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Destination: South Africa
Duration: 10 Day(s)
Group Size: 8
Pillion Friendly: Yes – but some gravel roads
Terrain: Mainly tar, some gravel roads
Support: Tour leader / First-aider / Support vehicle (if over three riders)
Distance: 2050
As a participant in this tour you'll fly to Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape and be met by Blazing Trails staff. We will transfer to our base in Addo (around 40 minutes by road) where we will give you a briefing on the trip ahead and we will enjoy a traditional barbecue. The following day we will hit the wonderful road.
When riding there will be a lead rider and on-bike luggage will be provided. Where there are four riders or more we will provide a back-up vehicle.
The riding on this tour is a mix of tarmac, graded dirt roads and some fantastic and remote trails. As far as is possible the tour has been designed to avoid major routes.
There will be a maximum of nine bikes available on this tour. The machines used will be Suzuki DL650 V-Stroms which are gutsy, economical, comfortable for passengers and capable on dirt roads with the right tyres. As an upgrade we also offer the BMW F800GS, a top-spec dual-purpose machine. There is also the BMW F700GS, ideal for smaller physiques. For further information on BIKES and the terms and conditions of hire, please go HERE.
If you want to add a safari at the start or end of this trip, then we have this as an optional extra that can be selected when booking.
If there are two or more of you wishing to ride this route but our dates do not suit, then please contact us and we will endeavour to arrange something that fits your needs.
The 'START DATE' (Day 1) date is the date of arrival at your destination airport. The 'END DATE' is the date on which you fly home.
Please make sure that on booking you select a tour date and bike.
The Wildlife Extra can be selected during the booking process.
Fly overnight to JHB or Cape Town International Airports, to arrive the following morning and meet your internal flight to Port Elizabeth in the Western Cape.
Arrive at PE, where you will be met and transported (40 mins) to your overnight accommodation, where the Blazing Trails staff will brief you on the adventure ahead and introduce you to 'your' bike. Come early evening, we will gather for a 'braai' – a classic South African meal, cooked over an open fire.
A super day of riding begins with a ride over Secret Pass, a steep climb through a private reserve brimming with game. The dirt track is a little challenging, but more than worth the effort. A regulation graded dirt road then takes us to Fort Beaufort from where we ace the twisites along the edge of the Great Fish River Reserve. We end the day on the Sunshine Coast.
The journey to our next over-nighter will be mainly on the old Route 62 through the Langkloof, a beautiful, quiet, swooping road through farms and pastureland with high mountains either side. The main event begins when we leave the 62 and head over the deliriously beautiful Prince Alfred’s Pass. The day ends in a fun and characterful stop, with beer and great food.
There's plenty more epic Cape riding as we head back to the coast, for lunch at the fashionable beauty spot of Knysna. And again when we pick up the Seven Passes route, for a mix of tar and gravel to George and then on to Mossel Bay, where we will enjoy an evening meal overlooking the ocean.
Mossel Bay is ideal for adventurous activities like shark diving, boat trips or a whizz down the worlds longest over-ocean zipline. It is also a great place to relax, walk, eat and drink. This is also a very historic town – where Europeans (Diaz) first set foot in southern Africa – and there are museums and historic sites to explore.
Following a mix of highway and lesser rural roads, both tarred and gravel, we will head for the southern tip of Africa. There should be the opportunity to view local wildlife as we go, with blue cranes and sacred ibis among the avifauna; springbok and blessbok representing the four-legged beasties. We will cross the Breede River on the famous hand-pulled ferry at Malgas, before a visit to Agulhas Lighthouse and the point where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet.
After a hearty breakfast we'll be off, heading for the mountains and the spectacular Tradouw Pass, which carries us over the mountain ridge that seperates the Klein Karoo Desert from the coastal Cape. From Barrydale we will follow a riding classic – Route 62. This road is a combination of straight scrub-desert cruise and pass-climbing nadgery, as it carries us swiftly through the open spaces, past ostrich farms and timeless colonial villages. We will overnight in the town of Oudtshoorn, among the ostriches and desert landscapes.Â
We turn west, towards the coast and pass of the day, the Outeniqua, a tarred snake heading down to the coast. Next, we ride the whole of the Garden Route (some 400km, sticking mainly to the old road, not the main highway). We will take in beautiful coastal views before turning inland, back to our funky backpackers among the lemon groves of Addo.
You are leaving today, so will be transported to the airport for the flight home. Goodbye and keep your chin up as you face the expectation of a cold country, with crowded roads, expensive booze and steaks the size of tupenny bits.
We are now offering a phenomenal wildlife experience as a ‘bolt-on’ option. This includes a safari drive in Addo Elephant National Park and the opportunity to radio-track cheetah in Mountain Zebra National Park. Two additional night’s accommodation is included, as is all transport and guiding. Click the link AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE for more info and add the tour extra on the bookings page.
