Kruger Loop (South Africa/Lesotho/Eswatini)

Eleven nights in a loop from Johannesburg, guided, entirely on sealed road, through South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini with two days in Kruger.

The paved surface is the distinguishing feature: this is the Renedian tour for riders who want Africa without gravel, and the only unsealed section is done in a vehicle rather than on a bike.

Clarens comes first through the Free State grain country, a sandstone town near the Lesotho border, then the Golden Gate Highlands park and the Oliviershoek Pass with the Drakensberg laid out beyond it, and two nights at Himeville. The rest day there includes a 4×4 ascent of the Sani Pass, which climbs to around three thousand metres in a series of unprotected switchbacks, is routinely listed among the world’s most dangerous roads and ends at the highest pub in Africa, inside Lesotho. St Lucia follows in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, a world heritage site, with an afternoon cruise on the lake among hippo and crocodile. Mlilwane in Eswatini comes next, a sanctuary where the camp sits among free-roaming wildlife, then Hazyview and Kruger.

The bike hire is included, with a BMW F800GS as standard and upgrades available; the full inclusions are not itemised on the operator’s page and are worth confirming at booking. Twelve days makes this the shortest African tour in the range and the easiest to take as a straightforward holiday. No wildlife sighting can be promised on any given drive, though Kruger over two full days gives the odds as good a run as they get anywhere.