Welcome to Africa! Transfer from the airport to your guesthouse, where you will meet the guide and pick up your motorbike.
You’ll ride tar roads for the first stretch south to Keetmanshoop and the famous Quivertree Forest. These special trees only grow in a limited number of areas and get their name from the use of the branches as quivers for the arrows of the original Khoisan people. The sunset between the trees is really something to remember!
Shortly after passing Keetmanshoop you depart from the tarred roads and ride to the spectacular Fish River Canyon. According to the Khoisan legend a giant snake left his track in the rocks. And the course of the canyon does resemble the curvy movements of a snake! From a viewpoint you look down into the depths where the Fish River runs. Your hotel for today is a paradise for old car lovers...
We return to the tar road which we follow for a while before taking the gravel road turn-off to Helmeringhausen and the quaint Helmeringhausen hotel. And a treat awaits: the best apple pie in Namibia!
Today we ride along the edge of the Kalahari desert. The gravel road is so wide and straight you can’t help looking over your shoulder to check whether a plane is coming in to land. The solitude is interspaced with small towns like Bethanie, often consisting of just a petrol station, a shop and a pub. In the light of the setting sun the red dunes of Sossusvlei appear to grow higher and higher. You sleep in a lodge 40 km away from the famous Sossusvlei dunes.
You leave early for an excursion into the Namib Naukluft Park. Unfortunately it was closed to motorbikes two years ago, so you will go on a half day excursion on a safari vehicle which departs at 6.00 am. A light breakfast is included in the tour.
The safari vehicle which will take you 60 km into the park. From here it is a short walk to the famous Deadvlei, where dead trees form wonderful contrasts with the red dunes. Along the way you'll have a picnic breakfast.
You'll be back at the gate around noon. From here we ride over gravel roads to Solitaire. This looks just like any other Namibian village: a petrol station, a shop and a bar. But there is one big difference: Moose’s apple pie!
North of Solitaire is Cha-re farm, where we sleep in simple huts on the farm of Boesman (Bushman). Although white, he has been raised with the old Khoisan knowledge and always goes barefoot. Optionally, you can make an afternoon excursion on his farm in a 4x4 vehicle - the costs of this are 2100 N$ per vehicle , shared between the number of participants. If you are alone this is very pricey.
Along the way there are plenty of stops where he or his guides will show you the living desert - it might seem dry and barren, but after listening to Boesman or one of his guides, and seeing how much life there is hidden in the desert sands, you will never look at a desert the same way again.
Also, Boesman's farm is miles away from any electric lights, so if you wander a bit you'll see a starry sky like you'll probably never see again - well at least for a couple of days. Unless there is a moon, which will light up the desert for you but hide the stars.
Refreshed, you continue your ride through the impressive Kuiseb Canyon/Gaub pass and the Namib desert until you reach the coast. You'll have lunch at the flamingo lagoon just outside Walvis Bay. A short stretch on a tar road takes you to Swakopmund, where you have time for yourself. You could do your laundry, use the internet or go for a piece of Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte in one of the German ‘Konditoreis’. And Swakopmund has plenty to offer beer lovers, too...
Swakopmund is Namibia’s adventure centre. What do you want to do? Quadbiking through the dunes, a scenic flight over Skeleton Coast, visit a township? Or would you prefer a tandem skydive 10,000 feet above the desert? This, and much more, is possible in Swakopmund. Alternatively, you can spoil yourself in one of the many restaurants, bars or cafés.
Most of the day you’ll have an ocean on your left- and a desert on your right-hand side. A weird but unique experience! You might see one of the many shipwrecks after which the Skeleton Coast is named. But you will be sure to see thousands of Cape fur seals at Cape Cross. And smell them as well, so most people are rather quick to exchange the bustling noise of the seals for the solitude of Damaraland. You go inland to reach Uis Myn. Your stopover for tonight has the largest swimming pool of all the lodges you go to. Basil, the wonderfully wacky owner, can take you on a tour to a viewpoint overlooking the old mines - an ideal spot for sundowners!
A long day riding gravel roads takes you to Twyfelfontein. Here you can visit the world-famous rock art, one of the very few places where you can see paintings and engravings in the same area. The Khoisan began making these paintings thousands of years ago until quite recently. But because their art never changes, it is almost impossible to date them.
You have to take a local guide to visit the sites, but he/she will explain about the different animals, the spirit world of the San and the holy animals like the Eland.
Yesterday along the road to Twyfelfontein and today along the road to Etosha you can find the Welwitschia. This unsightly looking plant is the oldest living plant on earth and can be up to 2,000 years of age! During the day your chances of seeing springboks increase greatly. These are the first signs of all the wildlife you are going to encounter tomorrow. At the end of the day you reach the camp outside the Etosha N.P.
Early in the morning you board the safari vehicle for your full-day game drive. Etosha is home to the largest population of both black as well as white rhino in the whole of Africa. Did you know a white rhino is just as grey as a black rhino? You’ll also see many giraffes, kudus, gazelles and other antelopes. You’ll also have a good chance of encountering predators like lions, cheetahs, leopards, jackals and hyenas. Most animals are active in the morning and at the end of the day. The warmest time of the day is for resting, an excellent example which we will copy.
Today, if regulations are still in place, you will have an early departure to have your Covid test in Otjiwarango. The ride is over good tar roads so you'll speed along. You'll arrive late in the afternoon at the same guesthouse as the first night and should receive the results of your test either today or tomorrow morning.
A transfer will bring you to the airport in about 45 minutes for your return flight.
We hope you enjoyed this beautiful ride through some of the best landscapes of southern Africa and that we can welcome you back one day for another ride of a lifetime!
