Adventure and Travel

Trail Daze | Heading North West to Hakahana

· By BikeHubCoreAdmin · 22 comments

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With very little greenery, and blown-out dusty trails the only options around the Western Cape lately, we headed to the North West province in search of some greener pastures – and boy did we find some gems.

After a year of riding and documenting only trails in the Western Cape during 2015, the Trail Daze crew packed up and headed for the hills where the grass was apparently greener, and rain wasn’t a myth. Forming part of the greater Van Gaalens trail network, Hakahana was our first taste of some truly amazing views, red dirt, thunder storms and most importantly, some proper trails.

ccs-38514-0-68896100-1457273885.jpgGood bye Cape Town

ccs-38514-0-51165300-1457273852.jpgHello Lanseria

ccs-38514-0-09768400-1457273857.jpgTravelling in style on our way to Hayden Brown’s place, thanks to Jeep and Thule.

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ccs-38514-0-42424600-1457273867.jpgLuckily our bikes survived the trip and everything was in place. Well almost everything… a small bolt from Daniel’s rear derailleur undid itself somehow and disappeared, but luckily we found a spare derailleur at the friendly local bike shop.

ccs-38514-0-72783000-1457273363.jpgAlarms set for 4:30am. Dawn patrol here we come.

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ccs-38514-0-13574200-1457273371.jpgOn the road at first light, with some dramatic skies all around to get us frothing for some adventure.

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ccs-38514-0-91662500-1457273385.jpgHartebeespoort dam in the background.

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ccs-38514-0-38379400-1457273404.jpgTricky, steep uphills meant a lot of hike-a-biking.

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The trails here are purpose built for the enduro race format and while the trail names are a bit tame (sp1, sp2 etc), the trails themselves are anything but! Sharp rocks, drops, jumps and off camber sections means burly tyres and longer travel bikes will be most at home here.
Daniel Dobinson | iRideAfrica

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ccs-38514-0-46791100-1457273466.jpgSeemingly unlimited singletrack through lush green grass fields, puffy clouds and views in every direction. We found it.

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ccs-38514-0-17872600-1457273499.jpgTerrain resembling Eselfontein meant Daniel was in his element navigating tricky rock gardens.

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Probably the best gravity trails around Gauteng, Hakahana have done some great work to keep riders coming back for more. Tough and long climbs are well rewarded on the way down with smooth and flowing trails that cater for riding levels from intermediate to advanced. The trail builders have created technical and challenging features for the best of riders, keeping you on your toes, alert and excited. The general terrain on the hills is very rocky and loose making you ride a bit on the wild side, while the trails down on the lower slopes are fast and flowing letting you relax and unwind.
Chris Pearton

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A and B line options caters for varying skill levels, though I wouldn’t recommend these trails to any novices.

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ccs-38514-0-74749600-1457273724.jpgNWP natives keeping an eye on things. Baboons out here are by far more people shy than the ones found in Cape Town, scattering in every direction as they spotted us.

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To have the opportunity to be in front of the lens for a change, I couldn’t turn down the chance to shred for this issue of the Trail Daze. Hakahana Trails, a familiar set of trails that I’ve raced a few times in the past year, is the perfect playground for one to test the skills of an enduro rider. A bit of everything-ideal for a beginner and testing for the more skilled. At speed one finds themself on the edge navigating technical rock gardens and drifty corners that force one to hang a foot out and get loose.
Hayden Brown

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This project is made possible by:

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GPS: S 25 46 32.36 E 28 00 33.70

Permit: R50 per permit – Saturdays and Sundays only

Website: www.hakahanatrails.co.za

All images by Ewald Sadie

instagram:

@ewaldsadie

Riders : Daniel Dobinson | Hayden Brown | Chris Pearton

Stay tuned to Bike Hub for more Trail Daze coming soon…

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Comments

Super_mil

Feb 29, 2016, 8:30 AM

Great write up yet again Ewald!

Does Hayden ever have his wheels on the ground?

KarlvN

Feb 29, 2016, 8:42 AM

Lekker man,lekker.

Hairy

Feb 29, 2016, 9:13 AM

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(Caption this)

HURRY UP, AND GET UP HERE, YOU LAZY BLOODY PHOTOGRAPHER

Heinrich Hattingh

Feb 29, 2016, 9:59 AM

Very nice!

nonky

Feb 29, 2016, 10:14 AM

Very nice work, guys.  

Robodog

Feb 29, 2016, 10:14 AM

Cool article.

Regarding the "tame" naming...

 

SP1 = Rinkals

SP2 = Peppercorns

SP3 = Sidewinder

SP4 = Egg Eater (XCO downhill - refers to doing the drops with saddle up) :P

SP5 = Boomslang

 

SP6 hasn't received a cool name yet I don't think but I haven't spoken to Johan about the trails recently.

 

SP4B also hasn't got a name yet...

NelAndre

Feb 29, 2016, 10:23 AM

Cool pics, looks great.

BenGraham

Feb 29, 2016, 11:39 AM

Love this place. Nice to see it getting a write up.

NicoBoshoff

Feb 29, 2016, 12:09 PM

Quite a lot of fiddling with that new steed Mr. Dobinson...

Guest

Feb 29, 2016, 1:11 PM

Yes, these are great splurbs for sure!!

Something we all look forward to a great deal ;)

KathF

Feb 29, 2016, 1:34 PM

Ay ay ay - very cool! :) Nice write up and lush looking area, need to get to Hakahana one of these days. Good job lads.

rouxtjie

Mar 1, 2016, 5:03 AM

naaaais

 

Love dat place...awesome pics

VicanZA

Mar 1, 2016, 6:44 AM

nice pics...one day when im big.

xnadu

Mar 1, 2016, 2:12 PM

Great pics

Squier

Mar 2, 2016, 4:54 AM

Cool write up and awesome pics. Haven't been there this year yet. Need to make a plan. Super place!

Martin Zietsman

Mar 2, 2016, 10:25 PM

Love these trails. Can't wait to get back racing there later in the year. Awesome article as always Ewald and gang

Andre_MTB

Mar 3, 2016, 8:12 AM

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(Caption this)

 

Wat gaan daar in daai bos aan. Vang daai ou 'n veltie?

justanotherbiker

Mar 3, 2016, 10:53 AM

Fantastic image-story. Enjoy these immensely.

 

Out of interest, which one is @Peach?

Robodog

Mar 3, 2016, 11:32 AM

Fantastic image-story. Enjoy these immensely.

 

Out of interest, which one is @Peach?

 

On the left in the photo above.

Piston ZA

Feb 22, 2018, 2:39 PM

How awesome is this. Looks like you guys up north might be getting cableway shuttles at Hakahana.

 

https://www.facebook.com/HakahanaTrails/posts/2062672483757909

 

V12man

Feb 22, 2018, 4:00 PM

How awesome is this. Looks like you guys up north might be getting cableway shuttles at Hakahana.

 

https://www.facebook.com/HakahanaTrails/posts/2062672483757909

close but not actually at Hakahana - at the existing hartebeespoort cableway
thijsrm

Sep 2, 2019, 8:56 AM

I see Hakahana Trails are closed, at least according to the website?  Anyone know what happened and if they will reopen? 

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