South Africa Race-cycling Challenge 2018

DAY TO DAY PROGRAM

DAY 1
International flight (night flight) to Johannesburg and flight transfer to Port Elisabeth.

DAY 2 (B-L-D)
FIT Adventure Sports Travels ‘colleague’ here in South Africa will take you from Port Elisabeth airport to your hotel along the Indian Ocean, where you will stay the first 2 nights.
Port Elisabeth is known to be a very hospitable and friendly city and this first afternoon you might already enjoy a quiet 40 km bike ride along Marine Drive, just to test and stretch your muscles.
Dinner takes place in a local restaurant along the seashore.

DAY 3 (B-L-D)
Following an early morning, 2 hour bike ride you will enjoy an extensive breakfast back in the hotel. Next a visit tot he famous Addo Elephant Parc is scheduled. It harbours more than 500 elephants, African buffalos, rhinoceros, leopards, hyenas, zebras and various species of antilopes. We enjoy lunch on a terrace overlooking muddy pools and waters , where the wild animals complete the overall scenery.  Back in Port Elisabeth a swim in the nearby waters of the Indian Ocean is an option in the program.
Following this evening’s dinner a briefing session is held with regard to the cycling tour of next day.

DAY 4 (B-L-D)
In order to avoid morning traffic rush hour, we take our breakfast early today. Then, the first cycling tour leads you along the Old Cape to the spectacular Van Staden’s River Pass. You bike through magnificent forests containing rare tree species. Following some stops to recover from our biking efforts, we will enjoy lunch in a small coffeeshop in Humansdorp. Continuing our cycling tour a mountainous landscape with up and down slopy roads brings us to Tsitsikamma National Park. Here we visit the Tenikwa Awareness Centre and will have ‘close encounters’ with some cheetahs.
This evening’s dinner will take place in our hotel in Tsitsikamma.

DAY 5 (B-L-D)
Following breakfast today’s 100 km cycling tour takes us again through splendid forests containing yellow trees and an abundance of rare flowers. Further along the route we cross the Bloukrans bridge, where a local event organisation offers the world’s longest bunji jump: 216 meters high! We continue towards the idyllic Plettenberg Bay, where the ‘Rich and Famous’ enjoy happily their domicile! Next, the tour leads to the fairy-tale laguna of Knysna, harbouring sea horses and oysters on the brink of extinction. Here we will enjoy a 2 ½ hour long cruise, eating oysters and drinking champagne or a local beer, while enjoying a stunning sunset!
To finish the day we bike towards our hotel in Knysna

DAY 6 (B-L-D)
Following an early morning breakfast today’s program includes a 122 km cycling tour. The efforts during a first and serious climb are pretty well rewarded with the magnificent scenery overlooking the Knysna laguna. Next we will enjoy a snack during a short stop in George before we start our climb towards Outeniqua Pass. The undulating territory with its sloping hills then takes us to Oudshoorn, where we finish the day with a dinner in the Adley House.

DAY 7 (B-L-D)
Today’s breakfast is followed by a 50 km cycling tour to Calitzdorp, where a nice cup of coffee awaits us. After lunch a physically demanding bike ride will lead us over the Huisrivier Pass tot he city of Ladismith, some 48 kilometers ‘down the road’. Here we will enjoy dinner and stay overnight.

DAY 8 (B-L-D)
After having finished breakfast, the program this morning invites us for a 78 km cycling tour bringing us to Barrydale, where we visit the famous Ronnie’s Sex Shop.
The meandering road between Barrydale and Motagu takes us along the fertile fruit-filled grounds of the West Cape. Next to some moderate hills, some steep climbs will lead us up to the Tradouw Pass. On arrival at the hotel in Montagu we will have covered today a distance of 137 kilometers, truely a considerable effort!
All the more reason to enjoy our dinner and lodging here.

DAY 9 (B-L-D)
Following this morning’s breakfast we leave Montagu and continue our cycling tour through Cogman’s Crevice. There we pay a short visit to the fortress that Thomas Bain built during the Boer War of 1899 till 1902. We drive through villages like Ashton and Robertson and subsequently take the R43 to Villiersdorp, where we stop for coffee. Villiersdorp, named “The Pearl of the Overberg”, received its French name, following the arrival of many Huguenots who fled France at the end of the 17th century. The village’s architecture is truely colonial and the streets are lined by majestic oak and fruit trees. We pass by the Theewaterskloof, while watching yachts on the water close by the Damm. The last 20 kilometers of today’s 150 km cycling tour brings us to Franschhoek, where we enjoy lunch. Finally, a coach ride will take us to Cape Town, where we will spend the next days.

DAY 10 (B-L-D)
A day of rest, without any biking activities! We will register for the Cape Town Cycling Tour and enjoy the Waterfront Area in Cape Town.

DAY 11 (B-L-D)
Today will be March 6, 2016; we will participate in the Cape Town Cycling Tour, the world’s most famous biking tour. Good luck and have fun!

DAY 12 (B-L-D)
Following breakfast, today’s program will bring us to Stellenbosch, where houses have been built in the Old Dutch Style, dating back to the period in which Dutch settlers inhabited the region.
In order to recover from yesterday’s efforts we decide for an easy bike ride through the vineyards, after which we might enjoy specimens of excellent wines in some local wine cellars.

DAY 13 (B-L)
Today’s program offers an opportunity to take part in a biking tour, again through the extensive vineyards in the region. A late breakfast on the hotel patio might be a suiting alternative for some participants. Also an additional wine-tasting session is an available option to some among us.
Following lunch we will be transferred to Port Elisabeth in order to catch the evening flight to Cape Town.

Day 14
An international flight takes you from Cape Town back to Amsterdam International Airport in The Netherlands.

Prices (depending on the actual inflation rate): € 2,350,00 per person.

This price covers the tour as described in the DAY TO DAY program. Measure-made adjustments of the tour are optional and may require extra costs.

Prices include:
All local transfers, including luggage and bike transfers in South Africa
Lodging based on double room occupation
Englisg speaking touring guides
Water and drinks during bus rides
All meals mentioned in the DAY TO DAY program
B = Breakfast
L = Lunch
D = Dinner
Entrance fees Addo Elephant Parc, Tenikwa
Cruise fees in Knysna
Registration fee Cape Town Cycling Tour
1x wine-tasting session

Not included are:
International flight Amsterdam-Johannesburg, national flight Johannesburg-Port Elisabeth and international flight Cape Town-Amsterdam
All meals that are not mentioned in the DAY TO DAY program
Travel and Health insurance
Cancellation insurance
Possible costs for visa
Optional/additional excursions

Visa
Either you arrange your own visa or ask FIT Sports Adventure Travels to do this for you, by indicating so in your final reservation.
To apply for a visa you need a passport, valid for at least 6 months following departure to South Africa.

Pre-travel participants meeting
Following reservation or booking for the trip FIT Sports Adventure Travels invites you to attend a pre-travel participants meeting. Here you will receive detailed information on background, program and various apects about this trip. Also you will have ample opportunity to ask questions and gather additional documentation.