South Africa, part 2
The ridingisgoodin SouthAfrica,but there'splenty moreto get excitedabout than just hooningaroundon a motorcycle
The ride along the Garden Route comes to a conclusion.
The Garden Route of South Africa tour had started strong. We had visited the Cape of Good Hope, taken in mountain passes of Tarmac and gravel, as well as desert highways and coastal twisties. But it was about to get better still.
After two nights in Oudtshoorn, we were on the move again. And we were heading to the home of South Africa's National Elephant Park in Addo, near Port Elizabeth.
It was a long ride to Addo. We crossed the
Outeniqua Mountains, and pushed through the towns of George and Wilderness (which, by the way, is about as far from the wilderness as can be). Then we took a little detour to the coast via Nature 's Valley through a twisty decline. The sharpness of the bends took some careful negotiating after the fast roads we had spent all morning on. Climbing up from the valley, we took in Bloukrans Pass. The road is officially closed to direct traffic to the new toll road that has replaced it. But it is still passable, although n ature has started to claim
back the land, and most of the way the road is narrow with vegetation pushing in from both sides and grass coming up through the Tarmac . It's perfect for adventure bikes, lovely to ride, and feels like a calm sanctuary, with the wild trees providing a rare bit of shade.
Everywhere we have been so far, no matter how seemingly remote our location has been, there are always people by the side of the road. Some are walking to their destination, others selling fruit, and a fair few hitching for a ride - wherever you go, you are not alone.
Cruising along the coastal (or near-coastal) roads, lined by fields and pine forests with the Tsitsikammaberge Mountains in the horizon, the vista was almost like one you'd find in Scandinavia. If troops of baboons hadn't run across the road every now and again, you could almost imagine that you were riding along the coast of Norway, on the other side of the world.
Eventually we reached Addo, our home for the next two nights. And not a moment too soon - these long, hot days in the saddle take their toll. Clearly well briefed that a hot and bothered motley crew of bikers was arriving, we were greeted at the car park by a very nice man offering us ice-cold beers. It was bliss!
ELEPHANT SAFARI
Day six was the first one when we didn't even touch the bikes. Instead we headed off on safari in the Addo Elephant National Park. As we entered the park, we spotted our first animal almost instantly. A large leopard tortoise was crossing the road just in front of us. For a little while I thought that this might be all we'd see, but soon enough we spotted a small herd of kudus and red hartebeests, both antelopes with impressive horns.
A little further on we saw our first elephants - a
family of six trundling along, minding their own business. We also came across zebras, warthogs and buffalos. It was magical.
But there was still more to come. Under a tree, lazing in the shadows were two male lions. At first we thought that they were sleeping, but after a few