8 April 2010 Strandfontein to Van Rhynsdorp

And it was hot! And the wind blew again! No, please excuse me if it sounds like I am complaining, but it was hot and the wind did blow, big problem I think is that the previous 2 days took a lot out of me with the poor road conditions.

But I made it to Van Rhynsdorp and it is getting cooler outside now as I am writing.

I packed up nice and early this moring, but when I looked out over the sea, I could see that I was going to run into wind once I got onto the plateau above Strandfontein. Just after breakfast and before departing, Nerina spotted two Southern Right wales frolicking in the waves. A great start to my morning.

I missed my GPS very much today. There were no steep climbs, but it would have been interesting to see accumulated climb for the day. There were many ups (more than downs!) and the temperature was also climbing fast. There was also some uncertainty as to route to follow once I got to Lutzville - the photo attached, is of the Sishen-Saldanha Railway bridge just outside the town. All along the Olifants River are vineyards and many tomato growers. A very pretty sight indeed.

The vegetation of the West Coast is difficult to describe to someone who has not seen it yet. There aren't many tall shrubs and most plants don't grow higher than about 50cm. Because this region does not get much rain, many of the plants are prickly and have very tiny leaves. Once the winter rains have fallen, the face of this region changes entirely when the spring display explodes. Namaqualand at its best. Difficult though to believe that this is possible when you see it late summer or early autumn.

Total distance traveled today was only 77.02km, but I was on the road for just under 6 hours (cycling 4:52 of those). With about 15km to go, Thys and Nerina came from behind and I asked them to stop so that I could top up my water supply. The last of my water went onto my head and back, but 20 minutes later I was bone dry again!

Van Rhynsdorp was a welcome sight and we are camping at the Municipal Caravan Park. Tonight we will not hear trains, but big trucks on the busy N7 route which runs between Cape Town and Springbok / Windhoek.

We are planning a drive around / over Gifberg tomorrow - a drive I did about 2 years ago. Incredibly beautiful and hopefully there will be water on the mountain. There is also a massive waterfall, high up in a gorge.

If I don't write tomorrow, don't stress. Hopefully I will not be too tired after the ride to Garies, on Saturday (approx 143km! Weather at this stage looks favourable) and will catch up then.

7 April 2010 Lamberts Bay to Strandfontein

I think I should have stayed in bed today.....Will get to the reasons just now.

I told you that we were going out to the Muisbosskerm for dinner We headed out of town to be there by 6:30 and caught the setting sun. A very cold wind had started blowing off the sea late in the afternoon, so I was prepared with thermal underwear, scarf and beany.

The venue is, as the name says, a "skerm" but it does at least have some kind of a roof over part of the enclosure. (skerm = shelter/screen made out of dried branches from the area). It does keep the wind out to some degree, but it is very much an outdoor dining area.

The food is prepared on fires in the center of the "skerm" and is then placed on trays at the dishing up area. We started off with some herring strips before the hot food was served.

They do a selection of fish (angel, snoek, kingklip etc), paella, calamari, sweet potato, potato chips, salad and crayfish (for which you pay extra!), freshly baked bread and coffee with koeksisters for dessert. You have to eat, using mussel shells (I did not appreciate this at all - I also detest plastic cutlery!). All in all, it was a good dinner, but somehow I was expecting more...

On the drive back to our campsite, I was trying to spot some wildlife using our spotlight. Just before we entered town, we were rewarded: a Bat-eared Fox, too cute for words!

To get back to today: It was freezing cold this morning, but we had blue skies and very little wind. Just before I left camp, I noticed a cut of about 7mm in my front tyre - one could see the tyre liner through the cut. This prompted me to tie a spare tyre onto my back carrier, just in case it blew. I got going at about 8:30 and after I had done 7km, I noticed that my bicycle gps was missing! I turned around, cycled back 5 km, just to find the device shattered in the road (at the gate of the toll road which again runs along the railway line). Needless to say I was very upset, but well, what can one do...

I counted 6 "Kaapse Grysbokkies" and later saw a Meerkat. 3 new bird species as well, for this trip. The road was horrendous and it took utter determination not to throw in the towel. But we all know that I am "hardegat" and so I gritted my teeth and kept going. Yesterday we had bad corrugations, today the corrugations were just as bad, but there was also lots of loose sand. I had to get off the bike a few times to avoid falling off. Don't know how they can charge cars a toll fee for such a bad road!

