The tour never reached the Lesotho border. After hearing of the hiking and climbing at Meiringskloof near Fouriesburg we decided that border post patience can wait till Mozambique.
We reached Meiringskloof in good time and unpacked the gear. Tents up, bikes locked, hats on and off we were to explore the kloof. It was really great to be out the saddle and getting some other exercise besides cycling. The adrenaline was pumping as we free climbed the huge boulders and traversed the sheer faces along kloof’s ridge. By sunset we were flat on our backs and almost retired to the sleeping mats before supper was cooked. Full stomachs and a coffee delivered the final blow that tilted us to sleep.
As it is in a camp site, you are generally woken up by kids. It wasn’t to bad being awake before we needed to be but it was just unbelievably cold for once. I took a temperature reading at 07:00 and it was 11 degrees Celsius. It took us quite a while to pack up camp between making cup after cup of coffee for warmth.
We hit the road for Clarens. The playground for South Africa’s artistic and filthy rich. Considered the artist capital of the country, it has the same feel as Knysna but with the monetary value higher than the common rand. Unfortunately everything is over priced unless you keep your eyes open. Having no contacts in Clarens, Marc and I opted for a backpackers. We booked into the Clarens Inn and backpackers. Rick the owner helped us out and gave us a spot for the weekend. Tents barely pitched, we meet some of the backpackers. Three lovely girls from Bloem. Its Saturday and plans are made for drinks later.
There are a few places where you can enjoy a beer and a meal for a fair price. We found a great pub called Friends. The food was excellent and we got stuck with the kayaking crew, from Parys, down to tame the Ash River. The Bloem girls retired early and the party carried on till late.
As it happens, everyone ended up at the backpackers and the lawn was littered with tents.
Unlike Meiringskloof, we were baking in our tents by 07:00. A quick breakfast to help rid the babalas and a little hike up the mountains. By midday it was cooking and a snooze under the shade of a pine tree did the trick of recharging our batteries.
That evening we returned to Friends to thank Calvin and Heidi for the previous nights entertainment. Calvin greeted us first with a Jagermeister. Thank goodness it was a Sunday.
Today we managed to get over the mountains into Bethlehem. Seems almost as though we have cycled out of a dream world of mountains, faeries and forests in Clarens and back into the reality of flat free state grasslands.
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