Pofadder (Van Gaalen)

Pofadder is the technical centrepiece of the Van Gaalen trail network — the section that attracts advanced riders from across Gauteng who want genuine commitment terrain at a venue that also offers excellent cheese. The name refers to the puff adder, appropriate for a trail section that demands respect and bites back when underestimated.

Pofadder

From the main Van Gaalen trail system, the Pofadder extension departs onto distinctly different terrain — loose rocky surface replaces the flowing singletrack of the main network, and the trail design shifts to feature-based riding: drops that require commitment, technical descent lines that punish route-choice errors, and the kind of loose shale climbing that rewards weight distribution technique over raw power. At 12km it is not a long route, but the intensity per kilometre is considerably higher than anything else on the Van Gaalen network. Most riders who include Pofadder in their Van Gaalen day treat it as the technical highlight of an otherwise flowing ride — completing the main network loop before entering the Pofadder section with legs still fresh enough to handle it well.

After the Ride

Van Gaalen Cheese Farm’s artisan cheese tasting and café is one of the best post-ride experiences in Gauteng — a genuine working cheese farm producing Dutch-style cheeses from their own herd, with tastings and a well-stocked farm shop.

Getting There

Van Gaalen Cheese Farm, Skeerpoort Road, Skeerpoort. GPS: -25.7167, 27.7667. Tel: +27 12 207 1181. From Pretoria: R104 west, R512 toward Skeerpoort. From Johannesburg: N14 west, R512 north toward Hartbeespoort, Skeerpoort turnoff.

n

🌐 Visit Official Trail Website →