South Africa and Botswana mountain biking tour
| country: | Botswana, South Africa |
| trip type: | Adventurous mountain biking holidays |
| departures: | 2010: 4 Feb, 4 Mar, 1 Apr, 6 May, 3 Jun, 1 Jul, 19 Aug, 2 Sep, 7 Oct, 4 Nov, 2 Dec |
| price: | From £1800 - £2000 (9 days) excluding flights. Price includes all accommodation and meals |
| more info: | Please contact us should you be unable to travel during these set departures. We offer bespoke trips for a minimum of 4 bikers. |
| offers: | The ultimate southern African wilderness mountain biking adventure. Join our Feb 2010 departure and take advantage of our 5% discount. |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Join us on a truly enticing African biking holiday, a journey never to be forgotten.
Ride highland peaks and forested valleys, bike ancient elephant trails in Botswana. Indulge in the classic luxuries of the Golden Cottage, and slumber to sounds of the wild under starlit skies in Botswana's wilderness.
Starting in the Mount Anderson Reserve, near Lydenburg, which boasts some of the best single track riding in South Africa. It is a land of rugged valleys with crystal streams that reflect vulture spotted skies. Sunbirds sip from red poker aloes and eland and black wildebeest gather on mountain slopes while the bark of baboon’s echo off cliff faces. Single track weaves up to alpine heights, down winding forested valleys, along dramatic quartzite escarpments and over rocky crests. This is exhilarating all mountain riding. We then ride to the historic gold mining town of Pilgrim’s Rest before we embark on the second half of our journey.
The Northern Tuli Game Reserve in Botswana is where herds of elephant, giraffe, wildebeest and zebra have roamed the dramatic, rugged landscape for thousands of years. Ancient elephant paths provide the cycling ‘single track’, which interlace a mosaic of undulating savanna, riparian forest, rocky outcrops and wooded floodplains. We offer 4 days of guided 'mountain biking free-riding at its best'. Ride super buffed game paths, sleep under the starlit skies, encounter big game and explore the ancient Land of Giants.
This tour can be 10 or 12 days. See itinerary below for details.
Ride highland peaks and forested valleys, bike ancient elephant trails in Botswana. Indulge in the classic luxuries of the Golden Cottage, and slumber to sounds of the wild under starlit skies in Botswana's wilderness.
Starting in the Mount Anderson Reserve, near Lydenburg, which boasts some of the best single track riding in South Africa. It is a land of rugged valleys with crystal streams that reflect vulture spotted skies. Sunbirds sip from red poker aloes and eland and black wildebeest gather on mountain slopes while the bark of baboon’s echo off cliff faces. Single track weaves up to alpine heights, down winding forested valleys, along dramatic quartzite escarpments and over rocky crests. This is exhilarating all mountain riding. We then ride to the historic gold mining town of Pilgrim’s Rest before we embark on the second half of our journey.
The Northern Tuli Game Reserve in Botswana is where herds of elephant, giraffe, wildebeest and zebra have roamed the dramatic, rugged landscape for thousands of years. Ancient elephant paths provide the cycling ‘single track’, which interlace a mosaic of undulating savanna, riparian forest, rocky outcrops and wooded floodplains. We offer 4 days of guided 'mountain biking free-riding at its best'. Ride super buffed game paths, sleep under the starlit skies, encounter big game and explore the ancient Land of Giants.
