All information on these pages is based in our personal experiences while
cycling through South Africa in September 2002.
We flew to Durban cycled along the south coast, turned west crossed Lesotho.
At the other side we continued through Golden Gate and Royal Natal National
Parks, via Howick and Pietermaritzburg back to Durban. On our South Africa
pages you'll find practical information, a detailed
tour report and specific info on cycling in Lesotho
“Is it safe to cycle in South Africa?”
After our return many people were curious about cycling in South Africa. “What was the weather like? Did you have many punctures? One question was most frequently: “Is it safe over there?”.
Yes it is safe over there! Of course the normal precautions apply. Keep valuables out of sight etc. We wouldn’t want to bike through central Durban at night but outside the cities your security is no problem. People are friendly and helpful. We didn’t feel unsafe for one moment. This also applies to the Lesotho part of our trip.
Maps; getting around
We used the following maps:
1. Kwazulu-Natal Tourist Map; scale 1 : 1.100.000. Available from Tourist
Information offices at the airport and in major towns. This useful free map
gives distances ( not always very accurate), road numbers and a lot of general
information about Kwazulu Natal. Available from Tourist Information offices.
2. Drakensberg and Kwazulu-Natal Midlands Tourist Map; scale 1 :
250.000 (Map Studio - Cape Town). We purchased this map in the Netherlands.
It shows street maps of major towns, places of interest, accommodation
and game parks. The map show relief, and gives road numbers and distances
(not accurate). It covers the area from Pietermaritzburg to Harrismith.
3. Süd Afrika; scale 1 : 1.700.000 (Reise Know-How Verlag). We purchased
this map in the Netherlands. It shows relief, and gives road numbers and distances
(not accurate). Useful for planning longer trips.
Signposting along all the roads we used is good; all distances are measured
in kilometres.
Try this online map at expedia.com that gives a good impression of the area we visited.
What maps you should use in Lesotho
Books
We used the well-known Lonely Planet travel guide.
South Africa on the WWW
We searched the web for useful bike sites and found these. All links open in a new browser window.
- The official South
African Tourism Website
Useful for general info. - Travel
Guide To South Africa By Bike.
Page by International Bicycle Fund. Practical information is limited to one page. - The
South African Cycling website.
This could be the ultimate resource for cycling in Southern Africa. But It only has a limited number of links to trip journals; most of them around the Cape province. Some information about cycling in South Africa in general. - African
Safari by Bruce & Tass<
Report of trip through southern Africa. This four-month journey in Africa took them through six countries: South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Lesotho. - Route
of the Annual Gabran Cycling Event
The Gabran is a annual three-day ride from Oliviershoek pass down to Durban. The details on this site can be useful to cyclists who want to follow (a part) of this route.
Roads and Traffic
All main roads are in a good condition and generally speaking traffic
is light. Even better, most roads have a shoulder (small strip on both
sides separated by a yellow line) that can be used as a bicycle-lane.
On mountainous the steepest sections will have wide passing lanes.
The only unpaved road in South Africa we cycled was the steep and rough road
up Sani Pass. The complete route in South Africa we followed can be done on
a lightweight racing- or touring bike.
Looking down Sani Pass
, the steep and unpaved gateway to Lesotho
A problem along all roads are the broken bottles along the edges of road. Problem spots are junctions an other places where people obviously are waiting for busses etc. On a normal trip we have zero or only one flat tyres; now we had four of them!
Traffic is on the left hand side of the road.
Your bicycle - preparation - spare parts
Outside major towns virtually nothing is available to repair a broken touring bike. Mountain biking is popular in South Africa but to get the essential part you may have to go a long way. See our interactive checklist for some advice.
Food and drinks
For the self-catering every major town has a well-stocked supermarket. Most shops in the town centres close on Saturday afternoon and Sunday.
It's safe to drink water from the tap. At some places farm-stalls along main roads sell farm produce and cold-drinks.
Climate
We visited South Africa and Lesotho in September (2002). This is spring on the southern hemisphere. We had many warm and sunny days (25° C) but also some rain and some days with extremely dense fog near the coast. Up in Lesotho (at an elevation of around 2000 – 2500 m ) days were cool and nights were cold.
During a unusual cold front moving north from the Antarctic we had snow and ice in the Lesotho Mountains. We also stayed an extra day at Sani Top Chalet because the wind made it impossible to continue into Lesotho.
The advantage of this low-season period is that campgrounds and hotels are never very busy. Try to avoid December and January as these seem to be the peak months.
Detailed weather information can be found at:
General
forecasts by the South African
Weather service.
Wildlife
Yes, South Africa is famous for it’s wildlife. No, we did not see much more than a few zebra’s and wildebeest at a game reserve. Outside parks and reserves larger animals generally have left.
Spotting a zebra at Sterkfontein Dam Nature Reserve
Where to stay
Hotels and B&B
Rooms in lodges, hotels and B&B’s are widely available along the route we followed. Farms often offer B&B. A nice double room with breakfast will cost you Rand 200 - 300. Major towns will also have budget / backpacker accommodation. Our entire trip through South Africa can be done without a tent.
Rondavel-style accommodation at a B&B in Underberg.
Camping (Caravan Parks)
Many towns and national parks have camping facilities, including flushing toilets, hot showers and bathtubs. A campsite will cost around Rand 60 to 80 for a tent site. Our entire trip through South Africa could be done with just camping.
Alternatives
As a cyclist you may have to stop for a night at villages where there is no
campground of hotel. In South Africa we spend a night at the Highflats police
station. We slept very well in the courtroom and even were invited to take
a hot bath at the Station Commissioners home!
Other ways of getting around
Of course cycling is the best way to get around, but South Africa is a large country so you may want to consider one or more of these alternatives:
Hitch hiking
Many South Africans drive ‘bakkies’ (pick-up trucks) that are ideal for people with bikes. The usual precautions on hitchhiking apply.
Mini-bus taxis
Mainly black South-Africans use the mini-bus taxis. The seem to go everywhere but we are not sure they will take one or more persons with bikes. These busses always seem to be very very full.
Domestic flight
We flew from Jo’burg to Durban with NationWide and had no problems getting our (boxed) bicycles in the plane.
Questions?
Have a look at the South African section of our FAQ pages for questions
other visitors of this site already asked us. If you still have some
questions left do not hesitate to send us an
e-mail.
