While it may not rival Table Bay during the Volvo Ocean Race spectacle, Gariep Dam boasts its own yacht club and rocks as far as inland sailing goes. As a mountain biker, this may not float your proverbial boat, but it’s nice to know there’s a host of water sports on offer to complement awesome riding in the adjoining nature reserve.
The ride
Stop at the dam and you’ll soon realise you’ve stumbled upon a piece of mountain-biking nirvana. Deserted dirt roads dip and swerve along the shore, with endless riding options beckoning within Oviston Nature Reserve, which enfolds the café-latte water. A heady mix of gravel roads, jeep-track and game paths await; all you have to do is stick close to the rugged shoreline.
From Gariep Forever Resort, it’s a fast and flat four-kilometre crank to the reserve gates, where an entry fee is payable. From here, get ready for gravel heaven: with more than 150 kilometres of quality hardpacked dirt on offer, you and your bike can play dirt-road roulette to your heart’s content.
Follow the water’s edge as you take in endless vistas of the southern Free State plains and keep an eye out for herds of springbok, mountain zebra, black wildebeest, kudu and red hartebeest. Don’t limit your ride to gravel; dual track, footpaths and rock gardens are sure to lure you off the beaten track if you’re in a playful mood.
Getting there
Gariep Village is just off the N1, about 200 kilometres south of Bloemfontein. Turn at the sign to the nature reserve opposite the Shell garage and continue three kilometres to the entrance.
Gear
Get there without getting lost with an affordable GPS receiver unit. Garmin is a leader in global positioning technology and its Garmin Edge 705 (R5 500, excl. VAT) is the ultimate navigation system for your bike. Plus, its heart-rate monitor will help you pace and improve your riding.
Need to know
The entire area around the dam is a nature reserve and long-distance crankers can explore the network of gravel roads that circumnavigates the whole of the Gariep Dam. Winters are freezing and dry, while summer goes hand in hand with thunderstorms and very high day-time temperatures.
Gariep Dam route facts
- Grading: Easy, with some loose gravel and erosion
- Duration: Between one and five hours
- Configuration: Up to 150 km out-and-back routes
- Start point: Gariep Forever Resort or Oviston Nature Reserve gate
- Terrain: Gravel road and jeep-track
- Entry requirements: Pay a conservation fee of about R30 at reserve gate
- Cell reception: Intermittent
- GPS co-ordinates: S30° 35’ 48”, E25° 30’ 07”
- Contact: Tel 051-655- 0000, www.ecparks.co.za/ parks-reserves/oviston.
Off the bike activities at Gariep Dam
A surprising range of outside entertainment options are offered: tour the concrete belly of the dam wall, take a sundowner booze cruise, go horse trailing and river rafting or opt for tennis, bowls, squash or lazing next to the swimming pool at Gariep Forever Resort. Tel 051-754-0045, email [email protected], www.foreversa.co.za.
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