Kalahari and Beyond

SA - Ka1 Our Kalahari and Beyond adventure motorcycle tour is for those of you with a thirst for open spaces, unspoilt landscapes and a hint of pioneer spirit!

Highlights

Cederberg landscapes
Diamond mine
Augrabies
Gemsbok National Park
The Karoo
Orange River Valley
Cape Town

Itinerary

DAY 1 Cape Town – Cederberg. (200 km tarmac, 50 km gravel roads) After collecting your motorcycle and road book you travel the Cape Winelands through the Paarl Valley. You cross over the famous Bain’s Kloof Pass, one of South Africa’s most beautiful passes, where you can stop for a swim in the rock pools of a crystal clear river. Climbing the Bokkeveldberge you head for the Cederberg Wilderness area, where you spend the night in a beautifully located lodge.

DAY 2 The Cederberg. (290 km mainly gravel tracks and roads) After an early morning swim in the pools of the nearby river and breakfast, you travel on a rugged gravel road, taking you through the heart of the Cederberg area. Make sure to do that at a relaxed pace, as the exceptional beauty of the area deserves to be admired. The track as well demands attention; it is washed out and corrugated, with some soft and sandy passages. Sightings of Rock Hyrax, Klipspringer and troops of Baboons reward you for spilling your sweat, as well as the majestic Black Eagle circling high above you. Leaving the Cederberg down across its northern slopes you turn north into the great Karoo. The second half of the day is a more relaxing ride on well maintained gravel roads, which ends in Papkuilsfontein, a tranquil Hantam Karoo town, where you spend the night.

DAY 3 Bushmanland. (300 km gravel roads) A full day on lonely gravel roads takes you through the Bushmanland to Springbok, the capital of the Namaqualand region. Crossing the main road to Namibia you carry on to a beautiful guest farm located "in the middle of nowhere" (actually near Naries) for tonight.

DAY 4 The Diamond Coast. (130 km tarmac, 120 km gravel roads) You spend the day travelling from Springbok into Namaqualand and the "diamond areas" in South Africa's far Northwest, through Alexander Bay, a mining town at the mouth of the Orange River, and south to Kleinzee, where you stay for the next two nights.

DAY 5 Rock, Sand and Diamonds. (40-250 km gravel tracks) Visit the local diamond mine or leave for a day trip into the Richtersveld national park. The tracks in the Richtersveld can be very rough and this daytrip is recommended for the lightweight 650 motorcycles and experienced riders only.

DAY 6 Namaqualand. (90 km tarmac, 160 km gravel roads) A short ride down the west coast to Port Nolloth, then over scenic mountain passes into Namaqualand National Park, before you reach our Guest farm in Naries. In season, from August until October, you will experience the arid, semi-desert of the Namaqualand turning into the world’s largest display of wildflowers.

DAY 7 Orange River valley. (250 km gravel tracks) Following backroads towards the Namibian border and heading eastwards in the afternoon you will experience another day of untouched landscapes and semi-desert scenery before reaching Klein Pella, today’s destination.

SA - Ka8 DAY 8 Augrabies National Park. (160 km tarmac, 60 km gravel tracks) A short trip takes you to the Augrabies National Park. The name "Augrabies" originates from the Nama word "aukorebis", which means "place of great noise". At Augrabies the waters of the Orange River plunge into a 240 m gorge forming one of the world's largest falls. The fact that Augrabies National Park has no big cats and no elephants, and the black rhinoceros only roam the inaccessible northern banks of the Orange River, allows you to explore the park on your motorcycle during the afternoon.

The next 4 days can be missed out if time is of the essence or if you don’t like the idea of a safari in the middle of your holiday.

DAY 9 Into the Kalahari. A very early 3 am start, sees you climb aboard a fully equipped safari vehicle and leave for a 4-day guided game-viewing safari in the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, one of the largest wilderness areas in Africa. You arrive in the park around lunchtime and go on your first game drive to either Nossob or Mata-Mata Bush Camp.

DAY 10 The Black-Maned Kalahari Lion. A full day of game drives, to Union’s End, Mata-Mata or the dune road, depending on local reports of game sightings. Besides the famous black-maned lion, you may see leopard, cheetah, gemsbok, springbok, wildebeest, jackal, hyena, and many other game species, as well as some beautiful birds, reptiles and insects. The park has a reputation as the best place in Africa to sight big cats, and has a quite unique landscape of dried river beds and red sand dunes.

DAY 11 Backroads of the Kalahari. A last game drives brings you to Twee Rivieren, where you will stop for supplies, and souvenirs. Lunch is taken at the Loch Marie saltpans before driving along the malopo River to Riemvasmaak. You arrive in camp in the late afternoon, giving you time to relax in the hot springs while viewing the infinite canopy of stars overhead.

DAY 12 The Banks of the Orange River. After a morning walk to the waterfall and breakfast you can go for a last swim in the hot springs before returning to Augrabies. Traditional ‘sundowners’ will greet you, before heading off for dinner.

