Kango Road

Sign on Montagu Pass

I wasn't sure if it was called the Oude Muragie Road, but that is what the sign said when I thought I was lost and had to consult the GPS to see if I was actually where I wanted to be. I am in the Southern Cape and at last I have the opportunity to do some of the roads that I was looking forward to for the past couple of months. My biking buddy's bike has a problem and has been under repairs for almost a week now, so it was me alone on my first road trip through the Klein Karoo. I was looking on the map last night to see what options I had, so I decided to do a road that runs between De Rust and Schoemanskloof. On my way there I figured that I could do the Montagu Pass as well, making my trip there about 98% on gravel. I still was not sure on which road I was going to return, but the idea was to keep it also on gravel as much as possible.

 

Section of Montagu Pass

I left my "base camp" in Reebok at 7am, with two hotdogs and a bottle of water. My family was there to see me off and it  felt as if I was going to cross the African continent. I first had to fill up at Great Brak River, and from there on it was my first gravel toward the Montague Pass. As I was approaching the pass I was certain that this was going to be a wet road and yet again, covered in mist. It was still around 18 degrees Celsius, but I could already feel the heat of the sun on my black bike jacket. As I was going down to the bottom of the valley before the road starts snaking up against the Outeniqua Mountains, I passed a warning sign which made me feel a bit uncomfortable at first. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the road was not as bad as the time when my wife did her mountain bike training for the Karoo to Coast Mountain Bike race. The clouds also disappeared and soon I was riding up in perfect conditions. I stopped to take a picture and was yet again silenced by the beauty of this pass. I am still in awe when I ride the Montagu Pass, whether it is in my car, on my mountain bike or on my motor bike. The motor bike however gives you the best of all worlds; not caged up in a motor vehicle and not using your legs to get to the top.  

Klein Karoo scene

Klein Karoo scene

 When you reach the top of the pass then you are in the Klein Karoo. The vegetation changes and the temperature rises very quickly. From the Montagu Pass road I crossed the Uniondale road and found myself on the Paardepoort road. I was a bit disappointed when I reached Paardepoort. I was expecting something like Meirings Poort, but this was just a couple of turns running along a nameless river. I got off and had my first hotdog with some water. This was real Karoo country and the temperature was already in the high twenties. It was only around 8 am.

The Paardepoort road runs through many ostrich farms. This is ostrich country and everywhere were signs warning against ostriches on the road. They are not running wild, but they do get chased from different camps for feeding purposes and when you meet a bunch (I don't know if you call it a flock or herd of ostriches?) around a corner you might get a big fright. It is much scarier to ride into a bunch of ostriches than a bunch of cattle. Ostriches all look very nervous and scatter in all directions when they get surprized. Cattle only check you out suspiciously and slowly just move away from the vehicle to stay out of reach. Fortunately I didn't encounter any ostriches on the road, only a lonesome tortoise and a couple of sheep.

Dysselsdorp

Farm near Dysselsdorp

 When I reached Dysselsdorp I was looking around to find a liquorice factory. My dad asked me to find him a sample of the Karoo plant they use to make liquorice from in that area, but all I could see is a town that looked like it was closed for the day.  It was already 28 degrees Celsius and I think everyone was taking a midday nap to escape from the heat. Just passed Dysselsdorp I got onto the tar road again for a few kilometers and then turned into what I was though was Oude Muragie Road. My dad later told me that it is in fact called the Kango Road. My dad grew up in this area and when he tells me about this world I wish he was the one writing the blog. He knows all the roads, their names, where they lead to, who lives there, you name it. I wish I had him on the back of my bike as tour leader on my trips. My post would've been so much more interesting.



Sexy chicks

 On the Kango Road  I was amazed at how beautiful that part of the world is. The road runs parallel to the Swartberg Mountains. It curls through the valleys with some beautiful farms situated in this area. I stopped to take a picture of some of the ostriches here and had my second hotdog. The road was in a very good condition but later it became clear that the further away you ride from the De Rust main road, the less maintained it became.  But the road was still pretty much in a good condition. I just rode on and enjoyed the scenery. At some point I passed the Koos Raubenheimer Dam which provides water to Oudtshoorn and soon after that I was on tar road again heading for the Kango Caves. I didn't go into the Kango Caves, but this is a definite must-see for tourists. Along the way local kids were selling ostrich eggs and feathers. I believe there are 21 chicken eggs in one ostrich egg, but I haven't tasted it myself. It is 25 rands for an empty egg and 35 rands for a full egg.

