In May and June of next year the inaugural Pondo Trail will take place on the Wild Coast, starting in Port Edward and finishing in Port St Johns. An exclusive trail adventure-style experience, this event offers trail lovers a truly unique opportunity to experience the beauty and wilderness of an exceptionally special part of South Africa.
Otherworldly
Sparsely inhabited coastal wildlands criss-crossed by a random network of tribal farm animal tracks, carved into mystical valleys and gorges by rivers intent on reaching the ocean.
Crystal clear waterfalls, pristine beaches and rocky overhangs are just a few of the remarkable features that have to be experienced to be fully appreciated.
The Pondo Trail explores rare parts of our magnificent country that few people have ever had the opportunity or privilege to experience.
Passionate collaboration
A shared passion for this region and desire to enable others to also experience it, saw Matt Botha from Wild Child Africa and Andrew Booth of KZNTR pooling together their unique set of skills and resources culminating in the inception of The Pondo Trail event.
Matt specializes in walking tours along this section of coastline and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience with routes and secret treasures in this area. “Pondoland has a very special place in my heart and our aim is to try and educate those fortunate few who grace its shores in hope to preserve its future. We have been toying with a trail running event for a number of years now and KZN Trail Running have offered the perfect catalyst. This I promise you, will be a run like none other!”
Says Andrew: “We have been in the trail running world of event organizing for almost 10 years, but only in the last few have we begun to forge partnerships that allow us to take event experiences to the next level. The Pondo Trail brings the experience of two organisations together to present something really special”
Dual format
The event is presented in two separate forms; either as a three day (42km, 26km, 33km) staged experience; The Pondo Coaster, or as a challenging one day event (111km); The Pondo Ultra. Either option needs to be completed by entrants in teams of two, no exceptions – the terrain is technical and remote, and there are numerous river crossings.
The Pondo Coaster starts in Port Edward on Thursday 30 May and finishes up on Saturday 1 June, whilst the Pondo Ultra takes place on the Saturday with an early 4am start!
If ever there was a bucket list event, this is it. This is the kind of experience that you will still recall vividly in years to come; and hold in your heart until many other memories have faded.
Still need convincing?
For more information and to enter click here.
