Cederberg Mountain Weekend
A 346 km loop
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Why this ride
Leave the city behind and spend the day on roads with texture. A 346 km loop that starts and ends near Stellenbosch, about 6 h 17 of riding. On the way it passes Moorreesburg, near Atlantis and Constantia. The climb of the day is Retreat.
Roadbook
- Fuel stop near Stellenbosch
fuel
Stellenbosch is the second-oldest European settlement in South Africa, founded in 1679 by the governor Simon van der Stel, who named it after himself and his wife's family, and it has the look of a town that has been carefully looked after. Oak trees line the streets, white Cape Dutch houses with curved gables stand behind them, and the mountains rise on every side, purple at dusk. It is also a university town, home to the Afrikaans-speaking Stellenbosch University, which gives the centre a young, lively atmosphere.
The wine country surrounds it, and the roads out are among the loveliest in the Western Cape. Head east on the R310 up the Helshoogte Pass toward Franschhoek, a village founded by French Huguenot refugees in the late seventeenth century, and the road climbs through vineyards and pine plantations, with views over the valley as it twists around bends. Other options include the Jonkershoek valley, a quiet dead-end valley full of fynbos, and the long loop over Sir Lowry's Pass to the coast. Traffic can be heavy on weekends and in the harvest season, and the Cape's winter, from June to August, is cold and wet, so spring and autumn are best.
The nearby mountains are part of the Cape Floral Region, a World Heritage site that covers a tiny fraction of Africa and contains an astonishing share of its plant species. Fynbos, the heathland of proteas, ericas and restios, grows on the poor sandy soils and is bright with flowers in the late winter and spring. Baboons live on the slopes, and you may meet them on the passes, where they are wise to steal food from open bike luggage. Wine is the other great crop. The Cape's Mediterranean climate suits grapes, with Pinotage, a South African cross of Pinot Noir and Cinsaut, as the signature red, and Chenin Blanc as the pride of the whites. Many estates offer tastings, though a motorcyclist should obviously treat them with great caution.
Practical matters are easy, and the town has fuel stations, repair shops and every kind of lodging. Drive carefully through the town centre, where students, cyclists and delivery vans share narrow streets, and park in guarded areas. Paarl, farther north-east, and Kraaifontein, close to Cape Town, are the bigger towns nearby. Take sun protection in summer, because the valley can be hot, and lunch at a vineyard restaurant is a wonderful way to spend a long afternoon.
- Near Moorreesburg, on the way back
swim
North of Cape Town, the Swartland stretches out in long, low waves of wheat, golden in early summer and green in winter, broken by farmsteads, gum trees and the occasional rocky hill. Moorreesburg, about ten kilometres from the point, is one of the main towns of this wheat belt, and it has a small museum devoted to the wheat industry, a modest but fitting tribute to the crop that shaped the region.
The name Swartland, black land, is thought to come from the renosterbos, a native shrub that turns dark grey after rain, giving the hills a dark colour before they were ploughed. The region was settled by Dutch farmers in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, and it has been a breadbasket for the Cape ever since. More recently, the Swartland has become known for its wines, particularly bold Chenin Blancs and Rhône-style reds, made by a new generation of winemakers around the villages of Riebeek-Kasteel and Malmesbury.
Being honest about the swimming: the Swartland is dry farming country, and natural swimming spots are few. The Berg River flows to the east, and farm dams dot the landscape, but most are private and some are unsafe. If you want a proper swim, the West Coast beaches, at Yzerfontein or Langebaan, are within reach, though the Atlantic here is cold, fed by the Benguela Current, and many people find the sheltered Langebaan Lagoon more comfortable.
On the way back to Cape Town from the Cederberg, the N7 highway runs straight and fast through the Swartland, with long views and little shade. It can be windy, and in summer the heat can be intense. In late winter and spring, from about August to September, the fields and verges come alive with wildflowers. Moorreesburg and Malmesbury have fuel, supermarkets and farm stalls, which are a good place to buy rusks, biltong and cold drinks.
