Contents

* Season's Greetings

* Mountain Rescue Heroes & Heroines

* Who stole our sign board?

* Kouga Baviaans Tour

* Pass of the Week


Season's Greetings

This year has flown by yet so much water has passed under the proverbial bridge. We've had droughts, floods, tornadoes, mini tsunamis, riots, political drama and of course load shedding, the latter being a real pain in the butt for all of us. But we are a resourceful and cheerful bunch and these days most homes have some sort of backup power system, which includes solar, wind, inverters, generators, oil lamps and candles. Life goes on! At least some sectors of the economy are booming as a direct result.

At MPSA we had a very busy year running a series of highly successful tours which included two Ben 10 Tours, two Wild Coast Tours, Swartberg Tour, Garden Route Tour (new), Kouga-Baviaans Tour, Seven Sisters Tour (new) and a Training Day at Grabouw. The price of fuel has inhibited our pass filming trips somewhat, but we are determined to slot in at least three pass filming sorties during 2023.

Our social media efforts have paid huge dividends in terms of spreading the MPSA 'gospel' with our Facebook page following currently standing at 115,208 generating around 2 million post views every 28 days. Our Instagram following grew from 13,000 followers to 17,000 during 2022. The downside to those marvellous numbers, is that our social media pages are increasingly targeted by spammers and scammers. We do on average 20 bannings a day which means one has to watch the phone constantly, to keep the baddies away. 

For those of you who receive the newsletters, it's time to wish you a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May the year ahead be filled with travel, health and happiness.


A South African Hero - a Christmas story with a great ending

This is Sarel Vorster and his wife Jody (photo at the top of this article). They own the farm Lymore north of Elliot (now called Khowa). It's not far from the start of the notoriously difficult Bastervoetpad Pass. Last night around 8.30 pm I took a phone call from my friend Geoff Russell, a well known motorcycle tour guide. He had been contacted by Okkie Oosthuizen, a motorcyclist who, together with two other motorcyclists were in serious trouble near the summit of the pass in terrible weather - with gale force winds, hail, heavy rain and lightning.

They had managed to contact ER in Ugie via the NAMOLA SOS App, who said they would despatch a vehicle to assist. Okkie had taken a number of falls and suspected he had cracked ribs. The ER vehicle never reached them. So whilst the app worked brilliantly, a suitable 4WD vehicle was not available and certainly no ambulance is capable of getting up that pass. Okkie decided to call his friend, Geoff Russell in Cape Town, who in turn called me (MPSA) for assistance.

Hope springs eternal

Over the years we have met a number of the farmers in the area and become friends. Okkie had sent Geoff a pin drop which was most fortunate, as a little past the point where they got stuck, there’s no signal. The three bikers had no food or space blankets with them and were completely exposed to the elements and a raging storm in total darkness. The first thing I did was call Johan and reassured him we would get them some help. It must have been a thoroughly miserable and anxious wait for them.

One of the bikers at the summit of the pass just before they got hammered by the storm.

I know Bennie Venter who owns the farm Valetta at the eastern foot of the pass, so I called him first. He has a Land Cruiser bakkie who could reach the trio. Unfortunately Bennie and his wife Marjorie were on holiday in Bloemfontein, so unable to assist, but he gave me the number of Gary Foster, who was also unable to assist as he was a long way from the pass.

I then called the owner of Mountain Shadows Hotel, Ria and asked for the number of Sarel Vorster who owns the farm near the hotel and who I had shaken hands with just a week earlier during the Ben 10 Eco Challenge Tour when we went up to Dawid se Kop on his farm. The number rang unanswered and my heart sank. That was my last resource. Within seconds Sarel called me back. I explained the situation to him and asked if he would be willing to collect the three guys and not worry about the bikes. Just bring the guys off the mountain and back to the hotel as they were in grave danger - all of them being older gents.

Sarel didn’t hesitate for a second. I sent him the pin drop and asked him to take food, warm drinks and blankets with him. I asked Ria to keep the hotel open to receive the guys once they had been rescued. Not only did she arrange that, but also organised that an ambulance be at the hotel to take the injured biker to hospital in Barkly East.