My sense of humour was totally lost by the time I got to Doringbaai, one of my favourite coastal sites. Thys and Nerina had passed me earlier and stopped at Doringbaai to make coffee. We enjoyed the view, coffee and nice weather and got going again to cover the last 8km to Strandfontein. This, fortunately was on tar!!!!

Our campsite, is on top of the first set of dunes, with a magnificent view of the Atlantic Ocean. When we arrived here, I took my camping chair, binoculars and a cold Hunters and parked off on the edge of the campsite. And, yippee again, another new sighting for me, this time a mammal: Heaviside Dolphins. They were doing tailflips, launching themselves out of the waves and surfing like pro's (which they are!)

Then off to have a shower - a well deserved shower, just to discover that the water was ice cold! If I thought I had lost my sense of humour earlier, I was wrong! This was the final straw!

Enough complaining.

Thys went fishing again this afternoon while Nerina worked on her computer and I washed and oiled my bike. Also changed to semi-slick tyres again as most cycling for the next week and a half will be on tar. (Looking forward to some good roads, I must admit!)

Total distance today was only 56.14km, but it was one of the toughest. Hopefully there aren't many more like this.

Tomorrow we are off to Van Rhynsdorp and will have a rest day there again.

Supper is ready, so I will log off.

6 April 2010 Elands Bay to Lamberts Bay

This morning it was Thys's turn to get on the bike!

We had a cold windy night initially, but the wind dropped somewhere around midnight and it warmed up a bit. The caravan park is fairly close to the Sishen-Saldanha Railway line and I must say, it has to be one of the most active lines in the country! I counted at least 3 trains - and all were as long as I described in yesterday's blog!

I woke up at 00:30 and went to the loo. As I got out of my tent, Scorpio was rising and was indeed a beautiful sight. Since I always went on holiday in winter, I associate Scorpio with holidays. You don't see Scorpio in summer (unless you go outside very early in the morning), Scorpio and Orion chase each other, which means that Orion sets early in the winter.

This morning I walked down to the beach to watch the sun rise over the breaking waves. Very pretty!

After a quick breakfast and breaking camp, Thys and I got going. There is a toll road which runs parallel to the Railway line. Bikes don't pay and the road was not too bad. We did some good bird watching along the way, but once we got off the toll road and onto the normal dirt road, we were shook up badly. Corrugations the size of "gutter stones" and loose gravel.

Thys cycled on bravely and did extremely well for someone who has not been on a bike for decades. We stopped off briefly at "Muisbosskerm" to book a table for this evening. This place does a seafood buffet right on the beach. Can't wait, will have some crayfish this evening!

The ride today was one of the shortest so far, but was very taxing because of the corrugations. Garth, if you are reading this, the road we cycled last year in April at Vlakplaas, was a freeway!

I am very proud of Thys, he completed the 27.3km without a complaint and a big smile on his face.

We have set up camp at the Lamberts Bay caravan park. Thys did some fishing this afternoon while Nerina tried to have a problem with her camera sorted out.

I forgot to mention! Yesterday was a bit of a mile stone: I hit the 4 digits and stood on about 1027km by the afternoon. Lekker! Still feeling fit and strong and enjoying myself.

We are getting ready now for our dinner at the Muisbosskerm. The breeze off the sea is very cold, but I am told that they provide you with blankets.

Cheers for now and God Bless.

5 April 2010 St Helena Bay to Elands Bay

With a good night's sleep and lekker breakfast in me, I got going from Sandra and Franks beach house in St Helena Bay at 8:15 in the morning. The wind was still pumping and it took me an hour to cycle the first 12 km straight into the wind (Mind boggling average speed of 12km/h!). Once I took a left onto the Velddrif road, my speed picked up considerably and I made good time.

The ride for the most part was fairly uneventful and I was pleasantly surprised to find that dirt roads I had previously been on, have since been tarred. This made the going much easier and for the most part the wind was from behind.

On the first 9 days of my tour, I counted 9 dead porcupines. Well, on the West Coast I have found far too many dead little bokkies, mongooses (mongii, what is the plural? Please!), bat eared foxes and snakes. I counted 5 dead snakes and 2 tortoises today alone.

Thys and Nerina spent a bad night at Parternoster, because of the wind and cold night temperatures. They treated themselves to a good breakfast at the Parternoster Hotel and then hit the road.

