Goegap Nature Reserve MTB Trails

About Goegap Nature Reserve MTB Trails

Where: 15 km east of Springbok (in the direction of the airport, along the R355)
Level: intermediate with some rocky sections (not good for children)
Type of route: mostly jeep track and gravel road
Best: if there in mid-summer, ride early mornings or evenings to avoid the heat, and winters get icy in the mornings and evenings; August/September has the added bonus of spring wild flowers

The Northern Cape offers a different terrain for those who do not often visit. Goegap Nature Reserve is beautiful and desert-like; a harsh terrain that is a melting pot of kokerbome (giant aloes) and halfmens trees, great swathes of sand, rocks, and boulders that provide a backdrop for hardy zebra and the odd klipspringer.

Roughly 35 km of 4x4 tracks serve as your playground with a start at the reserve office, before riding up a narrow valley that cuts through the huge granite boulders of the Klein Koperberge (small copper mountains).

22 km of 4x4 track form a basic circular route through semi-desert and sand with some rocky sections, whilst other gravel roads create additional options to vary the route.

Your bike skills are put to the test through patches of sand, a couple of gentle climbs and a steep ascent to the top of Carolusberg, the Goegap's highest point, but consult the map and you can work out a variant to avoid the harsh bits of this largely uncharted landscape.

It's highly likely you won't see another rider for the duration of your ride.

Pick up a map from the Goegap Nature Reserve office. A conservation and levy fee are involved.

The Goegap MTB Race is an annual 60 km through the reserve with two available routes – 30 km and 60km.

If riding during spring, include the Hester Malan Wild Flower Garden, also in the reserve.