- Food stop near Atlantis
food
A break here at 146 km.
- Constantia
photo
Constantia is where wine began in South Africa, and it still has the air of a place that knows it. The valley lies on the eastern side of the Table Mountain chain, sheltered from the Atlantic, with old oak avenues, whitewashed Cape Dutch farmhouses and vineyards climbing toward the steep slopes of the Constantiaberg. It is one of Cape Town's leafiest and wealthiest suburbs, but the farms are open to visitors and the roads around it are some of the most beautiful in the city.
The story starts with Simon van der Stel, the Dutch East India Company governor, who was granted the land in 1685 and built Groot Constantia, whose gabled manor house is now a museum. A century later the farm's sweet wine, Vin de Constance, was famous across Europe: Napoleon had it shipped to him in exile on St Helena, and Jane Austen mentions Constantia wine in Sense and Sensibility as a cure for a broken heart. The style was revived in modern times and you can taste it today, along with the region's sauvignon blanc, which loves the cool breezes from False Bay.
For riders, the best road begins at the top of the valley. Constantia Nek is the saddle between the mountains, and the road drops from it through forest and down to Hout Bay, which leads to Chapman's Peak Drive, the toll road cut into the cliffs above the Atlantic. Rhodes Drive runs the other way, under trees along the slope past Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden to Newlands. Both are twisty, shaded and slow enough to keep you honest, with cyclists and walkers on weekends. For the longer rides east, to Clarence Drive, the winelands or the passes beyond, you leave on the M3 and the N2, which are busy but quick.
The weather is a factor. In summer the southeaster, the Cape Doctor, can blow ferociously across the Cape Flats and the N2, while winter brings rain and the mountains catch the clouds. Spring and autumn are lovely, with green vines and long, clear light.
Constantia has shopping centres with fuel, cafes and supermarkets, and the wine farms have restaurants, though booking is often necessary at the popular ones. Taste with discipline: South Africa enforces drink-driving limits and the roads out of the valley are not the place for a heavy head.
- Near Constantia
finish
Hout Bay sits in a deep green bowl on the Atlantic side of the Cape Peninsula, a short hop over the mountains from Constantia, and this point lies in that valley or on the slopes above it. Steep peaks surround it on three sides: the Sentinel guarding the harbour mouth, the Karbonkelberg to the west and the long ridge of Table Mountain's back table to the east. The fishing harbour, the beach and the village spread out along the valley floor.
The harbour is still a working one, with fishing boats, a fish market and stalls selling snoek, the local fish, as well as boats taking visitors to see the Cape fur seals on Duiker Island, just off the coast. The beach is broad and pretty, but the water is cold, fed by the Benguela Current, and swimming here is bracing even in summer. In the forests and on the slopes above the village, tracks lead up toward the peaks, with views out over the ocean.
The famous road here is Chapman's Peak Drive, a toll road cut into the cliffs between Hout Bay and Noordhoek, with tight bends, rock overhangs and sheer drops to the sea. It is one of the most spectacular coast roads in the world, and is sometimes closed because of rockfall or bad weather, so check before you go. The road over Constantia Nek, the saddle between Hout Bay and Constantia, climbs through forest on a series of curves, offering an alternative route into the city's southern suburbs.
The rides from here head north and east to some of South Africa's most famous roads. The Cederberg ride goes north up the N7 to a wilderness of red sandstone, rock art and rooibos tea farms around Clanwilliam. The Route 62 and Swartberg Pass ride heads east through the Little Karoo, the semi-desert of ostrich farms and wine towns, to the Swartberg Pass, a gravel road built in the late nineteenth century by the road engineer Thomas Bain, with dramatic views over the mountains. Both are long journeys, demanding preparation and plenty of time.
Hout Bay has fuel, shops, cafés and restaurants, and the harbour has fish and chips with a view. The weather is changeable: the southeaster can blow ferociously in summer, and winter brings rain. Start early, check the forecast and enjoy the view of the bay from the road as you leave.
