You can't control the past, but you can control where you go next - Kirsten Hubbard

16 March 2019, Garies to Kamieskroon, 49km
Kamies Retreat R500

My heart skipped a beat when the terrain before me seemed to promise a 5km downhill run into Kamieskroon, and I thought “all is forgiven”, but it was not to be. We were gifted with a couple of welcome drops, but had to walk two more hills before the turnoff into town. Mild hills, I confess, but after conquering over 980 vertical metres of elevation gain, even a mild incline was beyond my shaking legs; and it was hot, hot, hot. I had urged Charl to go on ahead, in the hopes he would reach the garage in town and its shop before it closed. Saturdays and Sundays in the small towns of the Northern Cape are a challenge for the cyclist needing to stock up daily. The turnoff into town hits a T-junction at which several advertising boards have been erected. Left to the hotel, right to the garage, coffee shop, a variety of accommodation options. The garage shop was advertised as closing at 12:00 on a Saturday, so we were too late - or so we thought. We did find that the local coffee shop was open, and gulped down welcome Cokes before checking whether there was anywhere at all to shop for supplies. We were told no, but in fact, cycling shortly thereafter past the garage, we found its kiosk section is open until 19:00, and was adequate for our needs. And the liquor store was open, much to beer-drinking Charl’s delight.
We arrived during Stage Four load-shedding, in other words to no electricity in Kamieskroon. Water is made available only for a couple of hours a day. Our hosts have a tank which they fill with water during the water hours, and with rainwater, we assume, should it ever fall. Problem is, during non-water hours, they can only pump the water from the tank into the bathroom if there is electricity. So effectively we arrived to no electricity and no water. We did not mind delaying our shower too much, seating ourselves in the shade on our stoep and eating the sandwiches we had made last night for the road.
The pass from Garies climbs almost continuously for around 25km to the Telkom microwave tower. Charl and I cycled about 95% of the distance, taking regular breaks and revelling in the infrequent dips. We crept from our guest house at 05:15, while it was still dark. From behind, in the lights of a vehicle, Charl looks like a Xmas tree. His back light flashing red, reflective materials on his panniers, wheel rims, and shoes glowing silver; and the reflective strip around the edge of his hat, a disembodied halo in the dark. We cycled the bulk of the pass in a cold mist, the sun only beginning to break through near the top at around 09:30. The last 20km to our destination were too hilly for comfort, especially in the burgeoning heat, but we were here by 12:45.
We met another cycle tourer on the road today, a young man from Hong Kong. He began his journey in Iceland some 17 months ago, crossed Europe and has almost completed the Cairo to Cape Town route through Africa. He was carrying an inordinate amount of “stuff”. So much, in fact, that we have begun to wonder what we should be carrying that we aren’t.

For today's route see below photos
For overview route, click on ROUTE tab above…