Porterville, an unspoilt and picturesque dorp on the slopes of the stunning Olifants River Mountains, was established on the farm Pomona in 1863 and named after the (then) quite popular Attorney General of the Cape Colony, Sir William Porter.

Set in a land of extremes, Porterville boasts with one of the rarest flowers, the Disa Uniflora, easy access to the awe-inspiring Groot Winterhoek Nature Reserve and dry hot summers with powerful thermals, placing it firming on the world map as an ideal paragliding hotspot.

From Porterville, crank northwards out of town onto the R365 and turn right after 2.6km at the sign to Dasklip Pass. Follow this gravel road onto the turn-off to the pass itself, where it switches to tar again (14km). Dasklip is a cool climb, if steep in places, and with superb views over the Sandveld farmland to the west.

You will reach the Beaverlac turn-off to your left after a solid 7km ascent, but it doesn’t stop there: keep ascending towards Groot Winterhoek Reserve (another 12km from Beaverlac’s turn-off). This adds up to a 66km return ride to the wilderness area, with potential stops at Pampoenfontein (legendary paragliding spot) and the unparalleled Ginsmith Gin, a local distillery crafting award-winning gins. It’s not easy to find Leslie and Col, but if you book a tasting in good time, they will explain exactly how to get there off the Groot Winterhoek access road.

Alternatively, one can hike the trails to De Hel and De Tronk or the infamous Waterfall Trail which leads to dramatic rock formations with rock art paintings and natural rock pools. Visit Berghof, an export cut flower farm where you can take a drive through fields of Barbis, Snow Princesses and Ice Queens.

For more information on Porterville and alternative activities to do there, check out our blogpost here.