DAY 13 Surf the white waters. (130 km tarmac, or 50 km tarmac and 80 km gravel roads) The Augrabies Rush white water rafting (grade 2 to 3) takes you through a pristine part of the National Park not otherwise accessible to the public. After lunch you depart on your motorcycle to Upington. The "Gateway to the Kalahari" will allow you to recall the adventures of the last days whilst enjoying dinner and a drink in one of the restaurants and bars, which are located in walking distance of your accommodation.

DAY 14 The great plains of the Karoo. (300 km gravel roads) Leaving Upington and the valley of the Orange River behind, you follow the railway tracks of the Lüderitz - Port Elizabeth railway line and head deeper into the Great Karoo. Tonight is spent in Brandvlei, a town not accessible on tarmac roads.

DAY 15 Saltpans and dry rivers. (270 km gravel roads) Today you will cross the western parts of the Great Karoo. The landscape impresses with endless plains and saltpans, dotted with Table Mountains left over after ages of erosion by wind, water and sun. En route you can visit Bushman paintings, which date back thousands of years and bear witness of South Africa's perished prehistoric culture. A tarmac ride takes you across the Bokkeveld Mountains into the valley of the Olifants River, leaving the Great Karoo behind. When you reach Lutzville, your destination for the night, time and space will have gained a new meaning for you.

DAY 16 Following the Olifants River to the sea. (190 km tarmac) A relaxing ride takes you across the Bokkeveld Mountains into the Olifants River valley. Leaving the Great Karoo behind, you reach the endless white sandy beaches of the West Coast. There’s enough time to take a dip in the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean during the afternoon.

DAY 17 The West Coast and crayfish country. (130 or 290 km tarmac, 110 km gravel roads) You can choose how to make your way down the West Coast today. You can follow the coast on partially sandy and corrugated gravel tracks to St Helena Bay. You travel through a unique landscape called "Strandveld" along kilometres of lonely white, sandy beaches and dunes to our stop in Aurora. This route is recommended only for the 650 motorcycles and riders with experience on gravel roads.

There is a tarmac alternative should you wish: retrace your route back to Olifants River and turn south. Our last night is spent on a wine estate, and you can visit the cellars and taste some excellent wines before an excellent dinner.

DAY 18 Bain’s Kloof and the northern Winelands. (130 km tarmac roads) Your final ride back to Cape Town is not far so we suggest that you take your time and enjoy a morning by the swimming pool. The famous Bain’s Kloof Pass and the view of Cape Town and Table Mountain seen from Blaubergstrand will end this unforgettable motorcycle tour. After returning your motorcycle we will transfer you back to the airport for your evening flight home.

Total distance c. 3750 km

Kalahari and Beyond self-guided adventure

Kawa KLR650 Suzuki DR650

BMW R1100GS

Passenger

Sgl rm suppl.

£1,945.00

£2,475.00

£1,075.00

£145.00

Ready to book? Please click here

Price includes: Rental motorcycle, equipped with 35 or 42 l luggage system; 3600 free kilometres and motorcycle insurance; Tour description, road-book and maps; All accommodation in good standard hotels, guesthouses and guest farms; 13 x breakfast; 12 x dinner; Guided Orange River white water rafting trip; Diamond mine tour; Wine cellar tour and wine tasting; luggage storage; biker’s rucsac.

Price excludes: Fuel, lunches, bar accounts, souvenirs, gratuities or items of a personal nature. Additional nights' accommodation in Cape Town, if required, flights and travel insurance can all be arranged through H-C Travel.

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Climate. It’s a bit complicated for this tour, so please read this.

Due to the very high daytime temperatures during December, January and February, which might reach and sometimes exceed 40°C in the Great Karoo and the Kalahari Desert, we do not recommend this tour for the summer months. Rather think about our ‘Off-the-Beaten track tour and it’s optional extras, where you will experience more bearable daytime temperatures. The rest of the year offers perfect conditions for riding, with the annual rainfall mainly confined to the months of June to August in the Cape Town region and to September and October in the Kalahari Desert. Intensity and likelihood of rain decreases the further north you go. The Kalahari, in some years, doesn’t get any rain at all. From March to May and in November the days are quite hot, the nights are warm and the chance of rain is almost zero. June, July and August are perfect for game viewing in the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park. Cape Town and the West Coast might have some rain. The days in the Karoo and the Kalahari are warm and sunny; the nights can be quite chilly. September and October are considered to be the best season for the wildflowers of the Namaqualand. But this is the rainy season in the Kalahari, and, if it does rain, the animals will leave the waterholes and scatter out across the plains to take advantage of the fresh pastures – a bit of a dilemma!

Required riding skills

The tour is suitable for experienced riders; off-road experience is not required as South Africa’s gravel roads and tracks are usually in quite good condition. Some parts of the itinerary include riding on soft gravel with sandy passages. For riders without riding experience in these conditions the itinerary can be modified to suit.