Closest Town: Beaufort West
Grading: Intermediate to technical
Duration: Self-determined
Location (Area/Province): Central & Klein Karoo and Western Cape
Configuration: Various options and up to 160km of jeep track.
Start Point: Rietfontein Game Farm
Access: Guests only
Beware of: The rainy season brings mud and flashfloods. Thorns can be viscious.
Facilities: Self-catering accommodation available. All accommodation is fully equipped with bedding, towels and kitchenware.
Cell Reception: Intermittent
Rietfontein is a place that can be visited year-round and offers the ultimate holistic Karoo experience. The property measures approximately 40,000 acres in extent and lies in the wide valley of the Groot River and its tributaries.
On your bike
The farm is a mountain-biker’s heaven: for the beginner there are many kilometres of gravel farm roads to learn on and gain confidence, and for the intermediate and advanced rider there are challenges not only in distance and elevation, but in a variety of terrain from deep sand and riverbeds to shale and sandstone koppies. Rietfontein’s topographical surface varies by some 200m between the highest and lowest contours and offers 160km of jeep track.
Off the bike
What the Karoo offers above and beyond the variety of activities is an opportunity to be still and breathe in the solitude: to sit and contemplate, recharge, think or just be. Besides mountain biking there are a number of things you can do with your family, day or night game drives, veld picnics, star gazing, fossil and stone-age tool hunting, hiking, bird watching and tent sleepouts.
GPS: 32°55′10.6″S 022°22′30.2″E
