Cycling in South Africa in 2002

All information on these pages is based in our personal experiences while cycling through South Africa in September 2002.

We flew to Durban cycled along the south coast, turned west crossed Lesotho. At the other side we continued through Golden Gate and Royal Natal National Parks, via Howick and Pietermaritzburg back to Durban. On our South Africa pages you’ll find practical information, a detailed tour report and specific info on cycling in Lesotho

“Is it safe to cycle in South Africa?”

After our return many people were curious about cycling in South Africa. “What was the weather like? Did you have many punctures? One question was most frequently: “Is it safe over there?”.

Yes it is safe over there! Of course the normal precautions apply. Keep valuables out of sight etc. We wouldn’t want to bike through central Durban at night but outside the cities your security is no problem. People are friendly and helpful. We didn’t feel unsafe for one moment. This also applies to the Lesotho part of our trip.

Maps; getting around

We used the following maps:

1. Kwazulu-Natal Tourist Map; scale 1 : 1.100.000. Available from Tourist Information offices at the airport and in major towns. This useful free map gives distances ( not always very accurate), road numbers and a lot of general information about Kwazulu Natal. Available from Tourist Information offices. 2. Drakensberg and Kwazulu-Natal Midlands Tourist Map; scale 1 : 250.000 (Map Studio – Cape Town). We purchased this map in the Netherlands. It shows street maps of major towns, places of interest, accommodation and game parks. The map show relief, and gives road numbers and distances (not accurate). It covers the area from Pietermaritzburg to Harrismith. 3. Süd Afrika; scale 1 : 1.700.000 (Reise Know-How Verlag). We purchased this map in the Netherlands. It shows relief, and gives road numbers and distances (not accurate). Useful for planning longer trips.

Signposting along all the roads we used is good; all distances are measured in kilometres.

Try this online map at expedia.com that gives a good impression of the area we visited.

What maps you should use in Lesotho

Books

We used the well-known Lonely Planet travel guide.

South Africa on the WWW

We searched the web for useful bike sites and found these. All links open in a new browser window.

  • The official South African Tourism Website
    Useful for general info.
  • Travel Guide To South Africa By Bike.
    Page by International Bicycle Fund. Practical information is limited to one page.
  • The South African Cycling website.
    This could be the ultimate resource for cycling in Southern Africa. But It only has a limited number of links to trip journals; most of them around the Cape province. Some information about cycling in South Africa in general.
  • African Safari by Bruce & Tass
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