Testimonials:

September 2007
Cape Town – Windhoek Tour

This was my third guided motorcycle tour with Karoo-Biking and definitely the best of the lot. I experienced a travel package consisting of perfect organisation, breath-taking routes – adapted to all skills levels – and very unique and exclusive accommodation places.
There were so many highlights in the course of this journey; Jurgen never failed to surprise us, his intricate knowledge of South Africa and Namibia, combined with awesome accommodation and fantastic culinary experiences made this a super trip. The other participants and fellow riders were just the cherry on top of the cake. We all had a splendid time.
One might be the opinion, that these journeys don’t come cheap, I definitely say it was worth every penny spent.
For my part, I am already planning the next tour with Karoo Biking, there are still so many places to see and roads to ride in Southern Arica.
Jurgen, one of your spoilt customers is threatening you with another order. I know you gladly accept this challenge,
I’ll see you next time.
Jörg
The video clip below was recorded and edited by Jörg, in the course of his motorcycle tour in September 2007. Many thanks for giving Karoo Biking the permission to show this clip on our website. JM

February 2007
Garden Route Tour

Jurgen,
After being back in the UK for over a week now, we still can’t get the sights, sounds and smells of South Africa out of our heads. The tour exceeded our expectations in all ways. The accommodation and restaurants were obviously carefully chosen and always of high standard. The selection of locally produced food and wines each evening were something to look forward to at the end of a day’s riding. And the riding was fantastic with a good mix of tarmac and gravel roads. The R1200GS performed wonderfully two-up and on the day when Donna opted to ride in the support vehicle into Die Hel the bike brought back memories of off road riding from earlier years. Speaking of the support vehicle, our driver Brendon was great and provided a wealth of knowledge on the local flora and fauna especially on Donna’s trip into Die Hel. We had a great group of people on the tour from a variety of countries but what really made the tour special was our guide, Celia. She always had a great attitude and her local knowledge of the Klein Karoo gave us a special insight into the region. She seemed to be related to half the people in the region and knew the rest. Thanks for the great holiday and hope to see you again.
Cheers,
Gordon and Donna Miller
Lancashire, England

November 2006
Cape Town – Johannesburg Tour

‘Karoo Biking certainly know how to organise and deliver a biking holiday experience of a lifetime in all aspects! We are looking forward to many more trips with Karoo. In fact we are already planning our next!
….’The itinerary was superb and varied – a good balance of travel, sight seeing, local culture, history and wild life, catering for my groups personal needs and tastes with impeccable attention to detail.
Our route took us along quality, open, deserted roads and gravel tracks through gorges and mountain passes. We therefore had plenty of opportunity to enjoy adventurous biking with stunning views along our way.
All accommodation was individual, tasteful, comfortable and hospitable, and all in beautiful settings – villages, towns, mountain game reserves and even alongside a traditional Zulu camp.
Our meals, both in the guest houses and local restaurants selected for us, were of high quality only surpassed by the excellent SA wines we sampled along our journey and specially chosen by our personal tour guide who possessed detailed knowledge of the country’s wine industry.
This brings me onto our tour guide. Celia made our holiday, she was and is fantastic and if your party size affords it I would strongly recommend requesting a guide!’
Katrina
Shropshire, England
The video clip below was recorded and edited by Bill, Katrina’s husband, in the course of their motorcycle tour in November 2006. Many thanks for giving Karoo Biking the permission to show this clip on our website. JM

September 2006
Selfguided Tour Karoo, West Coast and Cedarberg

What can we say….. our friends & family called us crazy: “You want to spend your honeymoon on motorcycles rather than on a sandy beach????”
Guess what, it was the best decision we could’ve made! Jürgen’s route planning for the two of us was simply ingenious, the choice of accommodation (we MUST mention Charles and his lovely house in Prince Albert!!!), the suggestions for scenic routes and ways to avoid the main roads – simply fantastic. Add to that the hospitality we found everywhere and the friendliness towards bikers (which you don’t always get in Europe), amazing! Finally of course the story about Dave losing his wedding ring because he was being sick with a stomach bug and lost so much weight that the ring dropped off his finger and – because it was found by a room maid and returned to the landlord – finally made its long way to be reunited with the panicking groom in Cape Town before we flew back to old Blighty. The bikes (F650 Dakars) were our first choice and we loved riding them. So much that we’re now considering swapping our Japanese bikes at home for them (once the wallets permit us to do so).
We’ve definitely lost our hearts to South Africa, and we’ll be back (once we get a chance in our jobs to get more than 2 weeks off!!)
Anyone not sure whether to go for this kind of trip – for whatever reason – don’t hesitate, it is actually feasible even for those who are not sooooo experienced riding on unsurfaced roads. Just take it easy and take in the beautiful countryside. (and don’t forget the sundowner drinks and to imbibe on the lovely SA wines….)
Dave & Sabine
England

