Good Hope Tour (South Africa)

After a heartful first class breakfast we meet for a general briefing about our tour and today’s stage. An introduction to the GPS device and the motorbikes is given, then we start for a first excursion all around the Cape peninsula. Although just a 140km trip, but almost all coastal roads and full of highlights: beginning with the world famous "Chapman’s Peak“ drive with its 114 curves that is an outstanding adventure anyway, we cruise along the districts of Kalk Bay, Fish Hoek and Simons Town at the False Bay where we also stop at Boulders Beach for the worth seeing penguin colony, and come along the beaches of Scarborough, Hout Bay and extravagant Camps Bay on the Atlantic coast side. We visit „Signal Hill“ from where we have stunning views over the city and the Table Bay. In the evening we meet up again for dinner. – 100% tar

A great day on relaxing route awaits us today. It leads us to marvelous Cederberg Mountains. We leave Paarl towards north passing the picturesque village of Wellington and its famous winery of Boschendal, we go ahead for dreamlike Bain's Kloof Pass through Hawequas Nature Reserve. We stop for a tasty lunch under old oak trees in quaint Tulbagh's famous Church Street, a little wine growing village in the Breede River Valley. We then follow the "Cape Scenic Route 62" across the Mitchell's Pass to Ceres, the heart of cape fruit-growing. The route continues through that huge valley and suddenly vanish from cultivated landscape up north via Prince Alfred Hamlet over the Gydo Pass into the vast barren Karoo landscape which has a very unique charme. Finally wonderful gravel roads lead over Blinkbergpass with its stunning mountaineous scenery embracing our next destination Mount Ceder Lodge. – 70% Tar / 30% Gravel

This day is exceptionally full of highlights, hence we start from Montagu early. We head for north-eastern direction, through mountaineous landscape coming along Anysberg Nature Reserve and emerge on elevated plains of Klein Karoo. The road then leads across a couple of dreamlike passes, e.g. the impressive Seweweekspoort (which had been built by Thomas Bain in 1862 like most of our driven passes). A short passage on tarred Route 62 connects us pleasingly across Huisrivier-Pass with Calitzdorp, where usually a lunch is taken in a small street café before we submerge into narrow and djungle-like valleys through idyllic farmland and passing along the Great Swartberg Mountain range to Matjiesrevier. But the last lap today is still the most stunning one: the famous Swartberg pass that leads us to Prince Albert. Various gigantic outviews invite to stop. And because the day ist still not over, we finally end up home for dinner and an enjoyable evening with musician Brian Finch, who also created our Gravel Travel song ... – 20%Tar / 80% Gravel

Our destination today is Tsitsikamma at the Indian Ocean. Leaving Prince Albert towards east we soon turn off southwards onto stunning Meiringspoort. A little crystal clear waterfall with a natural rock pool invites for a cool refreshment. Afterwards we come through small farmer's town De Rust where the landscape is characterised by typical ostrich farming. Passing through the Klein Karoo we'll reach Uniondale for a light lunch and fuel-up before we turn off onto gravel road taking the amazing Prince Alfred's Pass. There we come through large forest, little rivercrossings, the seemingly forgotten valleys and a little village called De Vlugt that reminds somehow of gold diggers and lumberjacks in Alaska at one time. On roads through thick forest we finally reach Plettenberg Bay on the seaside and follow the N2 Garden Route direction towards Tsitsikamma NP. The hotel Tsitsikamma Village Inn is situated close to Stormsriver. The famous Cadillac Pub next door is stuffed with great classic cars and Elvis memories invites for a dip into. – 50% Tar / 50% Gravel

We leave the Lagoon of Knysna at the Indian Ocean behind and soon disappear in dense forest on the Phantom Pass northwards. We take the older route – 7 Passes (Thomas Bain, 1883) – a scenic route crossing clear streams, drive through forgotten indigenous forest stations and deep gorges before we reach the seaside town of Wilderness. Afterwards we take gravel roads through open farmland until Montagu Pass and climb up into the marvelous landscape of Outeniqua Mountains. The breathtaking Outeniqua Pass leads down to George where we follow the route around the Outeniqua Mountains on its western side through idyllic farmland on pleasant gravel roads until Robinson Pass. By reaching its peak with 900m ASL we leave behind the coastal back country towards little town of Oudtshoorn. The scenery again turns into ’Little Karoo’ where an Ostrich Guestfarm awaits us. – 20%Tar / 80% Gravel

In the morning we make a short detour to "Koppie Alleen" at amazing bright white dunes and beach where dolphins can be seen sometimes before leaving this protected nature area. We then head for the southern most tip of Africa, Cape Agulhas where Indian and Atlantic Ocean geographically meet. The route meanders through open farmland via Bredasdorp and seaside villages like Arniston and Struisbaai, where a little fish restaurant serves excellent lunch. Watch out for wonderful giant stingrays in the harbour. On our way to Hermanus we further crisscross farmland where you may spot endangered blue cranes and storcks between flocks of sheep. We pass the small but well-known village of Elim, a Moravian mission with its still original facades. Further west, we finally reach Walkerbay, the "whale watching capital" of Hermanus. You might be lucky spotting whales right from our seaside hotel. – 50% Tar / 50% Gravel