Hoekwil is the kind of village that artists and retreat-seekers find and then try not to tell anyone about. It sits in a fold of green hills on the Seven Passes Road, a few kilometres inland from the Wilderness lakes, where the Garden Route's coastal tourist rush thins out into forest, smallholdings, and cattle grazing under tall trees.
The landscape around it is made of deep, wooded river gorges that the Cape road builder Thomas Bain had to find a way across in the nineteenth century, one after another, which is how the Seven Passes got its name. Hoekwil lies on the plateau between the Kaaimans and Touws gorges, and a short walk or ride from the village will bring you to a lookout over the Kaaimans River gorge, where the winding river and the forest have a shape that people say resembles the outline of Africa. Whether you see the continent or not, the drop into the dark, tea-coloured water is impressive.
For a rider, Hoekwil is a breathing space on a road that rewards slow, attentive riding. The road is narrow, tree-lined, and bendy, with dappled light that makes the surface hard to read, so go gently on entering shade. Gradients are modest between the passes and steeper where the road drops into a gorge. Traffic is mixed: farm vehicles, cyclists, and tourists in hire cars who stop without warning. The surface is generally paved, but patches and rain-washed gravel can appear, and on a damp day the forest floor leaves a greasy film.
There is not much in the way of fuel here, and the sensible plan is to fill the tank in George, about ten kilometres to the north-west, before turning onto the Seven Passes. The village has a handful of cafes, craft shops, and a few farm stalls, usually with good coffee and home baking. The forest is wet, and mist hangs in the trees on cool mornings, with a smell of leaf mould and woodsmoke. Rain can arrive at any time of year on this coast, so keep a waterproof layer within reach.