The Bound Journal
Stories from the Outeniquas
Latest Story
Tropical Island Holiday… Expedition Style
Sailing regattas, snorkel checkpoints and 116 hours of racing: Team SPOT Africa at Expedition Africa Rodrigues 2019.
Adventure Story
Oct 28, 2026
An Inside Look into the AR World Championships 2023
Team Terra Mater’s 912km, 158-hour journey across the Eastern Cape at the first Adventure Racing World Championship held on African soil.
Adventure Story
Oct 28, 2026
Touring the Tankwa
A self-supported, 330km circular gravel tour from Sutherland through the Tankwa Karoo: the route, the passes and what you need to know.
Adventure Story
Oct 28, 2026
Shark Bite, 1996
On 28 May 1996, a 17-year-old surfer paddled out at The Steps in Wilderness and came back with a story he has been telling ever since.
A note from our founder
I’ve spent a fair amount of my life muddy, tired, slightly lost and convinced that whatever lies around the next corner is worth the effort. Usually, it is.
Adventure has taken me from the Outeniqua Mountains to expedition adventure races across the world. It has also become my work: founding MUT by UTMB here in George, helping build and organise endurance events like Trans Baviaans, and now serving as Operations Director for the UTMB World Series in Europe, Middle East and Africa, delivering some the most iconic trail running events in the world.
Those experiences have taught me plenty about preparation, perseverance and what happens when your carefully considered plan meets a mountain. They’ve also taught me that the gear you trust matters—and that the people beside you matter even more.
Outeniqua Bound brings those lessons home.
These mountains are where I live, train, explore and find a bit of perspective. They’re where my family and friends get outside, where good ideas tend to arrive somewhere along the trail, and where this brand began.
We’re building products for that life. Things I want to use myself, take into the mountains, pack for a road trip and put through their paces. If we’re going to put our name on something, I want to know how it feels after a long day outside, not just how it looks on a shelf.
There’s room for fun in all of this. There has to be. But we take what we’re building seriously: useful products, thoughtful choices and a business that can keep its promises as it grows. For me, healthy living and sustainability belong in the everyday decisions—how we spend our time, what we make, what we buy and how long we keep it going.
That’s part of the thinking behind Second Summit: giving outdoor gear another chapter and helping more people find their way outside. Equipment can be expensive. Getting started can feel intimidating. We want to make that first step easier, while keeping good gear in use for longer.
I hope Outeniqua Bound feels like a place you belong, whether you’re preparing for an expedition or taking your kids on their first walk beyond the car park. You don’t need an impressive adventure story to be part of ours. I’d like us to help people make their own, at their own pace, with respect for the places that make those stories possible.
Start Where You Are means something very personal to me.
When I started MUT, I started in the town where I lived, on the trails I knew, with the people around me. Outeniqua Bound begins in much the same way: here at home, beneath the Outeniqua Mountains, with a love for this place and a willingness to begin.
I don’t have every answer about where this brand will go. But I know we want to build it with care, make the outdoors more welcoming and leave something worthwhile for the people who come after us.
Wherever you are, whatever you have, there’s a beginning available to you too.
Start Where You Are.
Zane Schmahl
Founder, Outeniqua Bound