Words and Images by: Jacques Marais THE “CLOUD MOUNTAINS” OF THE LIMPOPO PROVINCE RATE AS ONE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S ORIGINAL MOUNTAIN BIKING DESTINATIONS. A ROBUST FAT TRACK CULTURE PREVAILS, WITH CONTEMPORARY TRAILS SUITING THE FULL SPECTRUM OF RIDING STYLES AND ATTITUDES OUT THERE. PLUS, THERE’S DAMN GOOD BEER! Local Buzz […]
Trails
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.
Trails: De Hoop, Overstrand Region
Words and Images by Jacques Marais “THE HUSH”: SOME PLACES HAVE IT, AND OTHERS DO NOT … DE HOOP NATURE RESERVE IS OF THE FORMER KIND, AND SURELY RATES AS ONE OF THOSE WILDERNESS SPACES WHERE THE TRANQUILLITY WILL COME AND FIND YOU. Local Buzz De Hoop is – at […]
Trails: Valley of Dreams
Words and Images by Jacques Marais “Ultimate” is one of those adjectives that are oft over-used, but in the case of the “Ultimate Southern Pass Trail’” I really believe it applies. This new multi-day route traverses half a dozen private properties within the Stanford Valley, and everything from the views […]
Trails Apr / May 2020: Tulbagh Bone Trail
Words & Images: Jacques Marais Mountain biking can be a pretty cruel sport and chances are you will seriously suffer if you tackle the Tulbagh Bone Trail a tad undercooked. Yup, this is a tough old bugger of a crank into those high-and-righteous Witzenberg ridges … LOCAL BUZZ: Welcome to […]
Trails Oct / Nov 2019: St Francis, Kouga Region
Words & Images: Jacques Marais The coastal stretch west of “the world’s perfect wave” in Jeffreys Bay rates as one of SA’s undiscovered mountain biking gems. There’s no huge trail network, but you’ll get to super-charge your soul along a range of sumptuous coastal rides. There’s a little piece of […]
Trails August / September 2019: PwC Great Zuurberg Trek
Words & Images by: Jacques Marais The annual PwC Great Zuurberg Trek may well be a relatively recent addition to the SA MTB menu, but boy, it has done wonders in converting riders to exploring epic trails in this rugged part of the Eastern Cape Province, as JACQUES MARAIS discovered. […]
Trails: Gourikwa
Words & Images by: Jacques Marais The Garden Route starts near Mossel Bay, right? Nope, insists JACQUES MARAIS, there is a huge chunk of largely uncharted GR Greatness extending all the way from the coast to the Sonderend ranges – and stretching a couple of hundred kilometres eastward from Heidelberg […]
Trails: Rooiberg Klein Karoo – April / May 2019
Words and Images by: Jacques Marais Go klap a ride or two with your buddies – and a few cold beers – at one of my fave Klein Karoo getaways. Go ride it solo right now, or join the Transcape MTB Experience crew for eight days of fun over February […]
Trails: Augrabies National Park
Words and Images by: Jacques Marais Kicking off 2019, regular trail finder Jacques Marais heads to the Northern Cape. Bike-packing and gravel riding currently rates as two of the fastest growing segments in the sport of mountain biking. Augrabies proves to be a pedal paradise of note for both of […]
Herbertsdale: Jakkalsvlei Wine Estate
Words and Images by: Jaques Marais We all know Albertinia, mainly because there are loads of aloes and because you may occasionally spot a semi-tame elephant on the Overberg plains as you blast past on the N2. What you don’t know is that MTB nirvana is waiting just off the […]