Water Points:
- Penwarn Country Lodge Water Point 1 @ 20 km
Route Description:
The route must be loaded on GPS and followed accordingly. The route is very sparsely marked, and you will get lost if you do not have a pre-loaded GPS.
The first 3 km is a neutral zone until you reach the gravel at the Bushman’s Nek turn off from the R617. You will cross the crystal Mzimkulu River on this section. We encourage you to be very careful on all sections but particularly the tar sections.
You will be cycling towards the Southern Drakensberg Mountains up a valley that leads to the Bushman’s Nek Hotel. You will turn off left along the Bushman’s Nek Road, passing some of the pioneer farms of the District. Take in the views and enjoy the lovely view of the Drakensberg Gliding Club and Wilson’s Dam. This Road offers beautiful views of sweeping valleys and steep foothills leading to the main Drakensberg escarpment, the border between SA and our land-locked neighbour Lesotho.
At the Penwarn Lodge water point, at approximately 20 km, you will cycle through the magnificent Penwarn Lodge Grounds along their lovely road prior to climbing up the Old McDonald’s Hill, the Khyber Pass concreted section, which will test your ability to potentially climb a category pass in the reserve prior to dropping back along the Bushman’s Nek Road. The crossing here is a compulsory stop and needs to be cautiously approached – especially after eating your fill at the water point.
From here you will continue along the Bushman’s Nek Road towards Underberg and the Olde Duck, with some lung busters and pretty fast descents – be especially cautious here.
Your next crossing will be onto the R617 tar road. The entry here is a compulsory stop and, while manned by experienced marshalls, needs to be approached with caution. From here extreme caution needs to be exercised as you will be travelling along the paved road to Sani Spoors at the Olde Duck Café.
The cut-off point for the 42 km will be at the Penwarn Country Lodge Water Point and will be at 12 noon, which means you will have to do an average speed of 10 km/h.
DOWNLOAD GPS FILE HERE – right click to save
… or click on map below, press play icon, click on menu and select download options.
Route map for Underberg Gran Fondo 45km: Tour De Farms by Tim Whitfield
Click Play button and then choose menu item to see more route features and route profile.
| Distance | 41.001 km | Total Ascent/Descent | 638 m / 638 m | |
| Lowest Point | 1474 m (at 1.62km) | Highest Point | 1749 m (at 15.03 km) | |
| Uphill | 18.36 km (44.8%) | Downhill | 17.46 km (42.6%) | |
| Flat | 5.13 km (12.5%) | Height Gain | 275 m | |
| Steepest Uphill | +15.6% (at 20.88 km) | Steepest Downhill | -10.0% (at 29.70 km) | |
| Longest Uphill | 3.24 km (at 10.89 km) | Longest Downhill | 3.15 km (at 34.47 km) | |
| Ascent Rate | 16 m/km | Descent Rate | 16 m/km |