Karoo to Coast the closing stages of the race. Men: Women: Karoo to Coast The Karoo to Coast is an annual 100 km mountain bike race held in September down the Prince Alfred's Pass from Uniondale to Knysna in South Africa. In 2007 this was voted one of the top ten mountain bike races in the country. All proceeds go to the Lions Clubs International “SightFirst” fund, financing sight restoration surgery for the poor. Started in 1999, this event is considered extremely arduous along a route of which 93% is on gravel roads, from a high point of 1045 m down to sea
Karoo 10–20 km from the foot of the Swartberg mountains is least karoo-like, in that it is a well-watered area both from the rain and the many streams that cascade down the mountain, or through narrow defiles in the Swartberg from the Great Karoo. The main towns of the region are situated along this northern strip of the Little Karoo: Montagu, Barrydale, Ladismith, Calitzdorp, Oudtshoorn, and De Rust, as well as such well-known mission stations such as Zoar, Amalienstein, and Dysselsdorp. The southern 30– to 50-km-wide strip, north of the Langeberg range, is as arid as the western Lower Karoo, except