Trip #5 Biedouw Valley
Trip #5 - Biedouw Valley Wegbreek and Flower Trip.
TRIP REPORT – BIEDOUW VALLEY – WESTERN CAPE - INLAND REGION – 18, 19 & 20 August 2023
Departing after lunch from the CBD, Ralph headed out on the N1 before veering north for the N7, with the first break planned for a quick coffee stop at Piketberg. The truck stop boasted some new welded art made of scrap metals with a distinct Afrika Burn theme to the works.
Following a quick water stop Ralph settled at the national speed limit on auto cruise as they left PIketberg and headed for the Citrusdal area and beyond to Clanwilliam where a quick stop was planned for wood before climbing the Pass into the rocking crannies of the Cederberg range with recollections of the snow encountered on their last trip back from this area.
The climb and descent over the Pakhuis Pass along the R364 reminded us of past numerous previous stay overs, through the craggy rock formations surrounding Louis Leipoldt's grave site and on to Engels Mans se Graf (Englishmans Grave), indicating the turn off to the right to follow the gravel road through the Biedouw Valley and on to the Wegbreek accomodation.
The breathtaking summit revealed the beauty of the valley below with its splendid carpets of orange, yellow, blue and purple hues, whilst the descent revealed 3 bat eared foxes scampering down the road ahead.
After 18 kilometers of good gravel road they turned right at the main entrance to Wegbreek and took the rough, sandy, rocky rutted steep descent to cross the Sand River and enter the campsite. After signing in with Hannelie, they made their way to Cabin 4 overlooking a small lilly pond and unpacked.
In the evening following a braai they settled in for an early night due to loadshedding. The absence of internet precluded the usual streaming TV comforts. And reading and emergency lighting became the natural order.
Waking before the sunrise the plan was to explore the waterfall area to allow the sun time to get up over the valley before returning there late morning and then exploring east towards Enjo Farm and then South to Wupperthal. The waterfall marks the general area where the river ceases to flow all year round. Just the first 15 or so kilometres offering water all year round. The Waterfall and rapids run through a deep rocky gorge which was most unexpected in the dry arid surrounds. After the waterfall visit they got back into Ralph and headed out to the Biedouw Valley to time their arrival with the sun being high enough to have coaxed the blossoms to show their full colour and beauty. Arriving at the valley they came across some 20 other vehicles with the same time planning in mind. They sought out a quiet spot and sent Mavicus II up into the blue sky to take some images and videos of the splendour on show. They had a short brunch picnic before exploring other nearby areas to maximise the the photo and video capture of the flowers.
They then decided to head out to explore the Sandriver and Enjo Farm and Campsite areas. The road following the east west route of the Sandriver to Enjo was choppy in places with a surprising amount of traffic visiting the area. The entrance to the campsite and farm, greeted with a small cluster of Quiver Trees and after entering the gate Andrea and Jeremy went to greet the restaurant management and catch up on messages with the use of the complimentary wifi and some delicious farm style scones.
After a welcome break and a perusal of the campsite Ralph turned back to retrace his wheel tracks through the numerous farm gates to return to Biedouw Valley. Here they turned left and headed south to explore the road to Wupperthal via the Kouebergpas, stopping at the first settlement of farm folk before the descent into Wupperthal proper.
After some photos and general exploration of the area, they headed back in the late afternoon sun to return to Biedouw Valley Wegbreek. By now, the road leading to the accommodation was taking a beating from heavy overland vehicles pulling offroad trailers. Jeremy considered that some of the lighter duty AWD sedans were going to struggle to climb back out of Wegbreek to return to the main route.
On returning they decided to explore on foot to the south an area called, The Potholes. This natural rock formation is a few hundred meters square of slab rock leading to the river in which fascinating caves (with San Art), and bubbling underground streams that seem to have no source as they swirl and gurgle their way down the shallow valley to feed the main river via a small tributary.
The next morning they were again greeted by Eskom's inability to provide power, so they packed and after greeting Hannelie, the owner, headed out to Clanwilliam for breakfast at the mall.
After mid morning breakfast and fabulous coffee, they headed south along the N7, via Piketberg again towards home.
Summary Aspects:
Total Distance: 671 KM. 60 litres of diesel. 8.94 L/100km.
Mass: – 415kg of 675kg max GVM allowed.
Accommodation: Cabin 3 Days, two nights.
Itinerary: Short visit to explore the flowers of the Biedouw Valley.
Weather: Hottest at 23 degrees full sun, coldest 9 degrees with frost. Rainfall nil. Wind, light breeze, occasional in the evening.
Signal Comms and GPS: Using GPS working with coordinates due to spotty cellular coverage. No issues. No cell coverage over most of the valley and the accommodation area.
Forgotten items: Forgot to take tea, goldilocks scrubber, charge cable for one phone, salt, pepper, meat spice and personal towels. Accommodation oven didn't work and 1 of the 3 plates was operational. No gas alternative.
Maps
