Speedweek run to Hakskeenpan
Ridden by the founder in 2014 · Prado with a KTM 1190R on the trailer
Cape Town over Sutherland and Calvinia to Upington and out to Hakskeenpan for Speedweek. Home via Augrabies and Springbok.
Open in the plannerChange the dates, stops and your vehicle. The planner works out fuel, night stops, sunset, weather and the grade of every road.
Distances and grades from the planner's route on OpenStreetMap roads. Your plan may differ.
Hardest stretch: Pre-single, rocks, steep climbs, sand, river crossings. The grade reads differently by vehicle: what's fun on an adventure bike can be slow and hard in a car.
Day by day
- DAY 1 · 883 km · 37% gravel
Cape Town → Upington
Via Sutherland, Calvinia - DAY 2 · 274 km · 99% gravel
Upington → Hakskeenpan - DAY 3 · 680 km · 69% gravel
Hakskeenpan → Springbok
Via Augrabies Falls - DAY 4 · 573 km
Springbok → Cape Town
The story
It started over G&Ts on a Friday afternoon with a plan to charter a helicopter. The helicopter didn't happen, so we left at 4am with spare clothes and no tent. Sutherland and Calvinia to dodge the N7 roadworks, firewood from Upington because that makes you the hero, and 1,250 km later a Mad Max sunset on the pan. Next day a mate did 246 km/h on an adventure bike. The helicopter might have been cheaper.
Good to know
- We did 1,250 km in one day. Don't. Sleep in Upington.
- Take firewood from Upington. There's none on the pan.
- Book or bring a tent. Speedweek fills up.
Read the misadventures
Roads change. Check conditions before you go, and report what you find in the planner so the next rider knows.