We have not written a post for a while, as life happened, but here we are again. The weekend of 1 November was the Castle Rock craft beer and wine festival at the Winterberg Inn, halfway between Ceres and Wolsely on the R43. We planned a while ago that we will pack the camping gear and spend the afternoon at the festival and then camp in the area. That way we would not have to travel back to Cape Town. It’s also an awesome area to explore with the bikes. We were both looking forward to get out of town for the weekend. I’ve only done the Baviaanskloof with my bike and camping gear a couple of years ago and then we had a support vehicle carrying all our stuff. This time all had to fit on the two bikes. We  packed all the gear on the living room floor the night before. This was it and I was excited as a kid before Christmas. Christoff has done this before and he made a list which we ticked off as we started packing. We even decided to pack our own wood for the fire as the camp site did not supply wood.

We could not have asked for a more beautiful morning when we got ready. Although the early morning promised a hot day and the closer we got to Ceres, it certainly did. However early 30 degrees Celsius is way cooler than the early 40’s we have experienced in this area on our motorbikes. We decided to take the N1 and cross over Du Toit’s Kloof pass and through the Slanghoek Valley to reach the Winterberg Inn. Going up the pass we did the necessary stops to admire the view over the Paarl valley and back to Cape Town. By now breakfast was a distant memory and we were hot, hungry and thirsty but decided to push through to the festival. The vibe at the festival was laid back and although it was busy the great gardens and big trees provided enough space for people to spread out. Top local cellars showed their wines and the food was supplied by the Bistro at the Winterberg Inn. We were however interested in the craft beers. The first stop was our well known brewery, Darling. A draught Native Pale Ale quenched the initial thirst followed by a great pulled pork sandwich and that kicked off the afternoon. 

The other breweries that were there were Birkenhead Estate, The Belgian Beer Company, Devils Peak, Independent Beers and Spirits and Everson Ciders.

We ran into some of our friends from Cape Town and sat with them next to the pool under the trees having lunch and our beer. The first beer quenched the thirst and the sandwich filled a hole, and now we were relaxed and shopped around for what’s next. In the end the pale ale from Independent Beers and Spirits got our vote and we ended up sitting on the wall of the stoep with our friends, good beer and food. The brew master, Bernard, told us that he currently has a 70L setup and that he had his whole brew at the festival. We will definitely keep an eye out for these guys going forward.

Late afternoon we decided to call it a day, said our farewells and rode to Ceres. We still had to buy some things for the braai. (The word braai is Afrikaans for “barbecue” and is a social custom in South Africa. The term has since been adopted by South Africans of many ethnic backgrounds.) For dinner we bought steak and ready made salads. Breakfast was going to consist of eggs and bacon. We had bought some bottled Darling Slow Brew Native Ales and a lovely 2009 Shiraz from Koelfontein. We found the Petervale Guest Farm on the internet which is about halfway between Ceres and Prince Alfreds Hamlet. Reuben the manager was extremely helpful and told us where our campsite was next to the dam. We had to ride a little bit towards the mountain on a sandy two track and then through some trees to end up on this awesome camp spot next to the dam under the trees. Christoff immediately declared that this camping spot is on the top of his list. The area has soft white sand and most of it is covered by soft pine needles which is like walking barefoot on a soft carpet.

We started unpacking and setting up the tent and camp site. The site had a “fire pit” setup on the sand with rocks packed in a circle. In the end there was enough dead wood lying around which kept our camp fire burning long into the night. After my good friend decided to spin my bike in the sand, the tent was covered with a fine layer of sand. Lucky for us only the exterior, as it would have been annoying to clean the inside. What would camping be without some adventure? After all of this “hard” work it was time for a swim in the dam. There was a canoe on the shore which we jumped into and pushed off into the middle of the dam. Jumping out of the canoe into the dam at least did not cause it to capsize, but we got more water in the canoe by the time we got back to shore. It was great to cool down and the views of the surrounding mountains were just awesome.

Our friend Ellie gave us a small cooler bag when we left the Winterberg Inn and we had some ice in there which kept our two beers and wine cold. With a well deserved beer in hand, we started the fire in preparation for the braai. We decided to explore a bit of the area and took a walk to find out where the ablution facilities were and what the other camp sites looked like. Although we had neighbours in the area, we never heard or really saw them which really makes Petervale well worth the visit. There is no electricity at the camp sites but there are hot showers and electricity points at the washing up area. Reuben also told us about the waterfall in the mountain which is about a 30 minute hike each direction. That hike was going to be on the agenda for Sunday.

