Cederberg 8 Dec 2022

Vryburg – Koster: 275 km

Compared to yesterday today is a short day. But one thing that anybody with some miles in the saddle will know is that a long day with many hours in the saddle needs at least a day of recovery. If not then you start feeling the burn within the first few kilometers. This is especially true if the road is going to be ‘boring’. But a pain in the butt will always be miles better than a day in the office. Well, I suppose it depends on what is causing the pain right?

Delareyville is up first on the way to Koster. We’ve been here before and used it as a stopover on our border patrol road trip in 2021. It is yet another of those sad rundown towns where nothing is maintained. We’re not planning to stop and just drove through. We had breakfast at Kameelboom lodge so we only need to refuel. We plan to stop for coffee at a padstal in Biesiesvlei.

Before reaching Sannieshof we pass Barberspan dam, a well-known holiday resort. It is also a favorite for anglers and bird watchers. Quite a few universities use the site for their research. It is here that we find the abandoned Barberspan railway station and decided that it is worth a visit. Everything is overgrown and there is no visible road to get to the station buildings so we make our own through the overgrowth. It is such a sad sight to see buildings that were once beautiful sandstone structures now vandalized. It is something I cannot understand. These buildings are not stripped to reuse materials but everything is just broken for the sake of it. It reminds me of the abandoned Putsonderwater. The last building used was the school and when it closed the principal/only teacher left a notice that people should please not break the windows. Within days every single window was broken.

If getting to the buildings was interesting getting back to the road is next level. After finding the tracks I decided it was the most sensible and easiest way out. They will cross the road we want to be on at some stage right? I did not bargain on finding switch gear along the way. Riding over them is not an option so changing tracks is the only way. But changing tracks isn’t as easy as it sounds. But we committed and almost buried Putin in the crushed stone ballast on which the tracks are laid. Nothing like the smell of burning rubber in the morning. We made it back to the road with some nervous giggles.

As we pass through Sannieshof we notice the Kontrei Koffie Padstal and decided to go have a look. Just as Willem and his entourage pull in. Willem, as I would learn later, is a life coach originally from Pretoria. He immediately comes over to find out more about Putin. His friend Piet will be very interested to see this so Piet is phoned. “Piet is jy in die dorp? Jy moet nou dadelike Kontrei toe kom en die ding sien.”

We go inside and order some coffee and pecan nut pie. Just as we’re almost done Piet shows up. Willem goes out to greet him and show him the wonder called Putin. This resulted in a very interesting and long UDF (Ural Delay Factor). UDF is what you have to prepare for whenever you go somewhere on a Ural. The chances of somebody striking up a conversation and delaying you are quite good. You meet the nicest people on a Ural (Remember the Honda slogan of the 70/80s?).

Piet is not somebody who sits still. He has restored everything from motorcycles to tractors and he is currently busy with a 1920s Ford Model A. We say our goodbyes and continue towards Biesiesvlei where we want to stop at the padstal we stopped at a year earlier. It is located in the old church hall. Unfortunately, we find it closed. Not sure if it is permanent but this is part of a common pattern where the phenomenon of these little shops next to the road is slowly disappearing.

When we stop in Lichtenburg to refuel Izabel asks if Koster has some decent shops to get food. Sure there is a Choppies is the answer. We ride into Koster just after 2 pm and immediately see the Choppies sign. I think all I can say is that it would have been best to shop in Lichtenburg ;).

Since we are now in one of the provinces we consider as unsafe to camp I booked a B&B the previous night. Garmin directs us to a very suspect area and Izabel just looked at me with a ‘hell no’ look. Seems like the location I entered as a bit off but when we got to the right location it was only marginally better. Oh well this is Koster so you make do with what is available. Tonight our dinner will be Mama Alles. Moroccan Tagine for me and African Stew for Izabel. It is delicious.

Tomorrow we only have 165 km left to get home.