Closest Town: Mossel Bay
Grading: Difficult to extreme
Duration: Anything from 1–9 hours
Location (Area/Province): Garden Route
Configuration: One-way, plus other options
Start Point: Bonniedale Farm
Access: Once-off fee per cyclist per stay
Beware of: Brutish climbs and extreme downhills
Facilities: Farmhouse accommodation, chalets, camping sites, permanent tents with beds, a lapa & kitchen tent and equipped caravans. Conference Hall ablutions. No cell phone reception
Cell Reception:
OVERVIEW
Get ready for a breathtaking ride along a route now rated by many MTBers as SA’s toughest one-day mountain-bike ride, boasting an insane 2 350m altitude gain over 126km.
A choice of two routes both starting at Bonniedale Farm, the 35km takes you along farm roads and the 120km circular with steep slopes, brutish climbs and some extreme downhill challenges along a combination of jeep-track and purpose-made singletrack trails.
Elevation 364m
This is a difficult one to rate as the area is magnificent but the altitude profiles are extreme with loose badly damaged steep bits that make short portages unavoidable.
The historical interest quotient is high as a result of ox wagon and elephant tracks dating back as far as 1689.
On your bike
Crank off from the farmhouse, and get ready for some immediate hike-a-bike action as you judder through the river bed and hit the jagged climb to the east.
Traverse this stunning fynbos plateau before climbing steeply into the contorted peaks beyond, but
this is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
Many a grinding ascent and dangerous descent await on this arduous crank to Chandelier Game Farm near Oudtshoorn.
For those who want something a little less extreme, there is good riding on 35km of 4×4 trails which aree used for biking or just crank along the gravel road through town.
Off the bike
Bird-watching, hiking, horseback riding, swimming, rock art, or 4×4 trails to rock climbing and abseiling.
Bonniedale is a 1,650 ha fynbos farm situated in the Attaquaskloof within the Outeniqua Mountains between Mossel Bay and Oudtshoorn. the farm is surrounded by the Attaquaskloof Nature Reserve, home to a range of antelope (kudu, rhebuck, bushbuck, klipspringer), as well as hyena, lynx, baboon, porcupine and other small mammals. Bonniedale Farm encompasses more than 16 square kilometres, offering outdoor activities ranging from bird-watching, hiking and horse-riding to rock-climbing and abseiling, swimming in rock pools, Khoisan rock art and 4×4 trails. There is also a large dam with paddle ski’s and a 130m flying fox foefie slide
Other nearby attractions include the Cango Caves, various game parks and reserves, crocodile, leopard and ostrich farms, an ox wagon museum, whale-watching, Great White Shark-diving, deep-sea angling and bungee jumping.
CONTACT:
Telephone: +27 44 695 3175
Web: www.bonniedale.com
GPS: 33°52’25.6″ South / 21°51’35.3″ East
