Places to stay and explore more: Forge’s first three Outdooractive accommodation partners
South Africa’s outdoor destinations have extraordinary experiences to share. Helping travellers discover those experiences and find useful information to explore them is where Forge comes in. With our first three accommodation partners now on Outdooractive, we’re giving outdoor tourism marketing and digital visitor guidance a boost, from the Drakensberg mountains to the Garden Route coastline.
In November last year, we announced our partnership with Outdooractive, becoming its official and exclusive reseller in South Africa. Building on our mapping expertise, we set out to help tourism businesses showcase their outdoor offering and guide visitors through it. That ambition is taking shape through our work with The Cavern, Mountain Splendour Eco-Resort and De Hoop Collection, the first three accommodation businesses to join Outdooractive through Forge on Accommodation Pro plans.
On Outdooractive, travellers can discover accommodation, routes and activities in one place before their visit and then access that content during their stay through the app, which is free to download from the Apple App Store and Google Play. This connects destination marketing with practical guidance when visitors need it.
The Cavern: bringing the Northern Drakensberg to life
A family-run resort dating back to 1941, The Cavern is a much-loved base for exploring the Northern Drakensberg. Its extensive network of day hikes sits within the Northern Drakensberg Nature Reserve, of which the resort is a founding member.
Our work here has involved walking trails, collating GIS data sources, and verifying and updating OpenStreetMap. OpenStreetMap provides the underlying trail data for Outdooractive’s base map in South Africa, so improving it helps ensure the landscape is accurately represented.
Alongside this groundwork, we’ve trained The Cavern’s staff to create content on Outdooractive. Their local knowledge now helps guests discover self-guided hikes, find hidden landmarks such as the Silent Lady, identify prominent peaks in the valley, and explore further afield, including the popular Amphitheatre chain ladder hike to the top of Tugela Falls.
We’ve also curated the nature reserve itself on Outdooractive. Working with The Cavern, we obtained official documentation specifying its conservation rules and entered these into Digitize the Planet. These rules feed into Outdooractive, where relevant content displays the applicable guidance, helping visitors explore responsibly.
Mountain Splendour Eco-Resort: an ideal base for an active family holiday
Further south along the Drakensberg, in the Champagne Valley, Mountain Splendour Eco-Resort combines family-friendly accommodation with on-site activities and access to spectacular day hikes.
When we met owners Susan and Iain Don-Wauchope earlier this year, it quickly became clear how Outdooractive could help showcase that combination.
Their Accommodation Pro listing brings together accommodation options, including camping and self-catering, with curated activity recommendations. These feature their own on-site activities alongside existing official content from Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, which manages the region’s protected mountain areas.
Mountain Splendour commissioned Forge to help create its content, including a collection of recommended day hikes around Champagne Castle. This gives prospective visitors a starting point for planning an active holiday and helps guests choose their next outing, without placing all the content creation workload on the resort’s team.
De Hoop Collection: bringing experiences and information to life
De Hoop Collection, a private concession within De Hoop Nature Reserve, offers a base for exploring coastal dunes, fynbos, wetlands and wildlife - and much more.
They also commissioned Forge to showcase their extensive offering on Outdooractive, from self-guided hiking and mountain biking routes to the Vulture Experience at Potberg, eco boat cruises, guided nature drives and interpretive marine walks. Their four-day, 38 km Vlei to Whales luxury hiking trail experience, which offers another way to explore the reserve in comfort and with gourmet catering, also features on the platform.
One of De Hoop’s existing interpretive trails uses a printed booklet to share information about interesting sites along the way. We’ve digitised that material on Outdooractive, enabling visitors to navigate the route and access all the information from their mobile phones through the app, bringing the destination’s stories to life as they explore.
Show travellers more than a place to stay with Forge and Outdooractive
These first three partners demonstrate how Forge combines accurate mapping, local knowledge and Outdooractive’s tools to support destination marketing and visitor guidance.
For accommodation providers, the advantage is showing the full experience of a stay: the trails, landscapes, activities and discoveries that make their destination worth visiting. That same content then helps guide guests once they arrive and make the most of their stay.
Whether your team needs training to create its own content or would prefer Forge to create it for you, we can help you leverage Outdooractive to support your marketing and business goals.
Does your business have an outdoor offering to share? Get in touch with Forge to showcase your destination as much more than just a place to stay.
Cover image collage: From left to right: The Cavern, Mountain Splendour Eco-Resort, De Hoop Collection. Images supplied.
