Accommodation and Tourism
The Event Centre for Registration will be the picturesque mountain village of Graskop. Registration will be open on Saturday 28 December and on the morning of Day 1. It is approx. a 4.5 hrs drive from Johannesburg. On Days 2 through to 5, registration will be at the competition venue during competition hours.
Participants are urged to organise accommodation as December is South Africa’s primary holiday season. The event organisers recommend finding accommodation in Graskop or in the surrounding area. The next nearest towns are Sabie, Pilgrims Rest and Hazyview, but they are not as central to the competition areas.
For accommodation in the region:
Pilgrims Rest
Bylde River Canyon
Tourism
Together with Cape Town and the South Coast, Mpumalanga is one of the premier tourism regions in South Africa. The Mpumalanga regions host a vast array of landscape, cultural and natural attractions, including the southern part of the world famous Kruger National Park. The final event of the Big 5 is only a 45-minute drive from the Kruger Park’s nearest gate, Phabeni.
Recommended places to see and things to do near the event locations will be listed with links on the Big 5 website: www.bigfive-o.co.za
Visas: Most visitors to South Africa are not required to obtain visas in advance. For further information visit http://www.home-affairs.gov.za/index.php/countries-exempt-from-sa-visas
Transport
No official transport will be offered. International competitors are advised to hire a car from a recognised car hire company. It is an easy 4.5 hour drive from Johannesburg (O.R. Tambo) International Airport to Graskop. There is also a smaller regional airport in Nelspruit.
Numerous low-cost airlines fly between the major cities of Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Nelspruit and George. See www.kulula.com, www.flysafair.com and www.flymango.co.za. South African (www.flysaa.com) and British Airways (www.ba.com) also operate flights between these destinations. See www.travelstart.co.za for a nice comparison website.