Victoria Falls to Cape Town

We kick off the first day of riding with a short and easy ride to get you settled in. We will head southwards through one of the main farming areas of Botswana. We are also adjacent to the Chobe Park here, which boasts the highest concentration of elephants in the world. Hopefully we are lucky today and have a few ostriches join the race next to the road – see how they run!

We aim for a late morning arrival in the town of Maun, gateway to the Okavango Delta. The Okavango is the world’s largest inland delta and spreads over 15,000 square kilometers and is the result of the Okavango river having no natural outlet, so it leaves its waters in the desert, creating a massive wetland wilderness. The only real way to appreciate the immensity of the delta is to see it from above. We drop the bikes in town and hurry to the airport where a private chartered airplane takes us on a scenic flight over the Delta, before landing us at a private airfield to meet our bush crew, where we will spend the night in a bush camp with a canvas tent as bedroom. This site is properly ‘in the bush’ as there are no buildings or civilization visible. It is common to hear lions, hippos, and hyenas through the night.

We have a lazy start to this day as we head west on the Trans Kalahari Highway. Traffic is usually light and we often encounter running ostriches, warthogs and other plains game to entertain us. Our town tonight is a small but busy regional place, with the main industry being cattle farming. We will arrive in time to spend time walking through the shops and taking a peek into the everyday world of the folk who live here.

We have just a short ride to Windhoek, the capital city of Namibia, so we will head out after a lazy morning, enjoying the lodge and its surroundings. We are in cattle country, and will pass large cattle farming operations along the way today. Namibia’s population is only about 2.5 million, which leaves a lot of space for us to explore! We will be in Windhoek for two nights.

Today is another rest day, allowing the crew to do any maintenance on the bikes, and to resupply before we head into the desert. You should use the day to explore Windhoek, shop, or relax. Windhoek will also be the last place for a while to stock up on prescription meds or ‘modern’ items like memory cards etc. and even here, your options will be limited.

DAY 10

Sesriem
100 kms paved / 233 kms gravel
Accommodation near Sesriem

Our appreciation of Namibia’s excellent gravel roads will start today. We exit the city and after a short spell on the highway, we say goodbye blacktop and hello dust! The famous apple strudel in the tiny town of Solitaire is on the menu for today. This is our first and also one of our longer days of gravel and we will arrive during the late afternoon, just in time to experience the sunset against the mountains and sand dunes of the Namib desert, arguably the oldest in the world, and a World Heritage Site.

DAY 11

Sesriem (for Sossusvlei)
No Riding – Tour of Sossusvlei and Sesriem
Accommodation near Sesriem

An early start will get us to the sand dunes just after sunrise. These dunes in the Namib Desert can rise 1,300’, and are among the highest in the world. We will visit Sossusvlei and walk into Dead Vlei, a surreal valley holding 900-year old standing tree skeletons, burned black from the sun and anchored lifeless in a valley that is too dry for them to decompose. On our way out of the park we will also visit the Sesriem canyon, a striking natural wonder in Namibia. This canyon features dramatic, deep ravines carved by ancient rivers. We’ll be back to the lodge by early afternoon and get a well-deserved afternoon off to relax by the pool, read, or rest. If you’re still eager to get out, walking trails bring you into the small mountains nearby where you can enjoy the intimate sounds of the Namib’s bird and insect life that is normally blocked out by your motorcycle helmet. As the sun begins its fall onto the dunes to the east, the fire is stoked to provide another meal for us.

DAY 12

Aus
20 kms paved / 270 kms gravel
Accommodation near Aus

Another day of mostly gravel riding today! From morning to night we are on natural surfaced (gravel) roads. Part of the reason they do not pave these roads is because of low traffic volumes. It is not unusual to have hours pass by with no other vehicles on the roads. The group can stretch out and on this day more than most we get that wonderful feeling of riding somewhere very foreign, yet welcoming.

DAY 13

Aus (For Luderitz)
Optional 250 kms paved
Accommodation near Aus

Today is another optional day. We do however suggest joining us for another ride across the vast expanse of the Namib desert. Keep your eyes open for one of the last herds of feral horses left in the world. We aim to arrive during mid morning at the coastal town of Luderitz for a tour of Kolmanskop, a diamond mining town abandoned lock, stock, and barrel when bigger diamonds were found further south. The sand dunes are slowly reclaiming the town, but there is still a fascinating story that comes with the old buildings. This is a guided tour. After lunch we return to Aus for our second night. It can be extremely windy at the coast, so we have cancelled this day’s ride before, cross your fingers for calm winds!

DAY 14

Fish River Canyon
167 kms paved / 141 kms gravel
Accommodation near Fish River Canyon

We use tarmac roads to hurry us along our first section today, crossing the bridge at the Fish River in mid morning. Turning south, we get to enjoy some of the best gravel roads in Namibia as we approach the second largest canyon in the world, the Fish River Canyon. Our viewpoint is rarely busy, and we will have a great opportunity to photograph and enjoy the canyon at our leisure, before we arrive at our lodge, a short distance away.

