The week that was....
* Overview
* Garden Route Classic
* Wild Coast - Day 5 & 6
* Swartberg Tour report back
* Pass of the week
Overview
Another week of ups and downs with loadshedding, the usual SARS scams at this time of year and the Boks pulling off a decent win against Wales in Cape Town. The MPSA squad have unpacked, pressure washed all the mud off the Cruiser and crash landed into the world of administration as we depart the heady euphoria of an amazing Swartberg Tour. We'll cover that a bit later in this newsletter.
Tours
All current tours are fully booked except for one place left on the Garden Route Tour. Here is the itinerary:
Saturday 10th September: The group meets up at the Rooiberg Lodge just outside Vanwyksdorp between 1400 and 1700 where we fit your two way radio and magnetic aerial, deflate tyres for gravel travel and have our meet & greet session where the finer details of the tour will be explained, indemnity forms signed, distribution of personal folders with notes, convoy driving order sheets, name tags and maps as well as a Q&A session. We enjoy a hearty dinner and a good night’s rest in preparation for the next day.
Sunday 11th September: 08h30 After breakfast we run a radio check to ensure everyone has comms and then we take to the road. Our route heads south towards the Langeberge along the R327, then east to cross the Gouritz River via the single lane low level bridge at the Jan Muller Pass and remain on gravel via Cloete’s Pass and descends to Herbertsdale. We take some fabulously scenic back roads via Haelkraal where we intersect with the tarred R328 and stop at the lovely 8 Bells Inn for lunch.
Our route ascends the Robinson Pass where after which we take a shortcut through some Klein Karoo farms to bypass Oudtshoorn. We descend the stunning Outeniqua Pass and finish the day at our overnight venue in Wilderness.
The passes are marked (G) for gravel and (T) for tar:
Jan Muller Pass (G); Cloetes Pass (G); Hagelkraal Pass (G); Robinson Pass (T) – Ascending; Brakpoort (T); Beweraaskloof Pass (T); Outeniqua Pass (T) – Descending; Kaaimans River Pass (T)
Overnight at Wilderness Karos Hotel in Wilderness. (Dinner, bed and breakfast)
Monday 12th September: Depart 0900 after breakfast.
Our routing will be: White’s Road (G) (ascending); ** Map of Africa ** viewpoint; Silver River Pass (T) (7 Passes Road); Kaaimansgat Pass (T) (7 Passes Road); Montagu Pass (G) Oldest unaltered pass in SA; ** Louvain Farm**; Old Voortrekker Pass (G) (Quite a technical drive); ** Bergplaas Forestry Station **; Hoekwil Pass (T)
Overnight at Wilderness Karos Hotel. (Dinner, bed and breakfast)
(Read more...)
Montagu Pass
Tuesday 13th September: Depart 0900 after breakfast.
Routing for the day: Heights Road Wilderness (T); Touw River Pass (G) (7 Passes Road); Hoogekraal Pass (G) (7 Passes Road); Karatara Pass (G) (7 Passes Road); Homtini Pass (G) (7 Passes Road); ** Millwood Gold Mine **; Phantom Pass (G) (7 Passes Road); ** Lunch break at The Heads in Knysna **; Cony Glen Road (T) to viewsite
Overnight at Belvidere Manor overlooking the Knysna lagoon (Dinner, Bed & Breakfast)
Wednesday 14th September: Depart 08h30
This is a full day of scenic driving, mainly on gravel
Simola Hill Climb (T); Gouna Pass (G); Kom se Pad (G); Prince Alfred’s Pass (G); ** Spitskop viewsite **; ** De Vlugt / Angies G Spot **; Klein Langkloof ( P1660) / Williamsburg Reserve (G); Potjiesberg Pass N9 (T); ** Avontuur **; Prince Alfred’s Pass (Langkloof Section (G); Paardekop Pass (P340) (G)
Overnight at the Bay View Hotel in Plettenberg Bay
Storms River Mouth at Tsitsikamma National Park
Thursday 15th September: Depart 08h30
Our final day takes us to Kurland for some souvenir hunting for the ladies at a Mohair centre and we pay a visit to The World of Birds; Grootrivier Pass (T); ** Natures Valley **; Bloukrans Pass (T) (The original one built by Thomas Bain); ** Storms River Bridge **; Tsitsikamma National Park.
Our final night will be in your own self catering chalet overlooking the ocean at Storms River Mouth. Dinner at the restaurant for final night festivities.
TO BOOK ONLINE CLICK HERE.
Wild Coast V5 Tour
Day 5 - A rainy day at The Haven started looking less bleak by noon, so we donned our rain-gear and took a walk up a very muddy track to visit the Mbashe Lighthouse. Most places in the Transkei are a little dated, but the Mbashe Light is not one of them.
