Leaving BH - Sat 11-21
We flew out of Bar Harbor into Boston for our marathon 38 hour journey to Cape Town, South Africa, for our Renedian Adventures tour on the 'Garden Route'.
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Sunday in London - 11-22
Wait, what? London, as in England? Yup, we had a layover in London, arriving at Heathrow at 830am (UK time) so we grabbed a day hotel and headed into Richmond/Kews Garden, for Sunday lunch at the Orange Tree Pub, before we resumed our flights.
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Cape Town - Monday 11-23
After another red eye flight, we arrived in Cape Town in the morning, and checked into the Pretoria Breakwater Lodge, a former prison, for the next few nights and began our exploration of the city. We arrived a day before the tour officially started to get used to the time change and get our bearings. We headed to the V&A waterfront, had an Indian lunch, and then took a helicopter ride from NAC for a 30 min tour of the coast. After some more walking, we had dinner at Karibu, on the waterfront, overlooking Table Mountain.
View a short video taken from the helicopter ride
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Cape Town - Tuesday 11-24
Our tour officially starts this morning after an early breakfast. We meet the other tour members at 9am for a double decker bus tour. Lunch at Paranga on our own for a few hours, walked to HD dealer for tshirts. 4pm for paperwork, then dinner (pizza) at Meloncino (above Karibu).
What a great group...! Tonite starts the 'fight' to cover the check before anyone else can. It was to be a constant rush to pay the eatery or bar tab for the rest of the trip.
We packed for early brekkie and departure in the am to pick up the bikes.
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Cape Town to Montagu Wednesday 11-25
We picked up our BMW GS after early breakfast at the hotel. We can sum up the day with these three things.... A Baboon pic, a declined credit card card, and some mountain passes! My card was declined for the deposit on the bike, which made for some rather interesting long distance overseas calls to get it re-activated, Jane snapped a shot of a baboon on the side of the road while we were riding past, and we rode DuToitskloof Pass (Outside of Paarl), Hex River Pass, Rooihoogte Pass, and Burgers Pass (our first lunch stop on the road). We also rode through the orchards and vineyards of Koo Valley. Stopped at some great lookout points, saw some springbok and ostrich. Take note of the sticker on our windshield, reminding us to stay on the left side of the road! Luckily we have ridden on the left often enough, but some of our group needed reminders....
We stayed at the Montagu Country Hotel, had dinner at The Mystic Tin, our first Babotie (and Ostrich at that) and a Van Loveren shiraz.
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Montagu to Oudtshoorn Thursday 11-26
Rain! Luckily our only day of it, but we left Montagu late due to it, and skirted it or road in it all day. We headed to Oudtshoorn is the ostrich capital of the world, and is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. First, we had to ride in the Great Karoo, and have another awesome picinic lunch. Rode three passess today, Kogmanskloof Pass (near Montagu), Seweweekspoort Pass (it was raining near the top, and was an awesome skinny, gravel pass), and rode Huisrivier Pass (on wet roads, down into Calizdorp). We had a tour at Cango Ostrich Farm and then rode to our hotle for the next two nights, The Thorntree Lodge. Ostrich for the second night in a row and the intro of 'The Bag of Shame', which is where all your mistakes are tattled on and you pay a fine (for a charity donation alter). Yes, Jane ratted me out for stalling the bike! You can meet our fellow riders at the top of Seweweekspoort in some portraits.
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Optional ride day Friday 11-27
Optional ride day? Who are you kidding, of course we rode! 3 passes and a cave system were the order of the day. First up was Meiringspoort Pass and a waterfall walk, then Swartberg Pass (one more UNESCO Heritage site off my list!), a visit to Cango Caves, and Schoemanspoort Pass to Thorntree Lodge. More Bobotie, (beef this time) for dinner. An amazing day, and the pics don't do Swartberg justice......
