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IRONMAN EAST LONDON TRAINING HOLIDAY

Stellenbosch

Garden route

Addo Elephant park

East London

7 Nights accommodation Stellenbosch

5 Nights accommodation garden route

2 Nights Addo Elephant park

3 Nights accommodation East London

Car rental (7 days)

Safari (full day)

2 Training sessions a day (1st week)

Access to Olympic size pool

Unlimited gym access

Airport transfers

South African wine tasting

Massage

Kudu standing between all the bushes in the field.

Three Zebras near a pool in Addo Elephant National Park. A group of African Buffalo takes a bath in the big pool. Addo NP is located in Eastern Cape, South Africa and is famous for numerous wildlife.

The IRONMAN 70.3 South Africa is the IRONMAN African TriClub Championship race for 2020. Located in Buffalo City, East London is a gateway to the popular Eastern Cape tourist routes, the Sunshine Coast and Wild Coast. The area offers miles of beachfront and rich cultural history for tourists to enjoy. Amongst the multitude of sights to see, visitors may want to explore South Africa's wildlife.

The 2020 IRONMAN 70.3 South Africa offers 65 qualifying slots for the 2020 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Taupō, New Zealand, comprising of 40 age group slots plus 25 qualifying slots for the Women for Tri initiative.

The Émonda ALR 5 is fast, light, responsive, and balanced – everything a quality aluminium road bike should be. But it also has the sleek looks of a far more expensive carbon bike. Upgrades on parts that make a big difference in performance, like the dependable Shimano 105 drivetrain, make it a smart choice for racing, group rides and more. A dependable, lightweight racing bike for longer, faster rides.

The ALR 5 comes with shaped tubes and Invisible Weld Technology, a carbon fork that absorbs vibration from the road, powerful direct-mount rim brakes, Bontrager Affinity Tubeless Ready wheels and a full 2×11 Shimano 105 drivetrain for precise and dependable shifting.

Road bikes can be rented for R5000 for the duration of the camp (10 days)

Accommodation

Luxury guesthouse

This private and secure guesthouse has 7 double / twin rooms and 2 family rooms and can host up to 22 guest. It's close to several well-known attractions, 100m away from the stunning running and mountain bike trails, 1 km from the Olympic size pool and high performance gym and 800m from Dorp street with it’s coffee shops and restaurants. All luxury rooms have a view of the beautiful Stellenbosch Mountains and have a private bathroom. The accommodation has a swimming pool with a lounge and bbq area. There are kitchenettes in each room which include a kettle, tea and coffee and a bar fridge.

RATINGS

Near town center

pool

lounge and bbq area

satellite TV

24 hour security

parking and free wifi.

Accommodation

Sports hotel

A professional sports training and preparation environment, located in the Stellenbosch Winelands of the Western Cape. The academy is managed by staff that understand your sport needs and offers world-class training facilities as well as on-site premium accommodation and sports nutrition. All luxury rooms have a view of the beautiful Stellenbosch Mountains and have a private bathroom. The accommodation has a swimming pool with a lounge and bbq area. There are kitchenettes in each room which include a kettle, tea and coffee and a bar fridge.

RATINGS

Near town center

pool

satellite TV

24 hour security

parking and free wifi.

DATE	MORNING	AFTERNOON	LATE AFTERNOON
Friday 10th Jan	Pick up from airport and check-in + setting up rental bike	Early afternoon easy ride	Open water swim + night market
Saturday 11th Jan	Morning ride (2-3 hours)	Recovery swim (optional)	Late afternoon trail run (60 minutes)
Sunday 12th Jan	Transfer to Cape Town, long ride (3-4 hours) + brick run (5 km)	Off to discover Cape Town (visit Table mountain, Waterfront, Camps Bay?)	Athletes can stay the day in Cape Town, while we take your bikes back.
Monday 13th Jan	Morning long run (60-90 minutes)	Coached swim session	Massage
Tuesday 14th Jan	Morning ride (3-4 hours)	Recovery swim (optional)	Late afternoon recovery run (10 km) or MTB ride (bike rent not included), dinner at Boschendal wine farm.
Wednesday 15th Jan	Bike session ( hill repeats)	Recovery run	Mountain bike ride (optional)
Thursday 16th Jan	3YO Triathlon – 750m swim, 10 km bike 5 km run	Safari game drive + wine tasting
Friday 17th jan	Check out + transport to your rental car

