Springbok

October 20, 2025 to October 21, 2025

Monday the 20th of October 2025

We got going at about ten past six and were on the N14 soon after seven, a short hiatus at this point to fix another puncture. Hopefully I have now got the last piece of glass out of the front tyre of Leigh's bike.

After descending gently for a few kilometers we had a longish gentle climb that got us to a plateau at which point we started to fly, thanks to a nice wind coming over our left shoulders. The wind ensured that a long ride was not particularly physically demanding. In actual fact, we loved it.

Other times it had a good covering of dry grass.

My first ever Horned Adder (Bitis caudalis) and it hadn't made it across the road :-(. This was a small specimen, barely 25cm long. Adults would get to about to between 30 and 40 centimeters.

At about the 80 kilometer mark we stopped at a roadside stop for a long break that turned out to be longer that we planned for because two Swiss tourists stopped and chatted with us. They had also cycle toured a lot and are WarmShowers hosts.

The highest point of the trip so far - 1080 masl or thereabouts - just before dropping down into Springbok.

We pulled into Springbok a few minutes before three. By our normal standards a good pace.

We're spending tonight at the rather bleak and overpriced Springbok Campsite just south of the town. We had planned to have a rest day here but it holds no attractions so we have booked into a hotel nearby for tomorrow night.

Our neighbours in the campground for tonight are from our home town, on their way to the Richtersveld after some time in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. He used to work for one of our clients and we have friends in common so there was lots of nattering.

Tuesday the 21st of October 2025

We got our laundry into the campground washing machine as soon as we could. After that it was a lazy morning while we chatted to our neighbours while they packed up before heading northwards.

As midday approached we too packed up and slogged our way back up the steep hill into town. Springbok is situated at a cross road and is on the tourist route northwards from Cape Town so it has a couple of excellent supermarkets and every other imaginable store - apart from a bicycle shop! I was hoping for a bicycle shop so I could buy another spare tube but also to replace my bicycle computer that has inexplicably stopped working. Thank goodness Leigh's is still operational.

We wangled an early check in and settled in to a lovely room at the Springbok Inn, a few kilometers south of the town but far to the west of last night's campground. It's hot today and the air conditioning is a real treat. So is the swimming pool although the water was surprisingly cold. The restaurant serves a style of food known in South Africa as "boerekos" or farmer's food. It was the same in Pofadder. Not quite our style but the view was enjoyable.

Tomorrow we head for Kamieskroon about sixty six kays down the N7, the main route between Cape Town and Namibia. It is also the main route from Cape Town to popular places such as Augrabies, the Kalahari and the Richtersveld so it might be busy. There is also a bit of climbing involved and, with the temperature predicted to reach about thirty six degrees, we will need to keep our hydration levels up.

Today's ride: 125 km (78 miles)
Total: 560 km (348 miles)

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