35km intermediate gravel loop from Queenstown through the Karoo-edge plains of the central Eastern Cape — a wide-open semi-arid landscape with distant koppies, sparse Karoo scrub and the vast sky characteristic of the Great Karoo’s eastern margin.
38km intermediate Karoo gravel loop from Cradock through the Great Karoo’s vast semi-arid landscape — wide open terrain, distant koppies, Nieu-Bethesda mountain views and the extraordinary silence and scale of one of South Africa’s most iconic natural environments.
32km easy to intermediate gravel ride from Theunissen through the goldfields margin of the central Free State — flat gravel roads through agricultural and mining transition landscape between the wheat belt and the gold mines.
40km intermediate Karoo gravel loop from Trompsburg in the southern Free State — semi-arid landscape, sparse Karoo scrub, big silence and the vast scale of the Great Karoo’s northern edge on a meditative and remote gravel ride.
30km easy to intermediate gravel plains ride from Odendaalsrus through the flat Free State goldfields — an accessible, flat gravel route through the mining heartland of the Lejweleputswa District with wide Highveld skies and industrial heritage.
50km intermediate gravel grind from Kroonstad through the rolling Highveld plains of the central Free State — a proper gravel cycling challenge on farm roads through maize country with the Vals River valley as the natural anchor point.
The Namaqua National Park’s coastal section is the least-developed and least-visited part of the park — extending from the Skilpad plateau section all the way to the Atlantic coast in the Groen River area, where the succulent karoo biome meets the Benguela Current ocean in a landscape of extraordinary ecological richness and visual beauty. While the Skilpad plateau section draws thousands of spring wildflower visitors, the coastal zone remains largely undiscovered, its remote location (accessible via R362 and park roads from the N7) keeping it far quieter than any comparable coastal national park environment in South Africa.
The 35km gravel sprint from the N7 direction to the Groen River mouth follows the park’s gravel access road through the heart of the Namaqualand succulent karoo — an extraordinary ecosystem of quartz fields, endemic succulent groundcovers and specialised coastal fynbos found nowhere else on earth. The Groen River mouth opens onto a wild Atlantic beach: cold Benguela Current water, extensive tidal pools rich with marine life, and the sea mist that regularly rolls in from the ocean to create an atmospheric coastal environment completely unlike the sharp-lit dry interior just 20km behind you.
Practical note: The coastal section of Namaqua National Park is genuinely remote and the access infrastructure is basic. Contact SANParks Namaqua (+27 27 672 1948) to confirm current access road conditions and gate arrangements before visiting. Carry all food and water for the full day — no facilities on the coastal section.
Access the Namaqua NP coastal section via the R362 from the N7 (turn-off between Bitterfontein and Garies). GPS: -30.9167, 17.3833. Tel: +27 27 672 1948. From Cape Town: N7 north 530km to the R362 junction.
Loeriesfontein occupies a unique place in the Northern Cape landscape — the self-declared capital of Bushmanland, set in a flat Hantam basin surrounded by low mountains and sandy plains, 65km north of Calvinia on the R357. The town is known locally for one extraordinary attraction: the Fred Turner Windpump Museum, a free open-air collection of 27 working windpumps from South Africa, the United States, Canada, England and Australia that was assembled in the school playground at the request of Dr James Walton — a Cape Town-based engineer and windmill obsessive who put out a national appeal for windpump collections. Loeriesfontein was the only respondent. The result is one of the most unusual and genuinely delightful museums in South Africa: the Atlas Ace, the Conquest, the Australian Southern Cross, the English Hercules, the American Aeromotor, the Canadian North, the Star Zephyr — all creaking and spinning in the Bushmanland wind that never seems to stop.
The 45km Loeriesfontein Plains Loop follows farm gravel roads through the flat semi-arid terrain surrounding the town — a quiet, meditative ride through typical Bushmanland landscape where the working windmills on every farm horizon are the primary visual reference. Every 15-20km, a windmill marks a water trough — historically the only reliable water source for stock and human travellers across the Bushmanland plains, and still functioning today as it did when the first Trek Farmers crossed this country.
