Day 3 - Barrydale to Stil Bay. 171 km Approx.

A steep hill greets us on our departure from Barrydale, but very quickly eases into a more favourable undulating and arid landscape. We are now in the Klein Karoo and the difference from the previous day is stark. This road is known as the 'Route 62' and is a popular tourist route. We are sure to spot ostriches on this route as its perfect territory for farming these birds. A highlight on this road is the world famous Ronnie's Sex Shop - don't be alarmed - Ronnie's Shop - as it was originally known, was a local general dealer and bush pub, when some drunken friends decided one night, as a joke, to insert the word sex on the signage. Suddenly the cars began to stop and Ronnie's Sex Shop became a travellers legend. No trip on the Route 62 would be complete without a stop at Ronnies.

We continue through the moon like landscape of the Klein Karoo (directly translated means Small place of great dryness) eventually turning south we head back over the Mountains to return to the coast. Today we use the Garcias pass and it's a fast downhill that brings us into Riversdale and the national road.

Maurice Garcia, an 1820 settler of Jewish-Portuguese descent was civil commissioner of Riversdale and his most pressing goal was to a road through the mountains linking the town to the Klein Karoo interior.

Using convict labour, he constructed a bridle path through the gorge of the Goukou River, which, by 1868, was in general use by horse riders.

The inhabitants of the area began pushing for a proper road and in 1872 permission was granted by the public works department for Thomas Bain to construct Garcia's Pass as soon as he'd completed Tradouw Pass. The pass was completed by the end of 1877.

A short 14 km transfer and we are back on the road down to Stilbaai - 26 km away.

Stilbaai, our overnight stop, is a charming seaside village which forms part of the famous "Garden Route" with its close neighbours Jongensfontein and Melkhoutfontein. It is situated along the banks of the Goukou River estuary where it meets the Indian Ocean.