After arrival at Cape Town International Airport, we will do a city orientation tour on our way to our home base in Cape Town.
Once settled in, we have easy access to the restaurants of Kloof and the buzz of Long street and Greenmarket Square is also in easy walking distance.
If Cape Town’s culinary charms haven’t been too tempting, we can head up to Kloof Nek and the iconic Lion’s Head, for a sundowner flush out of our travel legs. Your guide is one of the crew from Ultra Trail Cape Town, and will give you a feel for the opening section of the route. UTCT will be held for the 5th time in December 2018, and is now part of the official Ultra Trail World Tour.
A chilled Sunday evening on Kloof Street is an ideal way to settle into Cape Town.
With a week to go to the race, we will do our main run in Cape Town today. We’ll shape this day’s running around the group, so that everyone gets the distance they are looking for. We’ll make use of the cable car to help us get this right. The running up top of the table is something special, and you’ll see why it is included in the routes of UTCT, The Beast and the grand old Puffer trail runs every year.
After a shower and change, we’ll enjoy the reward our run has earned us at one of the oldest and most beautiful wine estates in Cape Town. The Groot Constantia Estate boasts a magnificent manor house, and exceptional, award-winning wine. We’ll enjoy lunch at Simon’s Restaurant, and be able to explore the venue, taking a step back in time to experience how the wines are made. We’ll have the privilege of a private Cellar Tour and a Chocolate & Wine Tasting
Back at our hotel, Bree street or the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront offer good options for exploring with a meal or some shopping in mind.
The energetic amongst us can head up Lion’s Head for sunrise, for the rest a little sleep in.
Today is free for us to choose what we'd like to do. Robben Island ans the District Six Museum offer experiential insight into South Africa's dark past. Clifton and Camps Bay beaches await, the cold water will refresh as February is HOT in Cape Town. A walking tour of the city, or checking out the thriving craft beer and gin scene are other options.
After a relaxing day we’ll join up with a group of locals who meet every Tuesday without fail, for an hour of running on Table Mountain. With groups called The Snakes, Old Schools, Ideas and The Packers, and a quick beer afterwards, there is a pace and a style for everyone. There’ll be lots of people who have run Addo, so plenty of brains to pick for the weekend ahead, or to find out about other South African races and the trail running scene.
If we’re lucky, a few Tuesday Trailers will join us for a burger afterwards, another regular feature of Tuesday evening Cape Town running crew style.
We’ll head out early today for a light 12km road run on the stunning Boyes Drive, aiming to watch the sun rise over the Stellenbosch mountains, from the Shark Spotters hut. The site isn’t only good for looking out for Great Whites, the view over False Bay is majestic, and if we are lucky the swells will be rolling into Surfers Corner below us. We’ll also get a feel for the routes of the Two Oceans Ultra and the Peninsula marathons, with both routes running below our vantage point. After Boyes we’ll head to Surfer Corner and Muizenberg beach, via the seaside path, running in the opposite direction now of the marathon routes. A swim awaits those who weren’t put off by the shark spotting hut, and a shower for all.
After a hearty breakfast on the beach front, we’ll head to Cape Point in the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve. Explore the over 7000 types of indigenous flora and fauna of the area before heading up to the Cape Point lighthouse, where you can look out over some of the highest sea cliffs in the country.
From here we’ll drive one of the most beautiful and dramatic mountain side roads in the world, Chapman’s Peak Drive. A privilege and a rite of passage for participants in the Two Oceans Ultra, and the Cape Cycle Tour, the largest timed cycling event in the world.
A quiet evening is probably a good idea as we start to think about the big run ahead and what it will ask of us.
We’ll fly early to Port Elizabeth and head directly out to the park. We will do a game drive through the park to the race finish line at Zuurberg, where there are some marked trails for us to walk or run the flight out our legs.
Then we’ll head back down to Addo Main camp, where we will be based during the race. Registration for all the races is here, as is the 100 miler start and prize giving for all, so it is very convenient location.
There are a few options in Main Camp for us to eat at, while we are here and not on the trail.
A leisurely morning is on the cards, time to get our trace kit and nutrition in order. 100 Milers register in the morning and head out into the park at 2pm. Registration then opens for everyone else, and once done everyone can relax, while following the progress of the runners on their satellite trackers.
