The SA Adventure Karoo Two
Off-Road Adventure- Baviaanskloof
7 DAY GUIDED OFF-ROAD ADVENTURE TO THE KAROO
-All lodge accommodation.
-R 11 899 per person sharing.
-Single supplement available at R 2 200.
-All breakfasts included.
-Guides, medic and support truck on the tour.
-This tour is suitable for 4x2 and 4x4 vehicles.
- All vehicle brands are welcome.
Tour Dates:
2024 dates coming soon...
Welcome to the second installment of our Karoo is Calling tour series. This particular tour takes place in the beautiful Great and Little Karoo regions, where you will have the opportunity to explore the succulent-covered mountains of the Eastern Cape, as well as the stunning dolerite-capped mesas of the Moordenaars-Karoo. Additionally, you will have the chance to embark on scenic drives through majestic mountain passes, including the renowned Baviaanskloof and Swartberg Pass.
It's important to note that this tour is exclusive and limited to just 12 spots. We encourage you to watch the accompanying video and review the detailed itinerary below for more information.
Itinerary of the Off-Road Tour
It's our mission to support the South African tourism industry, which has been heavily hit by the Covid-19 crisis, by bringing much-needed cash flow to the small lodges we'll be staying at on our adventure. If you’re interested in finding out more about this intriguing off-road Karoo adventure, please read through the brief itinerary set out below and book your place on this incredible off-road adventure today...
DAY ONE
The adventure kicks off in the historical town of Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape Province.
We all meet up at our lavish accommodation at around 5 pm. Here we will enjoy a 5-star dinner at this award-winning hotel, while we get to know our fellow travellers. The SA Adventure team will give a detailed rundown of the tour we are about to undertake, sharing many years’ experience and tales of 4x4 off-road adventures we've been on. We will also share some of the history of this beautiful town, which is the fourth oldest in South Africa!
DAY TWO
The fresh Karoo air will have ensured a deep nights’ rest, invigorating your mind and soul for the day ahead.
Following a hearty breakfast, we head off towards the beautiful Eastern Cape and visit Addo! We drive on truly striking Karoo roads with lots of stops for photos of the remarkable scenery. The road that leads us away from Graaff- Reinet is absolutely breathtaking. A notable stop is a place we’ve come to call Aloe Valley, where each one of the North facing hills is covered with medicinal Aloe Ferox. “The amaXhosa have legends about the Aloe warriors that spring up from the Earth by the thousand. Their spears are the flowers, their leaves are their shields, and the stems are their bodies.”
We stop for a wonderful lunch at the Royal Hotel in the quaint town of Steytlerville (try the bobotie and apple crumble). Be sure to pop into Die Winkel across the road and rummage through their interesting collectables and antiques.
From here on the road becomes even more impressive! We drive through secluded towns and wind through mountains until we reach our accommodation on a lovely orange farm on the banks of the Sundays River in Addo.
DAY THREE
The excitement about the day ahead is not easily contained! The passes we are going to traverse lie beyond imagination! Today we head towards the Baviaanskloof! On the way we will be stopping in Patensie for picnic supplies. We then drive over the old lower bridge that crosses the Van Stadens river with a terrific ant’s eye view of the Van Stadens Bridge! We will stop for some photos and drone shots and take in the beauty of the Eastern Cape vegetation. What comes next is the almost indescribable Baviaanskloof!
The valley of the Baviaanskloof - derived from the Dutch “valley of baboons”- is just under 200 kilometres in length and a truly fascinating place in terms of its geomorphology and geology. The rocks that form the Baviaanskloof mountains (to the North) and Kouga Mountains (to the South) are sandstones from the Table Mountain group formed when the southern Cape region was still part of the Gondwana supercontinent. We’ll be driving through passes with views of unspoilt nature, plateaus of green, gorges with death-defying drops beautiful streams and majestic mountains! We’ll then stop for a picnic with one of the best views you’ll ever see! Following our awesome drive through the Baviaans Nature reserve, we’ll stop for a quick coffee and a snack at a little shop on the edge of the Baviaanskloof, before making our way to our accommodation for the night. We’ll be staying in the creases of the Cape fold mountains in a lodge that’s completely hidden away from civilisation. Tonight, we’ll have a braai, so please bring a few beers along!
