Frontier & Mist. Into the high country.
Seven days from the Indian Ocean up into the Eastern Cape Highlands and back, roughly 70% gravel and five of the ten Ben10 passes, ridden at your own pace. Your route, lodges, airport transfer and 24/7 backup are all arranged.
7 days · ~1,811 km · ~70% gravel · Up to 2,162 m · From €2,950 per rider
Coast to high country. And back.
You start and finish in St Francis Bay. In between, the route climbs from citrus farmland and the Karoo frontier into the Eastern Cape Highlands, where on some mornings you ride above the clouds.
Through Addo
The R335 is a public road through Addo Elephant National Park. It is fenced off from the game-viewing roads, but you have a good chance of seeing game from the bike.
Lundean’s Nek
The highest point of the week, on a day spent almost entirely going up or coming down, with Ben MacDhui on the same day’s riding.
Naudé’s Nek and Bastervoetpad
The pass most riders have heard of, followed by the one widely held to be the most technical of the Ben10 ten.
Watch the full route on the animated map.
Five of the ten Ben10 passes
Days four and five cross the Eastern Cape Highlands, the country adventure riders know from the Ben10 Eco Challenge, an unofficial ten-pass rite of passage. This route rides five of them, in the order the mountains put them.
Day 4 · Lady Grey to Rhodes
- Lundean’s Nek, 2,162 m, the highest point of the week
- Carlisleshoekspruit
- Volunteershoek, also known as Bidstone
- Ben MacDhui, the highest road-accessible point in the Eastern Cape, on the same day’s riding
Day 5 · Rhodes to Elliot
- Naudé’s Nek, the pass most riders have heard of
- Bastervoetpad, widely held to be the most technical of the ten
The week in brief
Seven days, six nights, six different beds. The first three days build towards the mountains, days four and five are the high country, and the last two bring you down through Hogsback and home. Day three is the longest in the seat; day seven covers the most distance but is mostly tar, so it rides faster.
| Day | Leg | Distance | Night |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St Francis Bay → Kirkwood | ~205 km | Kirkwood, Sundays River Valley |
| 2 | Kirkwood → Tarkastad, via Addo | ~289 km | Working farm, Karoo frontier |
| 3 | Tarkastad → Lady Grey, into the Stormberg | ~303 km | Lady Grey, under the Witteberg |
| 4 | Lady Grey → Rhodes, over Lundean's Nek | ~173 km | Rhodes |
| 5 | Rhodes → Elliot, over Naude's Nek | ~238 km | Elliot (Khowa) |
| 6 | Elliot → Hogsback / Alice | ~260 km | Hogsback / Alice area |
| 7 | Hogsback → St Francis Bay | ~345 km | — |
Read the full day-by-day
Day 1 · St Francis Bay → Kirkwood
North from St Francis Bay through Humansdorp and the Gamtoos Valley, with Hankey and Patensie marking the start of citrus country. The route swings inland past Kariega (Uitenhage) into the farmlands around Addo and on to Kirkwood, an easy first day before the climb into the Highlands begins in earnest.
Day 2 · Kirkwood → Tarkastad
Leaving Kirkwood, the route runs through Addo Elephant National Park on the gravel R335. Keep an eye out for elephant, buffalo and other game before the road opens up east into the Karoo interior via Cookhouse, with De Beer's Pass, Niekerk's Pass and Volstruisnek Pass stitching together a long gravel transition from farmland to open Karoo plain. One of the longer distance days of the trip, ending at the quiet rail town of Tarkastad.
Day 3 · Tarkastad → Lady Grey
Further into the Stormberg via Barkly East, crossing Carn Nek Pass, the Kraai River Pass and Killian's Pass near Rossouw. The longest day in the saddle: not the furthest, but the slowest going, climbing steadily toward the high country and finishing at Lady Grey, beneath the Witteberg.
Day 4 · Lady Grey → Rhodes
Via Sterkspruit and over Lundean's Nek Pass (2,162 m), continuing across the Carlisleshoekspruit, Volunteershoek (Bidstone) and Ben MacDhui passes into the Eastern Cape Highlands. A shorter day in kilometres but the biggest climbing of the trip, ending in the mountain village of Rhodes. Three of these, Lundean's Nek, Carlisleshoekspruit and Volunteershoek, are official Ben10 challenge passes.
Day 5 · Rhodes → Elliot (Khowa)
The signature day of the route. Naude's Nek Pass, Barkly Pass, Bastervoetpad and Bottelnek passes string together the roof of the Eastern Cape Highlands, dropping through Maclear and Ugie before the final climb over Elandshoogte Pass into Elliot (Khowa). Naude's Nek and Bastervoetpad are both Ben10 challenge passes, and Bastervoetpad is widely regarded as the most technical of the ten.
Day 6 · Elliot → Hogsback / Alice
West through Lady Frere and Komani (Queenstown), with MacKay's Neck, Nonesi's Nek and Cala passes carrying the route into forest country, finishing over Hogsback Pass into the misted Hogsback / Alice area for the final overnight.
Day 7 · Hogsback / Alice → St Francis Bay
The longest distance of the trip, but the easiest, with far more tar than gravel. Via Ecca Pass and Grahamstown (Makhanda), then south through Bathurst and over Van Stadens Pass back to the coast, with the Eastern Cape Highlands already feeling like another country behind you.
Where you sleep
Six nights, none of them in a chain hotel, and each one chosen because of where it sits rather than what it offers. Each rider has a private room.
Individual stays may change depending on availability, but these give a good idea of what to expect.
All six are booked before you arrive, breakfast included. You carry your own luggage between them in a rack-less soft pannier system of three 20-litre compartments — 60 litres in total, mounted low and directly to the bike. Nothing is moved ahead for you. On a route this remote, being self-contained is the point.
Built for riders who like it high
Frontier & Mist suits a rider who is comfortable on gravel and enjoys technical riding, with mountain passes, altitude and long days in remote high country.
Who it suits
- Riders who enjoy technical gravel and mountain passes
- At least 25 years old, with a full motorcycle licence held for two years or more
- Fit for around six hours a day in the saddle
- Private tours from one rider upwards, in your own riding gear
What's arranged
- The route preloaded on a Garmin zūmo XT2 on your bike
- Every night's accommodation, with breakfast
- Airport transfer from Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- A prepared motorcycle with tool kit, puncture repair kit and tyre pump
- 24/7 phone and WhatsApp backup, with a standby motorcycle if a fix by phone doesn't work
Tours run all year round. October to April is the premium riding season. Highland weather matters on this route, so tell Willem when you can travel and he’ll advise on conditions.
Requirements, booking terms and FAQ: plan your trip →
From €2,950 per rider
Per rider: seven days, six nights with breakfast, the prepared motorcycle, the loaded GPS, the airport transfer and full 24/7 backup. Identical pricing on both routes.
7-day tour, per rider
Larger groups are quoted on request. On the 14-day trip you save 10%. Custom tours are quoted individually.
Founding Rider rate
For groups of two or more who book direct by 31 December 2026. Your ride date can be later, in 2027 or beyond.
On the 14-day trip the 20% replaces the usual 10%. Cannot be combined with other discounts.
A 30% booking deposit is payable when you book, and the balance falls due 60 days before you collect the motorcycle.
Outbound Moto is a trading name of TUBEPHONIC (Pty) Ltd, registered with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission since 2018.
Check your dates for Frontier & Mist
Tell us roughly when you'd like to ride and how many of you there are, and we'll come back to you with availability. Frontier & Mist also joins with Cape2Karoo into one 14-day trip, with 13 nights in different places and 10% off.