Tucked high up in the eastern corner of South Africa, bordering Mozambique and Eswatini, the province of Mpumalanga is an adventurer’s paradise. Meaning “the place where the sun rises” in the Nguni languages, Mpumalanga is known for its lush forests, dramatic escarpments, waterfalls and sweeping vistas, which makes the perfect landscape in which to carve trails to hike, run and ride. Tranquilitas Adventure Farm has done just that…
Paid partnership with Sappi
Tranquilitas Adventure Farm has been building a high-quality trail destination over several years. Tranquilitas sits at the top of a deeply cut gorge above Emgwenya, a quaint but economically poor town. The impressive Elands River waterfall thunders off the edge of the town and the quartzite and sandstone mixed cliffs burn with an orange glow attracting rock climbers from all over the world, who come to scale the routes in the gorge. However, it’s the trails weaving in the hills high above the cliffs that reel in mountain bikers from all over South Africa and beyond.
Catering to marathon and enduro enthusiasts alike, Tranquilitas borders on Sappi land, with most of the trails starting at Tranquilitas and climbing up through rocky grasslands with wide open views over the gorge. Entering onto Sappi land, the climbing continues through pine plantations and pockets of indigenous bush that are part of Sappi’s commitment to keeping one third of their land unplanted for biodiversity protection. Having gained some serious elevation, topping out at approximately 2000m above sea level, most trails have epic descents that leave riders grinning from ear-to-ear.
Exciting news for the gravity riders, self-shuttles are now a reality using a new purpose-built road on Tranquilitas property. Arriving on a Friday afternoon, guests have the option of shuttling to the top of the mountain and clearing the week’s cobwebs with adrenaline-spiked laps. Three new flow trails have been built by Master Trail builder Glenn Harrison. Each trail is approximately 1.8km long with an elevation drop of 110m and varying in difficulty. Two of the lines are brand new and start with a jump line and finish with several options for riders of different levels, including a 2m rock drop, natural jumps and technical sections that all have B lines.
To give an idea of the work that has gone into the new trails, the trail team spent 10 weeks on the new build, using two machine operators from White River and eight trail builders from the local area. They moved 1000m3 of soil for the jump lines alone.
On the weekend of the 26th of October, Tranquilitas hosted the third leg of the Mpumalanga Enduro Series, which was also a provincial cup event, taking place through the custodianship agreement with Sappi.
Ruth Behr, one of the owners of Tranquilitas commented, “The enduro was very successful and we received so many positive comments. For me the best part was the entries from young females. It is so positive to see the girls riding the technical features fearlessly. The three new enduro lines were very popular and drew a thrilling spectator crowd, as you can see the start of all three the lines from the top of the hill”.
There were 88 entries, which for enduro races is a solid field, with rave reviews of the new enduro lines from the riders. With events come an increase in employment, and the event saw 34 people employed in different capacities, from security to marshals and trail staff. Catering was provided by local outdoor braai vendor, Chicken Dust, from Emgwenya township.