Route Map

Kids selling eggs

After my stop at the Kango Caves I had to decide which road I was taking back to my "base camp". I had a quite a few options but because I wanted to fill up, I decided to go back to Oudsthoorn. This was on tar. After I filled up at Oudtshoorn, I decided to head back home via the Robinson Pass. After the Robinson pass there are more gravel roads that could bring me back to Reebok.

The whole trip was about 240 km. I didntt take as many pictures as I would've liked to, but I was so impressed with the scenery that I actually wanted to push on rather than stop. One never knows what might meet your eyes around the next corner. I arrived in Reebok at around 1 pm. My biking buddy told me that his bike was ready and that we should plan our next trip. It was really a nice ride that I did today. It was a bit hot but the roads were good and the scenery spectacular. I think 75% of my 240km was on gravel today. I cannot wait for our trip tomorrow.

Colours of Cape Town

Even though I live in Cape Town I hardly ever see the city center. I was  rather amazed a couple of years ago when I went to Green Market Square and felt the tourist vibe that the Mother City has. I was always under the impression that the city center was more of a destination if you are into drug smuggling or prostitution. I am sure you can still find it there at night, but during the day it is rather a nice experiencing to walk around between the stalls and drink coffee at one of the many street restaurants. Yesterday I took the opportunity to walk around the stalls like a tourist armed with my camera and beach hat. The sun wasn't playing along in all my shots as much as I would've liked it to, but there is such a variety of subjects to take pictures of that one can really take pictures from morning 'til noon. I think that one day I will take the whole day and create a whole portfolio on the "Colours of Cape Town".

Healthy Summer Drink

It is really hot today and I was looking for somethig healthy to quench my thirst. With sweetmelon in the house I decided to make one of my old-time favourites, the sweetmelon shake. Just three ingredients and 5 minutes to make and to finish. All you need is a ripe sweetmelon, or half of it. Some vanilla ice-cream and a drop of milk. Mix with a blender or bamix and enjoy. A very healthy drink, except for the ice-cream and milk maybe. But who cares, it is stil healthier than a Coke Float. Enjoy.

Something smells fishy....

I drove past a farm stall today selling watermelon, sweetmellon....and "bokkoms". Bokkoms are dried "harders" (mullet), fish biltong, or dried fish for those who don't know what "biltong" is. It is usually only sold in the Western Cape and further up the West Coast where the conditions are better for drying out the fish. The problem with bokkoms is that they smell really bad. No, you don't understand, they smell really really bad. When I was living in a hostel at varsity somewhere close to Johannesburg my uncle send me bokkoms from the Cape. My roommate nearly moved to another hostel because ours was smelling like a fish factory...and we were 1400 kilometers from Cape Town. Today when I stopped to buy a watermelon and sweetmellons, I threw in a few bokkoms as well. I arrived at home and decided to hang them in the garage knowing that they not only attract a lot of flies and ants, but all the cats from the neighbourhood as well. My wife was working inside the house taking my sons wet swimming clothes from a bag and asked me why his clothes were smelling so bad because it has only been in there since the day before. Well, she didn't know about the bokkoms that was hanging behind the door. So tonight our house smells like fish, the cats are already moving in and I have to endure this smell until Monday when I am taking the bokkoms to my dad in Mossel bay.

Bend the tree while it is young...

Today was one of those perfect windless days in Cape Town again. The reson why I mention the wind conditions quite frequently on my blog is because Cape Town is infamous for its strong southeasterllies. If you had landed in the Cape today for the first time you would never have believed me. But I have trees as proof, pictures taken at Sea Point after years of wind exposure....

It's Friday, let's go BRAAI...!

Carbon footprints

It's not really tradition in South Africa to decorate your whole house with Xmas lights during the Xmas season. Maybe a Christmas tree with some lights where Santa is suppose to leave the presents is common, but that is basically where it endst. Nowadays more and more people go overboard and decorate their whole house on the outside, and there are one or two neighbourhoods were this has turned into quite an attraction. With the nice summer weather we have over here it is rather a nice outing to go walk around in these neighbourhoods with the carnival atmosphere and the smell of braai hanging in the air. Fortunately I don't live in one of these neighbourhoods where people put Eskom already limited power supply to the test with all the kilowatts they are pulling. Since our year of power shedding we get warnings on our TV channels when the power usage is too high, with reminders to switch off geysers, appliances, etc....but obviously NOT the television sets. I think during december they should mention Xmas lights as well.