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Oudtshoorn to Addo Elephant Park Saturday 11-28
Our first safari! We left Oudtshoorn, rode two passes, Ghwarriepoort and Buyspoort before a stop for coffee in Willowmore. It was HOT, and we stopped under a shade tree in Steytlerville and had lunch at The Royal Hotel before heading over to Addo Elephant Park, the 3rd largest national park in South Africa. The ride itself was nice, and the towns we rode through were full of the locals because it was Saturday (and payday). We got on a safari truck for a sunset game drive in the 444,000 acre park, where the animals are completely wild and not interfered with. Because we were in a park truck for the tour, we got to go off-road where you couldn't go if you self-drove.
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Early Game Drive at Addo and ride to Jeffreys Bay Sunday 11-29
We rose early for a 6am game drive in Addo Elephant National Park where we saw more elephants, springbok, kudu, warthogs, zebra, and a fresh kill made by two lions. We received permission to ride on a public road thru the preserve where the animals roamed freeley with no fences. It was cool, and frightening at the same time to be on a bike and be so close to elephants at the same time! We had lunch at Nanaga Farm Stall, an open market. After lunch, got on the highway to make our way to Jeffreys Bay to stay at the Mandyville Inn, run by, you guessed it, Mandy! We settled in, got laundry sorted, and walked into town for dinner at the catch of the Day.
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Optional ride day Monday 11-30
Option day, rode to Baviaanskloof Nature Reserve, about 220km. Jane stayed back at the inn as it was a difficult, technical trail and two up would have been impossible, especially on the big BMW GS. Not many pics on the scary parts. The road wound up the side of a mountain, and was two-way travel, but you really couldn't pass in most arears, and the drop off was pretty steep in many parts! We rode to Rode to 1700meters altitude in 36C temp (about 98F, hot!) Dinner at Kitchen Windows on the water, where we had a whole grilled Red Roman fish (Seabreem) for dinner.
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Jeffreys Bay to Tsitsikamma National Park Tuesday 12-1
We had a later departure time today. Jane and I walked into town to swim in the Indian Ocean...warmer than home, but still cold! We stopped at the mouth of Storm River for a break and a look around at one of the bridges, and then we rode to Face Adrenalin at Bloukrans River Bridge for the worlds highest bungie jump (216 meters / 708 feet high!). No, Jane and I did not jump, but one of our group, Marc, did. Marc's jump video is here Then on to our National Park cabins in Tsitsakamma, where the Storms River meets the Indian Ocean. Stunning views! We have a no ride option day tomorrow and get to spend the day here. Dinner that night in the Cattle Baron restaurant right in the park itself, where we gave Marc a custom jump video and T-shirt from the group (video shot by me here)
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Tsitsikamma Wednesday 12-2
We went on a zip line tour of the gorge in the morning with Mike, Lester, Kris, Jane, and I and Jane and I kayaked (and rode a LiLo) and cliff jumped in the afternoon, returning for an oceanfront Braai (BBQ) that Rene and Mike prepared for us. We feasted on Roestekoek, boerwors sausage, lamb, chicken, curry bananas, salad, sweet potato mash, and ice cream sundaes with chocolate sauce. Oh, and don't forget shots of Lovoka at the end of a fantastic day......
Tsitsikamma is amazing, and two days here was nowhere near enough, we will be back to this special spot in the future.
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Tsitsikamma to Knysna Thursday 12-3
Up early for a hike up Tsitsikamma Gorge, then breakfast and another late departure for us. First stop at DeVasselot beach after riding Grootrivier Pass. Next stop at the elephant sanctuary in Plettenburg Bay, where we got up close with the elephants and Jane rode one. Another on the road picnic lunch after that, then on to Knysna. Rene planned a kayaking trip 'surprise', and when we arrived, it was a RIB boat ride. It was wicked fast! Unfortunately the swells were too big to go further out into the ocean, so we just rode around the bay. Dinner at Fresh Line Fisheries, where more Lovoka was had by all....