September 2006
West Coast/Namibia Tour

Hi Jurgen,
Hope alls well with you. Just to say a huge thank you to Celia, you and your team for a quite unbelievable West Coast Tour in September. Some of the dust from my jacket has faded a bit but all the photos people keep sending means that memories are still strong! Im sure others on the trip have e-mailed similar thanks – we really got on so well and had a lot of fun. I can imagine that further trips between us may well happen!
I think I was probably the most nervous participant initially – having only had my license for 3 years and being a woman travelling alone etc. The guys at Huijs Haarlem sorted me out though and quickly after meeting you and Celia and the others on the trip, I realised no need for nerves. Bikers are nice people! And we all continue to learn etc. I think my riding improved through the ten days – I calculated that I did more miles on the trip than I had done on a bike previously! Im still not that keen on windy mountain passes at any great speed – but there was never a problem to let others pass whilst I took in the views!
It was a quite fantastic trip- some big miles for sure and the extent of gravel and off-tarmac riding took some people by surprise I know. I think having travelled in southern Africa before, I was less surprised by the distances and the condition of the roads were way better than many other countries in the region. Also, I think the fact that I had done a short course back home with BMW on off-road skills helped me. Travelling the distances, feeling the size of the country, being away from main roads and crossing into Namibia were keys to the trip for me. And then all those spring flowers through Namaqualand – quite amazing!
I think we all wished we could stay longer in all the guesthouses we stopped in. The accommodation and hospitality (and the wine) were fabulous. I felt bad leaving trails of red dust in most of them! My favourite stops though were the ones along the road – taking shade wherever it was and having Wagner pull up with cold cokes. Celia seemed to have an unlimited supply of goodies in her tank bag as well!
Definitely hope to be back soon. I had such a good time on all fronts that I cannot really imagine how to improve on a holiday. But Celia tells me that the Klein Karoo is even better…
Many thanks and all best wishes,
Jenny
Brighton, England

March 2006
Selfguided Tour Cape Town and Garden Route

Jurgen,
just returned to the states and wanted to thank you for the great South Africa experience. After that long flight, it was great to see Jurgen patiently waiting for me right outside customs. I did a solo trip over 3200 km through stunning coastline, arid mountains, breathtaking wine country with green valleys. I didn’t know South Africa was so beautiful! Thanks also for the effort in setting up the route and accomodation which I found diverse and comfortable. The roads, the people, the food, it couldn’t have been a better journey. Sorry for all the dirt on your brand new 650 Dakar which ran flawlessly. I wouldn’t want to take any other bike down the isolated roads of “The Hell”. Thanks again to all the fine folks at Karoo. I’ll look forward to my next trip with you.
Steve Jerve
Tampa, Florida

February 2006
Private Tour Cape Town and Garden Route

“If you are going to visit South Africa, Karoo Biking is the only way to see the sites. The value of the time we spent was exponentially enhanced by the careful planning and experience of Karoo. Thanks for everything!”
Best regards,
Kenneth A. Lockard
Thomas R. Penaluna
Robert L. Smith
Scott Blanchard
Waterloo, Iowa

November 2005
Selfguided Tour Cape Town and Garden Route

Dear Jurgen,
we very much enjoyed the trip that you arranged for us. The accommodations were masterfully different from each other, yet all enjoyable.
The bikes ran flawlessly, and we enjoyed the scenery. You really gave us a nice combination of places to see and stay, and made the whole process as easy as it could have been.
Best regards,
Carol, Jennifer, Jacob Scott Robinson and Edward Robinson
Park City, Utah

November 2005
Selfguided Tour Garden Route

Greetings Donoven & Jurgen,
Just wanted to drop you a line to let you know that we made it back to Florida with no problems. We are back in our regular routines.
I wanted to thank the two of you for your effort in making our self guided tour of South Africa a great success. We found the BMW 650 GS to be the perfect bike for us on this ride. I was also very pleased to find that the motorcycle was maintained to the highest standards and performed flawlessly on our 3000 kilometer adventure. We also wanted to say that the prearranged B&B; accommodations along with airport transportation were great. All we had to do was concentrate on the fantastic roads and marvelous scenery in your beautiful country. We could not have asked for a better place to ride or a better company to work with. I am sure that we will return to ride more in South Africa. Not only that, when our riding friends want to come to South Africa, we will be sending them to you.
Best regards,
Mike & Colleen Counsell
Gainesville, Florida

September 2005
Great African GS Challenge Tour

Dear Jurgen,
I would like to send you a sincere word of thanks and praise from Germany. You conceptualised a 3200 km roundtrip of the choicest routes ensuring that the riders experienced the most diverse landscapes, places, road conditions and levels of riding difficulty. Your accommodation selection as well as the recommended restaurants, eateries and rest places were more than satisfactory. Also, I found your advice with motorcycle related topics as well as all our questions relating to daily life in South Africa downright enjoyable. To end with, I’ve made up my mind: When South Africa holiday, with absolute pleasure again Karoo Biking. With best regards,
Achim