Cape Town · Cederberg Red-Rock Weekend

A 538 km loop from Piketberg

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Why this ride

Dry heat, empty roads and a different planet north of the city. 538 km round from Piketberg - plan on about 10 h 21 of riding. Cederberg pass roads is the high point. It tops out at about 950 m. The passes are the reason to go.

Roadbook

1. Piketberg fuel fuel

   Piketberg sits at the foot of a flat-topped sandstone mountain in the Swartland, the wheat and wine country north of Cape Town, and it is the sort of place most people drive straight past on the N7. That is a pity, because the town has an easy, old-fashioned charm. The name is said to come from the piquet, the military guard post the Dutch East India Company kept here in the eighteenth century, and some of the Cape Dutch buildings date from those years.

   The mountain behind the town rises abruptly from fields of wheat, which turn gold in late spring and are cut in November. Orchards, vineyards and rooibos plantations appear to the north and east, and in August and September the wildflowers of the West Coast, daisies and bulbs in blazing orange and white, spread across the slopes after good winter rain. The air is dry and clear, the sky enormous, and the light turns everything the colour of honey.

   Fuel is easy here. Piketberg has stations and shops, and since the next big town on the N7 is a good distance away, it is an important stop. Cape Town is roughly a hundred and fifty kilometres to the south, and Citrusdal, over the Piekenierskloof Pass to the north, is the gateway to the Cederberg. Many riders going to or from the northern Cape fill up in Piketberg out of habit.

   The riding in the area is mostly straight and fast on the N7, with gentle rises and long views. The more rewarding roads run through the Swartland farmland on quieter routes, with big bends and little traffic. In summer, temperatures can climb above thirty-five degrees, with a strong dry wind, so carry water. In winter, the hills are green, and cold, wet fronts can sweep in off the Atlantic.

   Stop for a coffee and a pastry in the town, look at the old church and the neat streets, and carry on. A small town, a large landscape and a long day ahead make a good combination.

2. Cederberg pass roads pass

   The Cederberg is the wild, rust-red country about three hours north of Cape Town, a mountain range of sandstone that wind and water have carved into arches, pinnacles and overhangs. It lies in the Western Cape, inland from Clanwilliam, and it is protected as a wilderness area. The rocks glow orange at sunset, and the formations have names, such as the Maltese Cross, a tall pillar, and the Wolfberg Arch, a natural bridge. The air is dry and clear, smelling of fynbos and dust, and at night the stars fill the sky in a way that city people rarely see.

   The name comes from the Clanwilliam cedar, a rare conifer that grows only in these mountains and has been much reduced by fire and the demand for timber. Today, the range is better known for rooibos tea, which grows in the sandy soils of the surrounding valleys, and nowhere else in the world on any scale. Local farms harvest the needle-like leaves, and you may see them laid out to dry in the sun. The San people lived here for thousands of years, and left rock paintings in caves and shelters, including those at Stadsaal, which show animals and human figures in red ochre.

   The roads are mostly gravel, and that is part of the appeal. The R364 from Clanwilliam climbs over the Pakhuis Pass, a fine piece of road engineering from the nineteenth century, with views over the valley, and then runs on through the heart of the range. The poet C. Louis Leipoldt, who loved this country, is buried near the top of the pass. The gravel is generally well graded, but corrugations, loose stones and steep drops are common, and a bike needs to be treated with respect. Take it slowly, and give yourself plenty of time.

   Weather is extreme. Summers are very hot and dry, and winters can be cold and wet, with occasional snow on the peaks. Fires are frequent in the fynbos. The best seasons are spring, when the wildflowers cover the plains, and autumn.

   Carry water, food and a repair kit, because help is a long way off. A few farms and camps offer meals and accommodation, but book ahead.

3. Clanwilliam overnight sleep

   Clanwilliam lies in the Olifants River valley, about two hundred kilometres north of Cape Town, at the foot of the Cederberg, a rugged range of orange and red sandstone that rises abruptly from the dry plain. It is a small, sleepy town and a good place to stop for the night, with whitewashed Cape Dutch houses on the old main street, a dam on the river that is popular for sailing and a long tradition of farming, citrus, vegetables and above all rooibos tea. The tea bush grows almost nowhere else in the world except in this region, and the farms around the town process the leaves, which are bruised, left to oxidise and dried in the sun.

   The town was founded in 1808 and named after an Irish earl, father-in-law of the then governor of the Cape, which makes it one of the oldest in the country. The Cederberg itself is famous for its rock formations, with arches, pinnacles and a Maltese cross standing in the desert, and for the San rock paintings found in caves, some thousands of years old. The rare Clanwilliam cedar, a conifer that grows only on the highest slopes of these mountains, gives the range its name.

   For riders, the Cederberg offers scenery that changes by the hour. The N7 north from Cape Town is a straight, fast highway, and beyond Clanwilliam the roads into the mountains, such as the route over the Pakhuis Pass, wind through stunning rock country, though some of the secondary roads are gravel and can be corrugated or loose, so check conditions with locals and take care. Wind can be strong in the valley, and the summer sun is fierce, with temperatures above thirty-five degrees on many days, so start early and carry water.

   Fuel is available in Clanwilliam, a place with several stations and a few shops, and it is wise to fill up here before heading into the mountains, where there is none. In late August and September the wildflowers appear in the valley, a reason to come in spring. Winters are cold at night in the mountains and can bring snow to the peaks.

4. Back to Piketberg fuel finish

   Back to Piketberg fuel closes the day.

Where this sits

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