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Game Park with “Big 5″* classic safari with MTB day ride option
At Mashatu Tented Camp you are based in a traditional safari lodge and able to combine regular morning or afternoon game drives in open safari vehicles with mountain bike safaris. This option is a perfect alternative for bringing non biking partners along and you can still enjoy your bike rides. Optional cultural excursions to villages, a local school and basket weavers round out the activities.
Pricing starts from US$398.- per person/per night, double occupancy, 2018 pricing. Includes accommodation, meals and two vehicle game drives per day. An optional biking safari is US$62.-.
*”Big 5″ are known as lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, buffalo
Game Park “Big 5 Territory” Mobile MTB safari touring
The rules in the “Land of Giants” are nothing like you have ever experienced before. It is imperative to stick with your group and follow your experienced specialist field guide. His job is to guide you through an amazing wilderness in remote Africa, the Mashatu Game Reserve in Botswana. This is a “big game” wilderness reserve with sightings of herds of elephants, impala antelopes, zebras and crocodiles to name a few.
For 4 days you will be following ancient elephant migration paths and cycling through scenery dotted with wildlife that will take your breath away. Each night will be spent at a different wilderness camp. Raw wilderness combined with your desire to experience the ultimate bike adventure is what this escapade is all about. Twice weekly departures available with best season from May-Sept.
The aim is to ride 4-5 hours per day covering 20 to 25 miles. Pace is easy-going with regular game sightings but deceptively challenging. Tours are tailored to suit the groups’ fitness and strength and provides vehicle support, meals and camp amenities.
Price for this 3 night Wildernerss Tour starts from US$320.- per persons/per night. Includes all camp/lodge meals and snacks, guided excursions conducted by an experienced ranger and vehicle support during the tour and on the trails.
“Big 5″* Territory Racing in South Africa
iSimangaliso MTB 4-day-stage, 260 km event allows Mountain Bikers access to areas within iSimangaliso Wetland Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, far off the normal tourist routes, allowing riders to experience the values this park has to offer. iSimangaliso is among the most diverse parks in the world with eight interlinking ecosystems, one of the highest bird counts in the country, incredible plant and game species biodiversity (all of the Big Five) and superlative natural beauty.
The third day the route transits through Phinda Private game reserve, Big 5 country, after traversing the False Bay hiking trails and St Lucia lake single track and exiting onto the Mzinene floodplain. This is an amazing opportunity to experience and one that will never be forgotten.
Entry fees depends on accommodation type and and includes conservation fee and meals.
*”Big 5″ are known as lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, buffalo
iSimangaliso MTB 4 Day – August 2018
Nedbank Tour De Tuli Stage Race
Should you wish to contribute to a charity educating kids about wildlife and the environment than you might consider taking part in the annual Nedbank TourDeTuli 4-day stage race, organized by Children in the Wilderness (CITW).
The riding is tough in places, with lots of rocks, some sand and a gazillion thorns, but the rewards are huge. If you survive the drop-offs and thorns, there are still hundreds of elephant, lion, buffalo, crocs and cheetah to consider. It is exactly this sense of free-riding within a dangerous game environment that draws the hundreds of cyclists who come to take part in this race in a remote area that normally is not accessible to the public.
All funds raised by the tour are channeled directly into CITW, a non-profit organization that runs sustainable education programs to bridge the divide between communities and the adjoining wildlife areas they live next to. Through Eco-Clubs and fun educational camp programs, rural children are inspired to respect their environment and to appreciate the long-term value of conservation, becoming the future custodians of Africa’s pristine wilderness areas.
Nedbank TourDeTuli Event Dates: Aug 2 – Aug 7th, 2018 Minimum Sponsorship Entry: approx. US$1,950.-pp
http://www.childreninthewilderness.com/www-tourdewilderness-com.html
Adventure to Africa is a sponsor of CITW and the full amount of the sponsorship entry will be used for the charity.
Adventure To Africa is pleased to advise upon, organize and coordinate any trip details as well as additional activities and tours the participant would like to undertake.
