On April 27, 90 mountain bikers took part in the second annual De Beers Bike4Beasts Mountain Challenge on the De Beers Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve. This exciting and adrenalin-filled cross-country event aims to raise funds for the conservation activities of the Endangered Wildlife Trust, promote awareness of the region, and stimulate eco-tourism.

This year, participants were also given a rare opportunity to take part in a 31km Fun Ride in Mapungubwe National Park. Race organisers, Lycaon Logistics, were thrilled with the success of the event, which is growing in popularity and can only get bigger and better each year.

The Bike4Beasts challenge route stretched for 65km through the heart of the De Beers Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve (VLNR). It followed existing vehicle dirt tracks across undulating and varied terrain, through some of the most stunning scenery in the region.

Each year, a different endangered animal is selected as a mascot to raise awareness of the conservation work of the Endangered Wildlife Trust. This year’s mascot was the endangered African Wild Dog – whose global population is estimated at only 5 500 individuals. There are only about 500 free-ranging Wild Dogs left in South Africa and some of these occur in the De Beers Venetia Limpopo Nature.

The winner of the 2008 Bike4Beasts men’s challenge was Johan van Zyl with a time of 02:28:13, beating the previous course record by two minutes. He was followed by Chris Nel in second place, with Ara Monadjem coming in third. The winning lady was Samantha Oosthuysen, with a time of 03:05:05. Bridget O’Meara took second place, and Sarah Venter from Louis Trichardt was third. The winning team was the Blignaut Francis Team, with a time of 04:08:29. Each winning category walked away with a R5 000 prize, sponsored by Land Rover South Africa.

Richard Durrant, race commissaire for the past two years, has been highly complimentary of the challenge, and has said that the organisation and logistics for the event were exceptional. This year’s winner, Johan van Zyl, found this one of the best marked, marshalled and organised events he has participated in.

An exciting addition to the weekend’s mountain bike race activities was the Bike4Beasts Fun Ride in Mapungubwe National Park and World Heritage Landscape on Monday, April 28. Starting at the main gate, the route ran past the confluence picnic spot at the lookout over the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers, before passing along the Limpopo River – including an amazing sighting of elephants – before returning back to the to main gate. SANParks was thanked for supporting the ride. Information supplied by Wendy Collinson from Lycaon Logistics