BLAZING SADDLES
Claire Keeton and Marianne Schwankhart join a 140km bike trail from Colesberg to Hofmeyr
THIS is the story of African farms, of cycling across the immense land of the Great Karoo described by Olive Schreiner without any of the monotony.
Perceptions of the Karoo as a dry, flat plateau with a scattering of koppies were toppled on our threeday cycling trip organised by Great Karoo Cycling, which started near Colesberg and ended near Hofmeyr.
The Karoo is drought-stricken yet on our first day it rained for the first time in nine months. The family farms where we stayed had lawns, trees, vines, herbs, lavender, roses and poppies. Boreholes and tunnelled water from the Orange River scheme keep them green.
Along the way, we met a Zen Buddhist and author, a cordon bleu cook, massage therapist and an ultra-distance cyclist. We visited a remarkable school in the middle of nowhere, started by two women with a passion for education.
The farmers were hospitable, experimental and modern. At Beaconsfield Dairy we tasted cheese made from sheep’s milk.
The 140km Oorlogspoort Trail we followed, mostly along district roads, was fun and flat and many of us now feel motivated to ride the more rugged Sneeuberg Trail, also run by Great Karoo Cycling.
When David Southey, the man behind these trails, first invited Marianne and me to ride one we were keen. Exploring new terrain with the freedom to stop any time is what we like about cycling.
We ride infrequently, so we
expected three days on bikes to be tough, but we had only minor saddle stiffness and left the support vehicle in the dust.
On the eve of the trail, the 13 riders in our group met for the first time at Hanglip Farm, near Colesberg. Among the seven to whom we were introduced were the CEO of news site South Africa The Good News, Steuart Pennington; former Springbok cricketer Ken McEwan; and Kathryn Friend, who looked like Vanessa Redgrave (how many cyclists look elegant in Lycra?).
Our friends from Joburg were Cape Epic rider and HIV scientist Lynn Morris; nephrologist June Fabian; and Franschhoek triathlete Clare Horn, a physiotherapist.
David, an investment broker, found us unruly, observing that his role was like “herding cats”.
Yet the logistics and distances were easy: we rode about 45km the first day, 30km to 50km the second day and the final day’s route also had options of 30km and 40km.
On that first sunset, we went into the veld near Hanglip to look at engravings on the rocks, believed to date back to the Stone Age. Farmer Maeder Osler showed us the carvings and played musical notes on heaps of stones. Back at his farm, we checked our bikes before sitting down to a reading by his brother, Anthony Osler, the author of Stoep Zen and Zen Dust.
His celebration of the people he’s met and places he’s been on Karoo backroads set a positive tone for the trip. Our three-course dinner in this traditional homestead, served by Lesley, was great.
The next day we set out after another fine meal, dismounting along the way to admire an exemplary primary school and clinic set up by Lesley and Clare Barnes-Webb, the executive trustees of the Hantam Community Education Trust. From there, we rode for about two more hours and when the rain came, briefly, we sheltered on the stoep of the Hantam Tennis Club.
Our overnight stop at Rooipoort Guest Farm was nearby and we reached it by lunchtime. Therapist Caroline Bedford came round to offer us professional massages.
Under a cloudy sunset, we walked up to a pretty gorge and river, along a path which the rest of the group explored the next morning. That night, we had kudu droëwors and a hearty braai.
The second day was demanding — cycling into a relentless headwind for about 50km. This forced Marianne, June and me to slipstream, although we didn’t look like a Tour de France peleton.
After crossing the Great Brak River, we arrived at Hillston Farm, where gourmet salads and dessert awaited us. Chef Adrienne Southey runs a catering company from the farm’s kitchen.
“The gals” (as David dubbed us) stayed in a stone cottage down the road for the next two nights, while the others went on to his family farm, Mount Melsetter.
At sunset, we cycled about 10km to Melsetter for a three-course dinner in the spacious homestead. Later we got a lift back to the cottage, where we enjoyed the silence and stars from our stoep.
The final dawn was windless and bright. After coffee and rusks, the group departed from Melsetter along single-track trail towards Temple Farm, about 20km away, where we had an excellent brunch. The trail was absorbing but took its toll in punctures.
Then the group went their separate ways: our gang of five went whitewater rafting on the Brak River and the rest explored the neighbouring farms by bike.
After our final braai on the Brak River, we drove back to Melsetter and Hillston that night, catching a glimpse of springbok and listening to the distant howl of jackals.
The scene evoked a line from Olive Schreiner: “The full African moon poured down its light from the blue sky into the wide, lonely plain.”