When we got back to our site, the sun was just starting to set and the birds were getting ready for the night. The water birds were making quite a noise as they came in for the landing on the dam. It was great to sit in silence, experience nature at it’s best. No beeping of some smart device or laptop, which are my best breaks ever. The coals were ready and the steaks went onto the grill. Meat grilled on a fire as opposed to a gas Weber just tastes so much better and hunger is the best cook. Medium rare to medium is the way to go and the braai master, Christoff, always gets it just right. A real basic meal with salad, good meat and a glass of wine from Koelfontein and don’t forget the company. After dinner the fire was stoked for our bon fire. This is the part I love; just sit round the fire and staring into the flames. There’s no real need to talk, but when it happens, it follows the rhythm of the flames. The moon was in the first quarter and casting enough light on the area, but as a result the stars were not that clear. Once the moon had set in the early hours of the morning that changed the whole scene. I had to get up and got to see the beautiful star filled sky which one forgets about living in a city.

An early morning coffee and then we got ready to make breakfast on our little gas cooker. Bacon and eggs! The bacon just tasted better than other mornings. But first a quick dip in the dam just to wake up completely. After breakfast we broke up camp, packed the bikes and then hiked to the waterfall.  It was already hot but the time we got going. It was a great, but steep hike up the mountain. We heard the waterfall before we saw it, but it was also then that Christoff spotted two Klipspringers above us on the rocks. They were fully aware of us, but did not run away. Instead they stood on their rocks and just observed us and then leisurely started moving higher up. The waterfall is aptly named “Gods bathtub”.

One hikes down into the small ravine through which the water flows. The first part is a small waterfall before ending up in a pool. The deepest part of the pool we figured out must be about 2,5m. Christoff immediately figured out the he could safely dive and do backflips into the pool from the one embankment. Then we found that a part of the waterfall is like a slide going down into the pool which kept us amused for a while. Water always brings out the inner children in us. We filled the water bladder with fresh water and hiked back to the bikes.

It was time to start the bike trip for the day. We rode to Prince Alfreds Hamlet, bought chicken salad and then headed towards the Gydo Pass and the Witzenberg valley. A stop under the trees on the Gydo pass was the impromptu lunch spot. The Witzenberg valley has a lot of fruit farms, but there are also nice gravel roads which we were looking for. We ended up on a farm dirt road riding north, but not sure if we could cross all the way through the valley. The Tracs4Africa GPS was very inconclusive about this and we decided just to follow the track. We had to turn back a bit, dodge through a gap in the fence to get back onto the tar road north. This road turned into a gravel road with loose gravel, turns, some sand and farms around.  Coming too slowly round one corner I lost control and rather ungracefully jumped off the bike as it fell. No damage apart from a bruised ego and some scratches on the crash bar. Every off rode ride I’m learning a bit more and gaining more confidence. Christoff later said he was waiting round the corner for me and the next moment he saw was a puff of dust. Eventually we crossed a little river and about a 100 m further we ran out of track as it went into protected Cape nature reserve with a gate and “NO ENTRY”. That meant we had to turn around and do the same route back which is not what we normally do. The operative word when we stood there, had an apple and some water was “adventure”. One forgets how much effort and concentration it takes riding on roads like these and the heat was also an additional factor to take into account.

Travelling back on the same road until we hit the tar, felt much shorter than the way in. My confidence was much higher and I rode faster than riding in. I could still not keep up with my riding partner whose motto is “let’s fly”. We stopped in Ceres for petrol and came to the realisation that Eskom was doing load shedding and there was a queue of vehicles, heading back to Cape Town, waiting patiently for fuel. All the towns we rode through back home were “powerless”. We headed back through the Slanghoek Valley, across Du Toit’s kloof pass and decided we could not face the boring N1. We rode through Wemmershoek, then Pniel, Stellenbosch and the last bit on the N2 into Cape Town. As we got home, we realised that even our area was “powerless” and that resulted in no hot shower as the geyser was switched off for the weekend. Nothing to do but grab a beer (still cold) sit on the terrace, watch the last bit of sun over Lions Head and mull over the adventure. This type of adventure is definitely on the repeat bucket list.

It’s a good day to be out and about.