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Knysa to Arniston Friday 12-4
Early departure, a bit of rain, but it cleared up before we rode the Tradouwpas. WOW! Amazing! Some of us rode the pass twice, and someone (Kris) rode it on the wrong side of the road. Then on to Cape Agulhas, the southernmost point of Africa where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet. Rode to Arniston, a small fishing village, named after the ship that crashed here in 1815, and walked/hiked to a sea cave accessible only at low tide, (Waenhuiskrans Cave), then dinner at Tannie (means Aunt in Afrikaans) Betsie, who is in her 80's, which was amazing. All homemade, fresh bread, fish cakes, fried fish, roasted potatoes, potato bake, veggies, salad and the best Malva Pudding we have had on the trip, Malva is an African dessert of warm cake topped with creamy custard. We stayed at the Arniston Spa Hotel, which may be the nicest place we stayed on the entire trip. Long ride today, (over 400km), and an early night for us.
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Arniston to Stellenbosch Saturday 12-5
Stopped at Hermanus and luckily saw a Right Whale in the bay even though they were supposed to have gone for the season! Rode thru Betty's Bay and then on Rooi-els along the ocean, fantastic!! The riding gets better every day, which is hard to believe. On to Monkeytown in Somerset West, and the house where Rene's wife grew up in, It's a sanctuary that started with taking in pet monkeys that people didn't want anymore. After our private tour we had pizza for lunch on the patio with Rene's family. Then off to Stellenbosch, a hip college/winery/vineyard town with lots of cafe's and shopping. Dinner at Basic Bistro, and staying at the Stellenbosch Hotel, which has been around since 1876 and is a National Monument.
Early to bed, as we are leaving at 345am(!) for a shark dive in the morning.
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Shark Diving! Sunday 12-6
Up at 3am for our departure to Gansbaai, about 160km east of Cape Town, the Great White Shark capitol of the world for a dive with Sharklady Adventures. A two hour ride, but it was worth it. We dove from 7am to 9am, the water was calm and clear; perfect conditions, but cold, it was about 48F! We were only about 5km from shore, We saw five sharks, the largest being about 3m (10ft) long, and then another 2 hour ride home.
Diving was one of the coolest things we have ever done! Not many pics today, once we started diving, we were mesmerized by the Great White Sharks!
We had lunch with Garry and Nicole, took a nap and then dinner at Stellenbrau Brewery where we got our 'awards', a personlized Renedian Adventures sticker with the flag of the countries you visited. Dave got 5 flags, which made us all jealous!
Watch the 13 min DVD from Sharklady taken during our dive
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Stellenbosch for Capetown 12-7
Our last day of riding, but a gorgeous day for it.
On road by 8am, went to Boulders National Park to visit the African Penguins, and off to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope, the most southwestern point in Africa. After that, literally riding through the clouds in the mountains! Continued along the coast, passing so many amazing beaches, and then rode the infamous Chapmans Peak. So amazing, I rode it 3 times!
We had a picnic lunch near the peak overlooking Hout Bay, then into Capetown, to turn in the bikes, and have a final group dinner. We had a free afternoon, so we visited the V&A Waterfront again and had sushi and cocktails on the water.
Our Farewell dinner was at the Grand Cafe and Beach in Cape Town, and then we all head our separate ways in the morning.
We couldn't have asked for a better group; three couples from Ontario (that have travelled with Renedian before), Mike/Deb, Garry/Nicole, and Sandy/Dave, 2 solo riders, Mike from Calgary, and Lester from British Columbia, and another American, Kris, from Oregon, Mike, our support driver, and of course our fearless leader, Rene Cormier.
Truly an amazing adventure! Thankfully there were no accidents, no drama, and no bike damage at all.
These few words and only a few of the thousands of pictures we took, will never convey the memories that we will have.
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Capetown 12-8
We have one last day in Cape Town before we fly home that night. Up early for a last breakfast with some of our group, and then we took a ferry to Robben Island, former home of the prison that held Nelson Mandela all those years. We saw some whales and dolphins on the ferry ride. On our return, we ran into a few fellow riders and had lunch, then we went to the Two Oceans Aquarium before we had to return to our hotel to pack for our 30 hour round of flights to come home.
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