Answers to questions we regularly get from visitors.
Please be sure to read it well.

Distance & Traveling Time to the Cederberg:

• All visitors to Bakkrans must first go to the farm Keurbosfontein (see map on website), to meet up with the reserve manager, who will accompany them to Bakkrans. Bakkrans is an uninhabited wilderness and the entrance gates are always locked.
• Keurbosfontein-farm is about a 3-hour drive from Cape town. Bakkrans is a further 1-hour drive from Keurbosfontein. Although Bakkrans is only 20 kilometers from Keurbosfontein, it takes 1 hour to reach it with a 4x4.
• It is very important for you to plan your trip so that you will reach Bakkrans not later than 16h00 in winter and 17h30 in summer.

4x4 Transport Available:

• If you can reach Keurbosfontein by car, we can transport you further to Bakkrans Reserve. You can travel together with the reserve manager in his Land Rover Defender, free of charge.
• We also have a covered trailer for extra luggage, if required.
• The reserve's Land Rover is not available to take visitors on guided tours within the reserve and may only be used to transport visitors to and from Bakkrans. Although Bakkrans roads are a delight for 4x4 owners, many visitors to Bakkrans also do not use their own vehicles when there, since the best way to experience the reserve is to explore the nature trails, rock art and natural environment on foot.

Exclusivity for Visitors:

• When you make a booking for Bakkrans, we guarantee that the reserve and its facilities will be reserved for you exclusively, at no extra costs in addition to our normal rates.
• We undertake not to take in any other visitors while you are staying there, regardless of the number of cottages you booked or occupy.
• The whole reserve and its facilities are therefore exclusively allocated to you, to explore and enjoy in total privacy. 

Best Time to Visit / Flowers:

• The flower season from August to October is our busiest time. The flowers at Bakkrans are plentiful and fantastic in springtime, much like the flowers in the Biedouw valley. Spring is also the time when the veld is full of young animals.
• Some visitors, however, visit to experience either the winter or summer seasons specifically.
• It does snow in winter at Bakkrans, but it normally melts after a day or two. In a good year we get about 200/250 mm of rain, so for us rain is always a wonderful experience.
• Visitors in summer time sometimes sleep outside. (If you are planning to do so, please bring your own sleeping bags).
• The Rooi Cederberg Karoo (and Bakkrans) is actually very near Sutherland and has superb clear skies for stargazing. When it is full moon, however, the stars are less bright, but then again you can see for kilometers into the distant Karoo – a wonderful experience. 

4x4 Vehicles / Routes:

• Only 4x4 vehicles are allowed into the reserve. Although Bakkrans can be reached with a 2x4 with a high ground clearance, we do not recommend it.
• If you don’t have a 4x4 available, you can travel to Bakkrans together with the reserve manager in his Land Rover Defender.
• A visit to Bakkrans will take you over about 80 kilometers of wonderful 4x4 routes, but it is not a destination for the 4x4 enthusiast to test the off-road abilities of his vehicle. Our roads are handmade, well kept, two wheel tracks which travel with the contours of the mountains sides and we practice “compact driving” when we drive on them.

Clothing & Other Requirements:

• Always ensure to bring along warm clothing, even in summertime, when the night temperatures can sometimes get chilly unexpectedly.
• Although we supply lanterns, candles and small torches, we suggest that visitors also bring their own small head lights, which usually come in very handy.
• In summer time bring a bathing costume if you wish to use the splash pool. Also, please be sure to bring your own towels to use at the pool as we do not allow our towels to be taken to the pool.
• Please remember to bring things such as personal medication, sun block, sunglasses, hats, binoculars, cameras, etc.
• If you plan to sleep outside, please remember to bring your sleeping bags.

