A three-week motorcycle trip from Cape Town to Durban burns indelible memories into the mind.

Devouring my first kudu burger in Mossel Bay — the western starting point of South Africa’s famous Garden Route — was a welcome pit stop for my backside, which was growing increasingly numb by the second. A local surfer, barefoot and shirtless, overheard me chatting with the owner. 

“Canadian, eh?” he said. “My father used to live in Saskatchewan. I’m not sure exactly where, but he nearly froze to death one winter. Minus 50 or something crazy like that. You guys are doing travel correctly right there — on a motorcycle — just like that book I once read”. 

“Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance?” I asked. 

“Yes, that one,” he replied. “Enjoy it, guys!”

When my South African husband, Paul, proposed a motorcycle camping trip from Cape Town to Durban on our Yamaha Super Ténéré XT1200, I was a little skeptical. How could we fit all our belongings in just a few panniers, not to mention all the camping gear? But having recently left a job that was no longer serving me, I thought this would be as good a time as any. With just a backpack for a three-week trip (an absolute first for me), we were on our way. 

We flew into Cape Town to pick up the bike — Paul’s son had ridden it from Durban so the bike would be waiting there for us — and spent the first couple of days doing last minute preparations. We spent two nights in Gordon’s Bay, a scenic and charming mountain coastal town with superb seafood and friendly locals, with some gracious friends. It’s a wonderful base to explore what may just be one of the most scenic routes in all of the country: Clarence Drive (R44). This was a great check ride for us, testing our gear and seeing how it felt with extra weight on the bike. The scenic twists and turns — both literally and figuratively — were nice samples of what was yet to come. 

We had a general route in mind but decided not to book accommodation in advance, opting for more freedom and flexibility. Venturing north to Paarl (R44), we spent two days camping at a farm nestled at the base of the Drakenstein Mountains. Its sandy entrance served as a suitable re-entry into off-road riding, which Paul handled in capable stride. We took solace in the cool river just behind our tent and were the only patrons for most of our stay. 

Veering east toward Swellendam (R60), Du Toitskloof Pass was a breathtakingly mountainous…