Jumping on a bike or lacing up a set of running shoes, it’s easy to hit the trails and get lost in the peace and quiet of the surrounds, the sound of heavy breathing, or perhaps the banter of friends chasing each other down single track. The trails provide an important reprieve to riders and runners, but who are the people keeping the trails ship-shape and ready for the never-ending flow of outdoor lovers?
Paid partnership with Sappi
In the Karkloof, a trail team comprising four men who love their jobs are the magic behind the clean and flowing trails of the valley. All beneficiaries of the Adventure Tourism Incubator, they have been trained in trail building through the support of the Industrial Development Corporation, Sappi and the Absa Karkloof Country Club. Sometimes you may see them off to the side of a trail on your weekend jaunt, but by and large they are not highly visible men, more like trail fairies that you will blink and miss as you concentrate on railing a berm or pounding through a rock garden.
The most experienced of the team is Jabulani ‘Jay’ Khanyile, who cut his teeth clearing basic trails in 2006 for a local Karkloof resident. But it wasn’t until meeting master trail builder Hylton Turvey that Jay really started to take trail building as well as riding mountain bikes seriously.
“I did training with Hylton in 2013, he was the one who taught me a lot but also taught me how to ride a bicycle. Hylton taught me how to build jumps and ride them too”.
Jay is the most ‘local’ of the trail team, having lived in Karkloof for many years. He started working at the Absa Karkloof Country Club in 2018, and is 34 with three children, and he lives on the farm that the famous ‘Milk Trails’ traverse and are only open when the trails on Sappi land are closed for safety reasons. He was the main builder behind the Milk Trails after farmer Nick Stubbs was impressed by Jay’s personal home trails built on the farm.
Jay dreams one day of having his own business and possibly a pump track where people can pay to play, as Jay puts it. Jay’s experience in pump track building is extensive, and through his work with Hylton Turvey he has assisted in building a pump track at Natal Spa near Dundee, Ingeli Forest Lodge and at Cornubia Mall near Umhlanga.
“My position in the team is to help the other guys learn how to build trails because of my experience, and they enjoy learning. I really love the work I do, I love building berms, planting rock gardens – everything! I also love riding bicycles, cycling is the best thing”.
Kwanele Zuma, 26, has been working on the trail team for four years, and travels into the Karkloof every day from Mpophomeni. “I am up at 5:30am, and we start work at 7:30am, so I catch taxi’s from Mpophs and then catch the bakkie into work from town”.
Kwanele is also a Dad to three children, and was working part time at a funeral service business before hearing about the opportunity for full time work clearing trails. “We maintain the trails, but I like building the most, especially berms, I want to be a master in berms!”
Because Kwanele lives quite far from the trails he doesn’t get an opportunity to use them himself, but he appreciates being able to work in the fresh air. An electrician by training, he holds an NQF Level 5 qualification and one day hopes to work as an electrician. “But for now I like my job a lot, and I like to learn, especially from Jay, he is a professional and he knows his story well”.
The most senior of the crew in years is Sanele Shange, who is 41 and a Dad to three children too. Originally from Pietermaritzburg, he has been working on the Karkloof trails for two years. “I do general work around the trails and the club, it’s never the same, every day is different. I really like making berms, it’s a new thing for me and I like getting new skills”.
Before working in trail maintenance Sanele worked in different security positions in Pietermaritzburg, but he likes being out in the farming areas. He is a keen runner, but mainly sticks to the road. “I do like trail running, but I like running fast on the roads. I have done the Mandela Marathon, and in 2017 I did one of the Karkloof trail runs at the Sappi Karkloof Trail Festival”. When asked if he’d considered the Karkloof 100 Miler he just laughed and said “No ways! 21km is fine, 100 miles is too far!”
Last but not least, the youngest member of the trail crew is Simphiwe Ngcobo, who is 25 and lives in Howick West. Simphiwe has a four year old daughter, and commented that “They grow so quickly! You blink and they’re suddenly tall!”. Simphiwe is an artistic soul, with a passion for music. “I have an understanding for music, a real passion. I like all genres, it just has to have instruments playing. I am actually a song writer and I collaborate with other people”.
Simphiwe was brought into the team via Keira Duncan, a top enduro mountain bike athlete who used to manage the trail maintenance and building of the Karkloof trails until mid-2024. “I didn’t know anything about trail building before this, so it was really interesting for me. I am not really into sports, I don’t even like soccer. Swimming is my thing, I taught myself to swim when I was young”.
The main thing that Simphiwe enjoys is the comradery of his trail team friends, and learning from them. “You’re always doing something new, something challenging. While one day it would be nice to work in music, I can say I get a lot of enjoyment from maintaining the trails, putting in drains, using the leaf blowers to get the trails perfect, it’s all actually nice work”.
Sappi is proud to have supported the training and upskilling journey of the Karkloof trail team. Knowing that they enjoy their work and are proud of what they do, combined with the enduring excellent reputation of the Sappi Karkloof Trails, it is evident that the investment in the Adventure Tourism Incubator is creating shared value for communities neighbouring our plantations.
The next time you’re out for a run or a pedal and pass the team, stop and say ‘hello’! A friendly exchange goes a long way to show appreciation of the hard work that the team puts in all year round, keeping the trails pristine and right up there, among the best the country has to offer. Who knows, maybe Simphiwe will write you a song, Jay can offer some jumping advice, and Sanele can run circles around you while Kwanele rewires your e-bike…
