Day 23: Stettynskloof & The Finish @ Diemersfontein

Stettynskloof was a lesson in humility. Brute strength & bluster just didn't do it today. We left Trouthaven with more than a little trepidation today @ around 06:00am headed for the infamous Stettynskloof portage.

And what a portage it was - All 8 km to the head of the valley where we had to climb out of the valley and decend the other side to find a jeep track. We found the footpath at the dam wall at around 8am and headed up the valley just as it was getting lighter. The valley is hemmed in on either side by massively imposing Cape mountains. There are two valleys heading away from the dam so one must make bloody sure you get it right.

Right from the onset our bikes were being snagged by the bush closing in around the footpath. Every now and then our clothes would also be snagged, almost as if Stettynskloof was trying to tell us something ! Little did we know that this was just the begining of an epic day.

There are also numerous little streams coming in off the mountains and running into the main stream, which after a few days of heavy rain would be unnavigable or crossable. We made steady dogged progress crisscrossing from the eastern side to the western side of the main stream numerous times to get past the sheer cliffs and dropoffs along the way.

We did great (Had'nt completely lost our sense of humour yet !) until we crossed the river for the umteenth time & headed up the scree field (it's a whopping bloody boulder field !) , the wrong way. We should have crossed over to the left hand side & then headed into & up the fast flowing stream for 20 odd meters before exiting to push up the slope. Well we did'nt and Sean succumed to my concern that the narrative said to go up to the right where would miraculously find a path heading out of the side valley and back onto the main track.
The mistake cost us more than an hour & a massive amount of wasted energy. We bashed 100m up that side before I finally listened to Sean and headed back down to the boulder field. We had fallen into huge holes, slipped off the edge of the mountainside and cut and bruised ourselves no end ! Our bikes also did'nt escape with bent and dinged frame & components.

Having eventually negotitaed our way past the boulder field we were met with the remainder of the valley which from where we were standing looked relatively ok despite the lack of another path - yeah right !!! The grass is long, the bush bloody thick and the terrain hides numerous rocks, pot holes, donga's and every manner of obstruction known to man.

The mountains came alive with both Sean and my shouts of frustration and indignation that Dave W could make us do this so close to the end. He was'nt our friend anymore - if those mountains could talk......! The valley echoed with our cursing time and again as we struggled up to the protea field. See if you can spot Sean in the protea's in the accompanying pic !!! Yes they're beautiful but they are also your nemises as you head up the valley.

We had to negotiate these things to cross the stream one last time before we were faced with a massively daunting climb out of the valley into the next one to the jeep track. The climb out took us more than an hour and an incredible amount of perserverance and willpower. It's not a joke and no one I know or have spoken to has ever enjoyed Stettynskloof.

It must be said that it evokes all manner of awe inspring feelings within you because of its absolute rugged beauty and when you crane your neck to look up at the imposing mountains towering high up above you on either side of the valley you finally begin to realise your place in the universe.

We finally got to the head of the head of the valley @ around 17:30pm and managed to pick up the farm track over on the other side just as it was getting dark. We headed out the next valley (12km's) towards the foot of the Dutoitskloof.

From there it was an 11km climb to the top of Dutoitskloof pass where we were met by Dave Wadilove & Fiona. We got a quick run through of the route into Diemersfontein. Sean & I made it to the finish @ around 20:00pm, 23 days after we started !

We made it !!!

Day 22: McGregor to Trouthaven

It was a wise choice to overnight @ McGregor because it gave Sean & I the opportunity to recover a bit. Also we would have made heavy work of the next 25km's to Kasra farm because it involved a wagon route portage over a mountain that was quite tricky in the daylight.

So it was that we left Carol's fantastic & friendly hospitality this morning after a delicious breakfast @ 06:00am for Kasra. We got to the portage at first light & negotiated the very rocky wagon route up & over the mountain. We nearly missed the track off to the left off the mountain & would have ended up way off track in another valley !

The ladies @ Kasra - Elsa & Alda - ensured we had a great second breakfast of fresh baked bread, cheeses, preserves, coffee & fruit in their lovely farm kitchen. I was truly sorry we couldn't overnight there as their hospitality is somewhat legendary amongst the riders, past & present.

From Kasra Sean & I proceeded on to the next stage of 84km to Trouthaven. Another wagon route type portage awaited us as we had to cross over another mountain to pick up a farm road on the other side before hurtling down a concrete road to a main road intersection.


The views & winelands of the Cape region are truly dramatic & the weather has been awesome. Sunshine & mostly light breezes has characterized the last 2 days. It was a pleasure riding thru this beautiful stretch in such superb weather.

The wind did hit us hard head on this afternoon along the Brandvlei section (15km's) which made a long day just that much tougher. Nonetheless we survived and finally turned off to Trouthaven guest farm & a welcome cuppa tea !

We are both happy & thankful to have made it this far, particularly since we are both nursing injuries etc. I am looking forward to tackling the sting in the tail tomorrow - Stettynskloof bundu bash - simply because I want to get it over with now.

I want my blanket !

Day 21: Anysberg to McGregor

It turns out a key to Cape Natures offices & our boxes had been left with a paying bird watcher in a bungalow near where we had slept with a message that we would arrive @ 17:00 pm - go figure !

We finally left Anysberg nature reserve @ 08:30am this morning after a miserable cold night in the shed determined to make it to Kasra by this evening - a 160 km day.

We made good time to Montagu (13:30pm) where we lunched @ the Montagu Country Hotel which was our support station (Would recommended a stay there anyday). The ladies there were so worried about Sean & I not arriving in the early hours as planned that they wanted to drive a bakkie out to look for us ! There's no cell reception @ Anysberg either so we couldn't get hold of anyone.

After a great lunch, Sean & I pressed on for McGregor & hopefully Kasra but soon realised that the lack of sleep & food for breakfast was taking it's toll on us. In addition we're both injured and there would be nothing to gain by getting to Kasra today.

We have opted to stay over in McGregor (Arrived @ around 18:00pm) & get a good nights sleep. We covered about 140km's today including an awesome 25km decent into Montagu for another double stage finish & have effectively got two days in hand now.

Tomorrow we head for Trouthaven, Stettynskloof the next day and hopefully a Monday afternoon finish @ Diemersfontein.