Cederberg loop: 211 Km

It is weird how your imagination takes you for a wild ride when you can hear things but not see them. During the early morning hours, the horses decided to have a bit of a party and started galloping through the campground. Feeling the ground tremble and hearing the horses snort while you are lying in a flimsy tent conjures up some interesting images. Like the horses not seeing the tent and running over it i.e. running over us. But obviously, they are not stupid and can see this big dome shaped thing and choose to go around it.

One of the offenders of last night

Anyways eventually the sun decided it was time to rise and shine. We sit and watch the horses, the same offenders of earlier that morning, while I have my breakfast oats with apricots, and Izabel her coffee. We contemplate whether to rest or ride, ride it is. The plan is to do a loop around the Cederberg taking in Eselbank and Wupperthal.

Breakfast is served

The first stop would be to visit the Raadsaal caves but we arrive at a closed and locked gate. Not sure why or how but we continue. We turn left at the sign that warns that you’d better use a 4×4. It is perfect riding weather and the scenery is just stunning. We love roads like this. You travel at a snail’s pace due to the technical nature of the road but it makes it so much more enjoyable. We stop at every rock, and there are many, and it is clear that the 32 km to Wupperthal is going to take in the region of two hours. But we are in no hurry.

And the gate is locked

Wagener family graveyard at Matjiesrivier

Does 1×3 count?

All of a sudden a little white house appears in the middle of the road, or rather where you’d expect the road to go. Just as you reach the little house the road kinks around it. There must be a story here so I turn around and go back to talk to the people sitting outside in the shade. The people turned out to be Karen, Dawid, and Titus. Karen just had a baby 3 months earlier and is now living in this little house with Dawid, her uncle, and Titus, who is also family but some sort of an enigma, the strong silent type.

In the distance a house in the middle of the road

Karen, Dawid, and Titus

None of them could tell me why the little house is in the middle of where the road should be, or why the road is where the little house should be but they all agree that somebody smoked their socks. The family has lived here for many generations and currently, there are 3 generations living there. The idyllic setting of this little house proves that we need to be careful about what we wish. They go to sleep with the most amazing views and get up to those same views but it comes at a cost. Like Dawid (he is 63) said – ‘Dit lekker maar dis hard’. They have none of the things we take for granted such as electricity and running water. They make do with what they can get and live hand to mouth.

We say our goodbyes and head to Eselbank. Again one of those small little hamlets that make you think, Why? It seems like every little house wants to tell a story.

We cross the Eselbank pass and stop in Wupperthal to get something to snack on. Unfortunately many things have not yet been rebuilt or returned to normal after the fire that devastated the community in 2018. All we can get is some chips and cold drinks at Oom Woeka se winkel.

Next up is Kouberg and Hoek se Berg passes before we join the R364 to Clanwilliam. We stop for lunch just outside Clanwilliam at the Velskoendraai Padstal.

We cross over the Kriedouwkloof, Uitkyk and Kromrivier passes to get back to our beds for the night. We’ve had an amazing stay and tomorrow we pack up and head to Dwarskersbos on the west coast.