Annette’s 17-year-old daughter had given us a few scares that day. This is not normally Ashley’s way, as she is a thoughtful and disciplined young woman. But put her on a dual-purpose motorcycle, and she gets a look in her eye that says, ‘I’m running free, so let me be.’ And so it was on her first long distance adventure motorbike ride from Bot River to Gatsrivier Holiday Farm, some 300km distant.
‘Hey, Ash. Don’t get up – I’m coming to help you!’ I shouted through my open visor after witnessing her crash on a sandy corner on the Bloutoring Road to Touws River. This was her second fall of the day, but luckily she and the bike had suffered only minor injuries, and we could continue. Even though she’d been well-schooled on various outrides, there’s no substitute for time in the saddle.
We arrived at Gatsrivier’s entrance around 7pm, and it was with some alarm that I read a signpost which stated: “Campsites 48km”.
As it was peak summer, it wasn’t the lack of light that worried me, but the fatigue of our team. However, when I studied the signpost more carefully, I noticed with some relief that my myopic vision had misled me — it read “4.8km”!
Gatsrivier is situated between the Roggeveld Mountains and the Koedoesberg Mountains, so you will experience the Ceres Karoo in its full diversity and nuances.
The mountainous area is great for hiking, and there are various 4X4 routes in the wonderland of hills, rivers and the famous Karoo bushes.
At night, star gazers are treated to a diamond-studded sky, since the air is free of pollution and there is almost no reflected light from nearby towns.
There is no cellphone reception on the farm, but the managers of Gatsrivier prefer it this way, saying it is a place to “recharge your own batteries for a change”.
Gatsrivier Images
The owners of the farm, Anet Boltman and Hennie Visser, bought Gatsrivier in 2010; and the adjacent parts – Bakensrivier and Oliviersberg – followed in the next year.
It was previously used by farmers in the Laingsburg area as grazing fields for their stock during wintertime. Few of the farmhouses were still in use, so Anet and Hennie had to renovate them, and also lay out the campsites. Having travelled a lot into Africa, they had a good idea what they and others would appreciate in such a remote area.
Gatsrivier is managed by Wessel and Caron Hoffman, and from the moment we met them, we knew that we were in good hands. Not only did Wessel lead us to our grassed campsite on the banks of the Ongeluks River (so-named because a man was killed by a lion here many moons back) but he also offered to bring us a table, chairs, wood, ice and even a gas burner to replace the one I’d left at home. Once he’d fetched these, he proceeded to show us how the mist “air-conditioning” worked and where the upmarket ablution block, splash pool and “honesty bar” were located.
Suitably fortified with creature comforts, we went about setting up camp. I was grateful that I’d thrown in the hand pump for the big air mattress at the last minute – although the adapter I’d made to fit my tyre air-compressor kind-of worked, I’m sure it would have burnt out after inflating only one mattress. After what seemed like an inordinately long time discussing where all the poles, sticks and ropey thingies went in our “Midas Christmas Special” 3-man dome tent, we were soon sitting around a fire which had been conjured up by Ashley while we had vacillated vacuously.
As is probably abundantly clear by now, our motorbike adventure gang doesn’t normally camp; chalets are just that much easier with the limited carrying room on an adventure motorcycle. We managed pretty well, would definitely do it all again, and really enjoyed having only a few microns of polyester between ourselves and the wild outdoors; but had I known that it was possible to pre-hire a roof-top tent trailer and/or caravan on-site, we could have saved ourselves a lot of packing.
Deciding to give our backsides a break from the bikes the next day, we hired the Polaris game-viewing quad on offer to guests and trundled up the eastern dirt track to see a bit more of the farm – and also to take a look at the chalets. En route, we saw a number of birds (a Gabar Goshawk, a Hamerkop, some Karoo Robins and a Bokmakierie, to name but a few), a Common Duiker, and also followed the loping trajectory of a group of Grey Rhebok as they bounded up a nearby hill.
After a dunking in the splash pool, we were picked up by Wessel and Caron. We were off to feed the lone zebra (Sahara) and the herd of Black Wildebeest on Bakensrivier, the owner’s adjacent farm. We were told that it was the owners’ intention to stock this farm with quite a bit more game, over time, so that there would be even more wildlife to see here in future.
But we had already observed and experienced far more than we’d expected to, and agreed that we would be definitely be back one day to soak up more of this unique resort – perhaps in spring, next time.
4×4 Routes
The most popular route in the area is the Watervalroete (Waterfall Route). It is a circular route of about 7km, and can actually also be done by a 4×2 vehicle with fair ground clearance. It is a popular hiking trail.
The beauty of this route lies in the altitude, the different plant species and the waterfall. The road crosses the stream that flows (when there has been rain in the area) over the edge just a few metres away.
The Tafelkop Route offers some extreme challenges, but there is an escape route half-way. This is also a circular route, and offers breath-taking views to the west in the direction of the Cederberg Mountains.
Other 4×4 routes will take you to higher places and even better views. The Rivier Route and Fontein Route will bring you to a picnic spot where one can braai/ spend time.
Gatsrivier Information
Campsites 20
Ablutions:: 7 facilities; 9 toilets and 9 showers
Laundry facilities:: No
Pets allowed:: No
Tariffs
R120 per campsite and R50 person per day; R250 pppn in self-catering cottages
GPS: 32°53’26.8″S 20°16’56.7″E
General Information
No. of sites: 7, grassed
Electricity: No
Water: Yes
Braai: Yes, at each site.
Pets: Not allowed
