Sean did not have a good night sleep as he had not prepared for cold weather.

As this is the first time Sean and I had camped together, we decided to time ourselves to see how long it took to pack up the camping gear without rushing it.  It took us 1,5hrs to pack including having coffee and rusks and we started our bikes at 07h00. 

We rode through Colesberg to Noupoort where we started our gravel road riding all the way to Graaff Reinet where we refueled.  The gravel roads were very good and the scenery was stunning.  This area had enjoyed some badly needed rain, however it was not enough to break the drought and restore the veld which was still very dry.

We came across a KTM rider taking a break on the back roads along with his support team, son and daughter, in a Toyota FJ.  We stopped and chatted before continuing. 

The temperature rose to 34C, however it was not uncomfortable to ride in this temperature.

We stopped at New Bethesda for a late breakfast at The Tower Café and Bushmen Heritage Museum before heading to Graaff Reinet. 

We took the gravel road to EL YOLO OnE which stands for “Enjoy Life, You Only Live Once, On Earth”.  While travelling along at about 80km/h, I nearly hit a large Leguaan.  I stopped abruptly and took some photos.

The last 4 km to the reception is a farm track with a number of gates that we needed to open/close.  We arrived at reception and the lady who runs the place gave us a warm welcome.  She explained that all the trees at the bush camp site had died and she offered us the grassed area next to one of the Chalets.  Sean decided that he wanted a warm bed so that he could enjoy a good night sleep.  He booked the Chalet and took the bed and I slept comfortably in my tent.

We had no cell phone reception.  There was one spot in the restaurant that sometimes received a signal.  After unsuccessfully attempting to get a signal, the assistant took me up to the PosBoom where there was a signal.  I dropped a WhatsApp message to the Family group to let them know we had arrived and returned to the restaurant.  We were busy enjoying a terrific dinner which the host had prepared when the reception's cell phone rang.  It was positioned in a tea cup at a very specific spot on a shelf near a window.   I had earlier unsuccessfully attempted to get a signal from the same spot.   The call was our spouses who were worried that they had not heard from us.  Obviously, my WhatsApp did not get through.  We were both in trouble and there was no opportunity to reason with them.

I give EL YOLO OnE a very high rating for hospitality, friendliness, terrific dinner and venue and would highly recommend visiting this guest farm.