capediver

There are many trails and roads in the region that will be out of reach for a long time after this! Seweweekspoort also closed.

I'm reading that a chopper is being used to evacuate people from BoPlaas during this last deluge.... https://www.facebook.com/groups/gamkaskloof/permalink/26988077200821903/

There are 2 ways into the Gamkaskloof Valley..Die Hel....the more traditional one is via the P1722 or Otto Du Plessis Road, a gravel road that starts at the top of the Swartberg Pass...4 x 4 territory....and taking you down to the floor of the valley via the Eland's Pass... The other way in is the original route into the valley...via DIE LEER, of THE LADDER!! When is was discovered and subsequent settled by a handful of a hardy farmers in the 1830's, the only access to Die Hel was a steep donkey trail called “Die Leer” (The Ladder). They used it to get supplies in and their crops out....steep, winding and full of rocks, it's the more challenging way of getting in or out of the valley...The Ladder is also on the route of the Freedom Trail, a 2000km cycling challenge across South Africa and competitors have to go UP the Ladder to get out! On this occasion, I was going down, coming from Seweweekspoort in the West and fully loaded for a 5 day self-support bikepacking tour of the area....take a look!!

Ja, I'm a bit divided on the Pinion...I have seen reports that the resistance on the drive at low speeds typical of bikepacking is noticeable...not many rigs like this doing the Tour Divide with them...3% last year, majority were SRAM and 50-50 electronic vs mechanical...Classified Hubs are another but again big issues with durability...Rohloff..I don't know enough about them...in any event all these systems are HUGE $$$

So here's the gear review...again, I overpacked...food and clothing, but THIS time, it paid off....I had pre-arranged meals at Op-Die-Plaas, and Fonteinplaas and Kobus-se-Gat have restuarants...but still I packed to the max...(have-big-bags, will-fill-them syndrome) to about 40kg all in bike included....there's a lot of water as well, up to 8L...I've learned to take as much water as I can possibly pack...3 bottles, 1 x 3L Adipura Frame Bag bladder and a 1L hipster bag...plus a spare 3L bladder...1.5L is a dedicated emergency ration which I do not touch unless it gets real bad...So I ran short on the last day stuck pu the valley and was given soem supplies my Abraham and Maria and then re-stocked at Fonteinplaas and wne tall out with a fully loaded Roosterkoek at Kobus-se-Gat...so I don't have any guilt about overpacking! Everything worked extremely well...very chuffed with the Adipura bags especially the large Expedition Full Frame Bag, to which I made some immediate modifications ...(ADIPURA, listen up!)...the Columbia Titanium Whistler outer shell was great in the rain...warm and dry!...The Durston X-Dome 2...a paleis man, I'm sure my bike can fit inside with me! Oh and thanks to @U1Nanimous for his advice on the 2 x 11 spd GRX 10 - 50 KMC Conversion. Worked extremely well!

This...nice bike!!!!!

This is a "short" recap of the route I eventually took...slightly different to the original plan and despite getting trapped by a flooded causeway, thoroughly enjoyable!

Day 8, final day...starting early and grinding the last 15kms to the Swartberg Pass, stopping for chocolate cake at the Toll House near the Swartberg Pass summit, howling winds, reveling in the sudden exposure to more than just a few people after 8 days on the road! It really was downhill from then, after more coffee and roosterkoek at Kobus Se Gat, back to base in Calitzdorp and time for reflection...what an experience! Total Distance: 249km's includes a few runs up and down to check the river levels! Total Ascent: 4,897m Highest Elevation: 1603m (Swartberg Pass) The original plan was to turn left at the Swartberg Pass T-Junction and drop into Prince Albert to visit Arno at PA Cycles and stay with an old dive mate, Howard @ Karoo Views....sorry guys...so that's still going to have to be done!! Thanks for accommodating me, Kevin and Colleen @ Gasteria Grange, Fritz and Jonel @ Op-Die-Plaas, Francois, Abraham, Maria, Piet and Owen @ BoPlaas Cottages, Piet and Marinette @ Fonteinplaas, and those I met on the road as well as the rowdy the gang of riders on tour from JHB at Kobus Se Gat! I'll post a gear review and denouement later! Lekka!