Mbashe Light / Photo: MPSA
The modern out-buildings appear in a heavily forested area on a small koppie surrounded by a sturdy security fence and neat gardens. The place is really spick and span. A short walk through the forest leads to an attractive timber foot-bridge where a narrow gauge railway track is evident. We are assuming this was used to get fuel and equipment to the tower itself in earlier days. The history of the Mbashe Light is interesting.
The Lighthouse Commission of 1890 recommended the erection of lighthouses at Mendu Point and Cape Hermes, and that an unlit beacon be erected at Bashee until replaced by a lighthouse.
The Beacon was erected in 1892 but the Bashee lighthouse was only commissioned on 3 December 1926. This was after the master of the R.M.S Armadale Castle, Captain H Strong, had revived the issue in 1923. The lighthouse was built, not at Mendu Point, as originally planned, but at a more accessible location close to The Haven hotel.
Some of our group who braved the rain to walk to the lighthouse / Photo: Daniel van der Spuy
Mr H.C. Cooper, Lighthouse Engineer for the Government of the Cape Colony, constructed the lighthouse at a cost of 10,750.00 pounds. The original light source was an acetylene gas mantle burner, which was replaced in March 1962 by an electric lamp, increasing the candlepower from 225 000 to 3 300 000 candelas.
The lighthouse is now fully automatic, with diesel stand-by generators. A resident caretaker reports any malfunctioning to the maintenance depot at East London.
Photos done, our soggy but happy group decided a walk back to the Haven along the beach would be preferable to the cloying mud along the jeep track. It did mean getting our shoes wet at the mouth of the Banyana River though. A small price to pay!
Day 8 dawned partly cloudy but still very wet from the day before. We bade farewell to our hosts at The Haven and got the convoy going by 08.30. Out first stop was not far from the hotel, as we turned left into the Cwebe Nature Reserve and immediately found ourselves immersed in the gloom of the forest canopy. A few kilometres later we arrived at a sign board nailed onto a tree announcing: "Banyana Falls"
Armed with raincoats and umbrellas we tackled the walk downhill to the falls which was magical as we were surrounded by the most exquisite birdsong. After about 20 minutes the sound of rushing water grew ever louder as we approached the falls which are well hidden in a small gorge. The Banyana River is relatively short and small, but with the large volume of rain the area had fallen the previous day, it meant the waterfall which has a drop of about 5m would be quite a spectacle.
Access to the falls is awkward and the rocks are very slippery. Unfortunately one cannot see the falls without making the short but slippery section over the rocks. It was our first visit to the falls and will most definitely be included in future tours. The walk back requires some additional oxygen to be drawn into the lungs as its a solid uphill all the way back.
Once we got the convoy on the move, we backtracked to the reserve entry gate and set our sights on our next venue, Kob Inn.
Next week: A mudfest of note and the recovery of a local minibus taxi.
Swartberg Classic Tour
This tour which we completed last Thursday was a massive success with many new converts into the MPSA touring stable. There's not enough space in this newsletter to go into detail, but a short synopsis will suffice. This fully booked tour started at the Rotterdam Boutique Hotel in Swellendam in some solid rain showers, but nothing to dampen the spirits. After that is was crystal clear blue sky weather for the duration of the tour. All of our stays were fabulous from Bosch Luys Kloof Lodge in the west; the Mont d'Or Hotel in Prince Albert; the Swartberg Country Manor on the southern side and a grand finish at the Rooiberg Lodge. Our visit to Die Hel was especially enjoyable as we had a really good speech from Rooi Piet at Fonteinplaas, who had us spellbound with the raw history of the kloof and its people. But more of that amazing tour next next week.
On our way back from Vanwyksdorp, we routed via Barrydale and the R62 in order to refilm Cogmanskloof which has recently been completed. It was a very long project which had business owners in Montagu and Ashton in a froth. This is our featured pass of the week. Enjoy the video which features all the new construction, bridges and tunnels and finishes at the Ashton Arch Bridge.
Podcast
PASS OF THE WEEK
Cogmanskloof connects the towns of Ashton and Montagu. Its entire 6.5 km stretches through a majestic landscape of towering rock formations and a colourful pastoral patchwork, which delights the eye and invigorates the heart! Renamed after the popular Cape Colonial Secretary, John Montagu, the town's original name of Cogmanskloof is where this pass took its name from.
* * C O G M A N S K L O O F * * (NEW VIDEO)
Trygve Roberts
Editor
Tail Piece: "They say travel broadens the mind, but you must have the mind to start with" ~ G.K.Chesterton
