Why use Gravel Road Adventures

Your personalised travel planner
Self-drive specialists for back roads, lesser-used secondary roads, gravel and 4×4 tracks.

• Through our own offroad adventures, we personally have pored over maps, plotted routes, done the planning, preparations and bookings
• We know the pitfalls and surprises, and have learnt how to avoid them
• We have written four books on our back road escapades: Our Top 4×4 Trips, More Back-Road 4×4 Trips, Our Ultimate 4×4 Trips Collection and South Africa for South Africans, all published by MapStudio. Check them out on our Books for Sale page

Because we ourselves have sought out adventure on dirt, gravel and 4×4 trails throughout Southern Africa, we know all about the niggling irritations that make your trip less than perfect. Having personally experienced the pitfalls and surprises, we’ve learnt how to consolidate fragmented information, tie up loose ends, and through careful research and planning, turn all into a cohesive trip plan. And our back-roads books prove that we’ve been there, got the T-shirt!

Travel Options

Here are some of the most popular options to help you focus on what your back road itinerary should feature

Scenic

Mountain passes, winding country roads, gravel roads, 4×4 trails

Cederberg, Swartberg, Eastern Cape passes (Otto du Plessis, Bastervoed, Lundean’s Nek), central Lesotho (Malealea to Semonkong and Maletsunyane Falls), Richtersveld

Nature

Wildlife-viewing, bird-watching, national parks and reserves

Okavango Swamps, Caprivi, Etosha, Kruger NP, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, Mountain Zebra NP, Mapungubwe NP

Walking

Day walks, hiking trails

Cederberg, De Hoop Nature Reserve, Drakensberg, Wild Coast/Transkei

Sites

Natural, historical, geographical (springflowers, battlefields, winelands)

West Coast flowers, KwaZulu-Natal battlefields, Western Cape winelands, Mapungubwe hilltop kingdom

Urban

Back-road hamlets and villages

Prince Albert, Rhodes village, Montagu, Pilgrim’s Rest, Nieu-Bethesda

Activities

Mountain biking, whitewater rafting, hiking, hot-air ballooning, kayaking, tree-top ziplining

Ziplining in Tsitsikamma, Magaliesberg and Karkloof, hot-air ballooning in Sossusvlei or Pilanesberg, rafting on Orange River and Breede River

Accommodation

Camping, self-catering, bed’n’breakfast, lodges, hotels

Vehicle own or hired, matched to your choice of terrain, 4×4, motorbikes