Tour of South Africa cyclists will probably not have the chance to indulge in one of the delights of the Hartbeesbeespoort experience when they pass through the tunnel at the dam wall.
That is a cup of iced, traditional Afrikaner ginger beer at Tan' Malie se Winkel, which could be rated as the capital of "Boerekos" cuisine.
A little way from the legendary restaurant, while venturing up a roadside path looking for a quiet and secluded spot to have a comfort spot, I encountered an unexpected passerby: a baboon.
So I postponed my responding to Mother Nature's call and proceeded over Kommando Nek to where I had a view of the narrow reaches of Harbteespoort Dam, to the south.
To the north, vultures were probably looking at me, as they might be spectators to the real race in February.
Their dung has given a whitewash to the cliffs way up on the mountaintop.
To the west, the afternoon sky lit up with lightening which seemed to threaten to come my way with a thunder shower but never did.
A hundred or so years ago the sounds of artillery and gunfire would have roared in this valley and range of mountains, which was the site of clashes during the Second South African Anglo-Boer War.
I made a short cut here from the Stage One route of the Tour of South Africa to the Stage Two section, in the direction of Soweto.
Not having taken a close look at a map, I asked the manager at Tan’ Malie se Winkel the distance to Hekpoort where I would overnight.
“A fifteen minute drive,” he replied.
That didn’t help. I was on a bicycle!
On the way I asked some security guards who had just got off a lorry and were heading home.
“[email protected] kilometers,” they said. I later realized that wasn’t correct.
In the village of Skeerpoort I encountered a fellow cyclist who was fresh from a session at the local
tavern.
“How far to Hekpoort?” I asked him.
“Nineteen kilometers,” he replied, barely able to stand on his own two feet.
Later I checked the distance on a map.
He had been spot on.
The moral of the story: always trust a fellow cyclist, no matter what his or her state of mind!
Regards,
Duncan Guy