Anyway, I have had a look at some of these houses and they really do look good. Well, some of them more than others. In my quiet neighbourhood there are not many of these decorated houses, but my neighbour living 3 houses down from where I live is one of these electricity abusers that leaves carbon footprints bigger than what King Kong can do with beach sandals. To make matters worse, he went to the local newspapers (both of them) and managed to get a picture of his house on both front pages. All of a sudden I feel like a celebrity living on Hollywood Boulevard with cars lining up in my street to get a glimpse of this spectacle. I have no problem with that, but every night I think I have visitors only to be reminded by dozens of other cars that it is only the curious Capetonians coming to take pictures and wanting to be able to say "Oh, I've been there". Well, tonight I went outside to take a picture of the house myself seeing that all the other Capetonians are doing it. I struggled a bit with the flash and settings, but eventually got a snap which will give an idea of what the house looks like. Believe me, seeing it "live"is actually much prettier than the picture, but still. My other neighbour suggested putting up a hot dog stand, but I think putting up a barricade somewhere down the street might be a better idea...But then again, it is Xmas after all and what better time to live and let live than during this festive season.

Sexy milk containers

I was just reading comments by readers of one of the local newspapers giving their opinion on breastfeeding in public. A week or so ago two mothers were asked to leave the Bayside shopping mall after they were breastfeeding their babies on a bench inside the mall. This made front page news in the Tabletalk and needless to say each and everyone who likes to give their opinions in newspaper made sure they had something to say. Obviously you find the pro-public feeders on one side who believes that breastfeeding is as natural as sneezing to the conservatists on the other side who thinks that eating in public should only be allowed once you can use a fork and knife and chew with your mouth closed. What I also found a bit disappointing was that some people made a racial issue out of it saying that "some people have different cultures", which was an obvious referral to the fact that it was black women that were involved. Then you get the people who really gets nasty when they start refering to "malls in Khayalitsha" or the "culture of peeing behind bushes" which has nothing to do with breastfeeding at all. I am not walking around in malls looking for women that are breastfeeding, but I am pretty sure that I have seen white women doing exactly the same. Making this a racial issue is so typical of many white South Africans. Why  can't we leave out the colour of these women and decide what is best for babies when they are hungry, what is acceptable for most people (for heaven's sake, we consider ourselves to be residents of a democratic country) and then decide whether it should be allowed or not? Then, no matter whether you are black or white, you stick to the rules. Apparently there are also no facilities in Bayside mall for breastfeeding, so where does a mother go? Do do we keep our mothers who fork out more than enough money on baby stuff in that same mall to sit at home until their children can eat with a knife and fork and in the mean time let the security people spend their time on sniffing out mothers with hungry babies instead of pickpockets and shoplifters?

One lady mentioned that showing breasts are "too sexual". My word, has she seen the pictures of women in shop windows and in magazines?  I fell in love with a manequin when I was sixteen because she was dressed provocatively with the sexiest body I have seen on a (plastic) woman. I cannot remember falling in love with a woman that was breastfeeding before. This reminds me of an incident that happened on one of the Cape Town beaches some time ago. Topless bathing are becoming more common on Cape Town beaches nowadays. I was actually lying next to a topless bather two days ago at the Langebaan Lagoon, but that's another story. Anyway this sexy woman with her all over sun tan was walking around like it was the most natural thing to do. Being a man I couldn't help evaluating the cup size and level of sagging, but I was rather disappointed when she later picked up her baby form what I first thought was a cooler box and breastfed the little creature with what I would believe after so much time in the sun could be nothing more than sour milk at a very awkward temperature. What a passion killer that was for me. To this lady who thinks it is "too sexual", believe me, seeing two sexual objects turn into milk containers was everything except sexual. Please South Africa, when 9 black women breastfeed in public and only 1 white woman does the same, it does not mean that we have different cultures. It means that there are 90% blacks in South Africa and only 10% whites. I wish I had two breasts and a baby right now,  I would like to see that security guard asking me to leave while my child is crying for food...

