BCSA - The West Coast, Richtersveld & Namaqualand Travel Guide

Join Kirsten and I as we travel the length of the west coast and explore the backcountry gravel and sand roads, then head inland during the springtime to catch the colourful Namaqualand wildflowers of the Northern Cape and Richtersveld. The rugged west coast of South Africa is raw and unyielding. The weather-pummeled shipwrecks lie strewn along its rocky shores as a reminder of the merciless coastline. The fauna and flora have adapted to its relentless winds and battering ocean tides. route with minimal gravel roads suitable for all vehicles and novice adventure motorcyclists. Let's take a look at day one from Cape Town, hugging the coastline via the West Coast National Park in Langebaan, finishing in the historic west coast village of Paternoster. The West Coast National Park is often overlooked but magnificently beautiful and also showcases houseboat accommodation in the shallow crystal clear waters of the Langebaan Lagoon. 160 kilometers outside of Cape Town lies the historic fishing village of Paternoster, renowned for its quaint west coast architecture and pristine coastline. This little slice of heaven offers a whole host of activities for nature and adventure lovers, as well as those in search of some retail therapy and excellent dining opportunities. Our favorite place to stay in the village is Paternoster Manor, a charming boutique guesthouse a few meters from the beach. With bed and breakfast as well as self-catering options, this colorful venue is a welcoming home away from home establishment, boasting quite arguably the best breakfast offering in the village. Platters of fresh fruit, cheeses and croissants will tease your taste buds before the main affair, which in our case is always the legendary Eggs Benedict. We'd be hard-pressed to name our favorite eatery, however Foerstrand Restaurant deserves a special mention. Slapping on the beach with views of an endless horizon, fishing boats and bright white sand, we just love relaxing over a lazy lunch of excellent well-priced seafood, crisp sauvignon blanc and gorgeous views. For the budget-conscious traveler, there are several accommodation venues dotted along the coastline, offering well-priced lodgings such as the off-the-grid seasheck in the Cape Columbine Nature Reserve, a popular spot for glamping enthusiasts. A further five kilometers down the road, also within the reserve, is the harsh rocky shoreline of Titisbaai, where camping lovers can while away their time hiking, fishing and taking in captivating sunsets and ocean activity. For the next leg of our journey, we traveled up to Eerlands Bay and then inland to Clanwilliam over Pakos Pass to Nibotville in the heart of the wildflower region in the spring of 2021. It's important to note that you need a residence permit to use the Spoornet toll roads between Eerlands Bay and Doering Bay. It's not open to experienced 4x4 drivers, starting in Van Rijnstorp at the Namaqua Lodge, one of the flower region's most visited lodges and the premier Namaqualand flower tour operator. The route then travels towards the coast, joining the southernmost start of the West Coast 4x4 route and eventually at Groenrefeer, joining the Caracal 4x4 Eco route to Horneclepij. It is not recommended that motorcyclists attempt to ride these routes as the long sections of very thick soft sand will be extremely hazardous and there is no immediate medical help. For us on a bike, we took the faster and safer route from Van Rijnstorp. We hit the N7 and blasted our way up to Garris for a quick refuel. Then, 10 kilometers after Garris, we took the road to Horneclepij. The first 20 kilometers is tarred road and then a good gravel road to Horneclepij to our overnight stop at Hornepondokkie Chalets. We're cruising along the tar roads now and we're about to enter the first section of gravel on the way to Horneclepij. These roads are quite hard pack but they can be soft in some areas so generally when I'm quite heavy loaded like we are now, I won't drop the tire pressures too much. I'll probably drop the rear to about 1.8 bars minimum and the front I can take down to about 1.6 obviously because the bike is tubeless. The Yamaha Super Tenere has tubeless tires so I can run much lower pressures without the risk of pinch flats and we've only got about 50 kilometers of gravel to go to Horneclepij. But tomorrow we're heading right the way through the Skilput flower reserve and that can be quite soft as well so I'm going to keep the tires deflated for the whole of tomorrow all the way to Springbach. Because we've been doing a lot of tar I've had the back tire pumped up at three bar but with the heavy weight of a passenger and all our luggage and all the camera equipment I don't want to drop it below below about 1.8. of Horneclepij and it's just delightful. It has all the characteristics of a west coast village which is super exciting for me in that I haven't been on a bike for six months following a span off so it's so lovely