Simon’s Bains passes Tour

(At the end of this trip report is a link to my Youtube video of the trip)

Sunday 2nd October 2022
After many hours in front of my computer planning routes and booking accommodation, finally today my adventure starts.
With day one GPS loaded I left home at dawn (6:15am) for a few chilly hours riding before arriving for breakfast in Barrydale around 9am when the sun started to warm the day up. The Country Pumpkin is a must for a great breakfast and the owners greeted me and we chatted before they supplied me with a Route 62 patch and wished me a safe trip.
Back onto the beautiful R62 for the scenic ride to Zoar and over the stunning Seweweekspoort pass where the temperature quickly soared into the 30s.
A quick stop for a welcome cold drink and chat with the owners at DRC (Dirt Road Café). They finish at 3pm and head back to CT to their proper jobs on Monday. After removing all the lining from my Jacket its back on the gravel and onto Laingsburg for refuelling, and then the last leg to the tiny central Karoo town of Merweville. I arrived nice and early at 2pm with time to explore the town. Truth be told it didn’t take long. It really is a tiny town but with an impressive Church.
Checked in at my Airbnb. Oasis cottage at Cindy’s Cottages. What an absolute delight. A spacious two-bedroom cottage all to myself and the gardens are a labyrinth of walkways with lots of quirky artistic features. Then there’s the outside seating and hammock. So many comfortable options where to relax and soak in the sounds and magical feelings the Karoo fills you with. Bird song and the distant bleating of lambs, just perfect. I didn’t temp fate with the hammock as a quick mental calculation told me it wouldn’t end well for either of us.
Supper is a frozen pizza under the stars. Everything is closed on Sunday night so options were limited.
The time spent on my own, just me and the bike with the spectacular scenery really was a wonderful experience. The mind clears and worries just disappear. I became very aware that inside that helmet I had a big smile on my face most of the way and even broke into song a few times. Perhaps I should be worried about that.

Monday 3rd October 2022
I thought after my first day the riding couldn’t get any better. Guess what, it did!
Left Merweville at 7:30am destination Fraserburg in the Northern Cape on gravel. Unbeknownst to me I would not see another tar road (other than the town streets) for another 320kms!
My journey took me through the magnificent Nuweveld mountains along the Oukloof pass eventually joining up with a gravel road to Fraserburg. After a quick look around Fraserburg and admiring the large church onto Loxton with a little detour through the Amandelhoogte farm and up and back down the Amandelhoogte pass. Nothing much to say about that pass other than I ticked it off the list.
Arrived in Loxton after 100kms. Another small town with the most significant landmark being its church. Quick refreshments and onto the R381 gravel road back into the Western Cape towards Beaufort West where I rest my weary head for the night. Two great passes on this road. The Roseberg pass and the Molteno pass. I have to say the Molteno pass was spectacular. High altitude the pass starts on gravel and then becomes tar as it sweeps down towards Beaufort West. The views are amazing. I get to blow off the dust for the last 30kms before arriving in Beaufort West to refuel and find my Airbnb.
A welcome shower and fish n chips supper before load shedding at 6pm.
I am loving the Karoo and it is treating me and my bike well. Man, machine, and nature in perfect harmony.

Tuesday 4th October 2022
Depart at 7:30am from Beaufort West and straight onto gravel towards De Jagers pass. Continue over this great pass and onwards until the gravel meets the N1 after 100kms. I hate the N1 with just so many trucks to navigate past for 40kms. I pass the three sisters and happily turn off onto the R63 towards Murraysburg. Now I’m on some great riding roads with lush green valleys and towering mountains. I enter the Eastern Cape and continue onto Graaff Reinet with a detour into Camdeboo national park to check out the Valley of Desolation. Awesome views and rock formations. I also see a giant tortoise on the way up to the lookout point.
From Graaff Reinet I head up the N9 and ride the Lootsberg pass up and back down again before turning onto the Owl Route towards Nieu Bethesda where a stunning Airbnb is my place for the night and a walk out to the pub for beers and supper. Another great day’s riding covering just over 400kms, but time seems to fly by.

Wednesday 5th October 2022
This was the day I knew from my research would test my abilities the most and it certainly did that!
The day started as I set off at 7am from Nieu Bethesda and quickly completed the 25kms gravel to the N9 and crossed over to the R61 riding through Craddock to Tarkastad, which was just shy of 200kms. From Tarkastad it was back onto gravel and heading to the formidable Katberg pass with its amazing views.
Now whilst riding high up on the open fields towards the pass I had momentary lapse in concentration. I was so busy looking at the cattle and taking in the scenery rather than watching where I was riding. My front wheel hit the bank to the side of the track and that sent the bike into an instant wobble from which I was unable to react quickly enough to save. The big girl and I parted company and we both ended up looking very undignified laying on our backs. Fortunately, no harm done to either myself or the bike I applied the level one training technique on picking up the bike and we were soon on our way again.
My pride dented and confidence knocked I arrive at the top of the Katberg Pass. To compound my slightly worried state of mind, I see a rusty old sign with the words “Giant Slayer” painted on it right at the start of the pass. Big gulp, but no going back, I cautiously start the decent and apply all the skills learnt from my training sessions. Trust me you would not want to be going down this pass without a certain amount of training and experience under your belt. It’s a very steep rocky pass that can only be negotiated on a bike or 4×4 with high ground clearance. Slow and in control is the only way down. Great steps of rock that I had to find the best line down through. If I mess up the bike is going to drop into a rut from where I could never lift it out and I’m very aware that I’m on my own here. Steadily I make my way down pausing wherever the terrain gives me a chance to catch a breath and survey my next leg of the decent. Slowly but surely, we make it down and the relief I feel is immense. The earlier incident forgotten, and my confidence now sky high I continue down the remainder of the pass which is by no means easy with rutted paths and standing water. All goes well and we come out on the tar road and ride down to Fort Beaufort and onto Grahamstown for the night. I stopped at the Bains Memorial just at the end of the Ecca pass. The Bains men are the reason for my trip so it would have been rude not too.
I’m disappointed at how dirty and rundown Grahamstown looks. Rubbish everywhere and potholes all over the place.
I check into my Airbnb and take a walk out for Fish and Chips before settling again and watching the footie on TV. Its Champions League night and my team are playing.