The tours can be booked online, by email, or over the phone on: +44 (0) 7494 050404. To secure a place you will be asked to put down a deposit of £500 and payment can be made by card, cheque, or bank transfer.
Yes. We enjoy hosting riders from all countries.
Flights are not included in the price of your tour, but we can provide details of where to book an appropriate flight.
For many nationalities, a tourist visa is issued free of charge at your port of entry. It is, however, your responsibility to check current regulations.
You will need a valid certificate of travel insurance.
We own and manage our own fleet of bikes.
If you damage the bike, you will be charged for the damage up to the amount of your excess. On all our bikes, the excess is £1000, so in the event of a mishap you will not be charged more than this amount. If the damage is less than this amount, then you will only be charged for that damage.
If you have damaged the bike near to this total, we may ask you to place a further deposit before continuing.
Yes, you need travel insurance to cover you for the period of the tour. This insurance must cover you to ride the bike you have booked.
We would advise that you change some money on arrival at the airport. ATMs are widespread and an efficient way to get hold of cash. Credit and debit cards are accepted nearly everywhere.
About 300-£400 should cover food, drink, petrol and sundries.
Yes, unless you pay a supplement. Even then, single rooms may not be available at some stops as the hotels we use are popular, or in some cases small, and we have to book our accommodation some time in advance.
It varies widely (and tour-to-tour), but is always clean and the best we can find in the area for a reasonable price in a suitable setting. We are always in clean, comfortable hotels and guesthouses.
Yes, but you may need a travel plug adaptor.
We would recommend only booking a tour with us if you have a licence to ride your tour bike (compulsory) and have at least a year’s recent riding experience. The main criterion, however, is confidence.
Riding anywhere carries with it a degree of risk, as does riding in South Africa. However, with light traffic and good roads, we would suggest that riding in South Africa is no more dangerous than a tour in Europe. For more information on the riding side of things see ‘Riding’ in the ‘About South Africa’ section of this site. If any rider joining us rides in a manner we suspect will endanger themselves, or others, or indeed displays antisocial behaviour, they will receive one warning. If they continue to display a threat to the safety or enjoyment of others on the tour, they will be excluded from the remainder (with no refund given, see terms and conditions).
We will be riding ‘progressively’, at or around the speed limit and according to conditions. Most South African roads outside built-up areas have a 75mph speed limit – fast enough on the twisties. There are fixed cameras and mobile speed traps in towns…
No, you can’t ride independently of the tour group, sorry.
No fitter than you would have to be to tour Europe.
You are limited by most airlines, so check with the carrier. However, we suggest you pack as lightly and in as compact a form as possible. Bring only soft luggage to be carried on a support truck.
Keep it minimal. One set of riding kit for the tour and a few sets of clothes for the evening. There are usually laundry facilities at two-night stops – check your chosen itinerary. Leave some space for shopping you do in SA.
While South Africa has had some pretty bad press in recent years for violent crime, very little of this nature happens in the tourist areas through which we will be travelling. And, as ever, the media tends to sensationalise the bad and ignore the good. Being guided through the ‘right’ areas in a group greatly mitigates the chances of encountering unpleasantness. Petty crime – pick-pocketing and theft – happens, as it does in virtually all tourist destinations with a wide gulf between rich and poor. A few simple precautions, like keeping your wallet/docs in an inside pocket and leaving nothing unattended on the bike, should mean a trouble-free tour. You will be briefed on sensible measures prior to setting off.
If you’re wet, yes. They are provided throughout the tour.
Only some meals (check your tour for details). We prefer that where there are choices you make your own on what and where we eat. You will find South African food of a very high standard and good value.
It seems not, as we can no longer offer this experience…
They are, but not every night. Check the itinerary of your tour – you will be able to get clothes cleaned at two-night stops, so consider this when packing.
Yes. If your riding kit isn’t waterproof, then bring some light waterproofs.
Maybe, maybe not, but if you take part in a safari at Kruger, St Lucia, or Addo Elephant Reserve you will certainly see some interesting wildlife and landscapes.
Not really. There may be a few around, but you won’t be plagued. Bring some repellent. South Africa is pretty much malaria-free, but for advice on anti-malarials, please consult your doctor (take the itinerary with you).
You can’t paddle a wildebeest.
Depends on whether there are any great whites around. We would advise you to ask locally – and then go and get a beer instead.
Consult your GP/travel clinic for immunisation and malaria advice. Bring enough of any prescribed medication you take regularly. A basic first aid kit is useful (plasters, antiseptic cream, bite/sting relief, plus insect repellent).
Gel or air pads add comfort on long days in the saddle, but are not necessary.
Yes, but you’re going to South Africa.
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