. Hope to get to bed earlier today and believe I will sleep well, as the wind and sun takes a lot out of one.
Thys, Nerina and myself went for a lovely drive around town late in the afternoon and ended up having fish and chips at a local cafe / sports bar, while watching the Stormers and Cheetahs game.
Tomorrow we are off to De Hoop Nature Reserve and will cross the Breede River by hand drawn pont / ferry. Very exciting and I wonder what they will charge for a bicycle!
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