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Bikepacking Gravel Route - St Francis Bay to Uniondale


Chro Mo

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An appeal to the gravel gurus of the area...

 

Does anyone have a route for a trip from St Francis to Uniondale using mostly gravel?Would be great to get pointers on camping etc as well.

 

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

Thank you!

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St Francis to Clarkson on the back rds and then to Kareedouw and the Langkloof ,but you will have to some tar in the Lower Langkloof and the Upper Langkloof otherwise gravel farm rds either side of the R62.from The Heights to Misgund.Camping in Kareedouw,Joubertina,Kouga Wildernis also guesthouses all along the way .Go Discover 

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Great info, guys!

 

Thank you so much.

 

Going to lekker rolling through those dorps.

 

I was also told that Baviaans was out due to buffalo and black Rhino.

 

i hope i can find decent spots to camp on the way.

 

Thanks again.

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Even if you have to hire someone to follow you through the Nature Conservation part of the Baviaans Kloof, just do it. There simply is no other comparable route between those 2 places. It is a fantastic wilderness area, with almost no traffic, very few people, many places to camp, spectacular scenery, very little tar, the list goes on. Make no mistake, it will be tough, but simply a million smiles better than any other possibility.

 

Basically, you have 2 other options:

 

To Plett, then Wittedrift, Prince Alfred Pass, Uniondale (biggish part tar, try stay off nasty N2 where you can, but Prince Alfred Pass beautiful dirt).

 

To Humansdorp, Kareedouw, Joubertina, Uniondale (mostly tar, narrow, busy)

 

Edit: When I went through the Baviaans Kloof last, there was no issue with cycling, but I know they had a buffalo attack after that, and I think they are now just trying to be cautious. I think your chances of getting clobbered by a buff or a rhino is seriously remote, much smaller than getting creamed by a truck or a robber on the other routes. 

Edited by DJR
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they won't let you ride through baviaans without backup vehicle,the buffalo.

better just call first

Not worth the risk.  DJR is once again correct - just do it the way he suggests.  It is a "must".

Bernard 's suggestion is also lekker.

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. There simply is no other comparable route between those 2 places. It is a fantastic wilderness area, with almost no traffic, very few people, many places to camp, spectacular scenery, very little tar, the list goes on. Make no mistake, it will be tough, but simply a million smiles better than any other possibility.

 

As the man said.

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Been studing Google maps and it seems you can approach Kareedouw from the North East if you bypass Humansdorp.North of Kareedouw is Baviaans lodge and from there you might be able to get through to the Onder Kouga loop and then miss out on the tarr section of R62 near Kareedouw,but you will have to consult the farmers in the area or Nature conservation 

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We did Knysna --> Jbay in 2004 @ +-65kms per day. Those days still unsupported through the Kloof. I would suggest going in this direction if possible as your climbing from Uniodale down to St Francis will be significantly less.

 

The buffalo are an issue: A small herd broke through the fences of the piece of bergveld I have. My boet (who farms it) had to get Nature conservation to remove them (as  you cannot farm cattle if you can't herd them safely). A friend had to bail from his bike in Poortjies - i.e. the river just as you enter the conservation area gate - when a buffalo bull stood in the middle of the road around a blind turn coming down from Bergplaas... Omo couldn't clean those bibs.

 

An alternative is riding the route through the Karoo on the Patensie-Steytlerville Road (the route the Transbaviaans did when the Baviaanskloof flooded) and then follow the farm roads to Willowmore. I don't know the state of that road as I haven't ridden a portion of it since my batchelors 8 years ago.

 

However: Baviaanskloof = 1st prise!

 

If you do go through the Kloof from the Patensie side, get your permit at the Comdomo campsite. You might be able to get it at the gate, but the guard may just send you back 15 kms to campsite to get it.

 

Consider camping at Heroncliff on the Patensie side (shameless punt for my brothers place), +- 70kms from St Francis.

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Even if you have to hire someone to follow you through the Nature Conservation part of the Baviaans Kloof, just do it. There simply is no other comparable route between those 2 places. It is a fantastic wilderness area, with almost no traffic, very few people, many places to camp, spectacular scenery, very little tar, the list goes on. Make no mistake, it will be tough, but simply a million smiles better than any other possibility.

 

Basically, you have 2 other options:

 

To Plett, then Kareedouw, Prince Alfred Pass, Uniondale (biggish part tar, try stay off nasty N2 where you can, but Prince Alfred Pass beautiful dirt).

 

To Humansdorp, Kareedouw, Joubertina, Uniondale (mostly tar, narrow, busy)

 

Edit: When I went through the Baviaans Kloof last, there was no issue with cycling, but I know they had a buffalo attack after that, and I think they are now just trying to be cautious. I think your chances of getting clobbered by a buff or a rhino is seriously remote, much smaller than getting creamed by a truck or a robber on the other routes. 

 

 

Other route via Plett is Plett via Witedrift, Uplands, reverse route of Karoo to Coast.

Edited by HeyYou
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An appeal to the gravel gurus of the area...

 

Does anyone have a route for a trip from St Francis to Uniondale using mostly gravel?Would be great to get pointers on camping etc as well.

 

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

Thank you!

 

If you need a place to stay in Plett, gratis, give me a shout. Would be good to put a face to a nom de geurre!

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Other route via Plett is Plett via Witedrift, Uplands, reverse route of Karoo to Coast.

Thanks for correcting my mistake, I meant Wittedrift. Brain malfunction!

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  • 3 years later...

Resurrecting an old thread. Flying down to J-Bay for a week on Saturday. Taking the gravel bike with....I've tried looking on Komoot but I can't see any dirt roads to get from J-Bay to St Francis? Looks like you just end up on that main tar road that connects Humansdorp to St Francis?

 

Does anyone have any routes they could share with me?

 

Wouldn't mind riding from Jbay to Oyster Bay and back as I know there is apparently a dirt road between St Francis and Oyster Bay? 

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