Parys le Cap 1,000 Miler via Van der Kloof Dam

This is the 2nd version of the Parys le Cap 1,000 Miler .... taking a portion of the original Parys le Cap as far as Kimberley (The Diamond Dash), before heading south to Van der Kloof Dam and De Aar, and jumping onto the Joburg 2 Blouberg 1,000 Miler route just before Victoria West, following it down the Forgotten Highway to Cape Town.

For introductory video, click on the link below:

Parys Le Cap 1,000 Miler Via Van Der Kloof Dam - Introductory Video

This is also our 6th 1,000 Miler route option….the Parys Le Cap 1,000 Miler via Van Der Kloof Dam …. borrowing from the 1992 Paris Le Cap version of the Dakar rally from Paris to Cape Town...this one starting in the Afrikaans Paris (Parys) on the Vaal River, the starting point being the Eiffel Town too.

Besides the attraction of riding from Gauteng (or near to Gauteng, at least) to Blouberg Beach, Cape Town, the idea is to have some 1,000 Miler Routes going via the Diamond Rush city of Kimberley instead of only via Bloemfontein. We call the Parys 2 Kimberley section the “Diamond Dash”....and this section alone can offer a great nonstop weekend ride before returning to Gauteng by hired car or plane.

Key features along the route also include a ride through the Vredefort Dome area shortly after leaving Parys, the biggest known meteor impact crater in the world; ....

....the option of a small detour to see Kimberley’s Big Hole, claimed to be the world’s deepest hand dug hole, and perhaps even a night at Kimberley’s historic Kimberley Club, once frequented by Cecil John Rhodes and other illustrious magnates;...

.... from Kimberley we turn southwards to Jacobsdal and Van der Kloof Dam, South Africa's 2nd largest dam; 

Source: Waterinfo.co.za

Then on to De Aar, that massive but now largely disused railway junction which was once a hive of shunting and train changing activity where multiple main railway lines converged.

Source: Mail and Guardian

Out of De Aar the route heads down the road that largely tracks the main Joburg-Cape Town railway line until near to Victoria West, before veering more west to Victoria West, then down the Forgotten Highway to Loxton, Fraserburg and Sutherland.

Sutherland is a well-known star gazing town, with major telescopes in the vicinity, and is also the town with the coldest recorded temperatures in SA. Interestingly, the highest point on the route is only past Sutherland, whereafter the Ouberg Pass provides a spectacular descent down SA’s Great Escarpment into the Tankwa Karoo.

The biggest climb on the whole route is up the Bo-Swaarmoed Pass, before some more big descents follow down Swaarmoed Pass into Ceres, Mitchells Pass beyond Ceres, and Nuwekloof Pass (formerly Roodezand Pass), one of SA’s first passes en route from Cape Town to the hinterland....

....and further on a ride into Cape Town via the beautiful Swartland region, home to, Malmesbury and other pretty Boland towns.

Most of the route is in a summer rainfall region, and in winter it is only from near Ceres in the Western Cape to Blouberg that one can realistically encounter rain. Thunder/lightning storms can pose risks to riders in the summertime through the Free State and Northern Cape parts of the route, while those inland parts can become muddy in the summer rainfall season too. Winter can see sub-zero temperatures, while summer can see in excess of 40 degrees celsius, making the carrying of significant water a necessity, given limited sources of resupply in between the towns.

The route is 1,632 km in distance with 9,396m of vertical ascent and 10.775m of vertical descent

For the route map and GPX file download, click on the link below:

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/48787838

ROUTE DISTANCES BETWEEN TOWNS 

Parys to Viljoenskroon - 100.2km (100.2km from the start)                    W/F/A

Viljoenskroon to Bothaville  - 45.6km  (145.8km from the start)            W/F/A

Bothaville to Bloemhof  - 133.6km  (279.4km from the start)                W/F/A

Bloemhof to Christiana - 58.1km  (337.5 km from the start)                   W/F/A

Christiana to Boshoff  - 75.2km (412.7km from the start)                       W/F/A

Boshoff to Kimberley - 59.8km  (472.5km from the start)                      W/F/A/BM

Kimberley to Jacobsdal - 56km (529km from the start)                           W/F/A

Jacobsdal to Wanda Police Station  - 75km  (604km from the start)        W

Wanda to Orania turning - 26km (631km from start)                       W/F/A detour to Orania

Orania turn off to Van der Kloof Dam - 49km  (680km from the start)    W/F/A

Van der Kloof Dam to Petrusville - 13km (693km from the start)          W/F

Petrusville to De Aar  - 122km  (811km  from the start)                        W/F/A

De Aar to Victoria West - 140km (951km from the start)                        W/F/A

Victoria West to Loxton  - 89km  (1,040 km from the start)                    W/F/A

Loxton to Fraserburg - 97km (1,137km from start)                                 W/F/A

Fraserburg to Sutherland 107 km   (1,244km from the start)                    W/F/A

Sutherland to Tankwa Padstal 162km (1,406km from the start)               W/F

Tankwa Padstal to Ceres - 89 km (1,495 km from the start)               W/F/A/BM

Ceres to Wolseley - 14km (1,509km from the start)                                 W/F/A

Wolseley to Gouda 23km (1,532km from the start)                                  W/F

Gouda to Riebeeck Kasteel 20km (1,552km from the start)                    W/F/A

Riebeeck Kasteel to Malmesbury - 22km   (1,574 km from the start)     W/F/A/BM

Malmesbury to Kalbaskraal - 15km (1,589km from the start)                 W/F

Kalbaskraal to Melkbos 33km (1,624km from the start)                        W/F/A 

Kalbaskraal to Blouberg - 7.5km (1,632 km the start)                    

*W - Water

*F - Food

*A - Accommodation

*BM - Bike Maintenance