Karoo to Coast 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 level, with many long and gruelling climbs, often
Karoo later years, when not only the feathers were sought after, but also ostrich leather, and its meat, which is very tasty, and a major export item. Today, several farms can be visited by tourists, near Oudtshoorn, the center of the ostrich industry. The first European settlers landed in the Cape of Good Hope in 1652, and between 1659 and 1664, made several unsuccessful attempts to penetrate the Great Karoo from the south-west. The Europeans who first entered the Great Karoo did so from the south-east (traveling north from Algoa Bay), which is slightly less arid than the western Karoo. These