Cradle Moon Black Route
Advanced 15km technical extension at Cradle Moon game reserve — rocky singletrack, challenging features and wildlife encounters for skilled riders who’ve outgrown the standard loops and want a proper Muldersdrift challenge.
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Cradle Moon Trails
50km+ of game reserve singletrack in the Magaliesberg foothills at Muldersdrift — ride among zebra, impala and wildebeest on flowing trails from easy green loops to advanced black routes, 45 minutes from Johannesburg.
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Olifantshoek Rocky Outcrop MTB
Olifantshoek (Elephant’s Corner) is named for the elephants that once roamed the Kalahari plains in this part of the Northern Cape — a reminder that the landscape has been transformed entirely since human settlement, and that the red dune grassland and camelthorn woodland of today was, within historical memory, elephant country. The town sits in a district between the major Kalahari mining centres of Postmasburg and Kuruman, and its immediate surroundings contain the most dramatic topographic contrast in the area: granite koppie outcrops rising from the flat Kalahari plain with steep, rocky flanks and vegetated summits that support a different suite of flora and fauna to the surrounding grassland.
The MTB Terrain
The 35km Rocky Koppie Loop uses jeep tracks and informal singletrack built by local riders through the granite outcrops south and east of Olifantshoek. The loose rocky terrain on the koppie sections provides genuine technical challenge — sharp granite edges, steep short ascents and descents, and the constant need for route reading through boulder fields. The plateau grassland sections between koppies are fast, flat riding with excellent visibility across the Kalahari plain. Gemsbok, springbok and steenbok are commonly visible from the saddle. The extended 50km Kalahari connector northwest enters classic red dune terrain toward Kokomis — a full half-day of empty Kalahari riding.
Getting There
Olifantshoek is on the R385, approximately 60km north of Postmasburg. GPS: -27.9500, 22.7167. From Kuruman: R385 west approximately 80km. From Upington: east on R31 to Postmasburg, then R385 north.
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Hermanus MTB Trails — Hemel-en-Aarde Valley
70km of community-maintained mountain bike trails above the whale-watching capital of South Africa — from beginner green loops to a 48km black expert route through the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley wine country. Paired with the Fernkloof Nature Reserve 17km circuit, Hermanus is a top-10 Western Cape MTB destination.
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Lebanon Forest MTB Trails
60km of forest singletrack on the forested slopes above the Elgin Valley near Grabouw — four colour-coded routes from beginner yellow to advanced red weaving through orchards, indigenous forest, fynbos and river crossings. Excellent shade makes this one of the best summer riding options in the Western Cape.
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Saasveld Singletrack Network
Community-built singletrack network on the Saasveld campus of the South Cape TVET College in George — flowing trails through indigenous forest and plantation, beloved by the George MTB community and a hidden gem of Garden Route trail riding.