Sarel got to the stranded trio about 22.30 and successfully got them back to the hotel by 00.45. It's so easy to say that in one sentence, but for those who have never driven that pass, it is a tough call driving up there at night in an electrical storm. In fact it's tough driving it in good weather and unimaginable in the prevailing conditions that night.

The ambulance took Okkie to the hospital. By 04.00 Okkie was back at the hotel all strapped up and luckily no broken ribs but with severe bruising. After some shut-eye the next morning (Sarel only got home after 04.30) he went back up the pass to retrieve all three bikes.  This was no mean feat as he had to tow a trailer up the pass and got stuck a number of times having to winch himself out on each occasion. Our role in coordinating this rescue is small in comparison to what Sarel and Ria accomplished. Also Geoff Russell’s experience and quick thinking, helped to safely get these chaps back to safety.

When a man drops what he’s doing to rescue others he has never met, shows his character. Thank you Sarel - Jou yster! We salute you.

Sarel and his team winching the bikes onto the bakkie.

Ria also remained calm, helpful and professional ensuring hot showers and warm beds, food and generally made things happen. She even ensured their muddied and wet clothing was fresh and dry by the morning. Go and support Mountain Shadows Hotel at the top of the Barkly Pass. There are good people running that enterprise.

The 3 motorcycles being offloaded at Mountain Shadows Hotel.

And so this story has a happy ending. It could also have ended in tragedy. Don’t ever underestimate the Bastervoetpad Pass. If it looks like rain, don’t go. Take emergency gear with you including a space blanket and food. These bikers left before 10 in the morning and only covered about 10 km by nightfall. They had many falls, which exhausted them. There will be lots of "should have, could have, would have" comments, but we appeal to all who want to drive or ride this pass to take it very seriously.

Survivors all - Johann Coetzer, Johan White, Okkie Oosthuizen - photo taken in Steynsburg on their way (safely) back to Cape Town.

Bikers should preferably have a 4x4 back up vehicle and 4x4’s should not drive this pass alone. The three adventurers will rest another day at the hotel then slowly make their way back to Cape Town.

At the time of writing this newsletter, the three bikers are enjoying a light lunch in Steynsburg and they are all fine. They should be home safe and sound before Christmas.


Who stole our sign?

Gone in a flash! On the positive side, at least they left the poles behind!

We have just been notified by one of our Facebook followers that our brown info sign at the Skelmdraai view site on the Swartberg Pass has been stolen. The irony of the name did not escape me!

Whoever took it must have been well organized as the sign is 3,0m x 2,4m and is quite heavy, requiring tools to remove it and at least two able bodied men to carry it onto a fair sized small truck. We can only surmise that it has gone for scrap metal. So the question is, do we replace it (at considerable cost) or just leave the two lonely gum-poles there? This is a demoralising development and will surely become increasingly commonplace. The real evil lies with the scrap metal dealers who don't ask any questions.

 

Kouga-Baviaans Tour (Day 3 - Part 2)

From the summit of the Holgat Pass, we took a stroll down to the old cableway. Directly opposite the parking area, heading off in a north westerly direction is a jeep track/footpath which will take you down to the old cableway erected by local farmers in the 60's to transport goods (and people) across the gorge to save on travelling time.

This walk is short and only takes a few minutes and is well worth the small physical effort. One of our readers, Winston le Roux helped his father build the cableway over the spectacular Waterpoort. By erecting the cableway goods could be efficiently transported from the Enkeldoorn farm directly over the Waterpoort to Patensie via Bergplaas. Standing on the lip of the gorge and looking at the cable disappearing over the big drop anchored off at some unseen point on the far side, it must have been a hair raising ride!

The Le Roux cableway still spans the Waterkloof gorge - Boer maak n plan.

Like the Grasnek Pass, this road was built with government funds and the help of local farmers. Some of the engineering is not quite up to Thomas Bain's standard, but build a road they surely did! Reaching the summit comes with a sigh of relief especially from passengers!