Cell Phone Reception:

• Bakkrans is one of only two small areas in the Cederberg Conservancy that has cell phone reception. Although it sometimes is a good 4-bar MTN signal, the signal is not constant everywhere in the reserve. Please ask the reserve manager where to get the best signal.
• If required, and you do not use MTN service, you could consider buying a temporary (small) MTN SIM card just for your visit.
• Since Bakkrans doesn’t get a constant signal, cell phones are only switched on when needed. Cell phones are therefore never an annoyance to visitors.     

Mountain Bikes:

• We allow mountain bikes at Bakkrans. It is important that riders stick to the roads for vehicles and not ride in the veld or walking trails.

Swimming:

• We have a small splash pool, which is very popular in summer, but it is not big enough to swim in. The pool is high up in a waterfall and is surrounded by high cliffs, which provide cool shade throughout the day.
• Please be sure to bring your own towels to use at the pool as we do not allow our towels to be taken to the pool.

Hiking Trails:

• Our hiking trails are easy to negotiate and parts of it go through beautiful kloofs.
• Our two-wheel tracks for vehicles run through beautiful parts of the reserve, where they follow the contours of the mountain sides. We have found that many visitors spontaneously use these tracks as hiking trails.

Children:

• We strongly support the idea of teaching youngsters about the importance of nature conservation and we also encourage children to visit Bakkrans. However, this is with the understanding that parents keep them under strict supervision and proper guidance.
• Where children are staying on their own in a separate house we supply them with special battery-lanterns to ensure that there is no need for them to handle matches, candles or ordinary lanterns.

Not Allowed:

• Roof tents (or other small tents) do not fit in with the ambiance of Bakkrans and we therefore do not allow them. A vehicle with a roof tent also creates its own “footprint” where it is parked, which is not desirable here.
• Fires or cooking are allowed at the braai area, but not at the houses or in the open veld.
• Firewood may not be collected from the veld. Firewood can be purchased from the reserve manager at Bakkrans.
• Pets, loud music, firearms, off-road bikes and quad bikes are stricly forbidden.  

Personnel / Guides:

• A staff member of the reserve will always accompany visitors, even if they are escorted to Bakkrans by their own guide.
• We have additional separate accommodation available for guides and for staff. 

Special Tours:

• We can arrange visits with special themes, such as rock art, photography, tracking, etc. Such visits must be arranged at least 4 weeks in advance and are dependent on a suitable guide being available.

Game / Mountain Zebras:

• We have a variety of game species at Bakkrans. We adhere to the important ecological principle of keeping only game species that originally and naturally occurred in this Rooi Cederberg Karoo habitat.
• We have Cape Mountain Zebras, gemsbok, springbok, ribbok, klipspringer, duiker, steenbok, ostrich, porcupine, aardvark, aardwolf, and many more. Predators include leopard, caracal, jackal, African wild cat, badger, etc.
• We introduced 15 Mountain Zebras during 2000/2001 and now have 33. These animals are highly endangered and can only be obtained and trans-located under strict permit conditions from Cape Nature.
• Bakkrans is part of the research area of the Cape Leopard Trust. The first leopard ever photographed by them was at Bakkrans. His home range is a massive 1 400 sq. kilometers. Our logo is from a picture of this specific leopard.

Library / Information:

• We have a small portable “library” at Bakkrans with books about plants, animals, birds, reptiles, insects, etc, that can also be found in the reserve. Included are also reports on the geology and rock art at Bakkrans.
• A small booklet with a brief description about the history, infrastructure and workings of the reserve is also available.     

Risk & Insurance:

• All visitors enter Bakkrans Nature Reserve and use its facilities, equipment and activities at their own risk. Visitors must arrange and obtain their own (and for their dependants) comprehensive and all-inclusive risk insurance to cover all their possible individual and personal needs and requirements in full, while traveling to and from Bakkrans, as well as during their stay at Bakkrans. These conditions and requirements are also applicable to visitors who enter neigbouring Mooiberg Nature Reserve.

Credit Cards:

• We unfortunately do not have credit card facilities. This is because we operate mostly from the Cederberg, where we deliberately do not use electricity in our unique old world ambiance. We require full payment to be made by way of bank transfers.