ON THE ROUTE: UNIONDALE
This quaint Klein Karoo village is synonymous with cycling thanks to the quarter-century-old Karoo2Coast bike race that starts in the town and finishes in Knysna. You’ ll ride past its historical buildings, dating from the mid-1840s and still lovingly maintained, and may catch a glimpse of one of the British forts built to protect the town during the Anglo- Boer War at the turn of the 20th
century. In the 21st century, the town is known for tourism forays off-thebeaten-track, serving as a gateway to cycling, birding and 4x4 adventures.
It’ s also home to an eerie tale. Legend has it that in 1973, a motorist stopped to pick up a female hitchhiker( bearing a resemblance to a young woman who perished in a car crash in 1968) on the road between
Uniondale and Willowmore. The Uniondale Tourism website reports,“ After travelling a short distance, she disappeared( from the man’ s car). The distressed young man reported the incident to the local police, who offered to follow him to the site of the incident in another vehicle. Just outside Uniondale, the passenger door of the young man’ s vehicle opened and closed, as if someone had just got out. He stopped immediately and consulted with the whitefaced policeman, who had seen the door open and close without any movement from the young man.”
Since then, many similar stories have been reported by travellers. These reports all mention a female hitchhiker who suddenly disappears after getting into the car, sometimes accompanied by laughter and a sudden drop in temperature.
FINISH TOWN: WILLOWMORE
Founded in 1874, Willowmore began life as a trading post on the farm The Willows. Some say it was named after William Joseph Moore, who owned the land, while others prefer the more romantic version, that a farmer combined his wife’ s maiden name, Moore, with the willow tree near their home. Either way, the town’ s name hints at both roots and relationships, something the Karoo seems to specialise in.
Farming has long been the backbone of the area, and since the late 1900s, mohair has taken centre stage, with Willowmore becoming one of the world’ s top producers. The surrounding plains are home to Angora goats, whose silky fibre ends up in high-end fashion houses far from the dusty gravel roads you’ ll be riding. It’ s a working town with character, history and a surprisingly soft side. Adding to that character is the finish location at the Royal Hotel. At over 100 years old, if these walls could talk, they would have many stories to tell!
From the Royal Hotel, riders will be whisked away by shuttle to Graaff Reinet, the overnight venue for stage 2.
35 NEDBANK GRAVEL BURN