The Gannabos Quiver Tree Forest (20km return, southeast toward Nieuwoudtville) adds one of the most visually spectacular elements of Namaqualand landscape to the day: a dense grove of wild quiver trees (Aloe dichotoma) that is among the largest in southern Africa, with specimens reaching 8 metres in height and their distinctive bottle-shaped forms casting long afternoon shadows across the rocky koppie terrain.
Loeriesfontein is on the R357 between Calvinia and the Kamiesberg, 65km north of Calvinia. GPS: -30.9333, 19.4333. From Cape Town: N7 north to Vanrhynsdorp, R27 east to Nieuwoudtville, R357 north to Loeriesfontein (460km total). No fuel station — fill up in Calvinia before arriving.
Hondeklip Bay is one of those places that rewards the effort of getting there enormously — a frontier fishing village on the Namaqualand Diamond Coast, 104km from Springbok on a gravel mountain road that crosses the Messelpad and Wildeperdehoek passes, with no fuel station and no ATM. The village was once the primary copper ore export harbour for the Namaqualand mines, before Port Nolloth’s superior natural harbour and railway connection made it redundant. Today it is a regional holiday destination for Namaqua families, a spot for serious game fishermen and a magnet for travellers who seek out South Africa’s most remote and character-rich coastal communities.
The 20km coastal loop follows dirt tracks around the bay and its surrounding koppies — the cold, grey-green Benguela Current Atlantic stretching to the horizon in one direction, the stark Namaqualand coastal scrub in the other. The Aristea Shipwreck (6km return, signposted south of town) is the most visited cycling excursion: the 1945 iron hulk of the Greek cargo ship MV Aristea rests on the rocks 3km outside town, slowly rusting into the sea, its ribs and plates visible through the surf. The English Gravestones cemetery, perched on a cliff overlooking the ocean, commemorates the sailors who drowned when their ships met the same fate on this unforgiving coast.
The 104km gravel road from Hondeklip Bay to Springbok via Messelpad and Wildeperdehoek passes is one of the great Namaqualand cycling adventures — the passes rise through rocky copper mountain terrain of genuine drama, and the descent to Hondeklip Bay reveals the Atlantic on the horizon from the top. This route requires a full day, total self-sufficiency and a reliable bike — no services for the entire 104km.
Hondeklip Bay is accessed via the R382 from Port Nolloth (80km south) or via the gravel Messelpad Pass road from Springbok. GPS: -30.3167, 17.2833. Tel: +27 27 651 1177. Confirm access arrangements before travelling — former diamond restricted zone.
Concordia sits in the heart of Namaqualand’s historic copper belt — 5km from Okiep in a landscape that was being actively mined for copper by the Cape Copper Mining Company from 1862, making it one of the oldest industrial mining sites in South Africa. The granite koppies surrounding Concordia carry the legacy of that mining history in rusted infrastructure, rock-cut adits and the quiet ruins of what was once a booming company town. They also host one of the most beautiful natural features of Namaqualand: large colonies of kokerboom (quiver trees, Aloe dichotoma) that root in the granite boulders and grow to 7 metres in height, their distinctive succulent forms silhouetted against the Namaqualand sky in a way that makes the landscape unmistakably unique.
The 25km Quiver Tree Loop follows jeep tracks and rocky paths through the granite koppies south and east of Concordia, weaving between kokerboom colonies and copper mining remnants with the open Namaqualand valley as a constant backdrop. The terrain is rocky — loose granite on the hillside sections and more settled gravel on the valley floor. The Concordia Hills Scramble extension adds technical koppie riding for experienced riders who want more elevation and challenge.
Concordia is 5km from Okiep on the R382. GPS: -29.5833, 17.8500. From Springbok: R382 south toward Okiep and Concordia (8km total). No fuel in Concordia — use Okiep or Springbok.