So I'm looking at 2, one looping out of Springbok over to Kleinsee along the R355, down a little to Rooiklippes Reserve, then inland again and crossing the N7 then back up to SBok Another is a simple loop starting at Hondeklip, then N along the coast road to Kleinsee back inland a little along the R355 then turning off and heading S again thru the Namaqua Natl Park Sections of these loops can be found in the SAND series from Johan Wahl...https://bikepacking.com/routes/sand-s2/ and here at BicycleSouth: https://bicyclesouth.co.za/2018/08/bikepacking-the-namaqualand/ I haven't checked in detail yet so not sure about road conditions, access overnights etc etc...just breezing around Maps and checking online.... Spent some time up in that area but mostly offshore diving diamonds back in the day from Port Jolly/Nolloth!

You may have camped at Middellande, just before BoPlaas Cottages in the east...speaking with Owen there, I saw a fantastic, huge, private campsite and he told me Arno from PA Cycles has done big camp outs there. It is a special place but I will think hard about going back...Die Leer had me a-quiver prior to actually doing it...but in the end, it was really OK.....and Eland's Pass is a push, that's a given...I've done many of those!!! It was that climb out from the top of Eland's Pass to Swartberg Pass which has me re-thinking a return, but in hindsight this may just be a psychological thing as I really thought "OK I got down the ladder, and across the flooded river, tuff guy!.. now it's just a quick up and down and out! " NO! So I reckon if I hadn't gotten stuck, that section would have just been pffftttt! Anyway, time heals all things quick, just leaves bigger scars sometimes!!! PS a few weeks home and already seeds for the next trip have been planted...NAMAQUALAND!!!!!! PPS: My own page....sjoe...that would mean a lot more adventures I'll have to go on!!! yippie!🤣 Your enthusiasm for capabilities is heartening!!!

Excellent description there, DJR, and great info...The Eland's Pass is EPIC!!! One day I will return to complete my plan...ride out ALL the way! But yes, truly magnificent...however, that 30k's from the summit to the T-junction with the Swartberg Pass is surely underrated...I did look at the route profile when planning but it gives no idea of the grind that it is to get that 30km done! It took me 3 and half hours to do 15ks!!!! OK, I am loaded and stop often to film...but it did me in and I passed that murasie @ KP15 as the sun started to set and kept going for about another 2k's then realized I would never make it to the T-junction at a decent time so I turned back and set up in the relative comfort of the murasie...best decision! Otherworldly experience!

Day 7 and I get out the valley after 5 days of being "trapped" by the flooding Gamka River...patience had paid off, the water level over the causeway had dropped enough for me to safely wade across! On to Fonteinplaas, a quick bite and re-stock and then up and out of the valley via the Elands Pass, a formidable, steep exit at the eastern end of Die Hel, helped by 5th generation Gamka Valley resident and owner of Fonteinplaas, Piet Joubert. From the top of the pass, it was a slog up the stepped ascent to the junction at the Swartberg Pass...I was aiming to get there by nightfall but the climbs got the better of me and I ended up wild camping inside the abandoned ruins of a small stone cottage as the wind picked up and temperatures dropped dramatically!

Day 4, 5 and 6: BoPlaas rest and recover! Each day I took a trip down to the river causeway to check levels and although it was dropping, it was not safe to cross, water levels got up to chest high before even reaching the main flow...the river had split upstream so instead of just the main stream restricted to the outside of the bend at the Fonteinplaas side, it had split further upstream into the reeds forming an island and a second, fast stream closer to BoPlaas...this second stream over the causeway was the issue as even at about 1m deep, it was strong enough to take your feet out from under you....Nothing to do but wait....I had surplus Dunkin Donuts grind to last a few more days...the AeroPress worked overtime!!! Actually I found some books and read the entire Da Vinci Code! Impressed myself..been years since I sat down and read a book! My wife nearly fainted when I told her...had to send proof! And explored a bit of the Boplaas section..beautiful place, immaculate cottages and steeped in history, you can almost feel the presence of the previous inhabitants of the valley in the restored cottage I was in....had some great chats with the 3 guys also stuck there, they maintain the properties up that side and do an amazing job...acres of grass to cut and gardens to attend to...the flooded causeway is always a concern locally as it keeps visitors away and many bookings are lost. I did make contact with a chap at the Gamka Dam...Fox.... and we kept each other updated on the status of the causeway as he has a network of downstream users that he relays dam and river condition information to in the event of such a flood! Everyday I checked my marks and there was a slow drop, getting more as the days passed and it was clear by the end of the 5th day in the valley, that Day 6 was going to be it! I was getting pressed for time and had already rigged up a jury harness for the bike and was busy bribing Abraham from Boplaas to help me climb back up the ladder! To his credit, he agreed without hesitation..he's done it before!!! I'm sure it would have been fine, even on my own, just would have taken much longer given my gear and leapfrogging bike then bags to the top! Below does not belong to a juvenile...this is a large fully grown adult...Leopard...followed my path maybe few hours after I had been in the area!😳