Thursday 6th October
I depart Grahamstown in fine spirits having stayed up late the night before to watch my team Chelsea thrash AC Milan by 3 goals to none.
Head down to Port Elizabeth in the early morning gloom and mist and then push onto Jeffrey’s Bay for fuel, coffee, and a bacon sandwich. That’s 200kms under my belt and now the sun is breaking through and the temperature a comfortable 20C.
Set off again towards Natures Valley another 140kms along the N2 and arrive at the Tsitsikamma National Forest. I was last here 22 years ago, and it brings back fond memories. Black water tubing down the Storms River.
After some time reminiscing it was off again to seek out and ride the Bloukrans pass. Officially it’s a closed pass but you can still get through on a bike and other than some low hanging trees and the odd rock or two on the pass it’s quite okay to get through. Actually, it’s an incredibly beautiful little pass.
Mission completed on towards Plettenberg Bay where I turn off up towards Uniondale and the Prince Alfred pass. A welcome relief to be back on the gravel after nearly 400kms of tar.
I stop in at Angie’s G Spot for a cool drink and meet two other adventure bike riders John and Gary who I join, and we chat. I tell them about my trip and on mentioning the Katberg pass John tells me he replied to a post from a guy in the Adventure Riders SA Facebook group a few weeks back about the condition of the pass. He is surprised when I tell him that was me. John is from Jeffrey’s Bay and Gary from Robertson. Funny how you can randomly chat with someone on FB and then randomly bump into them. Small world.
After a nice chat they go their way and I continue onto Uniondale where my accommodation awaits. Check in at 3:30pm to a lovely little B&B Huisie ommie Hoek. Beautiful place with old world charm in the perfect location with a shop and pub just across the road. I really did pick some great places to stay.
After a quick shower I head over to the Hungry Ghost pub for a few well deserved beers and a chicken burger and fries for supper.
I did my research before starting this trip so know the story about the young girl who passed away in 1968 when her fiancé drove the car off the Uniondale pass and the subsequent stories of the hitchhiking bride ghost.

Friday 7th October
After a good night’s rest and thankfully without the need to call ghostbusters it’s time to depart Uniondale.
My usual 7am departure back over the Uniondale pass and onto the dirt and the Prince Alfred pass. Today I take the fork down to the right to Knysna. There was a little overnight rain and as the pass descends into the forest concentration is the order of the day. After a careful ride down the pass I arrived in Knysna just before 9am. Over the bridge and a right turn and back onto the dirt again. The first pass is the Phantom pass soon followed by the Seven passes road south of the Outeniqua mountains. 75kms on a mixture of tar and gravel roads that traverse through thick forest, over streams, rivers and across rolling farmlands. An absolute must for the bucket list.
Back onto the N2 to George and a blast through to Mossel Bay for fuel before heading up the R328 towards Oudtshoorn. The time was now 1:30pm so I pulled in at Boerqi Bistro for a welcome chocolate milkshake and bacon and egg toasty.
Feeling revitalised I headed on up past Eight Bells and over the magnificent Robinson’s pass, then take a turn back onto the gravel for the last 45kms to my last night’s accommodation at Rooiberg Lodge. My third visit this year. On route I got to make friends with some very sociable ostriches.
This day was the shortest distance at 327kms but probably the longest in time given the number of passes. I arrived at 3:30pm and must admit that after 6 days riding it was starting to take its toll on my body. I was feeling exhausted.
Rooiberg Lodge is however a great place to recharge, and I enjoyed the best supper of my trip. If you’ve never been to Rooiberg Lodge I can highly recommend it. A stunning place and the most incredible value you’ll find anywhere. Yes, it’s a bit off the beaten track but getting there is all part of the adventure and the scenery on route is beautiful. The staff are also super friendly and Passmore the barman will ensure you are kept well refreshed.

Saturday 8th October
The ride home. I left Rooiberg Lodge at, you guessed, 7am and headed for home. A last stretch of gravel and then over Garcia’s pass onto Riversdale and N2 straight home. I refuelled in Riversdale and stopped for a leg stretch in Riversonderend. Arrived home at exactly midday. My visor was covered in splattered bugs. Seriously I should have stopped and cleaned it but you know how it is when you just want to get back home…
The trip was truly amazing and the memories of all the little places I stayed in or passed through I will treasure forever. The weather could not have been better, and the rain suit remained in its bag the whole week. The bike ran faultlessly and never missed a beat and we got through some rough places puncture free. The total distance over the week was 2980kms.
All in all a great success and time to start planning the next adventure.