- Retreat
scenic
Retreat sits on the flat land between the mountains of the Cape Peninsula and the sandy plains that run down to False Bay, a busy, working suburb on Main Road and the railway line south of the city. It is no beauty spot, but it lies right at the foot of some of the finest short rides in Cape Town, and its petrol stations and shops are useful when you are about to climb into the hills or head out along the coast.
The road that makes Retreat worth knowing is Ou Kaapse Weg, the M64, which starts in nearby Tokai and climbs steeply over the mountains to Noordhoek and the Atlantic side. It is a proper mountain road, with long sweepers, tight bends near the top and wide views back over the southern suburbs and False Bay. At the summit you ride through the Silvermine section of Table Mountain National Park, with fynbos on every side, and the descent to Noordhoek reveals the long white beach of Long Beach and the cliffs of Chapman's Peak. The road is popular, policed and occasionally closed for fires or accidents, so ride it with respect.
The other good option is Boyes Drive, which hangs on the mountainside above Muizenberg and Kalk Bay, with False Bay below, surfers in the water and, in winter and spring, the chance of whales offshore. Muizenberg itself, with its colourful beach huts, was where Cecil Rhodes had his cottage, and the coast road south leads through Kalk Bay, a fishing harbour with good fish and chips, to Simon's Town and the penguins at Boulders.
Nature here is fynbos country, part of the Cape Floral Kingdom, the smallest and richest of the world's plant kingdoms, with proteas, ericas and restios that flower at different times of year. Tokai Forest, near Retreat, has old plantations and walking trails, and the Steenberg and Constantia wine farms are just to the west.
The weather matters. Summer brings the southeaster, which can blow riders around on the flats and over Ou Kaapse Weg, while winter fronts bring rain and low cloud on the mountains. For the long rides to the Cederberg or Clarence Drive, you head out onto the M5 and the N2 or N7. Retreat has fuel and supermarkets, which makes it a sensible place to fill the tank and grab water before the long road out.
- Retreat
pass
You top out here; the road stops climbing.
- Back to Cederberg
finish
Stellenbosch is the second oldest town in South Africa, founded in 1679, and the heart of the Cape winelands, and this start and finish lies on its western edge, on the way to the Helderberg and Somerset West. The old town has oak trees, whitewashed Cape Dutch buildings and a university with a large student population, and the surrounding hills are covered in vineyards. The grapes grown here, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinotage and Chenin Blanc among them, have made the district famous, and many estates have tasting rooms and restaurants.
The Cederberg, however, is far away, a wilderness about two hundred kilometres to the north, and the road there is a journey into a different landscape. The mountains are a rugged range of orange-red sandstone, shaped by wind and water into arches, pinnacles and caves, including the Wolfberg Cracks and the Maltese Cross. The rock art of the San people is preserved in shelters, some many thousands of years old, showing animals and human figures. The Cederberg is the home of rooibos tea, grown on the slopes and harvested by hand, and the town of Clanwilliam is its centre. The Clanwilliam cedar, the tree that gives the range its name, is now rare and survives in a few high places.
Riding in the Cederberg means mountain passes and gravel. The Pakhuis Pass, near Clanwilliam, is a good tarmac road that climbs through rock formations, and beyond it, many tracks are unsealed, with corrugations and loose sand. Summer is very hot, with temperatures often above forty degrees in the valleys, while winter brings snow on the peaks and cold nights. Spring, from August to October, has wildflowers, and autumn is mild. Clear nights give extraordinary stars.
Fuel is easy near the start, with stations around Stellenbosch, Somerset West and Kraaifontein, the larger towns nearby. In the north, stations are in Citrusdal and Clanwilliam, but nothing lies in the mountains between, so fill the tank and carry water. Mobile coverage fades away from the towns, so tell someone your plans.
Stop at a farm stall on the way for rusks and biltong, and enjoy the sense of the country opening out as the vineyards are left behind.