The weather remained kind as we crossed the Bergplaas plateau towards Combrinks Pass. 

Combrinks Pass

Combrink's Pass and the Holgat Pass are the descent and ascent respectively of the high plateau where the Bergplaas camping sites are found. Regardless of which direction you drive the pass, it is a visual feast. It is also the biggest of the five Baviaanskloof  passes (Nuwekloof, Grasnek, Langkop, Holgat and Combrinks) in terms of altitude gain/loss. This is the last pass you will encounter before exiting the bio-reserve before entering the Cambria valley.

Compressed within its 5,5 km length the road descends 333m via 73 bends, corners and curves, resulting in an average gradient of 1:16, but there are some sections as steep as 1:8. The road is single width for most of its length making overtaking impossible and passing difficult, where one of the vehicles will need to reverse back to a wider point.

This pass is a winner with stunning views for its entire length. However for anyone suffering from acrophobia, the very steep and completely unguarded drop-offs could be quite intimidating. The views are wondrous with rich flora gracing the steep slopes and ravines.

One of my personal favourites on this tour is the section through Poortjies. Here the road winds through thick riverine vegetation as multiple streams cascade down from the mountains. If you ever want a beautiful place to stop for a break or a picnic, this is one of the best.

Combrinks Pass takes you down to the Cambria Valley / MPSA

Soon we reached the exit gate of the bioreserve and once again our prepared convoy sheet was accepted by the gate staff and we were all through the control point in a matter of minutes. Almost immediately signs of civilization appear with farm-workers and citrus orchards lining the road. The valley was so named after Cambria in Wales, UK for its similar look and feel. This is a major citrus producing region, with the town of Patensie being the principal town for packing and distribution.

We passed Bruintjieskraal and crossed the Grootrivier via the low level concrete bridge and drove our final pass/poort of the day - the Grootrivierpoort. 

The Grootrivierpoort on the R332, was one of the last passes to be built by South Africa's most famous road engineer, Thomas Bain. This masterpiece opened up the seemingly impassable 200 km mountain wilderness of the Baviaanskloof between Willowmore and Patensie.

The poort only has 16 bends, corners and curves with a very mild descent gradient that appears to be flat when driving it. The topography is magnificent as the river and the road follow each other faithfully through the towering cliffs of the poort amongst dense riverine vegetation. The road is generally quite good through this section and most people drive too fast, which means you see less. Expect to see a range of animals, like kudu, reedbuck, baboons and monkeys - and more so if you drive through early in the morning. As the road was carved out of the mountainsides, it left an open display of the various rock formations, which range from solid Table Mountain sandstone to the unusual enon pebble conglomerate.

Suddenly we were out of the poort into the open space of the Gamtoos Valley, leaving the last campsites behind at Komdomo. We had made good time, so decided to take the group to the Kouga Dam. Even though at 23% it looked very low, to the locals it represents a life saving amount of water when comparing it to the 4% of a few months ago. The engineering at this dam is "proper" and despite its age, the infrastructure is still first class.

Soon we were in Patensie, where our group was split between some very nice guesthouses and the Ripple Hill Hotel, which only has 8 double en-suite rooms. Our meals were taken at the hotel where generous portions ensured hungry guests were well satisfied. 

I managed to get a bit lost in Patensie whilst trying to take a shortcut and stumbled on the old railway station replete with steam locomotives and sideless carriages. It's a bit of a spooky place, but I took a moody photo of the scene. Out hotel was less than 300m away.

From ashes to ashes - rust to dust / Photo: Trygve Roberts

Next week: Patensie to Steytlerville.


Proper longitudinem huius articuli .... we will publish Part 1 of the Ben 10 Eco Challenge V6 Tour next week


PASS OF THE WEEK

We've featured this pass several times before, but for readers who have never driven this pass, it will bring our headline story vividly to life. The videos reveal all.

 

* *   B A S T E R V O E T P A D   P A S S   * *

 


Trygve Roberts
Editor

"A wise man never knows all ~ Only a fool knows everything"