Zandvlakte tot Uitspan

It gets cold quickly here in the Baviaanskloof under the shadow of the tortured rock of the fold mountains. At Uitspan, the ladies are playing pool and the men are preparing the braai to barbeque some pieces of meat and rosterbrood while I try to recall the beauty of our surroundings in words, impossible.

It is not easy to get lost here if you stay on the single road through the Baviaans but somehow we lost Magda on the short hop between Zandvlakte and Uitspan. Magda rode ahead while Marlene and I rode slowly enjoying the scenery and stopping at the roadside stalls. Magda had turned around and somehow drove past us without seeing us. She then ran out of petrol and was stuck on the side of the road while we continued on thinking she was still in front of us. After a while we started to get worried and sent out search parties on the single road hoping not to find her down a cliff. In the meanwhile the farmer from Zandvlakte, Pieter, found Magda and took her back to his farm for petrol.

Finally we were all reunited and back on the only road through the Baviaanskloof. They say in Afrikaans here that the Baviaanskloof is hemel op aarde langs 'n slegterige pad (Heaven on earth long side a dreadful road). It is beautiful here with the majestic tortured mountains, if you have a 4x4 or a Vespa to get through. And the stars, wow, I haven't been under so many stars for a long time. In a way I feel it is a good place to get away from it all. I can strongly recommend the Baviaanskloof as a place to stay in at least once in your life.

The stunning toughest part is now behind us and tomorrow we will start the long trek back north.