DAY 15

Springbok, Northern Cape (South Africa)
168 kms paved / 127 kms gravel
Accommodation near Springbok

Our last few kilometers of gravel road in Namibia brings us to the hot springs at Ais-Ais, and after a quick soak we continue on one of everybody’s favorite gravel sections to the junction with the tarmac road near the Orange River, the geographic border between Namibia and South Africa. The border crossing should hopefully go quickly, and we will then be on paved roads to hurry us along our first few kilometers in South Africa and our country hotel near Springbok, a quiet town known for its tough mining history. We are now in the Northern Cape province, the most sparsely populated and largest province in South Africa.

DAY 16

Clanwilliam, Western Cape
348 kms
Accommodation near Clanwilliam

We have a short travel day (distance wise) heading south. You will note a drastic change in scenery as we leave the Northern Cape province and enter the Western Cape province. Crossing the Olifants River sees immediate effects of irrigation and large, rolling citrus crops. We normally spend the afternoon working on bikes, while guests visit in town and learn about the health effects of rooibos tea, grown here and nowhere else!

DAY 17

Seweweekspoort
389 kms paved / 110 kms gravel
Accommodation near Seweweekspoort

Leaving Clanwilliam, we head for the town of Citrusdal. From there, we ascend into the stunning Cederberg mountains—a spectacular and unique wilderness area—using the fairly steep and narrow Middelberg pass to cross over these mountains. Once at the top, we enjoy beautiful vistas of the Cederberg range. From here, we navigate towards the greater Karoo semi-desert area. After lunch, we will find our way via a mix of gravel and paved roads to our overnight stop, another secluded (but stunning!) spot in a narrow valley in the great Karoo.

DAY 18

Oudtshoorn
130 kms paved / 110 kms gravel
Accommodation near Oudtshoorn

Today will be full, yet again, of spectacular scenery. Combine this with spectacular riding and you have one of the highlights of this tour. We will tick off three of South Africa’s iconic routes: The Seweweekspoort Gorge, The Swartberg  Pass, and Meiringskloof. The day will bring us into the Klein Karoo area and to yet another special overnight spot.

DAY 19

Oudtshoorn
No riding – Option Day.
Accommodation near Oudtshoorn

Day off – you have earned it if you want it. There are wildlife centers to visit, ostriches to feed, caves to explore, trinkets to buy—or just do nothing and sit by the pool, catching up with your blog and diary. However, if you’re keen on more riding, we have a few suggestions up our sleeve that can make for another fantastic ride, so just let us know.

DAY 20

Arniston
380 kms paved / 15 kms gravel
Accommodation near Arniston

Our goal today is to visit the southernmost tip of the African Continent, Cape Agulhas, where we will make sure you get the obligatory photo and the chance to simultaneously stand with one foot on the side of the Indian Ocean and the other on the side of the Atlantic. After the visit to the tip of Africa, we make our way to another charming beach-side village, Arniston/ Waenhuiskrans, with our hotel right on the ocean. Upon arrival at the hotel, we recommend spending some time among the nationally landmarked Fisherman’s cottages with their whitewashed walls and thatched roofs. These can be found within a short walk and are set off against a turquoise sea and colorful fishing boats—a magnet for photographers and artists from around the world. This allure was no doubt intensified by Time Magazine proclaiming Arniston as one of the World’s Ten Best Hideaways.

DAY 21

Stellenbosch
224 kms
Accommodation near Stellenbosch

From Ariston we ride through the Overberg area to the spectacular seaside town of Hermanus for lunch, the self- proclaimed whale capital of South Africa.  Southern Right Whales calve here during July through November, so hopefully we are in luck and spot some of these giants close to shore. From Hermanus we continue along the coast to Stony Point Nature Reserve, to visit an impressive penguin colony before enjoying the flowy, curvy road of Clarence Drive, one of the Western Cape’s most beautiful stretches of coastal road, before our late afternoon arrival in South Africa’s second oldest city—Stellenbosch, famous for its university and world-class wineries.

DAY 22

Cape Town
170 kms paved
Accommodation near V&A Waterfront

Our last day on the bikes and it is a beauty as we take on one of South Africa’s most scenic ocean-side roads—Chapman’s Peak Drive. Our continued route through the Cape Point Nature Reserve offers quiet roads and panoramas of green fields, rocky cliffs, and the legendary Cape of Good Hope. This outcropping of south-west Africa has made sailors nervous for 500 years (and remains the mythical home of the damned Flying Dutchman), but from our land-side approach, we can admire the Cape without discomfort, staring out from the beach to the south where 4,000 kilometers of Atlantic Ocean separate us from Antarctica. This is our last night together and we will spend it in Cape Town’s beautiful V&A Waterfront watching the harbor life and sharing stories.

DAY 23

Fly out

After breakfast the final paperwork is completed, and our trip is officially over. Consider staying a day or two after the tour finishes to catch up on all the passes and attractions that we are unable to squeeze into a three-week trip. Let us know and we can get you on the right track.

Thank you for letting us show you our favorite part of this section of Africa!