I was a big Rapha Explore fan but figuring the rocks at the Ladder...instead of taking 2 pairs, I changed pedals to flats and shoes to the Crank Brothers Stamp Street Fabio Flats....never looked back, they were brilliant! Have a neoprene cuff and liner, breathable, light, stiff enough on the pedals and perfect for scrambling over rocky terrain...and don't mind getting wet....combo'd with Merino wool socks, pedaling wet was no issue and they dried fairly easy! I do have a pair of 5-10 flats but suspect they would have not been that cool to ride when wet! And although stiffer, I know they take forever to dry out! RE the audio, I did battle a bit on this one as the new Insta360 MicAir gave me some issues and only after someone else had seen the video posted, did they make same comment, so I'll be doing QC on the next few!!! But thanks for the comment, all kinds are welcome! When I booked I got a few gate details but only about the one...there are 4 to get to Fonteinplaas...each with their own bit of head scratching!...(actually 6 but one just has no adjoining fences and another has been destroyed and laying down for a permanent rest on the side of the road!)

That first part about climbing, seems to apply to almost every gravel adventure I do....😆 despite studying profiles beforehand....!!!!

Did the majority of this in January on a fully loaded gravel bike as part of a Garden Route multiday tour.....you should be fine on a gravel bike! It's mostly downhill with a few shortish climbs thrown in for fun! I have a series of videos of my trip starting here...

This is Day 3: Arriving in the top of the Gamkaskloof Valley...The Hell...Die Hell...I heard that the Gamka River crossing the valley was in flood and the causeway across the river to exit the far end of the valley was impassable...it was late, I retired in the very comfortable and tastefully restored Oom Hannes cottage...surely just a short delay...no problem...4 days food...no issues... Until I took a cycle of about 4km down to the causeway....NOPE! The water was not exactly storming over but deep enough and strong enough to prevent any safe crossing by any means! So back to the cottage to dwell on the situation! I had enough food for 4 days, the cottage and surrounds were EPIC!!!! the weather was great...and a last resort was a climb back out via the Ladder...an option I did not seriously consider right then! Balked at the thought actually! So nothing to do but sit tight and make the most of this magnificent part of the world.... not really Hell now is it!!???

Day 2: The Big One! Taking on the Ladder! Leaving the overnight at Op-Die-Plaas, bound for Fonteinplaas in Die Hell....tracking back to the Northern entrance to Seweweekspoort, the gravel road leads to the most western end of the Gamkaskloof Valley and to the infamous Die Leer..... Let's not forget that just getting to the staging point above the valley at the top of Die Leer is no mean feat...the neat gravel road turns into a serious 4 x 4 track when you turn off the access road! A huge climb...read: push...to the top at Signal Hill where you'll get the last of comms with the outside world until the local cottages and their wifi in the valley....this is where I started getting notices and messages about the state of the Gamkas River which bisects the valley North to South...rain in the catchment area a few days earlier had prompted the Gamkas River Dam operators North of the valley to open valves and sluice gates to release water from the dam...110% I was told! Farmers downstream were pulling their pumps! And there was more coming.....It was a gamble as contacts inside the valley did not know the full extent of the river level at the main causeway across the river in Die Hel at that point...knowing I could make it across the stream at the foot of Die Leer, I decided to chance it...after only one day, turning back did not sit well! So down I went! What an experience...very steep in sections with tight, steep, rocky switchbacks and some places squeezing past prickly thorn bushes and huge swathes of spekboom, the views down to the bottom were spectacular...the descent gets steeper closer to the bottom with lots of loose baby-head boulders ready to send you off the trail! My hands got braking cramps trying to control a fully loaded bike, reminiscent of long downhill runs in Morzine and Le Gets! Eventually, after 2hrs 45mins, I made it down intact without having to offload any gear and across the stream and into the bowl before entering the Gamkaskloof Valley proper...a helluva climb up....again read: push!!! ...onto the Kleinberg saddle....then that view East down Die Hell...what a sight! A fast descent from the saddle found me at Boplaas Cottages and was immediately informed by the resident manager...Gamkaskloof River causeway is flooded...maybe 2m! And for at least a week!!!! No way round or out except back up!!!! The prospect of a climb back up the ladder was just too daunting so I decided to wait it out...maybe a few days then it'll be cool! ??? So checked into Oom Hannes' cottage and laid out my supplies to see how long I could last...comfortably 4 days...I'll be out tomorrow, no issues!...HA! Lekka!

