TRIP REPORT – NAMAQUALAND – NORTHERN CLANWILLIAM - WESTERN BIEDOUW VALLEY – WEST COAST REGION – 25 26 27 AUGUST 2021 Day 1 – Wednesday 25TH August – Outward bound from Cape Town to De Pakhuys Accommodation via Piketberg, Clanwilliam and De Pakhuys Pass:
Leaving at the leisurely hour of 1000 AM, Ralph took a heading of due north via the N7 with a planned stop at Piketberg for a leg stretch and the excellent coffee at Bonjour where he took on a full tank of diesel. With a planned 2 hours ahead to our destination he took to the road again at midday via the Piekenierskloof Pass with its stupendous view to the South-East of the road so recently travelled. Heading towards Citrusdal we stopped for 15 minutes to allow for clearing of an accident scene. Ralph picked up the journey on cruise control (to avoid speeding fines), heading for Clanwilliam with the Olifants River and Clanwilliam Dam on our right.
At Clanwilliam Ralph turned East onto the R364 and climbed the Pakhuys Pas, passing the Louis Leipoldt Gravesite before descending into the valley and turning right onto a short gravel road to arrive at the De Pakhuys accommodation hosted by a very dapper and well-spoken bilingual Mathys, our host for this trip. The cottage was well-appointed with no need for my extra braai grill or various cutlery so often missing at hosted accommodation. In fact, only a pair of scissors was MIA. Power supply was mains and well sorted, offering an opportunity to AC lead-charge the fridge without removing it from Ralph had the need prevailed. Gas hob and oven completed the kitchen set up. Water is potable negating the need to carry extra from town. Cable TV and extra heaters were a welcome addition.
After a quick unpack of his 4 ammo storage boxes, Ralph rumbled slowly along the gravel roads to the Campsites, small farm dam and then we alighted to take a 5 km hike to the small waterfall in the nearby mountains. The campsites were 50% occupied by either families or climber adventure types and mountain cyclists. Jeremy wandered off leaving Andrea and there was 15 minutes of anxious calling and scrambling around as they tried to find each other in the craggy rocks, caves, and undergrowth, not helped by the roar of the tumbling waters and Jeremy’s temporary port side deafness. Having been reunited, Jeremy concluded that he might have dropped his phone somewhere and the walk back in the setting gloom was spent peering at the path in case it had fallen from a pocket. Views were great and the weather a comfortable 24 degrees as the sun dipped below the Pakhuys Pass to the west. The phone, safely tucked away in Ralphs console cubby…
Returning to the Base at De Pakhuys, Ralph was parked up for the night and a fire was lit for lamb chop and boerie braai accompanied by a light salad. The cable TV offered Netflix allowing Andrea and Jeremy to take in another episode of Rake. The cottage was comfortably warm to not need an inside fire so an early night for an early start was pre-empted by lying on the grass outside at the swim pool to take in the milky way and a billion stars of the diamond studded night sky.
Day 2 – Thursday 26TH August – Circular Route exploring Biedouw, Klawer, Van Rhynsdorp, Lutzville, Van Rhyns Pass, Bagdad Café, Nieuwoudtville, Nieuwoudtville Waterfall, Oorlogskloof National Flower Park, Hantam Botanical Gardens, Nieuwoudtville Town, Matjiesfontein Padstal, and return via R364 SE, S and SW:
On a whim a decision was made to head towards Biedouw Valley and the 26 km gravel road to the Biedouw Valley Enjo Campsite. After a scrambled egg, bacon and tomato fry-up Ralph headed off at 0800 due west to the top of a short climb on the R364 in search of the Biedouw Valley turn off. The mist lay heavy and damp with visibility down to 200 meters or less. After a short distance it was realised that it would not be conducive to see flowers for some time and a decision to reverse the well-planned itinerary route was arrived at. Ralph did a narrow 3-point turn in the mist and headed back to the safety of the R364 tar. Turning right onto the R364 with a northerly heading, the tarred section of the R364 ended abruptly with a sharp right turn and a narrow stony gravel road with a sheer unprotected drop-off on the left. One vehicle came past whilst Jeremy and Andrea pondered the situation. The decision to reverse the itinerary was agreed on and Ralph turned his nose back to the South for a run to Klawer whilst the mist cleared.