It's Friday, let's go BRAAI...!

It's official. Summer is here! Cape Town has been spoiling us with windless days and temperatures crossing the 30 degree mark. I have taken yesterday and today off to share in the fun, and is actually hoping for some wind today. Kite surfing is the name of the game and braaing the best way to end of each day. South Africans are alive. The smell of braai is hanging everywhere in every town and I am making sure that I contribute my share to this "South African smell" as much as I can. I am actually having a braai party tomorrow evening at Shelley Point. Will stuck up some pics afterwards. But here is something you need to know....so let's go braai!

How many can you spot?

How many kites can you spot in this picture? I see about 27.

The Embarrasing Floater

Today was the perfect day for kite surfing. Well for me, almost perfect. I went to the beach after checking my favourite web cam and seeing that kites are being launched one after the other. Although the wind prediction was quite strong, it turned out to be much less than what was predicted, making it perfect for my size 10 kite. (I only have one kite and is thinking that a smaller kite might come in handy for stronger winds). To top it all, the waves were relatively small and the water very flat. Even the temperature was quite acceptable, despite the strong southeastern of the past couple of days.

I had a ball of a time, practising my jibes, my wave surfing and my jumps. All were coming together quite nice. But then it happened, what I always fear most, second to dropping the kite in the water. I lost my board.  I stopped using a leash a while ago after I did a full session without a leash. I broke the fourth one in an unexpected jump. It is dangerous to kite with a leash on. If you get airborne or tea-bagged, your board stays behind in the water and when it gets released from the water, it shoots straight towards you. If the missile hits your head you could be in for some serious troubles. Blood, water, sharks, knocked-out...get the picture? The problem with kiting without a leash is that from time to time you get separated from your board. There is a technique on how to get it back, but it has always been a disaster for me. When you get separated from your board you tend to drift downwind much quicker that what the board does. The physics behind this is very easy to understand....object pulled by a 10 sqm kite compared with small object floating calmly on water less affected by the wind. So, the trick is to use a body dragging technique to pull yourself upwind while the board takes it time to float downwards. The problem with this is that it is ten times easier to explain than to actually perform. Each time you swallow a mouthful of sea water and lose concentration, your kite gets pulled up and you get dragged further down. In the end you are exhausted and not an inch closer to your board, despite all your efforts. If you are in luck, someone else might come to the rescue, grab your board and drop it downwind. This takes some skill as well and can only be executed by the more experienced kite boarders. When there are not many around you are left to your own devices. 

Upwind body drag technique

So, I dropped my board when I stopped to turn around (point A on photo), a couple of meter behind the Sely 1 and about 300 meter from the shore. I had water and suntan lotion in my eye and while I was struggling to release myself from the burning sensation in my eye, I also managed to release myself from my board at the same time. In my effort to paddle back, I lost control of my kite and was lifted a couple of meters further away from my board. I immediately started my body dragging technique but soon realised that I was wasting my time and instead was heading straight for the Sely 1 (point B). At this point someone else saw that I was separated from my board and indicated that he would get it for me while I allowed myself some tricky manoeuvres to steer away from the ship that was slowly approaching. The kind rescuer couldn't get hold of my board, dropped his kite twice in the process but successfully relaunched again. A second and a third kite boarder tried their luck in retrieving my board, but also with limited success. In the meantime I was floating downwind still trying to get back to my board, but at least steering clear from the ship. My board seemed to follow me, so close but yet so far. Only when the fourth guy came to assist, he managed to get hold of my board and took it to the shallower water. I was at point C when I got hold of it again. I got on and went in for a couple of meters before I turned around to make landfall (point D) nearly 30 minutes after this whole ordeal started. Thirty minutes of trying to get hold of my board, wasting energy and wasting time. But I made it out alive and still think it is better to kite without a leash. Much better to lose your board and reputation than losing your head I guess. Despite the wasted time it was still one of my more enjoyable sessions. I still need to work on that upwind body dragging technique, but I will do that when it is required again. I hope that is not going to be soon though. In retrospect this couldv'e been worse...it could've been my kite that was dropped....but ket's not go there right now.

