Cape2Karoo. Ocean to Karoo and back.
Seven days from the Indian Ocean to the Great Karoo and back, roughly 70% gravel, ridden at your own pace. Your route, lodges, airport transfer and 24/7 backup are all arranged.
7 days · ~1,306 km · ~70% gravel · St Francis Bay loop · From €2,950 per rider
Three landscapes. One loop.
You start and finish in St Francis Bay, and in between you cross a wilderness river corridor, a high desert plateau and the mountains of the Garden Route, without ever doubling back. The gravel changes almost daily: river crossings and rock in the Baviaanskloof, fast open roads across the Karoo, hand-built stone on the Swartberg.
The Baviaanskloof
Unbroken gravel through a UNESCO World Heritage wilderness, with more than forty river crossings and no fuel between the gates. The big day of the week.
The Swartberg Pass
Built by hand in the 1880s and on the route as standard. If you want more, take the optional turn-off into Gamkaskloof, the valley known as Die Hel: 37 km in and the same 37 km back out.
Prince Alfred's Pass
The longest mountain pass in the country, all of it gravel, before the run down towards the Tsitsikamma.
Watch the full loop on the animated route map.
The week in brief
Seven days, six nights, six different beds. Days run from a 143 km half-day to about 250 km, with around six hours a day in the saddle, and very little of it above 80 km/h.
| Day | Leg | Distance | Gravel | Night |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St Francis Bay → East Baviaanskloof | ~163 km | 70% | Working farm, deep in the kloof |
| 2 | The full Baviaanskloof traverse | ~178 km | 100% | Willowmore, country guest house |
| 3 | Willowmore → Prince Albert, via the deep Karoo | ~225 km | 75% | Prince Albert |
| 4 | Swartberg Pass → Calitzdorp (Die Hel optional) | ~170 km | 60% | Calitzdorp |
| 5 | Klein Karoo → Garden Route forests | ~175 km | 55% | Forest lodge, Outeniqua |
| 6 | Prince Alfred's Pass → Tsitsikamma | ~250 km | 65% | Mountain country house |
| 7 | Kouga mountains → St Francis Bay | ~143 km | 55% | — |
Taking the Die Hel turn-off on day four pushes that day to about 80% gravel. It turns the shortest riding day of the week into the longest. Plenty of riders do it. Plenty deliberately don't, and spend the afternoon in Calitzdorp instead. Both are the right answer — it depends entirely on what kind of week you came here for.
Read the full day-by-day
Day 1 · St Francis Bay → East Baviaanskloof
Depart the coast north via Humansdorp and through the Gamtoos Valley to Patensie. Gravel farm roads climb through Hankey Pass, Grootrivier Poort and Combrink's Mountain Pass into the Kouga mountains. Enter the Baviaanskloof at its eastern gate, and the wilderness closes in immediately.
Day 2 · The full Baviaanskloof
The complete R332 traverse, one of Africa's great wilderness corridors. Holgat Pass, Langkop Pass, Grasnek Pass and Nuwekloof Pass in succession. Forty-plus river crossings, towering cliff walls and total isolation across 178 kilometres of 100% gravel. Fuel at Kleinpoort (shop hours only). Nothing on earth quite like it.
Day 3 · Deep Karoo: Willowmore to Prince Albert
North from Willowmore through Steytlerville and into the remote Karoo interior. The route threads through Rietbron, a handful of buildings in the middle of vast, flat emptiness, and across the high plateau to Prince Albert. Few riders take this line. Almost nobody lives here. This is the real Karoo.
Day 4 · Prince Albert → Calitzdorp
South from Prince Albert over the Swartberg Pass, Thomas Bain's 1888 masterpiece and one of the great gravel passes of the world. Near the summit, riders who are up for it can take the optional turn-off into Gamkaskloof, "Die Hel": a 37 km dead-end track of steep gradients, tight hairpins and rocky sections, slow going in both directions, into one of South Africa's most isolated valleys. Dropping out of the mountains, Coetzee's Poort delivers you into the valley at Calitzdorp, South Africa's port wine capital, unhurried and mountain-ringed.
Day 5 · Calitzdorp → Garden Route forests
South from the Klein Karoo over Leopoort Pass to George, then east along the Seven Passes Road through ancient indigenous forest. Towering Outeniqua yellowwoods, the Karatara waterfall and dappled canopy light. After four days of semi-arid Karoo, this green world is a revelation.
Day 6 · Prince Alfred's Pass to the Tsitsikamma
Begin with Gouna River Pass and Phantom Pass from the forest floor, then 87 km of gravel on Prince Alfred's Pass, the longest mountain pass in South Africa. Through the Langkloof at Avontuur and De Vlugt, over Brakkloof Pass to the coast, past the Paul Sauer Bridge at Storms River and east through the Tsitsikamma. The longest scheduled day of the tour.
Day 7 · Tsitsikamma → St Francis Bay
The final morning. Gravel roads through the Kouga mountains and valley back toward the coast, past the Kouga River, through the passes and down to the sea. A shorter day to absorb the last of it, then bike handover at St Francis Bay and the quiet satisfaction of a route ridden properly.
Where you sleep
Six nights, and not one of them in a chain hotel. Each rider has a private room.
Individual stays may change depending on availability, but these give a good idea of what to expect.
All six are booked before you arrive, along with breakfast every morning. You carry your own luggage between them, in a rack-less soft pannier system of three 20-litre compartments — 60 litres in total, all of it mounted low and directly to the bike. Nothing is moved ahead for you, which is a deliberate choice: it keeps the whole thing honest and it keeps you self-contained.
Built for riders who like gravel
Cape2Karoo suits a rider who is comfortable on gravel and wants a lot of it. It is not a technical enduro route and it doesn't need to be ridden fast. The demanding parts are demanding because of distance and remoteness, not any single obstacle.
Who it suits
- Riders comfortable on gravel who want plenty of it
- At least 25 years old, with a full motorcycle licence held for two years or more
- Fit for around six hours a day in the saddle
- Private tours from one rider upwards, in your own riding gear
What's arranged
- The route preloaded on a Garmin zūmo XT2 on your bike
- Every night's accommodation, with breakfast
- Airport transfer from Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- A prepared motorcycle with tool kit, puncture repair kit and tyre pump
- 24/7 phone and WhatsApp backup, with a standby motorcycle if a fix by phone doesn't work
Tours run all year round. October to April is the premium riding season; the Karoo can top 40°C in summer, so winter suits riders who prefer it cooler.
Requirements, booking terms and FAQ: plan your trip →
From €2,950 per rider
Per rider: seven days, six nights with breakfast, the prepared motorcycle, the loaded GPS, the airport transfer and full 24/7 backup. Identical pricing on both routes.
7-day tour, per rider
Larger groups are quoted on request. On the 14-day trip you save 10%. Custom tours are quoted individually.
Founding Rider rate
For groups of two or more who book direct by 31 December 2026. Your ride date can be later, in 2027 or beyond.
On the 14-day trip the 20% replaces the usual 10%. Cannot be combined with other discounts.
A 30% booking deposit is payable when you book, and the balance falls due 60 days before you collect the motorcycle.
Outbound Moto is a trading name of TUBEPHONIC (Pty) Ltd, registered with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission since 2018.
Check your dates for Cape2Karoo
Tell us roughly when you'd like to ride and how many of you there are, and we'll come back to you with availability. Cape2Karoo also joins with Frontier & Mist into one 14-day trip, with 13 nights in different places and 10% off.