Fatbike Tours is personally run and owned by myself (Dave Caravias) since early 2015. I have been living in Gansbaai for the last 20 years and spend all of this time in Tourism, promoting tourism activities and the Shark Cage Diving. Since arriving in Gansbaai I built The Roundhouse Guesthouse www.theroundhouse.co.za and set up the central booking office for the Shark Cage Diving www.sharkbookings.com I am always looking for excuses to get outside and enjoy this incredible place and enjoy the amazing natural environment around me. In 2006 I set up a Kayaking business and 4×4 tours which was just the most incredible experience and was given permission to run Kayak tours in De Kelders Whale Sanctuary. We had on average 16 Whales per tour in season and gave people the most incredible experiences with the Whales, Sharks and Seals. I ran the business for 2 years combined with Cave tours and 4×4 mountain tours before deciding to sell the Kayaks and be more land-based. The waters in the Cape especially along the cliffs are quite unpredictable.
Back in 2013 I started mountain biking where my love for exploring the great outdoors by bike. I used to ride the cliff paths and down to the cliffs of Die Plaat in the Walker Bay nature reserve. It got to the point in 2014 when I decided to try riding the bike on the beach. It was extremely tough on the soft sand and I was only able to ride at low tide when the sand was hard with deflated tyres. It wa just so incredible to be on my own away from people and surrounded by nature. In September 2014 I went to a local bike shop in Hermanus and asked if there was a good second hand bike available for me to upgrade. I spoke with the staff and it was then I was shown this new concept of a Fatbike. Roetter showed me the bike on the internet and I immediately requested one when due in that December.
In December I heard that the bikes had arrived in the country and headed to the shop. Unfortunately there was too much demand for the new bikes and there were no bikes allocated for our area. I was very disappointed, left the shop and when walking through Hermanus I walked past a small bike shop and there was a brand new Fatbike (Titan Whopper) for sale. It was overpriced as the only one around but I could not resist the temptation and bought the bike.
I spent the whole of Christmas and the new year exploring the reserve, riding along the beach and finally finding my way up to the Dunes high up over the beach. When I saw this incredible place I used Google earth to navigate my way through this epic wilderness. I spent the whole month exploring the Dunes, learning how to ride the bike on the soft sand and had the time of my life.
In January 2015 I went back to the shop where I ordered the bike and the Silverback bikes had been delivered. Roetter said I should take the bike for a spin but I said that I cannot afford to buy another bike. He persuaded me to ride it around the block and that is when I fell in love with the bike. I rode it back into the shop and had no choice to max out my credit card with the thought that I could sell my other bike. The Silverback Scoop bike was so much lighter than the other bike and tyres much wider which made it so easy to ride on the sand. I was hooked!
When looking to sell the Titan bike I saw that I could get the bike for substantially less than I paid and decided to buy another Titan and see if I could get people to join me. I found 2 people at the bike shop interested and they joined me on a ride. They loved the experience and I realised that I may have something very special I can offer visitors to the area. I approached the Cape Nature office and they permitted me to offer the tour and I ran my first tour in March 2015. Each and every tour went extremely well and the experience was very special for all.
I decided to sell the Titan bikes and get 2 more Silverback’s to make it easier for my guests. Bookings came in and I was able to extent the fleet of bikes gradually through time. The experience is such a hit that now in 2021 I received the TripAdvisor Travellers Choice award placing the tour in the top 10% of all activities worldwide.
I bought kids bikes along the way and offer tours for children from 8 years old up to my oldest client being 86 years old. The experience is so rewarding for my guests and especially myself. I love what I do and every tour is music to my soul with plenty of laughter and fun along the way.
Join me on this incredible adventure on the sand and experience my passion for nature on a fun filled 2 hours in paradise 🙂