DATE	ACTIVITY	PLACE OF STAY
Friday 17 th Jan	Start of your Garden route trip	Hermanus
Saturday 18 th Jan		Oudtshoorn
Sunday 19 th Jan		Knysna
Monday 20 th Jan		Plettenberg bay
Tuesday 21 st Jan		Tsitsikamma National Park
Wednesday 22 nd Jan	Drive to Addo Elephant park	Addo
Thursday 23 th Jan	Safari in Addo Elephant park	Addo
Friday 24 th Jan	Drive to East London, race pack collection	East London
Saturday 25 th Jan	Bike check in (transition zone)	East London
Sunday 26 th Jan	Race day	East London
Monday 27th jan	Check out + flight to Cape Town / Johannesburg

Cycling around Stellenbosch makes for most scenic cycling routes around South Africa, with views out across the lush vineyards of Stellenbosch. Various mountain ranges and stunning coastal routes provide a scenic backdrop for cyclists as they take on the challenges of these routes. Our experienced 3YO coaches take you on safe roads, spectacular routes and we will customize the distance and routes for you!

Bike hire

All our rental bikes (Trek & Specialized) are in great condition and include a helmet, pedals and puncture equipment. Please let us know your size so we can arrange the right bike size for you.

We will sort out your rental bike asap when you arrive. Today we do a short test ride to check if the bike is well adjusted to your body size.

Open water swim

Open-water swimming is often the most daunting part of a triathlon, especially for newcomers. With cold water, tight wetsuits and murky lakes to contend with, it’s not surprising first-timers, not to mention more experienced athletes, can become panic-stricken in the water come race day. However, by regularly putting into practice in our open-water sessions, and using the excellent open-water swim facilities at Boschendal there’s no reason why even the most nervous of swimmers can’t overcome their fears.

Night market

After the open water swim we will visit the night market at Boschendal for some nice farm meals and a drink

All our athletes have access to the Maties sports center. It contains weight training areas which are equipped with a large variety of equipment that allow a large number of members to train simultaneously. A Dedicated High Performance training section that is generally used by members as well as International Athletics Federations such as UK Athletics, German Athletics, and Austria Athletics. The gym also has large variety of cardiovascular training equipment including stationary cycles, elliptical trainers, indoor rowers, steppers and treadmills.

Part of your trip is a safari game drive at a wildlife sanctuary situated at Villiera's vineyards, 15 minutes outside Stellenbosch. It includes 12 dams plus marsh areas which attract a huge variety of bird-life. Indigenous trees are grown in old milk containers, plastic water bottles etc. Thousands of indigenous trees have also been donated by the Cape Garden Centre. To date well over 100 000 trees have been planted. A number of mammals have been introduced in the Wildlife Sanctuary: Springbuck, Kudu, Giraffe, Bontebok, Eland, Gemsbok, Black Wildebeest, Bush Pig, Burchell's Zebra, common Duiker, Steenbuck, Waterbuck and Grysbok.

Do you need a bicycle for your training camp, day trip, race or just for a ride on your own? We have premium carbon road bikes, time trial bikes and mountain bikes that we rent out. All our road bikes are high performance, full carbon Trek road bikes (size 50 - size 60). We also rent out dual suspension / hard tail mountain bikes. We can deliver and pick up the rental bikes within a 90 km radius of Stellenbosch.

All rental bikes include: a helmet, saddlebag, flat kit, a CO2 cartridge or a pump. If you need anything else, just ask and we'll see what we can do to make it happen!

Prices:

Between R450 - R1200 a day

For Ironman, road races and long term rentals we have special packages.

Check our bikes here

After a long flight you just want to go to your accommodation as fast as possible. That's why we have you picked up from Cape Town airport, no matter what time you arrive. If we can't pick you up ourself (Bram), we will arrange a transfer for you. But please tell us if you bring your own bike ;-). It takes about 45 minutes from Cape Town International airport to your accommodation in Stellenbosch. Depending on your time of arrival we will sort out your rental bike (if you rent one) as soon as possible or we can have your own bike built up by our partner BMT bike shop. After your hard triathlon camp we will transfer you back to the airport.

During your triathlon camp you can make use of the state of art Olympic size pool (10 lanes x 50 m) and an indoor heated swimming pool both capable of hosting various regional, national and also international championships and training camps. During the summer months you have to share the pool with gold medal winners like Chad le Clos, Adam Peaty and Sarah Sjöström.

Recovery

For a dedicated recovery the centre offers 3 ice baths (temperature of the water is kept at 7- 9 degrees Celsius), a warm contrast bath (temperature of the water is kept at 34- 37 degrees Celsius) and 6 massage therapy cubicles to aid recovery after training.

Chapman’s Peak Drive is one of the most popular cycle sections of the Western Cape and part of the Cape Town Cycle Tour route. Many people use the drive for training purposes and so do we. A Chapman's Peak ride is part of our triathlon camp, the ride starts and finishes in Cape Town (3-4 hours). We love this ride and want to share the scenery with you.