The R364 gave way to the R363 with a NNW heading as the sun shone though and burned off the mist. Many gravel portions, river crossings and photo stops and a tea stop later, Ralph idled through the little town of Klawer via Elizabethfontein before heading NE for Vanrhynsdorp. Heading towards Vanrhyns Pass Ralph did an emergency stop to make the narrow entrance leading into the quaint theatrical front garden and tea house of the Bagdad Café. Littered with mannequin model stage props wearing an assortment of clothing from nipple revealing negligees to farmer apparel, Andrea and Jeremy took in the ‘stood still in time’ café, roadhouse, outdoor theatre and a welcome bathroom break in very pleasant surroundings. Back on the road again, Ralph picked up pace to an indicated GPS speed of 115 kph and eagerly nosed towards the spectacular Vanrhyns Pass, the 1 in 15 gradient saw Ralph happiest in 3rd gear as he muscled his way up the pass to reveal miles and miles of flat terrain back to the West. The hillside beyond each bend was scattered with damaged vehicle remains and scars of crushed road barriers whose futility at stopping long falls by previous not-so-fortunate souls bore testimony to the steepness of the Pass. Summiting the pass at 825 meters ASL, the vast viewing spectacle continued to the East as Ralph finished a short sprint to Nieuwoudtville.
Just before the dorp Ralph turned left and headed North again for 6 km to take in the majestic Nieuwoudtville Waterfall. A small tidy car park with 8 other vehicles and two locals selling vetkoek led to a short footpath heading towards the Falls. Many photographs and poses later, Andrea and Jeremy took tea in the car park before Ralph headed due south again to Nieuwoudtville dorp and the surrounding Hantam Botanical Gardens and then the Oorlogskloof Reserve. The many empty plots adjacent worn and well-used homes offered a splendour of flowers in neat squares. The decision was made to stop at the Matjiesfontein Padstal and to take the gravel R364 back to De Pakhuys with an estimated travel time of just under 2 hours if the road was forgiving. Leaving the Reserve the in-car camera was hardly settled before the screen focused on the tiny Matjiesfontein Padstal to the right where once again mannequins adorned the front garden… On entering the gloomy, furniture and décor-busy establishment, Andrea and Jeremy were met with 3 generations of a family who looked as if they had been there since the dawn of time. Pleasantries were exchanged in Afrikaans and offers of yet more sticky sugar-coated vetkoek and directions to the (much-needed), ‘uithuis’, followed. A farmhouse so old world, original and outdated as to require a 60-meter walk across a small stream to visit the crapper… gosh it must be a cold and dark trip in the middle of the night Jeremy considered.
Leaving the Padstal, Ralph eagerly averaged 80 on the well-kept gravel road on a heading of South East. The road was generally good, bar short patches of teeth rattling corrugations and hidden shallow dips threatening to squash him down to his bump stops on the rebound. But he pressed on, aware of only 5 other cars for the next 90 minutes of travel. The farms in this area were vast and distant and were our travellers not trusting in Mr. Garmin using Tracks for Africa in the absence of cell phone reception, the time spent alone and without other human contact was both inspiring and a little trepidatious should one have an incident. This area is truly remote as it straddles the WC and NC border crossing back and forth as the road wound its laborious path towards De Pakhys. Dropping gently into a greener valley, the stock turned from goats (likely the only beasts tough enough to thrive out there), to very fat and woolly sheep. But human and dwelling remained notably absent except for a few beaten and long last inhabited stone houses occasionally dotting the landscape. Stock theft ran thorough Jeremy’s mind. With no one around the sheep were ripe for the bagging. Ascending from the valley after 2 hours on the R364 a climb led to a sudden single traffic narrowing and 400-meter unguarded left side drop off descending for a short stretch before climbing again to suddenly pop out at the turn-around spot they had left first thing that morning.
The choice to avoid it that morning turned out to be a wise one and a mental note was made to never attempt that stretch after rains. Treacherous by any name… The road gave way to tar and a quick succession of turns led back to De Pakhuys as the sun disappeared once again behind the Pakhuys Pass range, this time shrouded in cloud and a brisk cold northerly breeze with now imminent threat of the forecasted rain. The cold and imminent threat of rain made for an easy decision to fire up the gas oven and roast the fillet and vegetables whilst catching up with folk back home and doing map planning and routing for the return trip the next day.
Day 3 – Friday 27TH August – Homeward bound from De Pakhuys via more coastal western regions to join up with the western entrance gate of the West Coast National Park, via Graafwater, Sandberg, Redelingshuys, Aurora, Velddrif and Langebaan.
Ralph pulled away after greeting the host at 0900, along with the temperature of 7, the mist was thick and having rained all night the roads leaving the accommodation were flooded. He picked his way through to avoid getting dirty again after the all-night rinsing which had scrubbed off the preceding days dust. Climbing the Pakhuys Pass in 4 degrees the windscreen demister battled to clear the view ahead but the side windows portrayed massive waterfalls tumbling from craggy clefts high in the pass. As they reached the summit Andrea called out ‘sleet’, Jeremy said ‘snow’, ‘snow’ as the north wind blew fluffy flakes and rapidly caked the lookout area with a thin blanket. Ralph indicated 1 degree at the summit lookout whilst photos were taken. Pulling away, the plan was to breakfast at “Thi Art” at the Clanwilliam Cedar Mall, the coffee shop and all-day breakfast are known to them having made this a must do stop whenever passing through Clanwilliam. As always, the Full English and ginormous well-stuffed omelette met all the necessary satisfaction and stood them well for the day’s travel. The breakfast was further enhanced by the northern view back towards Pakhuys, now peak-covered in a good layer of snow. Leaving Clanwilliam and heading SW towards Elands Bay, Ralph galloped along as farmland and scrub turned ever greener heading towards the coast. Flower pockets were few and far between, mainly large swathes of purple punctuated with small patches of taller orange. The run down to Graafwater was on a well-maintained gravel road with the scenery deepening in colour vibrancy in the presence of lots of recent rain.
