Explore the country’s lesser-known back-roads on this journey from Zuurberg, near Addo Elephant Park, to Cintsa on the Wild Coast – we guarantee hardly any cars, just You, your bike and the open road…

Day 1 – Arrival into PE Airport

Late afternoon pick up at PE airport (aim for 16h00) and transfer 45 mins to Zuurberg Mountain Village, spectacularly set on a mountain top, overlooking Addo Elephant National park. Here we settle in, check bikes and prep for the 5 days ahead.

Day 2 – Zuurberg to Somerset East – 90km/

As we turn out of the hotel PE is still almost visible to the south and after a few climbs we top out on a ridge where it is quite likely that Denys Reitz, the famed Rebel Boer Kommando, must have gazed down at his pursuers across the plains of the Eastern Cape. Our descent onto the plains is rugged, followed by a long, gradual pull to the town of Somerset East.We overnight at a number of B&B s situated fairly close to each other with dinner out on the town…

Day 3 – Somerset East to Bedford – 80km/

Another beautiful climb up the Pass past some of the oldest indigenous forests in the country. There are dairy and hunting farms up here and we cross the Great Fish and Baviaans Rivers close to their cofluence before looping around to the historic town of Bedford. We overnight at the newly re-furbished Duke of Bedford Hotel – an unexpected surprise in this sleepy EC town.

Day 4 – Bedford to Katberg – 97 km/

We ride the tar road for 14 km towards Adelaide and then veer off through farmlands with a few gnarly climbs, before reaching the dirt road again and gently climbing up into the hills and through the Mpofu forests and Katberg forests, ending with a long climb up the Katberg Pass, followed by a VERY long and exhilarating downhill, to The Katberg Spa & Golf Estate.

Day 5 – Katberg to Stutterheim – 133 km

The first 17km is fast and mainly downhill to Seymore, but thereafter we are faced with the challenging Mitchell’s Pass, which takes us into the back of Hogsback. We cycle through the town towards the 3 Hogs before a long descent to the Sandile Dam, where we enjoy lunch. We then head past a series of hilltop villages, through St Mathews Mission and into the Keiskammahoek Forest to emerge just outside the town of Stutterheim.  Our hotel is situated at the base of the Amatola Mountains.

Day 6 – Stutterheim to Chintsa – 105 km

Our final ride takes us through frontier territories, where Africa’s Hundred Year War took place between the Xhosa and the British from 1779 to 1879. The terrain is rugged, but fast and flowing and you are likely to spot some wildlife. We end with a late lunch at Crawford’s Beach Lodge, then shower and head to the airport in East London OR ( highly recommended), *spend the night at this delightful spot overlooking the ocean, enjoy an afternoon at leisure and fly out tomorrow morning…