Destination: South Africa
Duration: 13 Day(s)
Group Size: 10
Pillion Friendly: A great trip for couples
Terrain: All tar
Support: Tour leader / First-Aider / Support vehicle (if three or more riders)
Distance: 2100
There will be a maximum of ten bikes available on this tour. The bikes used will be Royal Enfield 500 Bullets for a Classic-feeling cruise. For further information on BIKES and the terms and conditions of hire, please go HERE.
As a participant in this tour you’ll fly to Cape Town, Advice on finding a flight can be found HERE, to be met by Blazing Trails staff and transferred to your central Cape Town accommodation, where there will be some paperwork to complete and where we will give you a briefing on the trip ahead. The following day we will sling a leg over the bikes and head out into unfathomable riding bliss.
When riding there will be a lead rider and a sweeper vehicle travelling at the rear (for three or more participants). The riding on this tour is all on tarmac, and this tarmac is generally very good, with little traffic and generous speed limits.
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.
Advice on finding a flight can be found HERE
Fly to Cape Town International Airport, to arrive the following morning.Time zone kindness should mean no jet lag.
You will be met at Cape Town Airport for the short transfer to your hotel in the heart of the city, where you will be introduced to your bike and any necessary paperwork will be dealt with. You will be within walking distance of the busy central district with a plethora of bars, shops, galleries and museums. In the evening we'll head out for a meal at one of the many excellent nearby restaurants.
This should be a ride you never forget – one of the world's finest. Leaving Cape Town we ride out through the Cape Peninsula National Park, following the spectacular cliff-side road through Chapman's Peak and on to the Cape of Good Hope to be greeted by ostriches, baboons and the most south-easterly point of Africa. Next we ride around False Bay and join the coastal R44, yet another of South Africa's classic rides. Then we ride through Gordon's Bay and Betty's Bay, where we stop to view a penguin colony. We end the day in Hermanus, a seaside town, where from June to November southern right whales can be seen close to shore. Hermanus is the only place in the world to have a 'whale crier' to alert visitors of their presence.
A short riding day that ends on Cape Agulhas, the most southerly point in Africa. After a leisurely start, we will roll along the coastal road to Struis Bay, where will will lunch on the harbourside. Having eaten we will ride to Point Agulhas, where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. We will be in our accommodation by mid-afternoon, so there's plenty of time to take a walk around this beautiful location.
From Agulhas we head north through flat farming country to meet National Highway Two. After a few miles we will turn to the mountains, crossing the spectacular Tradouw Pass, travelling a little more Route 62 and then turning back to the coast via another beautiful pass. Some distance is covered today, around 300km, but the going is easy and the views exceptional. We will arrive in Mossel Bay in good time to enjoy a drink overlooking the bay, before settling in for dinner.
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.
Today is Garden Route all the way – and at 250km a very leisurely exploration. Will will leave the 'new' garden route to ride the old passes, meander through Nature's Valley and pop in at a cat sanctuary, where there will be the chance to view most of South Africa's cat species. Before parking up for the evening in Storms River Village, we will visit the Storms River Mouth National Park for its amazing scenery.
Again following the coast, we will head out from Storms River, making for the village of Addo, set in the wild scenery of the Eastern Cape. We will pop in to Jeffrey's Bay for lunch on the beach, before heading inland, avoiding the town of Port Elizebeth in favour of the countryside. As we approach the National Park the landscape changes, with low-growing forest and succulent scrub all around. The next two nights will be spent at a delightful guesthouse, set among the lemon groves that characterise the area.
This is a day to explore the pachyderm-packed Addo National Park. But there are also plenty of other animals in residence, among them buffalo, lion, hyena, rhino, zebra and a huge variety of other mammals, birds and reptiles. We will arrange a safari vehicle and guide for you to enjoy your African safari experience.
Today is a full day's ride (385km) and a very beautiful one with little traffic. Leaving Addo head out into the Klein Karoo, a mountainous semi-desert of stunning beauty. Cruising the straights and carving the curves we will wend our way through small sheep farming settlements and on to the market town of Oudtshoorn, centre of South Africa's Ostrich farming 'industry'. We will spend the night at a beautiful resort outside town
The day can begin with an optional tour of an ostrich farm, before more super riding commences along Route 62, a famous ride through the heart of the Klein Karoo with its cloud-capped sandstone mountains. The desert scenery, with long straights is broken by curvaceous passes on which to Bullet boogie. There is plenty of time to stop for cold drinks and views along the way – including the famous Ronnie's Sex Shop (which is actually a cafe). The night will be spent in a delightful country hotel.
On leaving Montagu, we will travel through the stunning Kogmanskloof Pass to join the R60, riding through South Africa's famous wine country. After some 90km, we turn onto a lesser road, which traverses an incredibly beautiful landscape and crosses the Rooihoogte Pass before we descend from the DuToitskloof Pas to Franschhoek for lunch. Leaving Franschhoek, we will continue through the vineyards to Stellenbosch and on to our Cape Town accommodation and a fine dinner.
Some time to enjoy a truly world-class city. Explore the shops and performers at the vibrant Waterfront harbour, stroll Long Street, take a boat trip to Robben Island, or just around the bay, viewing seals and dolphin. There's also the cable car up Table Mountain, the aquarium and Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens to be visited, although you won't be able to do all this in a single day! If you fancy an extra couple of days let us know and we'll sort it for you.
Bye, bye... Time to board the 'plane with a head full of wonderful memories.
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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