Tour 3 – Magical Garden Route
Itinerary and Summary
This is a 12 day tour starting in Johannesburg and finishing in Cape Town. You can expect a total distance of approx. 2700 km of which 90% will be ridden on tar, the balance on good gravel roads.
Day one starts with a a general briefing about the whole tour and we then start riding south with a stop over at the Deneysville bike museum, where we can grab a bite as well as checking out their stunning display of classic bikes. The ride is continued through the scenic part from Bethlehem to Senekal and Winburg before reaching our day’s destination of Bloemfontein.
The second day carries us from Bloemfontein to Aliwal North and we continue through the beautiful parts of the Eastern Cape exploring the road to Burgersdorp, Steynsburg, Middleburg and finally to our overnight accommodation in Graaff Reinet.
On day three we will visit the impressive Valley of Desolation before taking the road down to Port Elizabeth. Day four is scheduled for an excursion to the Addo Elephant National Park (in a Safari vehicle, the bikes stay parked), a must in this area to visit and enjoy these majestic giants and many other members of our African animal world.
During day five your gravel experience will be tested when we leave Port Elizabeth again to take the Baviaanskloof route to Uniondale and down via Prince Alfred’s pass to Knysna.
Day six can be taken easy since the distance is reasonably short, but with the most stunning roads to ride from Knysna to Mossel Bay and up the Robinson Pass to Oudtshoorn, the ostrich capital of South Africa.
The seventh’s day will include a visit to the Cango Caves before going to “The Hell” via the Swartberg pass.
On day eight we will return from “The Hell” up again (it is a one way gravel road) to the Swartberg pass to reach Prince Albert, Laingsburg and take the scenic Seeweweekspoort on to Route 62 which we will follow up to our accommodation in Barrydale.
The morning of day nine awaits us leaving Barrydale and immediately getting into touring mode on the Tradouw’s Pass. Lunch can be taken at Swellendam, from where we continue the road to the southern most point in South Africa, Cape L’Agulhas. Following the obligatory picture taking at Cape L’Agulhas we carry on to our overnight spot at Arniston.
Day ten is planned to criss-cross the Western Cape passes with the final day destination of Montague.
On day eleven once again we will enjoy the various passes of the Western Cape and have plenty of time for picture taking without having to rush around. A relaxed riding day with lots of passes and very scenic routes can be expected before settling down for the day in Hermanus.
Day twelve, although being the last day of the tour, once again will show us the utter beauty of the Western Cape when we take the coastal road from Hermanus up to Fish Hoek and to the Cape of Good Hope, which we will explore before returning the motor cycles in Cape Town.
Tour price: ZAR 55 500.00 with BMW F750GS
Add ZAR 1 100.00 for BMW F850GS
Add ZAR 7 700.00 for BMW R1250GS LC
Included: 11 night’s accommodation, all dinners and breakfasts, tour guide, Addo Safari, back-up vehicle
Minimum: 5 participants