As seen on TV

If you don't understand Afrikaans then this post will mean nothing to you. If you do understand then you will know what the difference is between "toerleier" en "toerlyer". On a program on Kyknet, one of South Africa's Afrikaans channels there is a program called "Op die rug van 'n ysterperd" (On the back of a motorcycle"). It's a program about a couple of guys who rode from South Africa to Tanzania on their motor bikes. At the end of the program they show the credits and instead of "tour leader", they misspelled it and wrote (when translated directly) "tour sufferer". The words are pronounced exactly the same, but has a completely different meaning when spelled incorrectly. I hope at least that the tour leader had some fun as well and wasn't suffering all the time......

Kiteboarding beauties

This is not the reason why I kitesurf, but when you do run into one of these beauties on the beach it might be to your advantage when you at least know the difference between a bow kite and a C-kite, or the difference between kiteboarding and kitesurfing......

Budget Breakfast Review - Farmyard Farmstall

I ventured a bit further north this morning hoping to find a good budget breakfast in Melkbosstrand. I arrived in Melkbos just after 8am and realized that every single restaurant was still closed. I guess this little town just north of Bloubergstrand don't have many early birders. It is one thing I cannot understand from many restaurants. Why do they serve breakfast but only open at 9? I usually get up early and I am sure there are other people too who are morning persons that would like to have an early breakfast before they get on with their day. Anyway, with the lack of restaurants to choose from I went to a restaurant just outside Melkbos called the Farmyard Farmstall. Even they were still closed but they open at 8.30 and it was 8.20, so I decided to stick around.

The place has a very farmyard feel to it. There are chickens walking around and with a name like Farmyard Farmstall you can imagine that they would do everything to give a farm atmosphere. There is only one problem with the location - it's right next to the West Coast Road. So, despite their efforts, the noise from vehicles passing actually makes one a bit uncomfortable after a while. The other thing that irritated me a bit was the flies on my food. I guess this is just seasonal and if you want the farmyard feeling I assume that flies goes with the territory.  Anyway, this was not reason never to go back there.

Bran muffin

Kiddies breakfast

They don't have a budget breakfast. The cheapest breakfast is on the Kiddies Menu and at R29-00 for one egg, a slice of toast, bacon and chips, it is much more than what you would pay for the same amount of food at one of my previous "'cheap" restaurants. OK, you get a small glass of fresh orange juice with it, but it is still not "budget". With no other option I went for the Rooster Breakfast at R48-00. This choice gives you a couple of things you normally won't find in budget breakfasts, but the bran muffin and the orange juice was so small, I would've put that on  the Kiddies Menu. The meal is served on a tin plate, which I have no problem with, but it was cold when I finally started eating. I had to go search for salt and pepper first. The home baked bread is very nice, but the eggs were put on the toast with no butter. I love butter, so I would've liked to have it my preferred way rather.  I just had one bite of the baked beans, I don't like baked beans too much and the 'hash potato" looked more like a scoop of mashed potatoes. But in general the food was not to complain about. For that price I would've expected a bit more though.

This is also a child friendly venue, and there are enough things (jumping caste, jungle gym, animals) to keep the kids busy. So, if you have children and you want to enjoy your breakfast while they chase the chickens or feed the birds, then this is not a bad choice. If it wasn't for the traffic noise, this would've been a very nice setting. And if you are not looking for a cheap breakfast, even better. But, according to my criteria I cannot give this restaurant much more than a 6.

Farmyard Farmstall: 6

Chaplans: 8

Mugg & Bean: 7

Wimpy: 7

Carlucci's: 9

It's Friday, let's go BRAAI...!

Be prepared to play





Getting it up



Brazilian kiting attraction



I sold one of my surfboards to a buddy this week and realized that my interest in kite surfing has completely robbed me from my surfing time. Not that it is really a problem, but I always promised myself that I will surf until the day I cannot carry my board to the beach anymore...and I am still far from that. With my buddy now all excited about learning how to surf, I decided that this would be a good opportunity for me to go catch a few more waves myself. It is that little motivation one needs to face the cold water of the Atlantic in the mornings. What better way to do it with a friend. It still beats getting up for the gym in the morning. Anyway, so I decided that from now on I will be more prepared when I drive down to the beach. Not only will I have my kite surfing gear packed, but also my camera and my surfboard. 



