My First Sidecar Adventure - From Grabouw To Hermanus
I went on my first sidecar tour and it was awesome!
Tours Africa was beyond thrilled when we first found out that South Africa was having its first Adventure Summit in Cape Town, organised by Johan from Dirty Boots. One of the exciting things planned for this 3 day event was that we had to choose from a range of adventures to take part in on the first day.
We had a great choice of options (list composed from my memory - please excuse me if I have left anything out/included incorrect info):
- Canopy Tours
- Quad Biking
- Great White Shark Cage Diving
- Whale Watching
- Snorkeling
- Bicycle Tours
- Sand Boarding
- Boat Trips
- Sea Kayaking
- Fat Bikes
- Sidecar Adventures
- Scootours
- Tubing
It was tricky deciding which activity to sign up for. I wanted to do something a little different and outside of my comfort zone, so I eventually signed up for a bicycle tour in Stellenbosch.
I must admit, I was nervous for this adventure. My fitness regime has been long forgotten and pushed to the side, so cycling for 6 hours seemed a bit daunting. However, I wanted to push my limits!
Upon arriving at the meeting point in Grabouw to get picked up for the various tours, I discovered my tour bus had left without me. After the feelings of annoyance had subsided, a sense of relief crept in. Yay! The fitness gods showed mercy on me today!
Although I was relieved, I was disappointed. I was looking forward to becoming acquainted with fellow influences in South Africa's tourism industry, and what better way to do so than on an adventure tour? I was getting ready to go home when I found out some good news.
Someone who was supposed to go on the sidecar adventure could not make it. This meant there was an open spot! Of course I grabbed up the opportunity, even though I had no idea what a sidecar was or what the tour entailed. Adventurous, right?
I rushed to the meeting spot for the sidecar tour and soon after greeting my fellow adventurers, I knew I was going to have an exciting day. Our group consisted of Debbie from Ingwe Forest Adventures (the bubbly one), Mike from Mothercity Skydiving (the happy chappy) and Chris from Knysna Charters (the naughty one).
Cape Sidecar Adventures is the name of the tour we went on. They supplied us with retro leather jackets, goggles, helmets and a complimentary bandanna. The sidecars were decommissioned military bikes originally used by the Peoples Liberation Army of China between the early 1950’s and mid-1970’s, during WWll. They were super cool!
We were an eclectic group. Our adventure was guided by Tim, his sweet dog named Brody, and Lambert. I soon found out we were going to drive to Hermanus! The drive there was absolutely awesome. I loved the odd looks we got from passerby's, while others smiled and waved as we drove by.
When we arrived in Hermanus, we took a coastal walk which was stunning. The ocean view was out of this world! For those of you who are not familiar with Hermanus, it's a seaside town just outside of Cape Town. It is internationally renound for whale watching, and has a whale festival every year during whale season.
After walking around a bit, we drove to a harbour restaurant for lunch. The food was delicious, but I definitely enjoyed the wine and tequila the most! ;)
After we finished our lunch, we headed to a wine estate called Benguela Cove Lagoon Wine Estate in Hermanus, where we did some wine tasting. The staff were friendly and knowledgeable and the views were spectacular!
Feeling bubbly and somewhat tipsy, we headed back to Grabouw. We had such a wonderful day with Cape Sidecar Adventure - I would recommend it to anybody! My only word of advice would be to dress as warm as possible, it can get quite chilly on the sidecar.
Cape Sidecar Adventures is not listed on our website, but if you'd like to book a tour with them, you can contact them directly.
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Saskia Carelse
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