There's nothing like the Karoo sky...

Life decided to place my parents in the kingdom of the Karoo where hills outline the vast water mass of the Gariep dam on the backdrop of the crystal clear Karoo sky. I had never imagined that this quaint little town would charm me the way it did.

The cluster of public holidays coupled with some well deserved leave presented us with the opportune time to visit my parents. They had recently moved to the town of Gariep Dam to enjoy their retirement in this pristine Karoo setting. Off course, the bikes were the first thing we packed... my new dual suspension 29er on its first out of town assignment.

The new machine

With the Lion Man MTB race a mere 3 weeks away we planned to put in a total of 200 kms over the four days that we had to our disposal. Due to weather and some “travelling” factors this proved a little enthusiastic, however, the riding that was done was absolutely sublime. Our first ride was in the Gariep Dam Nature Reserve that offers long stretches of dirt roads traversing the rolling hills of the Karoo. Springbok, Kwagga, Black wildebeest are all abundant in the reserve. While on our way up one of the hills we spotted an Aardwolf less than 20 meters from us. Unfortunately he made tracks way before I could reach for the camera. The views in the reserve are stunning, with every turn in the road leading to another part of the Gariep dam against the backdrop of a previously unseen koppie or mountain and a new cloud formation in the bluest sky that I’ve ever seen.  The sky is so clear that you can see the rain showers passing through on the far side of the dam. The one ride in the nature reserve wasn’t enough and we returned later in the week to take this experience in once more.

 Adel face to face wth a Springbok 

Another stunning ride was the Donkerpoort road. This road snakes its way through breathtaking Karoo farm land in a westerly direction towards the oldest settlement in the Free State, Philippolis. Although we didn’t ride all the way to Phillippolis by bike this is very doable and certainly on my bucket list for a next visit to Gariep dam. En route to Phillippolis you’ll pass the old deserted Donkerpoort Station that was in use when the Gariep dam was being built. The cement used to build this massive structure made its way to the building site via this station. The dilapidated ruin now a mere glimpse of what it once was, yet strangely fits in perfectly with its setting... as if it was placed there as an exhibition in the display of Karoo splendour. While on this route we encountered Springboks, Ostriches, Blesbuck and Eagles buoyantly soaring through the crystal clear Karoo sky.

 The Donkerpoort Station 

Due to our time constraints and the fact that we just had to make a second trip to the reserve we didn’t even get to ride all the other routes that we had planned. Mountain biking through the Waschbank Nature Reserve next to the Orange River, putting some distance in the legs by crossing the longest bridge in Africa near Bethulie and even riding the service road that intersects the farm of legendary golfer, Gary Player, are all planned trips that we had to postpone to our next visit. I am, however, convinced that this is but only the tip of the ice berg. With so much open space this must be mountain biking heaven!

Adel on one of the many rolling hills

Our time to head back north via the N1 came too soon and the unexpected way that this forgotten part of our beautiful country had become a part of me had never been as evident as the moment that I had to leave it behind. The five days that we had spent here had left me dumbstruck and in awe of the beauty and majesty of this place. I found it peculiar that up to now the Karoo had only been a place that the N1 passed through en route to Cape Town, yet, not far from this highway laid one of the most special parts of our country. A place that time forgot where the desolate landscape lays against a backdrop of blue and fragments of white as the horizon undulates into the distance. There are many breathtaking sights in this world but there is nothing like the Karoo sky.

Hou by die Blou,

DnA