Date for 2018 is Aug 2 – 7th.
Lormar Endurance Mountain Bike Tour
This 3 stage race is held in a fairly remote corner of South Africa, the Karoo. Scenically breath-taking and challenging rides are Sep 28-30, 2018 for the Farm Trail and Oct 5-7, 2018 for the Sheep Trail . Lormar is not about crossing the finish line as quick as possible but rather about a riding experience like no other. The Tour entails riding along 200 year old stone walls, on smooth “sheeptracks” and passing the familiar windpomp scenes along the way. Combines nicely with Eastern Cape Game Parks for classic safaris.
MTB Riding Outside Gameparks in South Africa
You can plan your visit to join one of the many races available or you may ride one of the many trails available. One of the favorite ones is the Table Mountain Bike Ride in Cape Town or riding in the hills surrounding Cape Town. The scenery is beyond magnificent on all of them.
Every year the race calendar seems to get longer and offer more options to mountain bikers. Not only are the number of events increasing, but the number of different types of events have also increased in the last few years. Traditional club, provincial and national mountain bike cross country races were the cornerstone of racing. Then there were also some classic endurance mountain bike races and marathon events like the Sabie Classic, Rhodes Challenge, Giants Castle Challenge and Karoo to Coast.
But as more and more people started entering races the classic distances of 60-80km were a bit long for new comers. This led to half marathons in the 30-40km range, making mountain bike racing more accessible to more people. But at the same time the longer endurance multi-day mountain biking events have also become very popular. With the inaugural Cape Epic 2004 a multi day stage race covering over 800km in 8 days, a new benchmark was set.
Now there are several multi- day mountain bike races around, including the Sabie Experience and the Sani2C. 24hour MTB races have also gained more prominence. They had been around for a while, but recently sponsors and organizers have put together a 24 hour MTB series that takes place around the country. Night riding and racing is another new area which has become popular. With the use of special bright night lights, mountain biking at night has brought another whole dimension to riding your everyday trail. The more extreme types of riding like trails riding, free riding and downhill mountain biking are gaining popularity as well.
Traditional downhill racing has gained more publicity through the achievements of South African and World Champion racer Greg Minaar and more recently Andrew Neetling.
Example: Lighthouse 2 Lighthouse MTB Limited entries: ONLY 200 RIDERS ALLOWED. This is an ecologically sensitive area. The route starts at the historic Danger Point lighthouse near Gansbaai where the famous Birkenhead sank. The route tries to follow the trail that the old wagons used almost a century ago to supply paraffin to the lighthouses. It will take you along gravel roads, 2 spoor farm trails and through magnificent fynbos to the LAgulhas Lighthouse. Part of the route is through privately owned property, only opened to Lighthouse to Lighthouse riders.
At the end of the first day you will move closer to the seashore. This last stretch is renowned for its shipwrecks. Be sure not to linger too long because there will be a cut-off time (the incoming tide might be a problem). The lighthouse is in sight and you will cycle at the most southern point of the African continent. Motorbikes and 4×4 vehicles provide backup. There will be 4 water points along the route (every 20km) and bananas will be supplied at the halfway point. The overnight stop is at the LAgulahs caravan park where you can enjoy the campfire and a meal of traditional Potjiekos, pasta etc (optional) before a well earned rest (accommodation not included) Departure after breakfast (optional) is the next morning back to Gansbaai. Enjoy the ride through the historic village of Elim and the descent into Gansbaai with magnificent views over Walker Bay.
Total distance: Approximately 180km but one day only option possible.
Example November Race Calendar: Cherry MTB Challenge 60, 40, 20, 8 & 2km (Free State); Eselfontein MTB Festival 65, 36 & 16km (WesternCape); Delheim MTB Night Ride 12 & 7km (Western Province); Transvaal Galvanisers MTB Race 50, 35 & 10km; Delheim MTB Day 24, 12 & 7km, (Western Province); Enduro Dirtopia MTB (Western Province); Sabie Noon-to-Moon MTB (Mpumalanga)
For additional races please contact us.
