#mtb
Jacques Marais is the South African trail guru. If he’s not scouting a new MTB trial, he’s running a new route in the Drakensberg. His new book, Top MTB Trails 2, has just hit the shelves of all good book shops and you can purchase a copy for R250. Follow him on Twitter @JacqMaraisPhoto.
OK, time to get high, Muckers. I mean on your bikes, of course, and on the Thin Air of the Drakensberg, rather than on some dodgy variety of mountain cabbage. Photographs and words by Jacques Marais. Local Buzz: Witsieshoek is one of those destinations you only get to if you’re […]
Head north to Limpopo, the Rainbow Nation’s most unexplored province, and you are sure to discover some mountain bike destinations of note. Nthubu, one of the camps making up the African Ivory Route, is a case in point. Photographs and words by Jacques Marais. Local Buzz: Although Nthubu is not […]
There are getaways, and then there are get-completely-off-the-grid-aways… the Nuwerust Rest Camp in the Red Karoo Cederberg Park is one of the latter options, and the biking there is pretty much off the charts. Words and photography by Jacques Marais. Local Buzz: Recipe for riding fun: dramatic landscape + hectic topography […]
Get all tree-huggy in the fantastic forests and pine plantations blanketing the ridges high above Tsitsikamma’s rugged coastline on the Misty Mountains Reserve MTB Route. Just make sure you do so after getting off your mountain bike… Photographs & words by Jacques Marais. Local buzz: This is the Garden Route, but […]
Misty Valley rates as one of South Africa’s more established MTB trail destinations, and the recent upgrades to the trails means there’s now all the more reason to go ride here. Photographs and words: Jacques Marais. Local Buzz: A scenic cruise through the high-lying grasslands of Mpumalanga gets you to Misty […]
Fantastic riding, riveting rock climbing, world-class trout fishing and some of SA’s best hiking trails … damnit, what are you guys waiting for?!? Photographs and words by Jacques Marais. Local Buzz: Waterval Boven (now Emgwenya – or the ever-so-scary sounding ‘Place of the Crocodile’) used to be an old railway […]
Kick-ass climbs, bush tunnels, rumbling thunderstorms, outback trails and superb single-track… that’s Mankele MTB Park for you. If you and your bike ever get to Mpumalanga, this is one stop-over you can’t miss. Photographs and word by Jacques Marais.
I’ve mountain biked in the UK, States, South America and Europe, but I can proudly (and confidently) state that Karkloof rates right up there with some of the best trails in the world. But don’t believe me; go ride it and see for yourself. Photographs and words by Jacques Marais.
The Garden Route boasts a bounty of trails on which to go wild with your bike, with the recent Merrell Eden Duo once again taking me onto a selection of superb MTB routes. Think Saasveld, Pepsi Pools and Montagu Pass, for starters …
It’s not often that you nearly get T-boned by a giraffe within the first few kilometres of a ride, but this is what you could expect if you do the route followed by the Nedbank Save The Rhino riders at Legend Golf & Safari Resort. Photographs & Words by Jacques […]