Just before Elands, they took a turn to the south to cut back East to Redelingshuys. It then became apparent how quickly a fine gravel road can become a real challenge in the presence of recent rains. What followed was a painful, bone jarring, slip-slide, and corrugated rattle of a very slow journey in which only two other vehicles were seen. A farmers bakkie snaking its way from farm to outfield and a Landcruiser travelling like us. After 3 kilometres Jeremy was seriously questioning whether this stretch of road would see them waiting to be pulled out of the ditch at the soft shoulder as Ralph slithered left and right in a losing battle to maintain traction on his highway biased all-terrains which simply clogged with each rotation of the tyre. Stopping to wee (brought on by the incessant rattling and shaking), Ralph’s nose did a particularly nasty left twist and the preceding vehicles track dragged him to the soft shoulder. Jeremy thought they were now stuck, but Ralph pulled away and firmer ground in the middle of the road was used for the stop whilst the pair found respective bushes… Not that anyone else was coming along that road but all the same, propriety prevailed.
Ralph complained bitterly about the abusive road as he clawed his way up each hill whilst battling to maintain forward momentum, his rear wheels spun and his traction control light flashed like a tiny beacon in the dashboard display. He nosed down long slopes with careful use of gears to maintain steering control without losing his tail to the forces of science and gravity. Jeremy worried inwardly that the road would worsen before the end with the realisation that some of the recent descents, would have to be climbed again in reverse order if they were unable to continue. After what seemed like an age of rattle, bounce and slide the road opened onto farm entrances with greater frequency and eventually they spilled out on the main street of Redelingshuys. The first left into Kerk Straat, (natuurlik), revealed yet more mannequins – this time astride bicycles of the Postal Service variety, adorned in colours of blue, red, green and neon orange… A roadside cup of tea, rusks and droe wors, with close map scrutiny to avoid repeating the preceding folly, and the decision was made to take a 3 minute longer journey via R365 and R399 to reach Langebaan rather than risk more greasy mud gravel as had just been experienced.
Redelingshuys to Langebaan was colourful and free flowing with little traffic until entering the small metropolis of Langebaan and threading their way through a dozen roundabouts to reach the entrance of the West Coast NP. On entering the park at 1430 much time to view flowers had been lost due to the slow going earlier. The entry fee of R184.00 paid, a quick stop at the Bird Hide and some flower shots were taken before heading through the park to exit at the SW R27 entrance. Regrettably, having to miss the Postberg portion of the park as the flowers were closing as the sky started to cloud up again for the first time since Clanwilliam.
The R27 was particularly busy with a pay day weekend Friday traffic heading out of town. Many likely last-minute snow seekers considering the Swartberg and Cederberg ranges now covered in snow with more expected. Ralph resorted to his Power overtake button 5 times to dispense with slower truck traffic and they pulled up to an excited Blue and Fat Boy Ginger Job at 1645. Ralph was then quickly unloaded and his fridge items transferred. Connecting to WiFi again their phones buzzed and peeped with incoming streams of missed communication from all and sundry. Worm’s birthday messages queued like a traffic jam as friends, colleagues and family wishes flooded her Inbox.
Summary Aspects:
Total Distance: 1125 KM. 1 x tank 80 litre diesel. 7.11 L/100km.
Mass: – 420kg of 675kg max GVM allowed.
Accommodation: AirBnB. 3 Days, two nights.
Itinerary: Andrea’s Birthday, flower trip, hiking, star gazing, site-seeing, experiencing historical culture and places, remoteness, self-sufficiency, practice for longer and more remote trips.
Weather: Hottest at 25 degrees full sun, coldest 1 degree with snow. Rainfall 12 hours in De Pakhuys area overnight. Wind, occasional gusty with wind chill on second evening. Signal Comms and GPS: No Vodacom signal at De Pakhuys. Intermittent to no coverage on most of the outback roads away from main centres. Tracks for Africa accurate but non-descriptive. Many towns and smaller sites not known by Garmin Mapset. Maps and Trip planned with Google MyMaps tutorials. Huawei failed to connect to any Directions. Internal software Google issue should be resolved with re-load. Paper maps accurate if difficult to read.
Forgotten items: 1 x Coffee filter holder and 1 x face mask. Accommodation missing scissors.
Local Map