There is a race briefing at 6.30pm followed by a casual dinner at the Lapa.
It is a typically early start for runners today with kick off at 5.30 and 6.30 respectively. We will be shuttled to the start, then the Addo Elephant National Park and it’s many beautiful animals, birds and insects will host us as we make our way along the trails.
The finish is at Zuurberg, and with three races on the go there will be a stream of finishers to support and share stories with. There will be food and cold refreshments available and the shuttle runs to Main Camp and back on an ongoing basis. The cut off for the 76 is at 8.30pm, and from then it is only the soldiers of the 100 miler still out on the trails.
The 100 Miler cut off is at 2.30am, so all going well this is a sleep in morning for everyone.
Brunch is at 10.00am at the Main Camp Lapa, followed by Prize Giving around midday. There is a pool at Main Camp, which will surely be a popular hang out in the hot summer sun, and there are game viewing hides and sundowner options in Main Camp. The more mobile can opt to join a game drive in the evening.
We’ll wake up pretty early again, to join an official game drive into the park. It is a special treat to be out there among the myriad of incredible creatures the park has in abundance, all the more so with the sense of achievement from the day before.
After the drive we’ll take the short drive from the park to Amakhala Game Reserve, getting there in time for a first luxury private game drive and sundowner.
The African Rhino Conservation Collaboration (ARCC) is a initiative to develop and demonstrate a function Rhino protection model at Amakhala that can be replicated on other reserves. It is situated at Leeuwenbosch Country House, towards the western side of the reserve and we’ll get to enjoy a game drive on the way there.
The rhino poaching crisis fits within the context of the Global illegal trade in wildlife, which is an operation of alarming scale, and the local and international collaborative efforts that have emerged in response to the crisis are indicative of both the challenges and passion involved. You will learn about ARCC, its elements and purpose, and how it fits into the broader strategy to ensure the survival of rhinos in the wild. This is an emotionally difficult session, which you should be prepared for.
The afternoon is a hands on experience for you to get up close and personal with the elements of ARCC rhino protection strategy in action. You’ll get access to the Anti-Poaching Unit base camp and operations control room, meeting and hearing from some of the key role players. Some of the key players are the hot and cold scent tracker dogs, as well as the horses of the Equine unit, and you’ll learn about the logistic and handling challenges involved as well as personal accounts of their handlers of their deployment in support of their fellow animals. We’ll learn how drones and a fixed wing airplane are employed, as well as hearing from the pilot.
The involvement of the community in conservation is a vital component of the overall strategy to ensure the viability of wild rhino populations. We’ll get to experience the multi faceted initiatives ARCC has to intgrate the community into the reserve as well as explore the prevalence of the natural world in traditional culture.
Our game drive back to the lodge may well become a night drive, a rare treat for any visitor to Africa.
This morning we’ll get our trail shoes back on and head to the other side of the reserve for a run amongst the reserve's inhabitants. There is a network of horse trails developed for horseback safaris, that open up less accessible valleys and ridges for trail runners to enjoy.
A luxurious lunch and sedate afternoon at the pool will be our reward for the morning’s exertions, before heading out on another game drive to a different area in the reserve.
We’ll head through the reserve to the Alexandria Trails on the coast. This hiking trail is in the greater Addo Elephant Park, the goal being over time to continue to connect sections together allowing animals to move freely more in line with how they would have before fences were put up by formal agriculture.
The trails run in through the coastal forests and along the beach, and the running experience is very different to either Addo or Amakhala. The shade afforded and twists and turns in the forest make for a fun and rejuvenating experience, an amazing way to cap off our trail experiences on our Runcation South Africa.
We’ll spend the afternoon and evening at Kentoon Sea, a coastal hamlet much loved by the farmers of the area and city folk during annual holidays. A secret beach will be our destination for the afternoon, and sundowners is a cultural absolute at the coast.
A run along the river bank, or just a refreshing morning swim is the way locals spend their mornings in Kenton, and we’ll do the same.
Then it’s time to pack our bags for the last time as we transfer back to the airport in Port Elizabeth for flights home, or onwards for those who have opted to extend their trip as independent travelers in SA.
