Gravel Burn 2025 event guide | Page 42

WHERE WE’ RE GOING

STAGE HOST: BLAAUWATER FARMS

Sitting at the foot of the Lootsberg in the Sneeuberg range of mountains north of Graaff Reinet, Blaauwater Farms is a family-run operation managed by Justin and Liesl Kingwill – the fourth generation of Kingwills to work this land since 1947. Their farming operation spans merino sheep, Bonsmara cattle and even a rose nursery, stretched across several consolidated farms including Blaauwater, Tweefontein and Lusernvlei. The farm’ s roots can be traced back to the early 1800s.

There are no restaurants, shops or roadside pitstops here. Just gravel tracks, open veld and stillness. The terrain and days of Blaauwater are shaped entirely by the rhythm of farming. Livestock movement, boreholes, windmills and the whispers of the breeze blowing across the land. This is a glimpse into a part of the country few ever see, and a rare invitation to stay on private land usually closed to the public. Here you’ ll feel like the last gravel riders on earth.

To host Nedbank Gravel Burn, new septic tanks, boreholes and a reservoir were constructed at

Blaauwater. These are permanent additions that will serve both riders and the farm for years to come.

Blaauwater is a true hidden treasure. Host for two nights at Nedbank Gravel Burn, it’ s a resting point, a race village and a real-life, real-time experience of the Great Karoo’ s uncompromising beauty. Rugged and rooted in place, this is gravel country at its most authentic.

STAGE 4 111km 145Om 145Om

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O % PAVED 1OO % UNPAVED PADSTAL TECHNICAL DESCENT SUMMIT

42 NEDBANK GRAVEL BURN