Stunning way to spend the day



So yesterday I decided to take the day off. The weather prediction was a lovely sunny day with no wind. Cape Town does not have many of these days in summer, so what better time to do that. I got into my kombi and "being prepared" I loaded all three the previously mentioned items, hoping that I could at least get to use one of them. My money was on the surfing. As I was driving towards the beach I realized that the wind was starting to pick up. When I got to the beach there weren't much of a swell, but there were already guys (and girls) rigging up their kites. Wow, how nice was it to come prepared. I didn't waste any time and did exactly the same. After minutes I was in the water enjoying a very nice kite session with some other kitesurfers. After losing all feeling in my fingers I decided to get dressed and take some pictures instead. I took a couple but the KFC opposite the road was inviting me to have a "Streetwise Two", which I gladly accepted. I dropped the camera and got something to fill my empty stomach.

Lesson learned - when going to the beach, take all your toys along. You never know what Mother Nature is going to provide you to play with. I was prepared and hadn't it been for having my stuff with me, I could've missed a perfect kite surfing day.

Meastro's on the Beach

If you are looking for a nice relaxed restaurant with a beautiful view over Table Mountain, from a little closer than what you get from Blouberstrand, then let me suggest Maestro's on the Beach. It is situated on Woodbridge Island halfway between Bloubergstrand and the city centre, right on the beach. The owners didn't spend much on the interior design of the restuarant and the entrance has a little foyer which is covered with mirrors that gives it a cheap Hillbrow brothel look, but once you are in the actual restaurant the spectacular view of Table Mountain makes up for it. And the food is good. I had a medium rare sirloin steak and it was done as per my request. I've heard that they have a breakfast buffet for R60 per person, but seeing that it doesn't fall under my "budget" criteria I will leave this breakfast review for another time. The place was rather busy and I am sure that bookings might be essential, especially with the summer holidays starting soon. Go give it a try.

As seen on TV

I was watching a program on National Geographic last night called Dangerous Encounters. I wonder who the jerk was that made this mistake and never thought of correcting it. I guess we all make spelling mistakes (in my case mostly typing mistakes), but on an International TV channel like National Geographic...? These are mistakes more commonly seen on SABC 1, 2 and 3.

AFRICANS ONLY

Budget Breakfast Review - Chaplans

I am starting to think that my review scores should've been based on more specified criteria, with a better scoring system. It was like Carlucci's was setting the standard and now everything is either better or worse than Carlucci's. I discovered a new place which I guess depending on your preferences could be better than Carlucci's. This made me wonder about food critics in general. Even movie critics. Whatever they think is good or bad is in any case just their opinions, so I guess what  I say about the places I visit is also just an opinion. My opinion based on what I want from a breakfast and the location. Anyway, I discovered another restaurant which I suppose is more focused on lunch and dinner, but yet I was quite impressed with their breakfast. Even the setting, depsite the fact that it is situated smack bang in the middle of a shopping center, is not too bad compared to other shopping mall restaurants. At least this restaurant is in a cosy sheltered square inside a relatively small shopping complex called West Coast Village. With a play area inside with no roof cover you won't get that claustrophobic feeling of shopping malls at all, and with a jungle gym where the kids can entertain themselves it makes quite a pleasant area for parents with small kids to have breakfast. If you prefer a Mugg & Bean breakfast you can just move over to the restaurant next door which happens to be a Mugg & Bean.

However, should I have a choice between Mugg & Bean and Chaplans, I would definitely go for Chaplans. The "Kick Start" breakfast at R25 gives you basically the same as most other places in the same price range, but this breakfast is served with chips. Is there anything better than dunking a chip in egg yellow? If chips and egg is not your thing, then I guess you might do better at Carlucci's still, but this breakfast was also very nicely presented, with preserves on the side and the bread in a nice basket. My son kept himself busy on the jungle gym, and even though the view was not that pleasant, at least the food was. The only problem I had with the restaurant was the unfriendly waitress. She was very helpfull but it took me a while to get a smile out of her. The breakfast is R4 more than at Carlucci's, but with the chips I would give it the same score. Unfortunately the view and atmosphere that Carlucci's has is not there, so I will have to give it one point less.

Chaplans: 8
Mugg & Bean: 7
Wimpy: 7
Carlucci's: 9