The South African adventure bike community is really spoilt for choice. It doesn’t really matter where you live within the borders of this endlessly entertaining country. Generally within an hour of seat time there is some top notch adventure riding on offer. If you live in the Western Cape you can reduce the seat time down to about 5-10 minutes . (as long as you don’t hit the N1 at rush hour in which case , good luck, you are going nowhere)…
By Peter Helicopter
As the old saying goes, give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, give a man an adventure bike and he will ride 300 kays on dirt roads and get fish and chips in some unheard of small town. With this wanderlust in mind it is no surprise that a few venues have popped up around the country that don’t just “ tolerate “ our community, but have built their businesses specifically with the adventure community in mind. With our muddy bikes, dusty gear and thirst for good coffee and cold one at the end of a long day in the saddle.
We are spoilt with Venues like Bushboys Adventure Camp in Tonteldoos, Country Trax in Amersfoort and ADA in Hartebeespoort that are excellent venues for weekends and holidays, and also specifically welcome and cater to those of us who spend our days on two wheels and prefer to travel on dirt roads.
A few weeks ago I received a phone call from Chris Barry Adventure bike and rally scene stalwart from PE who has moved to Clanwilliam in the Western Cape asking if I wanted to come up and have a look at the new Venue he was managing and the plans he had for adventure bikes in the area.
Arrangements were made and I found myself taking a slow mosey up the N7 from Cape Town towards Clanwilliam and the Ochre and Ash guest house. It’s roughly 230 kays north of Cape Town in the Cederberge in one of the oldest towns in South Africa. Officially established in 1806, Clanwilliam is one of those small town South Africa Gems. It’s rammed full of character and is a hotspot for tourism during the flower season, it’s also well known for San Bushman rock art which is abundant in the area.
But… What’s most important to us is that Clanwilliam has absolutely incredible adventure bike riding options literally on its doorstep. Chris is an old school Adventure and Rallye scene man and his vision at Ochre and Ash is to create a Hub for adventure bikes in the area. He and the venue owner Schalk Wessels have procured a fleet of 5 nice clean KTM 500’s that have been built to “advenduro – road legal spec”, as well as two Honda CRF 300 L’s.
As a quick aside I rode one of the Hondas for the day and the little 300 is an absolute gem. The idea behind the fleet of bikes is obviously to make them available for hire for guests. Chris has got the area well mapped out and has different routes available to match the varied interests and skill levels. I can see this playing nicely into the hands of those of us who have to hit Cape Town for work and are able to make a day or two extra available to shoot through and get some proper riding in.
Guided day trips are an option for guys on their own bikes who are staying at the venue. Secure off-street parking is available for the bikes, so there will be no worries about making phone calls to insurance companies in the morning.
On site there is a really well equipped workshop, a game changer for multi day trips – you have the option of working on bikes with good tools, under a roof, with good lights and getting your bike sorted properly. Anyone who has picked up a spanner has had a small simple job turn into an all-night ordeal because you are trying to make a plan with the wrong tools and the bike is on its side in the rain or freezing cold. It’ s a very professional setup to keep the wheels on the bikes turning .
The Ochre and Ash is an amazing venue. Completely off grid with an incredible solar set up and an on site Borehole and Reverse osmosis plant to purify the water. It boasts very comfortable rooms with an American barbecue inspired restaurant as well as a separate kitchen for the standard meal options that keep the wheels turning ( try the eggs benedict… amazing!). More importantly though, there’s also a really nice pool and close proximity to the town centre with its many unique tourism attractions.
This means that a weekend of riding is a much easier sell if the less motorcycle inclined family members are able to have a really good time, while the two wheeled faithful turn some petrol into noise on the bikes.
Get in Touch with Chris and the good people at the Ochre and Ash in Clan William. To find out more and see what bookings and options are available.
Tel : 027 050 1038
Email : hello@ochreandash.co.za
Address : 2 Arnold street , Clanwilliam , 8135 .