Table mountain?

After the ride we do a 5km brick run on the beautiful Sea Point boulevard, after the run it's up to you. You can come back to Stellenbosch with us or you can spent the rest of the day in Cape Town (visit Table mountain, Camps Bay, Waterfront etc.). A taxi / Uber transfer back is not included (cost about $35), but we will take care of your road bike.

Stellenbosch was host to the World Cup mountain biking in 2018. It offers 100 km of trails for beginner to advanced riders,starting right from town center.

Boschendal proudly hosted the Cape Epic 2018 for 2 days and has recently opened the new Boschendal MTB Trails. With challenging single tracks, expect some sweet riding. The world class black route is proving to be a hit with intermediate to advanced riders, but we do have routes to suit families and casual riders.

Bike rental

Bike rent is not included, they can be rented for R400 per day

Inland from the Cape’s famous Garden Route, over breathtakingly beautiful mountain passes, magnificent red rocks and the wide open spaces of the Klein Karoo, you’ll find Oudtshoorn. Most visitors to South Africa have heard of the Cape’s famous Garden Route, but many are unaware of the Klein Karoo. Oudtshoorn, once the ostrich centre of the world enjoys a reputation as a tourist centre for a variety of reasons. Within 30km of the town, there are several interesting attractions, including the world-famous Cango Caves, one of the world's leading show caves.

Also within a 35km drive of Oudtshoorn is the historical village of De Rust at the foot of the Swartberg Mountains, with a beautiful tree-lined main road, featuring many 19th-century buildings. For those who enjoy road-tripping, there are scenic drives also within easy distance of Oudtshoorn. Foremost among these is the Swartberg Pass, with its switchback twists and turns, and dramatic mountain views en route to the town of Prince Albert.

Plettenberg Bay is a premier holiday destination situated on the Southern Cape coast of South Africa. Plett, as it is popularly known, has sweeping golden beaches, the iconic Robberg Peninsula, intriguing lagoons and estuaries, towering indigenous forests and unpolluted rivers, vineyards and wine estates.

Plettenberg has a moderate climate and beautiful view sites over the Indian Ocean. You’ll be spoilt for choice with restaurants and shopping experiences, and things to do! Plett is home to wildlife sanctuaries, game reserves, whale and dolphin watching, canoeing up the Bitou and Keurbooms rivers, sailing, boating … and so much more. From Keurboomstrand to the Robberg Peninsula there are 15 kilometers of beaches punctuated by the river mouth and an island. The river, lagoon, bay and beaches offer the best shore based whale watching of the area.

With beaches and lagoons, restaurants and wine farms, holiday homes, and general all-round beauty, Hermanus is one of the most vibrant holiday destinations in the country. The jewel of the Overberg and capital of the Cape Whale Coast Route, the greater Hermanus area stretches from Fisherhaven and Benguela Cove on the Bot River estuary past the quaint villages of Vermont, Onrus and Sandbaai, through to De Kelders, Gansbaai and Pearly Beach. The area is considered to be one of the best land-based whale watching locations in the world and a long stretch of cliffs provide plenty of vantage points. The whales can come as close as 10 metres from the shore, they are more often farther out in the bay.

Knysna, together with neighbouring Plettenberg Bay, makes up the tourist heart of the Garden Route. The town is synonymous with its iconic lagoon, which opens to the sea between two steep headlands – commonly referred to as the Knysna Heads. The lagoon is home to the neighbourhoods of Leisure Isle and Thesen’s Island, the nature reserve at Featherbed Bay, and the shopping precinct of The Knysna Quays. Beneath the water, bright fish, seaweed and corals thrive. It is also home to one of the rarest creatures on the planet, the endangered Knysna sea horse.

The town’s streets somehow manage to retain a sense of quaintness against the increasing encroachment of modernity. The atmosphere is finely balanced between small town laid-back and popular-seaside-destination bustle. Inland, the landscape rises to mountain slopes and cloud-flecked peaks. Here lies the realm of Knysna’s other icon, the afromontane forests, where cool streams babble beneath frilly tree ferns and mystical elephants roam. The natural beauty surrounding Knysna has led to it becoming a sought after holiday destination. Today it offers visitors everything from art to zoology, water sports to shopping, adrenalin activities to world-class restaurants, and a wide range of accommodation.