I stopped to fill my water bottle at a Potato Cold Store (this region around Redelinghuys is well know for growing quality potatoes) and was told that I had only about 35km to go and that there was a restaurant along the way. When I got to the restaurant, I phoned Thys and Nerina and was told that they were not far behind. I had done 70km by this stage and felt that it would be in order to reward myself with a coffee and toasted sandwich.

Nerina decided to continue hardening up her tender bits, got into her cycling gear and joined me on the ride into Elands Bay. I am very proud of her, she did over 25km today and coped well with the section of dirt road running between the coast and the railway line.

I mentioned the long train in the blog of 4 April. Well, we saw another one today: It had 4 sets of locomotives, with over a hundred cars between each set of engines. I would estimate that there were 350 carts, full of iron ore and at least 12 engines. A sight that brought a lump to my throat. I stopped to take a photo or two and enjoyed listening to the wheels singing on the rails.

The landscape from Velddrif is very flat, but as you approach Elands Bay, there are rocky outcrops (small mountains?) on the inland side. A truly spectacular part of the country even though it is in its dry season now. I am hoping to see a Black Eagle tomorrow, as the area is perfect for them!

Total distance today, was 95.86km and I was out on the trail just under 8 hours. Nerina cycled the last 25km with me and up until she joined me, I was averaging just under 19km/h (remember the first hour at 12km/h). I burnt over 2000 calories but believe that I have consumed far more than that after we had our left over oxtail stew this evening!

Tomorrow, we head off to Lamberts Bay. I am not sure how far it is, but it should be fairly short (well under 50km) as there is a toll road that runs next to the railway line. This does not show up on my GPS maps, so I can't plot tomorrow's ride. Will let you know once I have done the ride.

We are hoping that Thys will find some bait and catch us a fresh fish or two tomorrow! Let's hope for the best!
It's cheers for now, I hear my bed calling me. Please don't stop sending e-mails and writing comments on the blog - it is lekker to hear from you.

4 April 2010 Vredenburg area to St Helena

Well, as you can see from the heading - we were camping somewhere not quite anywhere....

Our day off (the 3rd) was spent mostly in the West Coast National Park. We did not see many animals and the wind once again was blowing. Maybe I should move back to PE, I think we had less wind there! We did however see many Black Shouldered Kites and a few other raptors.

The ride from our campsite to St Helena Bay and my friends Sandra and Frank, was a short one and with a lovely Southerly blowing, Nerina decided to tackle the route with me. The first few km's were a pleasure - good tar road, wide shoulder, strong wind from behind. This is when I really enjoy cycling! We then took a left and got onto some very bad, corrugated dirt road. I was expecting Nerina to chicken out all the time, but she surprised me by riding it out!

The Sishen-Saldanha railway line runs through this area, and up ahead we could see a train that was so long that you could not see the end or beginning. Thys said that this train can be up to 5km's long! An amazing sight.

We were back on tar again soon enough and were flying along with the wind from behind. For more than a km, we had an ostrich running along the fence, trying to keep up with us. This was a very special and beautiful experience.

After an enjoyable 26.1km, we reached Sandra's beach house. Believe me when I say, you can not find a house closer to the sea! The sea around this part of the West Coast is spectacular, with large white boulders in the water, and the bays sheltered nicely from the Southerly. We had tea, hot-cross buns and then Nerina had a shower and the two of them headed off to Paternoster to find a campsite for the night.

After I had a shower, Sandra, Frank and myself headed out to a Swiss Bistro where we had a lovely lunch and glass of wine. Back home, I was instructed to have an afternoon snooze. What a pleasure. My body did not know what to do with the comfy bed and no wind flapping my little tent around.

Later in the afternoon, Sandra and I went for a drive out to Brittania Bay and the surrounding bays. The wind was pumping and we decided against a walk on the beach. On the way back home with the sun setting, we came across a tiny "Kaapse Grysbokkie" (type of antelope).

After dinner and a lekker kuier, we all headed off to bed.

2 April 2010 Yzerfontein to somewhere near Velddrif!

God is good!

Those of you who know the "West Coast Road" will know that it is notoriously dangerous with frequent thick fog. Well, yesterday morning we woke up to thick fog and I started stressing about cycling on the R27 in fog so thick that you can barely start making out the outline of any object less than a hundred metres ahead of you. I was praying all the way and was kept safe.