This tour can be 10 or 12 days. See itinerary below for details.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrive at OR International, road transfer to Mt Anderson (Thursday). Meet your guide at OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg, or preferred hotel and drive 4hrs to Mt Anderson Reserve. We’ll have an opportunity to settle into our stunning location, prep our bikes, and enjoy a sundowner on the terrace. The Golden cottage is a luxurious ranch style homestead, catering for a max of 6 guests in 3 double en-suite rooms. Trust us you'll love it. |
| Day 2: | Alpine Heights (Friday). We're on holiday, so no wake up calls here. After a light breakfast we climb to above 2000m. We emerge on highland plains and cruise down winding trails, herding eland, wildebeest and zebra as we go, eventually dropping into the Spekboom river valley. We break for a swim and lunch and head back to the cottage for well deserved siesta. (appoximately 30kms) We ride mostly single track, in pristine highland wilderness (up to 2000m), at a relaxed pace with plenty of stops to soak up the views. We may encounter wildlife including zebra, black wildebeest, baboons, reedbuck, jackal and eland. |
| Day 3: | Bushman's trail (Saturday). After breakfast we ride the Bushman's trail - short steep climbs, winding single track along an escarpment with dramatic views of the valley below, through late 1800s gold prospecting scars, flowing descents with some technical and steep sections, past San rock art and over stream bridges. We'll lunch on the trail and be back at the cottage in the afternoon for down time. (approximately 30 kms) |
| Day 4: | Pilgrims Rest (Sunday). We wake to a hearty breakfast and set for perhaps the biggest day’s ride of the trip. Over Olifant’s Nek, we descend the course of the upper Blyde River mostly on forestry dirt roads, through unparalleled vistas, as it tumbles down to the 1800’s Gold mining town of Pilgrims Rest. We lunch in a local tavern and spend some time exploring the historical village. We’ll shuttle back to the Golden Cottage. (approximately 50kms) |
| Day 5: | Mashatu, Wilderness (Monday). We depart early for the 5 and a bit hour drive to Pont Drift border post where we meet the Botswana team. After sandwiches and packing the land cruisers we ride to our 1st wilderness camp. (approximately 20kms) The wilderness camps are set up prior to our arrival and contain basic amenities to offer comfort without distracting from the wilderness experience. Meals prepared on open fires, hot water bucket showers, camp cots and cold beers all add up to a comfortable and exhilarating night out. |
| Day 6-7: | Mashatu, Wilderness (Tuesday and Wednesday). We awake at sunrise to a breakfast of yogurt, cereals, toast and fruit. We ride a variation of paths and trails to return to our camp by lunch time. We relax during the midday hours and then enjoy a sundowner from a vantage point in the afternoon. (approximately 30 kms) The riding at Mashatu is very relaxed where we ride for approximately 4 to 5 hrs a day, with many stops en-route. We often encounter wildlife including elephants, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, impala, kudu, eland among others and occasionally we see lions and leopards. The group is guided by 2 armed guides and we ride to certain safety protocols. A back-up vehicle is in radio contact with the group at all times. |
| Day 8: | Mashatu, Kgotla (Thursday). After a breakfast and home brewed coffee, we ride (our last of the trip) out to the sandstone ridges of the Limpopo valley, through stellar moonscapes and gardens of Eden. We’ll arrive at our Kgotla camp where we’ll enjoy an afternoon of relaxation and a final epic sunset. (approximately 40kms) |
| Day 9: | Departure. We wake up at leisure, breakfast and pack bikes. We'll return to Pont Drift border post for the road transfer back to Johannesburg and a farewell to new discovered friends. We can highly recommend a 2 night add-on at Pafuri Camp in northern Kruger National Park. This is a 3 hour transfer from Mashatu. Please enquire with us for more information. . |
how this holiday makes a difference
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The Mt Anderson Water Catchment Reserve was established primarily to protect the highland water resources of the eastern flowing rivers of South Africa. Many of these rivers become the lifeblood of the Kruger National Park. Much of these areas comprise of private lands, and are funded by conservation minded individuals. We provide a valuable income for the management of these pristine highlands by offering low impact mountain biking trips.
By linking existing game trails with sustainable hand built single track we have opened the way for an alternative and sustainable land use. As a result of our success with this venture the surrounding areas are seeing the potential benefits and a network of trails encompassing the entire region is being established. We’ve designed our trips to further minimize the impact on the environment by minimizing vehicle travel and maximizing bicycle travel. For the ongoing maintenance of the trails we employ local disadvantaged individuals and we hope to see the creation of more jobs in the long term. We employ local guides and provide training and skills development related to guiding, first aid, bike maintenance, food preparation and hospitality. Water is life and nowhere more so than Africa. This trip highlights the need to protect these catchment areas. Our base for the first part of this trip, the Golden Cottage, accommodating only 6 guests is the only form of accommodation in the 6000 hectare reserve, which although is connected to the main grid, is opened only when occupied. We also operate low impact temporary wilderness camps which are rotated to allow localized recovery. In a region that has historically provided traditional vehicle safaris, we offer an alternative land use with a lower impact on the local environment. We practice sustainable practices such as water and wood conservation and waste re-cycling. We have installed solar energy lighting into our staff housing. Our Trees4Bikes project provides is aimed towards raising funds to provide local school kids with bikes, alleviating the need for extended walks or bus transport to schools. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |