Dirt-tracking through the Western Cape Karoo

• Nicholas Yell trades SUV for saddle and makes his way from Bot River to Merweville and Kruisrivier

When I started riding road legal scramblers in the early 1980s — on/off road motorcycles, now called adventure motorbikes — you didn’t have to be rich to enjoy the countryside’s dirt roads. Besides helmet, goggles and gloves, one’s luggage and riding outfit were whatever you had in the cupboard: a tog bag or backpack, a pair of old army boots, jeans and a windproof jacket; leather if you were lucky.

Today, expensive, purposemade motorcycles (R300,000 plus are not unusual) with onthe-fly suspension settings, ABS, heated grips and seats, traction control, tubeless knobbly tyres and TFT screens with GPS are the norm. Though many of these machines don’t ever see much gravel, there’s no stopping the go-anywhere appeal these motorcycles offer.

But you still really don’t need more than a basic, well-cared for dual-purpose motorcycle (budget about R50,000 with kit) — plus reasonably deft hands, feet and a healthy respect for the limitations of your skill — to have years of outdoor fun and freedom.

It was on one such machine, a 2004 Kawasaki KLR650 I bought second-hand in 2007, that I set off for Merweville a couple of months ago. This bike has only ever let me down once before, and luckily that was in’ my driveway. The back shock s seals went just before setting off on a travel-writing trip for the now defunct Offroad and Adventure SA.

The other time is today. About 35km from my Bot River cottage, the engine starts to vibrate badly and I know I have to turn around. Luckily, my wingman, Bruce Houghting, is on this journey with me (he’s riding a BMW R1200GS) and I’m able to limp back home and swap my suspect mount for my wife’s 2008 Suzuki DR650, another basic yet very capable dual-purpose motorcycle.

Having wasted a few hours, our plans to ride a circuitous network of dirt tracks to Laingsburg are in tatters. Instead, we grit our teeth and face the boredom of the boring blacktop (OK, so the Hex River Valley is beautiful and brunch at the De Doorns Wimpy helps put a shine on things) to the Koup siding turn-off, 39km east of Laingsburg.

As soon as we feel the welcoming Karoo gravel under our tyres, Bruce and I fist-punch the ice blue sky. After a morning of frustration and heavy truck traffic on the N1, we’re at last on the first dirt track of our journey, and it’s one of my firm favourites. About 82km of good gravel surface with the occasional patch of sand leads us through a region the early Khoi dubbed “ghoup”, meaning caul fat, the lacy network of fat wrapped around the digestive organs of some animals. It’s an apt description for the landscape presents haphazard ribbons of yellow grass that wind around the red-brown earth all the way to the horizon.

Also in the distance are staggered rows of barren flattopped mountains, a tableau that filmmakers and commercials directors have used to mimic the landscapes of Arizona and Nevada. But apart from its stark beauty, with absolutely no traffic and just the gentle thrum of our bikes’ engines in our ears, the ride arms us with meditative mien. This is Zen dirt-tracking at its best, and if you prefer four wheels, ambling along at 60km/h in your sports utility vehicle with the windows open will give you a taste of what I’m on about.

When we reach Merweville about an hour later, we head to the town’s magnificent stone church for the obligatory arrival-cum-sunset shot, and also to consult my notes as to where our digs are.

We find Oasis Cottage in the more hip-hot-and-happening part of town, at the end of a quiet street on the western side of the mostly dry Van der Bylskraal River.

It turns out that Oasis is just one of three artistically decorated cottages set in a large property, complete with labyrinths, an eccentric Irish wolfhound cross called Buster and an on-site manager (Samson) who assists with whatever you need.

In fact, we’d prearranged that Samson purchase a few cold beers for us, and it was these we now chugged around a blazing braai fire. Boerewors, baked beans and beer — quintessential biker fare. Bruce heads home the next morning, and I decide to languish here another day. With a small Karoo town to walk around, interesting characters to meet and a bevy of outdoor beds inviting me to lie down and read in the pleasant winter sun, I’m in no rush to leave.

