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Destination: South Africa
Duration: 13 Day(s)
Group Size: 9
Pillion Friendly: Very
Terrain: All tar
Support: Tour leader / First-Aider / Support vehicle
Distance: 2200
There will be a maximum of nine bikes available on this tour. The bikes used will be Suzuki DL650 V-Stroms, or the BMW F700/800GS. 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 Port Elizabeth, to be met by Blazing Trails staff and transferred to your accommodation at Addo, 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 collect 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.
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.
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.
A Wildlife Extra can be selected during the booking process.
Fly to JHB or Cape Town International Airports, to arrive the following morning and meet your internal flight to Port Elizabeth.
You will be met at Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape for the short transfer to your Hotel at Addo. Later, at Blazing HQ, you will be introduced to your bike and any necessary paperwork will be dealt with. A sunset barbeque will be provided at our on-site pub.
Today is a full day's ride (420km) and a very beautiful one. Leaving Addo we return to the coast, before heading inland on the famous Route 62. Carving through the mountains, the road carries us along the Langkloof, the rich agricultural valley floor contrasting with the barren, cloud-capped mountains above. By the afternoon we are in the Klein Karoo, a mountainous semi-desert of stunning beauty. Cruising the curves we will arrive in 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 Route 62 riding commences, through the desert scenery, with long straights broken by curvaceous passes. 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 via the stunning Franschhoek Pass, 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!
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, with antelope wander in the grounds.
Bye, bye... Time to board the 'plane with a head full of wonderful memories.
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 this 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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