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and farms all over the area . This had turned the roads into a buffet of variety . Most of the soft sand had washed to the roadside and left a hard rock like bed of corrugated grooves that ran right across the path . Rocks were exposed and potholes had turned into little dammed up puddles . There were beds of pebbles and grooves cut deeply into the mud by trucks and tractors that had hardened into what felt like single track slots . From the instant we hit the dirt , things became interesting .
For over two hours , we rode every track we could find , passing through the little farming community of Tesselaarsdal . We got lost on farms and ran into a couple of dead ends . We bottomed the Norden a few times and slipped , wiggled , and jumped through stretches of loose rocks . We were two little boys out playing with a new toy and the bike was freaking amazing . Not for a second did I feel uncomfortable or unsafe . Just thrilled . By the time we ran out of dirt roads and had to head down into the town for fuel , we had already covered a full day ’ s riding and were only ten minutes from where we started . With a bike like this , you can play , tour , ride on adventures and even use the beast for runs to the shop . After two hours plus of tough offroad riding , I felt as if I could do it all again and would still be smiling . Later that day , I would eat my words .
A short spin past the new harbor and along the cliff paths to check for whales and we were gone . I had imagined a cool picture of the Husky parked with the ocean behind where a Southern Right whale was breaching or performing one of their other impressive camera-friendly tricks . Sadly , no whales came to play .
We buzzed past the riverside village of Stanford and on towards Gansbaai . It was there that we turned onto gravel once more and headed inland . This is also where the fun stopped .
For the next hour , we bumped and flew over massive potholes and rocks . There was the deepest corrugation I have ever experienced . The bike bottomed out a few times , but just kept ploughing on . There were stretches of sand , strips of mud , beds of smooth round pebbles , deep puddles , a good mix of broken trees scattered all over the road , just to keep life interesting . We bounced , slid , and rocked so much that on arrival at Cape Agulhas , we noticed that our little cooler strapped onto the rear rack , was gone . Luckily , this contained only our dinner for the following day and no beers were lost .
At this point , the rain finally caught us . We made the obligatory photo stop in the drizzle and headed north quickly to where we could see a bit of blue sky . A quick stop at the local hardware to grab a tube of glue , to fix my riding shoes sole that had worked loose and a very quick gulp down of our lunch sandwiches in the parking lot , before rushing off , away from the storm . The lady at the hardware store had also warned that the road to De Hoop nature reserve was rough .
The road turned out to be much lighter than feared and with the wind whipping us around , the rain coming fast and both big Mike and I feeling totally spent , we made it to the park gate .
On paying our park entrance and conservancy fees , the ranger realised that he was talking to a blind guy . And got quite a shock . We of course had to take some time to explain that there was nothing wrong with my hands for holding on , nothing wrong with my other four senses and that I was having fun out riding and exploring with my mate . As we talked , the storm threatened more and when we got away , I was happy to have learned that we would be at our accommodation in less than ten minutes . It was getting cold .
De Hoop Nature Reserve is one of CapeNature ’ s flagship reserves and has a well-deserved reputation as a truly magical wilderness . The reserve lies at the southernmost tip of Africa , where mountains meet the sea and create a fusion between freshwater and marine habitats that support a staggering array of terrestrial and aquatic life . Encompassing roughly 36 000
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