Closest Town: Sabie
Grading: easy to extreme | Duration: 1-5 hours
Location (Area/Province): Highlands & Lowveld and Mpumalanga
Configuration: A network of return or loop options
Start Point: Merry Pebbles Resort
Access: Permits required - available from Merry Pebbles Resort
Beware of: It gets dark early in the forest, so don't leave late in the afternoon.
Facilities: Self-catering accommodation and ablutions at Merry Pebbles Resprt
Cell Reception: Intermittent
OVERVIEW
The trails at Sabie suit anyone from novices to your regular racing snakes, with so many purpose built trails that you will literally be able to crank along a different route every day for a whole week. Riding options range from flat and easy to gravel roads or singletrack, spanning the full range from technical to kid-friendly … all you need to do is get yourself and your bike to Sabie, and get cranking!!
Interlinking marked tourist orientated single tracks and trails on SAFCOL Forestry landholdings were developed in a joint venture with Sabie Chamber of Commerce, driven by Joy Comley (Merry Pebbles) and Dennis Lawrie (Forest Ventures). These trails are maintained in order to provide visiting mountain bikers to Sabie with a range of varying distances and difficulty ratings. Day permits to ride the trails are currently available from the shop at Merry Pebbles between 08h00 and 18h00 where vehicles can safely be parked before entering the trails through the Thalede managed Castle Rock Caravan Park.
Local riders, weekend tourists staying at Sabie accommodation venues, and day visitors to Sabie, often make regular use of these trails, taking on the varying distances according to their skills, strength and fitness, sometimes with enthusiastic children tagging along.
Should you want to take on a longer, more challenging trail, or a series of routes over a weekend, contact Dennis Lawrie at dlawrie@forestventures.co.za.
On your bike
Yellow Route (6km / ascent 50m / duration 30 min- 1 hr) – easy route, riverside and forest trails, suitable for beginners and children. Minimal fitness and bike skills required.
Purple Route (17km / ascent 150m / duration 1-2 hrs) – easy to intermediate scenic route. Moderate fitness and bike skills required.
Blue Route (25km / ascent 250m / duration 1-2 hrs) – intermediate, scenic route, waterfalls and cave. Moderate fitness and bike skills required.
Green Route (16km / ascent 350m / duration 1-2 hrs) – intermediate, great view and scenic vistas. Slippery single track in the wet. Good fitness and bike skills required.
Black Route (13km / ascent 270m / duration 50 min – 1 hr 45 min) – difficult, demanding route with steep climbs, very steep downhills and technical singletrack. Very good fitness and technical bike skills required.
Red Route (27km / ascent 550m / duration 1.5 – 4 hrs) – scenic, difficult, demanding and technical trail with Ulusaba Long Drop . Very good fitness and proficient bike skills required.
Off the bike
An abundance of exciting activities awaits adventurers visiting the Sabie area. Partake in anything from 4×4 trips to swimming, fishing, abseiling, archery, hot-air ballooning, bird-watching, paddling, sailing, helicopter flips, whitewater rafting, rock climbing, hiking and much more.
CONTACT:
Permits and route maps are available from Merry Pebbles Resort (013) 764 2266 / www.merrypebbles.co.za
Website: www.sabie.com
Telephone: 013 764 1177
GPS: S 25°05’44.4″ E 30°45’58.7″
