Tygerberg MTB Trails

[Robbie Stewart]

Hoogekraal is a trail destination known for being a "dangerous" trail centre with many crashes happening there. Even the paramedics know the place. Today I had the task of trying to get paramedics to the bottom of the Cobra after a mate crashed badly. Firstly, attempting to use the Tygerberg whatsapp bot was a fail because the remote location prevented me from dropping a location pin. I ended up phoning Netcare 911 who called me numerous times requesting directions, then calling me to say their ambulance got stuck so they're waiting for us in the parking lot. In the end we hiked out from the bottom to just before the skills park where the medics finally caught up with us, 2 hours after the first call. What I find troubling is that my mate was groggy and nearly passed out a few times, but now he had to walk out up that hill to get to help. This was super risky, but we had no other choice. I just want to know, seeing as this is a regular occurrence at Hoogekraal, is it not possible to make a jeep track from the point were the Spykers trail begins that goes around that hill to the bottom of the Cobra to allow a 4x4 or bakkie /SUV at least to get there to extract injured riders? 

@tygerbergmtb what do you think of this idea? I had real difficulty getting helped today, and similar happened a few months back when I assisted the rider down at the bottom of Snake, Rattle Roll. This was the guy who's Ford Ranger caused all the confusion at Contermanskloof, causing a search for him across the network. 

Surely a better way exists to get injured riders helped? Thanks for the Bot, but today it wasn't of much help due to the limited signal 

Lastly, I'm not fighting, I'm just raising real concerns I've observed helping fallen riders at Hoogekraal recently. It's not easy out there.

[Mamil]

14 hours ago, Robbie Stewart said:

Hoogekraal is a trail destination known for being a "dangerous" trail centre with many crashes happening there. Even the paramedics know the place. Today I had the task of trying to get paramedics to the bottom of the Cobra after a mate crashed badly. Firstly, attempting to use the Tygerberg whatsapp bot was a fail because the remote location prevented me from dropping a location pin. I ended up phoning Netcare 911 who called me numerous times requesting directions, then calling me to say their ambulance got stuck so they're waiting for us in the parking lot. In the end we hiked out from the bottom to just before the skills park where the medics finally caught up with us, 2 hours after the first call. What I find troubling is that my mate was groggy and nearly passed out a few times, but now he had to walk out up that hill to get to help. This was super risky, but we had no other choice. I just want to know, seeing as this is a regular occurrence at Hoogekraal, is it not possible to make a jeep track from the point were the Spykers trail begins that goes around that hill to the bottom of the Cobra to allow a 4x4 or bakkie /SUV at least to get there to extract injured riders? 

@tygerbergmtb what do you think of this idea? I had real difficulty getting helped today, and similar happened a few months back when I assisted the rider down at the bottom of Snake, Rattle Roll. This was the guy who's Ford Ranger caused all the confusion at Contermanskloof, causing a search for him across the network. 

Surely a better way exists to get injured riders helped? Thanks for the Bot, but today it wasn't of much help due to the limited signal 

Lastly, I'm not fighting, I'm just raising real concerns I've observed helping fallen riders at Hoogekraal recently. It's not easy out there.

I've also walked a mate out of there. Patrick met us at the top and drove us down.

Garmin inreach is a potential life saver and worth every penny for the peace of mind that no matter where you are, emergency services and loved ones will receive exact location with one button press.

[Newbie321]

Anyone seen the rooikat hanging out at Bloemendal? I've seen it a couple times. Very cool!

Edited September 4, 2025 by Newbie321

[Robbie Stewart]

5 hours ago, Newbie321 said:

Anyone seen the rooikat hanging out at Bloemendal? I've seen it a couple times. Very cool!

It's been a good couple of years since I saw rooikat in these parts. I came across one on the climb out from supertubes on Contermans around 2015, and about the same time I had one just waltzing past me at the top of Stairway to Heaven at Meerendal while I sat on the bench wondering what I was thinking pedaling up that hill. Good to know they're still around. I once saw a pair of bat-ear foxes at Contermans just below the Rhino trail head. That was quite cool as well.

[MORNE]

6 hours ago, Newbie321 said:

Anyone seen the rooikat hanging out at Bloemendal? I've seen it a couple times. Very cool!