to be in the saddle again with Craig. We've stopped outside Sam's restaurant and we're going to have about to eat before we head off to our accommodation at Hornepondokies. Situated a short distance from the beachfront in Horneclepij is the well-established self-catering and camping establishment of Hornepondokies. Offering seven comfortable fully equipped units for small and large groups as well as six well-maintained camping sites Hornepondokies is the perfect spot to make your base while you explore the gorgeous west coast village of Horneclepij. The only restaurant to open this evening is the Roy Spinnekoop which is this delightful little place. I'm going to move around a bit so you can get an idea of the very vibrant colours and interesting decor. Sort of corrugated iron walls brightly painted in green and purple and orange. Primarily a seafood restaurant. I read the reviews on google about this place before we decided to come here. Well we actually had no choice but to come here unless we decided to self-cater and the reviews are really really great. The Aristea was built in 1934 in Scotland and she ran aground on the 4th of July 1945 just south of Horneclepij. The Aristea was a fishing trawler for INJ until it was called into duty in World War II as a mine sweeper. She met her unfortunate end on the rocks outside Horneclepij after her captain drunkenly neglected his duties. From a crew of 24 only one life was lost in this shipwreck. During a strong west coast storm the Jahil sought refuge in Port Nolif but she was refused safe port because there was not an anchor that could hold her. The desperate crew decided to drop anchor in Horneclepij in 2003. The Jahil was a diamond gravel boat and eventually ran aground in the middle of the bay due to strong over Vildeperthoek Pass and Messelspat Pass to join the N7 to Springbach. So that there what you're seeing is what we call the dreaded sand holes or sand patches, sand traps, sand monsters. So basically what happens is the hard pack surface has broken right through and the soft sand has come up. So you get these undulations where you are riding along on a beautiful hard pack road and suddenly wham it's all deep sand and it's soft and it's squirmy. Now the secret to riding these kinds of things safe on a motorcycle is to make sure that your tire pressures are relatively low. Now if you've got tube tires it's always a problem lowering your tire pressures. Tubeless you can go right down. At the moment I'm running the big heavy super 10 array with the passenger and all our heavy camera equipment. I'm running the rear at about 1.3 bars and the front's down to one bar and what that does is it allows the bike to float. It gives it a much broader tire tread and it gives us a much more stable ride. Heavy bikes can do sand but the rider has to also be competent. Now you can see them coming up a long way away because generally they change color from the original road surface. Sometimes the road surface is a light gray and you'll see a sand hole might be red. So these roads are identical to Namibia. You're going to get a lot of this kind of stuff in Namibia. So beautiful long roads like this and you're looking down there and where Kirsten's walking is a massive massive sand trap. Now if you're coming along here at 30 or 40 kilometers an hour this is going to be a big problem for you. You can't ride these roads at 30 and 40 kilometers an hour. You have to be going 70, 80 or 90 so that you've got the momentum to get through these sand tracks. Best thing you can possibly do when you see a sand trap, stand up and keep the power on. So ride the west coast roads with caution and make sure that you're not going too slowly. If you get scared and you start slowing down it's only going to make the bike more and more squirmy. You have to keep the power on and you have to keep looking well ahead for changes in color in the road surface. Situated in Springbok in the northern Cape, a popular stopover for those traveling between South Africa and Namibia is the delightful Mountain View Guesthouse. Offering comfortable accommodation in 13 beautifully styled ensuite rooms, fabulous breakfasts and warm Namaqualand hospitality. Each suite is air-conditioned and offers a mini bar fridge, TV, hair dryer as well as tea and coffee making facilities. Its prime position perched high up on a hilltop offers mountain vistas that can be enjoyed after cooling off in the bright blue swimming pool. Due to the COVID pandemic and very high water levels of the Orange River, the pontoon and border post were still closed at Sedlingsdrift into Namibia and Richtersveld and further east the border at Onsiepkans close to Pofara was still closed in March 2022. But with the heavy rains these areas received in January and February this year, we couldn't resist the opportunity to blast up to Hrabi Falls National Park 314 kilometers east of Springbok to film the spectacle of the mighty Orange River pumping over 3,000 cubic meters of water per second into the gorge.