Helluva Loop...Day 1: Calitzdorp to Op-Die-Plaas....59k's....2 passes... Huis River(tar) and Seweweekspoort...... a slow climb up to the Klein Karoo! From Gasteria Grange in Calitzdorp, it's straight into the climbing...up the Huis River Pass...the day started out with some light drizzle, just enough to get the new Columbia Titanium Whistler Peak shell out for a test run...very happy, warm and dry, not sweaty, waterproof but still breathable with good underarm venting...a good investment... Huis River Pass is a relatively easy climb with some short runs at 7-8%...(I got a new gear ratio with 11-50 in the back!!) on good tar with a wide shoulder but was fairly busy even on a Sunday morning...the pass also gives a hint of what is to come at Seweweekspoort...folded layers of sandstone.. The pass crosses the Gamka River, which looked like it was flowing but I had no idea of the impact that flow would have on my trip at the time! A lot has been written about Seweweekspoort...and I had driven it before, gobsmacked at the scenery....nevertheless, it still has a dramatic effect when you enter...from South or North...there is no slow climb lead up to the entrances...its suddenly there! Like a gateway...and breathtaking...when you are going slow, you realise the forces that must have been at play to fold and warp the layers of sandstone....and a river runs through it...I think you cross it 23 times!...lost count, all dry crossings...and the gravel road is in really good condition.... The climb up Seweweekspoort is almost imperceptible...2 -3% with no real dramatic legburners...so by the time you get to the other side, you can feel the 17-odd kms working on your calves. Op-Die-Plaas is about 7k's from the North exit to Seweweekspoort along the road to Laingsberg, you can't miss it...run by Fritz and Jolen Hunlun, it also plays host to the Freedom Challenge....that 2000k mad ride across South Africa.... as a checkpoint and rest for cyclists carrying their bikes and gear up Die Leer!...more on this later! A fantastic place with options for nice grassed camping at the dam, glamping in one of their tents or the dining option! 2 single beds inside the dining hall! Massive fire place, place to cook and make coffee, and a great pool to chill in! More that any self-supported bikepacker could ask for...they will even supply food if you book in advance! So...a long day, a slow climb and a great way to start the Helluva Loop Tour!

No matter how in or out, it's a hellava place!

Man...2 days of mentally preparing for the climb if the river didn't subside...I did set a deadline for that route to return but luckily it was safe enough to cross before the deadline came round...honestly I don't think it would have been an issue, guys on the Freedom Challenge do it every year...it just would have taken longer with the leap frogging of bike then bags...but sure glad it didn't come down to that...always forward...only ever look back to see where you've come from.!!

Day 2, 3, 4, 5, 6...."stuck" at Boplaas...the Gamka in flood...spent 5 lovely rest days exploring the top of the valley...eventually made it out on Saturday by wading across the Causeway...then the massive climb out of the Hell, down Swartberg Pass, refuel at Kobus se Gat and back along the back road through Kruisrivier to Calitzdorp...including a night camped out inside the stone murasie at kp 15 on the road into Die Hel. Video out soon!!!!! So many wonderful people and places out there...never ceases to amaze me!! Maxed out on adventure now for a bit...so need a short break before planning the next one!!!!

If its Uncle Fox you talking about, im in contact with him daily and he's sent pics and video of the dam overflowing and the gates open...impressive but demoralizing at the same time but understood as the area has had water issues for a while...Die een se brood...anyway...it has allowed me to slow down and explore the area ..it really is fascinating here and the current property owners have done a fantastic job of preserving what they can...the cottages in the Valley are awesome... The story of getting a car down here piece by piece via the ladder is unbelievable...so my little descent was by no means a feat!!! And as plane landing here..yoh...no way...in the upper part there's only a small stretch that's not under bush canopy and way too short to land or take off... have to take you up on that beer offer to get the skinny!! If the Causeway isn't safe by Saturday then a climb back out will be the only way....🫣

I'm still here..waiting at Boplaas for the river to drop...maybe Friday...going back up is the last resort...unthinkable right now... I can think of worse places to get stuck!!

Down to Hell but not out!!! Gamka causeway impassable and I am not going back up the Ladder!!