Day 8 - Ceres to Piketberg . 158 km Approx.

Ceres is often chilly at night and early morning - so we warm up quickly with the short ascent out of the village. This leads us through the Mitchells pass which is largely downhill, to the bottom of the Bree river valley 240 meters above sea level before a climb back up to just under 600 meters on the famous Bains Kloof pass. Thomas Bain is somewhat of a legend in South Africa when it comes to roads and mountain passes. He was born in 1830 and served as an assistant road engineer to his father, Andrew Geddes Bain, also a road engineer in South Africa. Thomas built built 24 major mountain roads and passes in the second half of the 1800s. His father built eight during the first half of the same century. One of the few passes in South Africa not built by a Bain during that period was Montagu Pass from George to Oudtshoorn, ( day 4 ) which was built by a road engineer from Australia named Henry Fancourt White in 1843-47.

Once over the Bains Kloof we descend into the town of Wellington where we turn and head north. Once again a dramatic change of region takes place at this point as we begin to travel through the Swartland region. With its wide roads and fairly flat terrain, we quickly make for Piketberg where we overnight.

Piketberg derives its name from mountain behind the town. During the time of the Dutch control of the Cape, this mountain served as the outside Picquet ( guard tower) of the territory.