DAY FOUR
After a hearty breakfast, we continue our journey towards Prince Albert via the Swartberg Pass!
Spanning from Outshoorn in the South and Prince Albert in the North and stretching a satisfying 27km, the Swartberg Pass is well known and considered one of the world's bucket list passes. This road - the R328 - runs from East to West -along the Northern part of the Little Karoo in the Western Cape- over the Swartberg Mountain Range. Built by Thomas Bain and opened in 1888, this beautiful single track winding climb will quite possibly leave you at a loss for words. The summit is at 1583m asl and we’ll stop here for a while to take in the most unimaginable views before zig-zagging our way down one of the finest exposed fold mountain chains in the world with the most unusual geology.
Almost immediately after exiting the pass, we arrive in the special town of Prince Albert. Steeped in history and legend, this little Western Cape town, founded in 1762 is only accessible via the Swartberg Pass, Meiringspoort and Seweweekspoort. The immaculately preserved Victorian, Cape Dutch and Karoo buildings of Prince Albert are mostly considered national monuments and make for great photos!
DAY FIVE
This part of the Karoo has so much to offer, and so, for this reason, we’ve decided to spend an extra day in Prince Albert! The many options for the day include a drive to an olive or fig farm; visiting the cheese factory; going to the museum or galleries; or a guided nature walk in the Wolwekraal Nature Reserve where we’ll learn about the geology, botany, the natural and cultural history of the area. As an added bonus, we will also do an optional drive out to the quirky little town “Die Hel”! This drive will be around 5 hours through technical terrain, with scenery that will leave you speechless.
As there is a multitude of stories about ghosts in the Karoo and especially Prince Albert, we can’t leave without going on a ghost tour! We’ll set out at dusk with our guide - a local of Prince Albert - who will tell us more about the legends and ghosts of this beautiful town and its inhabitants, including those spirits who don’t seem to want to leave!
DAY SIX
Today, we drive on very hidden Karoo dirt roads with beautiful scenery of the Moordenaars-Karoo! There will be no other vehicles driving on these roads for hours, and you’ll be very happy to be on tour with a group of people, as being stranded in this part of South Africa will make you understand why it’s called the Murderer’s Karoo. We’ll have an incredible lunch in the small town of Fraserburg where we’ve found a Chef that really knows what quality food is! After lunch we get back onto the dirt roads that will take us towards the picturesque Karoo National Park! Situated at the foot of the Nuweveld Mountains, the Park has a wide variety of wildlife and rich fossil history.
After check-in, we’ll go on a game drive followed by a walk on the fossil trail where we’ll see some of the most well-preserved fossils of the animals that roamed these parts 250 million years ago. We’ll have delicious dinner in the main restaurant before retiring to our accommodation, which will be chalets bounded by the lofty mountains.
DAY SEVEN
The last day of the tour is generally quite tough – knowing that we’re on our way back to “The Real World” and not being sure how we’re going to adjust back into it – can put a damper on things. For this reason, we’ve ensured that we’ll end this tour with a real highlight! Awesome dirt roads, spectacular Karoo scenery will lead us to our accommodation for the night: Somewhere between Nieu-Bethesda and Hanover, we’ve found a stunning lodge with buffalo, hippo and a multitude of game! On arrival, we’ll go out for a short drive and have sundowners overlooking a small river and try to spot the hippos. For tonight’s dinner we’ll have “Karoo Sushi” as a starter, followed by the best Karoo home-cooked dinner you’ll ever have! Make sure to leave some space for dessert, as you will be treated to the best milk tart you’ve tasted in your life!
During dinner we’ll close off the tour by sharing our favourite moments, lessons and skills learnt and integrate this awesome experience!
The SA Adventure Karoo Two Off-Road Tour Baviaanskloof and the Swartberg Pass
why go on a Karoo Tour with SA Adventure?
SA Adventure has been conducting off-road 4x4 and Adventure Motorcycle tours since 2009 all around the world. From the Karoo to Peru and beyond, our track record speaks for itself and the relationship we have with all the lodges hotels and guesthouses on this off-road adventure through the Karoo, have been built up over the past few years.
We pride ourselves on safety and nothing is more important to us than your well being while on your tour. We have a full support truck, guide and medic on every tour. You can relax on your adventure and know that the SA Adventure team has taken care of all the details to make your experience an unforgettable one!
