GEORGE NEWS - Fancourt has introduced a new outdoor adventure programme in response to the growing trend among golfers to enhance their game and improve their general fitness with a range of other stimulating open-air pursuits.

At the top of the list is mountain biking, the fastest-growing adventure sport among golfers in the country.

Fancourt Golf General Manager Lloyd Martindale says they increasingly find that the modern-day golfer loves his game, but is equally interested in other ways to exercise and unwind. "Residents on the estate and members of our golf club, as well as hotel guests, enjoy the variety we're now able to offer at Fancourt with a mix of activities that not only take place in and around the Sports & Leisure Centre and outdoors within the perimeters of the estate, but extend to organised mountain biking and trail running in other beautiful areas around George."

Some technical riding ability and moderate fitness is essential. Mountain biking paths start from a distance of 10km, while advanced riders can opt for a 45km route that takes them out into the nearby Witfontein Nature Reserve over jeep tracks and through pine plantation, indigenous forest and mountain fynbos in the Outeniqua Mountains, and through the Herold winelands. Riders training for professional marathons can take the more arduous route through the Montagu Pass.

Participants can also opt for a more strenuous workout, such as a hike up the Cradock or George Peak Trail to the base of the Outeniqua Mountains.

A monthly fishing competition held at one of the fishing dams on the resort is proving popular too, with avid fishermen among guests, members and Fancourt residents turning up in droves to spend the afternoon waiting for a great catch (catch-and-release of course!), and rounding it off with an evening braai.