The Tsitsikamma National Park incorporates 80 km of rocky coastline with spectacular sea and landscapes, a remote mountainous region with secluded valleys covered in mountain Fynbos and temperate high forests with deep river gorges leading down to the sea. The Tsitsikamma’s spectacular scenery includes the Indian Ocean breakers, pounding rocky shores beneath 180 m high cliffs, ever-green forests and fynbos rolling down to the sea in a lush carpet where ancient rivers have carved their path to the ocean through rocky ravines.

Tsitsikamma National Park protects a wonderland of inter-tidal and marine life. This is one of the largest Marine Protected Areas in the world. Approximately 30% of the park is covered in fynbos, scattered amongst the forest vegetation, boasting a wide variety of beautiful flowers, including proteas and heath. Many species of forest, fynbos and sea birds are present. Although Tsitsikamma boasts a magical world of inter-tidal life and reefs in its marine part, there is also the famous terrestrial part of the park with its lush forest, delicate fynbos and sheer cliffs.

The third largest national park in South Africa, Addo Elephant Park has expanded to conserve a wide diversity of biodiversity, landscapes, fauna and flora. Stretching from the semi-arid karoo area in the north around Darlington Dam, over the rugged Zuurberg Mountains, through the Sundays River valley and south to the coast between Sundays River mouth and Bushman’s river mouth, Addo covers about 180 000 hectares (444 700 acres) and includes the Bird and St Croix Island groups.

The Big Seven

With the land based, traditional members of ther Big 5 in the Addo Elephant National Park, the over 700 free roaming African Elephant, Black Rhino, Lion, Leopard and Cape Buffalo, together with the Great Whales and Sharks as well as Dolphins, African Penguins and many other sea creatures that the concept of viewing the Big 7 has gained popularity in the Eastern Cape and specifically around the city of Port Elizabeth in South Africa.

Situated in a malaria free area just one hour's drive from Port Elizabeth

This park offers some of the most spectacular elephant viewing in the world. Antelope species abundant in the main game area of the park include red hartebeest, eland, kudu, bushbuck, gemsbok, black wildebeest, springbok...

Black rhino, buffalo are also found in the arid nama-karoo area.

Burchell’s zebra, Cape mountain zebra, spotted hyenas, mountain reedbuck, baboons, blue duiker, aardwolf and red rock rabbit are some of the many other game species found in the Park.

Just next to the famous elephant park. An ideal getaway for nature lovers and adventure fans. The Addo African Home used to be a farm of which it has kept all the charm, surrounded by the fresh fragrant scent of citrus from the fields. The estate is divided into different sections and accommodation: The Lodge, The 5 Rondavels, The House and The Rest of the Camp. Every aspect of the domain has got an ecological & social consciousness, with some wonderful gardens, comprise of vegetables fruits, berries, various kinds of plants, flowers and trees, an organic swimming pool and more...

A few minutes away from the Estate, you will find the wonderful Addo elephant park beloved to be still preserved, not too touristy and enabling visitors to explore the beauty of nature on horse riding, mountain biking, hiking trails or going on a scenic drive through the park. The beauty of nature, the security, the spirit of the estate, the malaria free aspect and the many activities to discover, make this area and Addo African Home the ideals and absolute ingredients for some perfect family holiday.

Franschhoek Wine Tram currently offers eight hop-on hop-off lines to choose from each visiting a selection of wine estates showcasing a separate part of the Franschhoek Valley. Passengers board the tour at the ticket office located in the Franschhoek Village and are transported by a combination of tram and tram-bus around a loop of stops allowing passengers to hop-on hop-off at any of the stops. Each of the lines has a wide selection of wine estates to visit from boutique to marquee estates and each offers a unique perspective on the Franschhoek wine experience.

Ideally located on East London’s beachfront, this 3 Star, refurbished and upgraded hotel offers rooms with panoramic views of the Indian Ocean. It also features a furnished terrace that overlooks the outdoor swimming pool. Spend your days relaxing by the poolside after exploring the attractions of the city, then wine and dine at the lavish Jasmine Room Restaurant and bar. The restaurant can seat 150 guests, all of who can enjoy the breathtaking views and 5 Star ambiance. All brightly decorated rooms come with paintings and large windows. They include a satellite TV and private bathroom, and some rooms are air conditioned. The 24-hour reception provides luggage storage and safety deposit boxes.

Athletes will begin their day with a 1.2-mile ocean swim in East London's Orient Beach. Protected by the breakwaters of East London's harbor, athletes can expect generally calm and warm waters. The rolling hills of the 56-mile bike course will be a challenge. Road closures will allow the athletes to safely navigate the course while enjoying the inherent beauty of the landscape. A 13.1-mile, flat run will consist of two-loops with spectacular ocean views. Finishers will be greeted in true style with African dancers, music and spectators.

IRONMAN EAST LONDON TRAINING HOLIDAY