Motorcycle Tours South Africa- July Newsletter

Getting back on a motorcycle- it aint always easy
I hadn’t ridden for 2 months, so when I was in Cape town this last week- I felt the urge to hire a bike and just Explore. I went to fetch one of our bikes at the V & A Waterfront. At first I felt really nervous. Cars were everywhere, a taxi pulled out in front of me and I had to use the trusty ABS- but slowly as I rode out of town, the traffic died down and I once again felt the familiar feeling of being one with the motorcycle.

Exploring the West Coast of Cape Town
The plan was to take a drive up into the lesser known part of the Cape- the West Coast. This area stretches over 400km to the north and has its own unique flavor. There are quaint fishing villages, miles of deserted beaches and wine, citrus and tea farms. The people have their own distinct flavor too. They form a mixture of Cape colored people, Afrikaans farmers and San/bushmen. They all speak Afrikaans with a colorful accent….This area is perfect for motorcycling. Miles and miles of unexplored roads stretched out before me.

Visiting the Bushman (San) Museum
I headed North out of Cape Town on the R27. About 40 minutes into my journey I saw a sign to the Bushmen village - !Khwa ttu. The museum is right on top of a steep hill. I rode my motorcycle all the way to the top and enjoyed views of the farmlands below.

!Khwa ttu is community based project sponsored by s Swedish company. Their aim is to show visitors how Bushmen live in modern day life. Baba, a Bushman(San) lady working at the museum explained that many tourists are disappointed to not see san people walk around in little leather loin cloths, sporting spears and bow’ n arrows- but she said that this is not representative of their modern life. Instead the San Village aims to show the day to day lives of the San community: They go to school , they work, they live normal lives, but many of them have still have the knowledge of nature that has been passed down from older generations.

At the village you can go for guided walks with bushmen who will show you medicinal plants and tell you a bit more about living off the land. This place was really authentic and really empowering to the local bushmen.

A Friendly Bushmen- he works as a gate man in the mornings and attends school in the afternoon

Relaxing on the beach in Langebaan
Back on the road I followed the turn off to a town called Langebaan set on a lagoon. I worked my motorcycle towards the ocean, scooted over a little bit of thick sand and parked my bike right on the beach. The Water was a beautiful milky blue colour. I lay back and enjoyed the crisp sunlight of the winter morning.

I parked my bike right on the Langebaan beach

Buying fresh bread in Paternoster
Next up on my journey was the little seaside town of Paternoster. As I travelled over the hill leading into town I was in awe of its beauty. All the houses had white washed walls, blue roofs and stunning sea views. I stopped at a little shop called the Partenoster Winkel and bought the most divine fresh bread I have ever tasted.

It was time to head back to Cape Town-

The Paternoster Winkel & the Beautiful white washed houses of the town

Driving Champans Peak- one of the most beautiful mountain passes in the world
I woke up early the next day to explore all that Cape Town has to offer. I made my way past the beautiful 12 Apostle Mountains to Hout Bay, start of the famous Chapmans peak road, a road literally cut into the side of the mountain. As my bike took me over the beautiful twisting passes, I was awe struck by views of sheer mountain cliffs dropping into the huge ocean below.

The Chapmans Peak Road

Watching penguins play on the beach
In Simons Town I stopped to laugh at the jackass penguins waddling around on Boulders beach. A group of young ones got up and went for a surf- while the moms sat on top of their HUGE fluffy babies back at the nests.

Penguins enjoying a swim at Boulders Beach

Arriving at Cape Point-
My last stop was the Cape Point the most South Westerly point of Africa. Here you can actually ride your bike through the Nature Reserve. I had to watch out for baboons that kept crossing the road right in front of me. Once I got to the Point I decided to take a walk up to the lighthouse. The hike was tough work, but the views of Cape Point below blew my mind.

Panoramic view of Cape Point

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