Posted in the other thread a few weeks ago. Bottom of bloemendaler. If you ever wondered…PSSSPSSSPSSS works on a rooikat too…

Edited September 4, 2025 by MORNE

[DieselnDust]

11 hours ago, MORNE said:

Posted in the other thread a few weeks ago. Bottom of bloemendaler. If you ever wondered…PSSSPSSSPSSS works on a rooikat too…

Beautiful!!!!😍 

im seeing them so often on the green belt I might just take a few home with me.

[Robbie Stewart]

14 hours ago, MORNE said:

If you ever wondered…PSSSPSSSPSSS works on a rooikat too…

I'm so going to try this on the farm next time I see the local kitties. We have a resident family that we don't pester. Every now and then they make an appearance.

[ChrisF]

Thread revival ... with a bit of a twist.

 

Tygerberg MTB memberships can be renewed from December ....

 

I see they now also have the option to add BOTTELARY HILLS membership ....

 

Would appreciate feedback and thoughts from the Bottelary regulars ... 

[milky4130]

55 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

Thread revival ... with a bit of a twist.

 

Tygerberg MTB memberships can be renewed from December ....

 

I see they now also have the option to add BOTTELARY HILLS membership ....

 

Would appreciate feedback and thoughts from the Bottelary regulars ... 

what exactly are you looking for? It’s a nice alternative if you want a change of scenery and close enough to pedal from home.

[Morne Veer]

1 hour ago, ChrisF said:

Thread revival ... with a bit of a twist.

 

Tygerberg MTB memberships can be renewed from December ....

 

I see they now also have the option to add BOTTELARY HILLS membership ....

 

Would appreciate feedback and thoughts from the Bottelary regulars ... 

 Hallo Chris

We negotiated this top up for 2025 already - an option that many of our members took up this year and got great value from, as it is about 50 % cheaper than buying a stand alone Bottelary Membership directly.

It is a nice alternative to have for MTB'ers in the northern suburbs imo, but as with our own membership, it will come down to how often you would be mtb'ing on our, or any network for that matter, to justify an annual membership, or top-up membership. 

See you out on the trails again soon I hope.

[ChrisF]

14 minutes ago, Morne Veer said:

 Hallo Chris

We negotiated this top up for 2025 already - an option that many of our members took up this year and got great value from, as it is about 50 % cheaper than buying a stand alone Bottelary Membership directly.

It is a nice alternative to have for MTB'ers in the northern suburbs imo, but as with our own membership, it will come down to how often you would be mtb'ing on our, or any network for that matter, to justify an annual membership, or top-up membership. 

See you out on the trails again soon I hope.

 

I regularly have trail runs that finish on Bottelary trails, very often encounter riders while doing the trail runs.

 

The trailhead concept of Tygerberg MTB has long been a decider for us, and the way they accommodated Maritz as a small kid. I see TBMB as my club .... but enjoying seeing the trails at Bottelary ....

 

At around + 50% it seems like a good deal.

 

 

Guess the next question is where the Bottelary crowd gather in cyber space ...

[ChrisF]

Thumbs up to the team for a truly seamless registration process 👍

 

Check you previous info, click ONE box per person, proceed to payment.

 

PUIK !!

[Eugene Oppelt]

Rocky. Dry. Dusty. Those blerrie flies.

[Robbie Stewart]

14 minutes ago, Eugene Oppelt said:

Rocky. Dry. Dusty. Those blerrie flies.

At least the horse flies have moved on. A few weeks back riding at Hoogekraal meant a guaranteed assault by those demonic insects. Saturday's ride I only encountered the usual band of flies that hover in your face as you climb.

[Wannabe]

Good day fellow Tygerburger's. Has anyone ridden the new Oatlands Cafe Corridor?

How is it and the new trails, and where is this corridor accessed from?

 

[milky4130]

12 minutes ago, Wannabe said:

Good day fellow Tygerburger's. Has anyone ridden the new Oatlands Cafe Corridor?

How is it and the new trails, and where is this corridor accessed from?

 

not ridden it yet, but accessed from the same entrance as the existing corridor.