Saturday, August 26, 2017 | Domenico Schiano Moriello / Björn Greibig | Africa
Finally, after more than 4000 kilometres, we have reached the final destination of the tour, the spectacular Victoria Falls! Today we did not ride our bikes, we moved by bus and the biggest challenge was the border control: around 3 hours to enter Zimbabwe! When we finally reached the hotel, we could relax a little bit and then go together (walking) to the falls. Soon it was time for dinner, and time to say goodbye... it was a great tour and everybody made it safely, congratulations to everybody, a very big and international group that got along very well! Always ride safe, see you on another Edelweiss tour!
Last riding day of this beautiful tour, today after around 300 km we reached Kasane in time for the boat safari in the Chobe National park, what an amazing experience! But the tour goes on, tomorrow we will reach the Victoria Falls, even if not on our bikes...
The day started with a flight over the Okavango delta, to have a better idea of what this incredible area looks like. Then a straight road took us to Nata, and on the way we stopped at the Planet Baobab to admire these huge and beautiful trees.
The Okavango delta is one of the biggest inland deltas of the world, this river ends in the Kalahari desert and the water attracts so many animals! Seeing them in their natural habitat is really amazing! It was a really long day (an very cold early in the morning!), but it was definitely worth the effort.
Today we took it easy and left our hotel at 10 am. Leaving Ghanzi, we drove northwest of the Central Kalahari through a quite arid landscape. Halfway along we encountered Lake Ngami, a lake that changes seasonally and is fed by drainage from the Okavango Delta. This was the only "official" photo stop of today! Finally we arrived in Maun, situated at the southern edge of the Delta, and now it's time to relax a bit because tomorrow we have to wake up early!
Not many pictures today, it was a long ride to enter Botswana and reach Ghanzi, around 500 kilometres, and also crossing the border took some time, so we had to ride and ride! But it was not a boring ride, and we always had to watch out for animals that could cross the street, baboons, ostrichs, warthogs and so on!
A few options for today! First of all a look around Swakopmund, this former german colonial town that still has many beautiful buildings dating back to those times. Then we hit the road to Windhoek, and some of us decided to go straight the Capital of Namibia, eventually reach it by lunch time and also visit the centre a little bit, while others took the chance to reach the Spitzkoppe (german for "pointed dome"), a gorgeous landmark of Namibia. These peaks stand out dramatically from the flat surrounding plains, and the ride around them was though but unforgettable! We met again at the hotel for dinner and it was very nice to hear all the different stories!
After a "relaxing" day, we were ready for another good stretch of gravel roads! After filling the bikes and the van in Solitaire, it was a long way to the coast and, we also had to cross two passes (Gydo and Kuiseb), that means lots of curves! At the end of the day, everybody agreed on one thing: it was the toughest ride of this tour... but we made it!
Today everybody decided to wake up very early (breakfast at 5am!) and go for a jeep tour to the Namib Sand Sea, the famous area of Sossusvlei that is also an Unesco World Heritage site. Unfortunately a strong wind disturbed us a bit, it was difficult to leave our seats when we got there, but the amazing sceneries of the Dead Vlei and the Sesriem canyon were really worth a little effort!
Following a day with not much gravel, we got some extra on today’s ride! After quick ride on asphalt to Maltahöhe and a break, we hit the gravel and headed northward to the Namib-Naukluft National Park passing through the Zarishoogte pass. Incredible landscapes and colors, but around 200 kilometres on gravel are not a joke!
Today we (almost everybody) took it easy, so after a side trip to the Giant's Playground, a bizarre rocky landscape, we headed to Mariental following the main road. After a break in Mariental and a side trip to Hardap Dam, the biggest dam in Namibia, we soon arrived at our beautiful lodge where we had time to relax before dinner. Tomorrow the day will be much thougher, so we need to be fit!!!
We left Canyon Lodge and headed north again to see the outstanding scenery of the Fish River Canyon, the second biggest canyon in the world. After a nice break at the Canyon Roadhouse, we continued riding northward to Naute Dam and then we reached the main road (and the asphalt!) again, but only until Keetmanshoop... because then we had to hit the gravel again to reach the Quivertreee Forest!
Heading north we soon reached the border to Namibia. After filling out all the forms and getting our stamps, we met again at the first gas station and then, after filling up our tanks and resting a bit, we could say hello to gravel! Getting deeper and deeper into the desert, a stunning landscape surrounded us until we reached the Canyon Lodge, our destination for today. Enjoy the pictures and follow us!
Finally the weather completely changed and we could enjoy a great ride! We first reached the Atlantic coast at Lambert's bay and then headed to Vredendal through a nice gravel road (some training before Namibia!). A good lunch in Vanrhynsdorp with the "fastest" service ever and then we finally hit the highway that quickly took us to Springbok. Last overnight in South Africa, tomorrow we enter Namibia... stay tuned!
The weather forecast did not look very "positive" yesterday evening, but we have to admit it was very accurate! It rained and rained and rained, but that did not affect our mood today, also because we know that very soon everything is going to change! So, we left Cape Town and headed to Paarl where we could visit the famous monument dedicated to the Afrikaans language, that was born here. After that, "somehow" we managed to climb the Bainskloof Pass in the fog before reaching Ceres for a very good lunch. The last challenge was then the Middelberg Pass, 22 kilometres of what is normally gravel, but that the rain turned into mud...
A very international group of motorcyclists has just reached Cape Town, definitely one of the most enchanting places on this planet, and after resting a little bit and recovering from the jet-lag, everybody is ready to go! We are going to explore South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and we will reach the great Victoria Falls in 15 days, just follow us!
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