It felt like scuba diving on bicycle! In the Jaws movie, the two guys are drinking on their boat, boasting about their scars or biggest fish they ever caught (can't remember exactly what it was???) and then they feel the shark bumping their boat..... It felt like I had something creeping up from behind all the time! Believe me, I could not cycle any further to the left of the road than I did! Jaws theme song - da dum, da dum, da dum da dum da dum.....

After about 25km, I reached the turn-off to the West Coast National Park and it was a great relief to get off this busy road (remember that it is Easter Weekend and all the Capies are having their last escape before the winter it seems!).

Cycling in the Park is a great experience although visibility was poor. I spotted lots of tiny Field Mice (Streep Muise) along the road verge and some distance into the ride I even came across 8 Eland. Massive big antelope. The males can weigh op to a ton and because of the immense weight, the ligaments in their legs make an incredible metallic clicking sound when they walk. What an experience to be on a bicycle in the bush among such majestic animals.

Until this point, I was rather cold and wet, but then the fog started lifting and conditions got better. Thys and Nerina caught up with me and it was time for Nerina to cycle with me! I won a bicycle in a lucky-draw in February and we decided to bring the bike along for occasions like this. The roads in the park are tarred and a pleasure to cycle on. All too soon we were through the park and in Langebaan.

Being Easter, we were having serious problems finding accommodation. Thys and Nerina went on ahead to find a spot from where she could phone and try to find accommodation. Luckily I spotted their bakkie parked at a farm stall and popped in to find out what news they had. No luck! Out of desperation I asked the manager of the farm stall if she did not know of a farmer in the area who might be willing to accommodate us and two minutes later she came back and said we could camp at the farm stall! And here we are now, right next to the busy R27!

We made camp and went for a drive out to Velddrif later in the afternoon. This little town is on the banks of the Berg River and is known for its "Bokkom" Industry (salted and wind dried fish). It is also a fantastic spot for bird watching as many waders live on and along the river.

Our night next to the R27 was not too bad, but the traffic was disturbing after I got over my worst tiredness.

Today (Saturday the 3rd) was spent back at West Coast Park, but this time in a car. All too soon the day was over and we are now back at our site, preparing supper. Thys is doing a "Potjie" on the fire, I changed my bicycle tyres back to knobblies as I will be doing more dirt roads again over the next few days.

Tomorrow, I will leave my companions behind and head off to St. Helena (only about 25km from here) to spend the day and night with Sandra and Frank. The following day (Monday, we will be off to Elandsbaai and I am hoping that Nerina will be able to join me on the spare bike again.

So, cheers from a wind blown West Coast Farm Stall on the R27!

1 April 2010 Malmesbury to Yzerfontein

It was hot! I don't usually sweat much, but today it was dripping off me.

Left Malmesbury quite late (after 10:00am) this morning and started with a long climb out of town. The wind was very mild and again I was cycling on tar and it was a joy to be on my bike.

From just outside the town, you get a fabulous view of Cape Town and Table Mountain in the distance. I wanted to stop to take a picture, but was sure I would get a more unobstructed view later - well this didn't happen (until Yzerfontein!).

I reached Darling in just over 2 hours and went to Evita se Perron, where Pieter Dirk Uys has created his little theater, restaurant and museum. Thys and Nerina had to go back to Somerset West first to pick up some luggage that had been left behind. They were going to join me for an early lunch, but their GPS took them on way out roads and I couldn't wait any longer for them. By the time I got going again, it was around mid-day and extremely hot.

Just outside Darling was the sign to Alexanderfontein, a Wine Farm that makes an award winning Sauvignon Blanc. I took the turn off and traveled on an extremely bad dirt road, just to be told that this was not the wine farm, but an olive farm! The Estate was back near town, but I was not going to turn back! I wanted to buy Amanda, who is looking after my cats, a bottle of wine.

The wind picked up and was grinding me from the left again. Just as I got to about 5km from Yzerfontein, an sms (text message) came through from Thys and Nerina to say that there were no campsites available in town. As I was reading the message, Thys and Nerina came out of town, stopped next to me and Nerina started phoning for alternative accommodation. We ended up on a farm just outside town, De La Rey Self Catering unit. It is available for one night only, and we are not having much success with finding other accommodation further up the coast. So, we are not sure what to do tomorrow, but we will make a plan. Even if we have to book into a B&B until the Easter Weekend is over!

Distance done today: 59.9km in 3h18 (or 5h04 on the route)

So, we will see what tomorrow brings. I am rather tired and will head off to bed now.

May you all have a blessed Easter.