I also finalise my route for the next day: 40km of dirt track to the tarred R353 between Leeu Gamka and Fraserburg, then 52km of tar to the Kruidfontein siding turn-off (7km south of Leeu-Gamka), 46km on a dirt track to Prince Albert, then over the magnificent Swartberg Pass and finally to the Mill house at Kruisrivier on the Matjiesrivier road, about 60km later.

Setting off on my own the next morning, I realise again why I often enjoy riding alone. It’s just you, your machine and the mind-expanding freedom of Karoo space. Or as one grizzled biker in the Camdeboo town of Aberdeen quipped: “Two wheels, one soul, my bru.”

As I ride through the sea of stubble, punctuated by the occasional koppie and fleeing steenbok, I also recall the words of poet, author and magistrate William Charles Scully (18551943), a great fan of barren spaces. When writer Laurence Green asked him “to reveal the secret of desert solitude”, Scully replied: “Lush greenery and rich valleys may stir the emotions, but the desert arouses the intellect.”

The stoep of the Swartberg Hotel is an ideal lunch stop to fortify myself for the rigours of the eponymous pass that lies ahead. It’s one I’ve done many times before, on two wheels and four. But I never tire of its imposing chasms, its gnarled and angry-looking strata and, of course, the engaging ride along its 24km length which presents precipitous drop-offs, hairpin bends and so many jawdropping views it’ll make your head spin.

About halfway up the pass I’m tempted to take the twohour, 74km there-and-back detour into and out of Gamkaskloof (Die Hel) just to re-experience the exhilarating ride of it. Time, however, is not on my side. After descending the pass, I’m happy to cruise along the part-tar part-gravel track (the Matjiesrivier road) to Kruisrivier guest farm. It’s time to swap the saddle for a comfortable chair on the stoep of the old Millhouse. With a raucous river running past it and a beer in hand, it’s certainly a fair trade, for now.

Travel Notes:

LUSH GREENERY AND RICH VALLEYS MAY STIR THE EMOTIONS, BUT THE DESERT AROUSES THE INTELLECT

Day 1: Worcester to Merweville (Suggested route): Access the Scherpenheuwel Pad to Robertson from the Doornrivier turn-off (20km southeast of Worcester) on the R43. Follow the signs to the Amathunzi Reserve and Robertson. Proceed from Robertson to Ashton, and then Montagu — 79km all told. A couple of kilometres out of Montagu, turn left onto a tar road and take the first dirt track left. Follow it all the way until the T-junction about 70km later. Turn left towards Laingsburg which will be reached after 58km. From here it’s 39km to the Merweville dirt track turn-off (opposite Koup siding) and the town is 82km on. Day’s riding/driving distance (from Worcester): about 350km, about 200km (57%) on dirt track.

Day 2: Merweville to Kruisrivier (Actual route): Merweville to the R353 (39km): travel 45km south to Leeu Gamka, turn right at the N1 and travel around 7km to the Kruidfontein siding turn-off. Cross the railway line and follow the signboards to Prince Albert, 46km on. Head south out of the town and turn right at the Swartberg Pass turn-off 6km out of town. Travel for about 27km before turning right towards Kruisrivier (19km) on the Matjiesrivier road. Day’s riding/driving distance (from Merweville): about 182km, about 120km (31%) on dirt track. The dirt track from Kruisrivier to Calitzdorp is about 30km and from this venerable “Port Capital” back to the N1 at Worcester it’s 259km.

What to see and do along the way: Enjoy breakfast or lunch at Die Boekklub and visit the Englishman’s grave in Merweville. Taste wine and olives on the outskirts of Prince Albert, try one of the many good restaurants or shop at a number of interesting shops. Visit the Cango Caves and taste “port” and other great wines in Calitzdorp.

Where to stay: I stayed at Oasis cottage in Merweville (Leila — 082 851 2086) and the Millhouse just outside Kruisrivier (Sybrand — 084 587 4201).