This picture was taken at the hotel in Paternoster one evening back in 2010, Paternoster is a fishing village on the west coast some 30km from home. It is still a lovely place to visit, there are some really good restaurants there but it has changed enormously since then; many more houses have been built and because it is a popular holiday destination there are hundreds of accommodation places, it becomes pretty crowded in holiday time. We haven't been down there for some time now because there are long Stop/Go roadworks but at least the road is being attended to.
Anyway I digress, it is usually on this kind of occasion (or when we are relaxing together in the spa bath at home with a bottle of bubbly) when road trip plans are formulated. It was on this afternoon over a couple of cold Castles that I suggested a round trip to Hermanus on the south east coast, via Capetown with a return via the Tradouw's Pass, Barrydale and the R62. We would visit with long time friends John and Tina in Hermanus. Janet jumped at the idea, we would go soon.
We took a couple of days leave and left home 06h30 on a Wednesday, it was a cold and foggy day but we didn't let that deter us, the fog would clear soon and the anticipation of spending a few days out on the road made us eager to get going.
In Capetown we had a few things to take care of but by lunchtime we were at Quay Four restaurant at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront.
We both enjoyed a pan of lovely fresh prawns with chips and then it was out along the lousy, busy N2 all the way to Botrivier. Not the best of rides, it is just over 240km altogether and we arrived mid afternoon. We got settled into our accommodation and then met up with John and Tina for a drink and then dinner at a lovely little seafood restaurant in the harbour.
I am an absolute sucker for seafood so I love places like this, we had plenty to talk about because John and I were in the BSAPolice, the Rhodesian Police force together so it was great to sit and chat with them. We had a lovely evening.
The food was outstanding, I had the freshest Yellowtail fillet in ages, that fish is caught right there so you can be sure it's fresh.
The next morning we had a breakfast together and we were on our way. We headed up through Stanford and up the fantastic R326 - R316 to Caledon on the N2 where we had a stop. That R326 and R316 are fantastic biking roads, wide smooth surfaces winding and undulating their way through the golden wheat fields, with occasional views of the river down in verdant valleys with picturesque farm houses. I must ride it again.
We carried on north along the N2 past Swellendam and then turned off away from the traffic onto the incredibly picturesque R324, a winding narrow road that takes you through the little hamlet of Suurbrak and then into the beautiful and rather demanding Tradouw's Pass.
On a previous ride through this pass on a Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 we had a breakdown and Dereck, the owner of the Country Pumpkin in Barrydale where we had booked to stay, rescued us with a trailer. On that occasion he told us of a clear, ice cold water mountain spring into which he had fixed a pipe and I was determined to find it and taste that water, for which purpose I had a couple of glasses and a bottle of Johnny Walker Black label in my topcase.
We sat there for a while enjoying the quiet, only interrupted by an occasional passing vehicle and a couple of delicious whiskies and then it was time to leave before having to find a place to camp (and we didn't have a tent!)
We arrived home late in the afternoon after a truly excellent round trip of some 600km. We have subsequently been back to that magical spring with Frank and Janet, and we did another visit to our friends in Hermanus but I think another one is on the cards. Magical moments like these are only created when traveling by motorbike, I don't think any cagers even know of that spring and I'm not telling.
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