Witsand Nature Reserve
Witsand Nature Reserve is a unique spot as far as arid ecosystems go. You’ve got three major vegetation biomes - Karroid Kalahari Bush Veldt, Orange River Nama-Karoo and Kalahari Mountain Bush Veldt – all merging to form a thorny desert destination of breathtaking beauty. And yes, you can ride your bike here, to your heart’s content.
Witsand Nature Reserve is a hidden gem, but a favourite conservation destination for avid adventures. The stone chalets and camping site are hemmed in by spreading, ancient thorn trees, with a number of dirt roads spider-webbing into the arid ridges from here.
Once you have your mountain bike ready, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to explore the area. If you want to check out the towering white dunes, stick to the main reserve road and pretty much keep to your right all the way from camp, following clearly visible signage for just on 6 km to the foot of some pretty obvious mounds of white sand.
Some of these sugar-sand dunes tower up to 60 m high, dwarfing the grey-black Kalahari scrub unfolding into the surrounding Langberg ranges. If you have a fat bike, there’s loads of fun to be had in them thar dunes, but on a regular MTB, not so much.
Witsand Nature Reserve roads will not disappoint though, with only the occasional section of sand to hamper your high-speed runs amidst the arid acacia woodland. Near Brulsand view site, look for a footpath to your left, and follow this until you T-bone with the fence line, which you then follow clock-wise to your right.
This dual-track basically circumscribes the dune basin completely; I did not pedal the full distance around, but the going seemed pretty okay. Just make very sure you have enough water, otherwise you’ll be in for a tough day in the saddle. In total, there is 30-40 km of rideable roads and tracks winding throughout the reserve borders, and you can expect to spend 3hrs-plus in the saddle.
One of the best things about Witsand is that you’re allowed to ride at night, thus opening up a brand new world across your bars. Genet, porcupines and duiker will pop up upon the periphery of your bike light, while chances of bumping into smaller carnivores such as genet, serval, African wild cat and even aardwolf are good.
The surface and relatively flat terrain is great for the kids as well, but they will probably enjoy pootling around the camp, chalets and Enviro-Trail just as much. Witsand is safe enough to let them head off on their own, too, so give them the go-ahead to range free and explore this incredible space.