What The Gravel didn’t start as a business idea. It started just over a year ago in May 2025 as a desperate attempt to survive in a place where loyalty and caring seized to exist. It started out of hopelessness and one man’s final destination; a final attempt to do something worthwhile without having to worry about the endless hoops and race-based hurdles to run a formal business in South Africa; a final desperate cry to the “Almighty” to intervene!

And that cry is still echoing in the mountains; unheard; unanswered; ringing with hope!

What The Gravel! is the “new” kid on the block, promoting rural destinations and experiences outside the wire! We provide travellers and overlanders with first-hand, unbiased information about living the outdoor life and traveling into the rural spirit of the Western Cape of Southern Africa.

Our focus is not on the hype, the best or the most glamourous. Instead, our focus on affordable quality experiences based on a single person travelling to places of solitude and serenity while using the essential minimum to do so.

Our research has shown that most City-sleekers don’t travel more than 200km away from home over weekends. We call this “the wire” and it’s a “time barrier” that prevents people from the real Gravel experience where the pavement stops, and the sound of clatter under the wheels begin.

Meet Your Outdoor Adventure Guide

Driko Maritz – Proprietor of What The Gravel

What The Gravel is the brain-child of Bellville born resident, Driko Maritz. Since 1997, Driko spent a great deal on the road, exploring the great outdoors and looking for those jeep tracks that end up at a locked gate or the edge of a cliff.

It all started when he sold his luxury car and bought a 4×4; the ultimate life-style changer.

As an explorer by nature, he has never been a person who could sit at one place for days on end. It was always about finding that “base camp” from where to explore the region around it.

Today, this passion has taken shape in What The Gravel!. The ultimate life-style changer that offers you a virtual look into the wonderful life of an Adventurer.