MOUNTAIN BIKING THE WILD COAST

Cycling tours and MTB holidays on the Wild Side

There's no better way to appreciate the dramatic cliff faces, jutting headlands, natural waterfalls and deserted beaches of the Wild Coast, than from the vantage of your saddle. As you wind your way from cliff-top to sandy bay, across grassy plateaux and up the forest tracks of this untamed coastline you have plenty of time to stop and interact with the colourful, friendly villagers that you meet along the way.

With its phenomenal scenery, quite unlike any other area in South Africa, the Wild Coast is a mountain biker's paradise. Stretching from Port Edward in the north all the way down to Cintsa in the south; the landscape changes from the softer features of KwaZulu-Natal's south coast to that of the rugged, raw beauty synonymous with the Eastern Cape.

Unique sights such as waterfalls that drop into the ocean and Nguni cattle chilling in the surf provide fantastic spectacles along the way. Our tours are customised to the riding level of the group, but we prefer to take things at a slightly more relaxed tempo: allowing enough time to swim along the way, explore the shipwrecks, take photos, or simply put your feet up under the cool shade of a milkwood, to admire the spectacular scenery through which you cycling.

There are currently two main sections of the Wild Coast which are more favourable to bicycles, though portaging sections is par for the course. These are the Lower Wild Coast – stretching from Morgan Bay in the south through to Umngazi or Port St John in the north, and the northern most Pondoland section from the Mtamvuna River through to Mtentu, Msikaba or Mbotyi. Active Escapes offers standard and customised trail options in both regions.