Kalahari and Beyond

The First Step to a Holiday of a Lifetime

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Kalahari and Beyond Self-Guided Adventure

Our Kalahari and Beyond adventure motorcycle tour is for those of you with a thirst SA - Ka1 for open spaces, unspoilt landscapes and a hint of pioneer spirit! Itineraries are subject to sudden change and the itinerary given is given as a typical example rather than the guaranteed tour.

Minimum two motorcycles for this tour for your own safety, you will be riding through potentially VERY harsh environments.

Highlights

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

Itinerary

DAY 1 Arrive Cape Town. After arriving at Cape Town International Airport our shuttle will take you to your first night’s accommodation in the city. You have time to unwind at our guesthouse on the slopes of Table Mountain, explore Africa’s ‘Mother City’ on a sightseeing tour, take the cable car to the top of the mountain or visit the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront.

DAY 2 Cape Town – Cederberg. (50 km gravel, 200 km paved) The shuttle will take you to our workshop where you receive your motorcycle and a briefing about the tour. Your first ride takes you through the Cape Winelands and 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 3 The Cederberg. (170 km gravel or 210 km gravel, 20 km paved) After an early morning bathe in the river and breakfast you head out onto the dirt roads and tracks of the Cederberg. One of the two routes is quite challenging and, depending on recent rainfalls and the time of the year, will have a number of water crossings. Take your time to admire the extraordinary scenery and ruggedness of the Cederberg. The road conditions also require additional attention as the surface can be in poor condition and the challenging route will throw some sandy passages, ‘marbles’, river crossings and steep and washed out sections at you.

As your reward you might come across some of the local wildlife: various species of antelope, mongoose and baboons roam the area and you might even spot a pair of the mighty African black eagle circling the sky above you. Descending down the northern slopes of the Cederberg you reach the plains of the Great Karoo. The road conditions improve as you head towards Niewoudtville, a tranquil Hantam Karoo town, and our guest farm where you spend the night.

DAY 4 Bushmanland. (200 km gravel, 100 km paved) A full day on the desolate roads of the Bushmanland will take you to Springbok, the capital of Namaqualand. En route you will catch a first glimpse of the vast deserts of the Northern Cape, the largest province by area but with the smallest population. Overnight on a game farm.

DAY 5 The Diamond Coast. (160 km gravel) Today you ride on historic roads dating back to the time of copper mining in Namaqualand. Descend the coastal escarpment and travel across the alluvial plain into a diamond area. In August and September you stand a good chance to witness the metamorphosis of the Escarpment and plains into one of the world’s most impressive displays of wild flowers. The exact time is impossible to predict, it all depends on when the sparse winter rains come and if they come at all. Overnight in the mine’s guest accommodation.

DAY 6 Wind, Sand and Diamonds. (70 km gravel, 50 paved). Start the day with a complementary tour of the mine. Get equipped with safety boots and a hard hat before you enter the high security section of the diamond mine. Here you will have the unique opportunity to learn about diamond mining on site whilst your guide is driving you to various locations of the mine, explaining the mining and processing of the gemstones. The visit to the diamond mine ends in the early afternoon and a short trip takes you back to your guesthouse.

You can also visit one of the largest colonies of Cape fur seals on one of the beaches of the diamond mine. Unlike many other colonies the seals have remained undisturbed by human interference and protected from hunting by the mine and the seals still number tens of thousands. Bed and breakfast included.

DAY 7 Orange River Valley. (210 km gravel, 30 paved or 20 gravel, 180 paved) Take the rough dirt road into the Orange River valley and into the impressive desert landscapes of the Northern Karoo. Bizarre, eroded rock formations dominate the scenery and the river as well as the overnight quarter in a date plantation appears like an oasis in the arid landscape. Klein Pella.

SA - Ka8 DAY 8 Augrabies National Park. (20 km gravel, 90 km paved) A short trip mostly on tarmac will take you to Augrabies National Park. The name ‘Augrabies’ is derived from the Nama word ‘Aukorebis’ meaning ‘the place of great noise’. This is an impressive description of the Orange River cascading into the 240 m canyon, forming one of the world’s largest waterfalls.

You can explore the park and the falls on foot or with the bike as there are no big cats in this park and the reintroduced rhino only roam the Northern banks of the river. And there’s a canoe/raft trip available if the river conditions permit. Overnight in a park bungalows only a few minutes walk from the falls.

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 (60 km gravel, 320 km paved) After breakfast leave for Upington, the ‘Gateway to the Kalahari’. Stop for lunch in one of the restaurants and bars, before dropping off your motorcycle and collecting a 4WD for the drive to Kgalagadi (no bikes are allowed in the park to save you from becoming cat food). Overnight in a self-catering chalet in a bush camp.

SA - Ka9 DAY 10 Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park. The day is yours to explore the Kgalagadi, one of Africa‘s largest wildlife reserves. Besides gemsbok (oryx), springbok, wildebeest and a host of smaller animals, you might see hyena, jackal and the famous Kalahari lion. And don’t ignore the flora, birds, reptiles and insects to be found if you look hard enough! Of course nothing is guaranteed and it all depends on luck and your talents as a game spotter as this is a game reserve of enormous proportions with the animals roaming free. Kgalagadi is regarded as the best place in Africa to see big cats and you might even be lucky and add the elusive leopard and the shy cheetah to your list of sightings. Bed only

DAY 11 The Black-Maned Kalahari Lion. A full day of game drives awaits, to Union’s End, Mata-Mata or the dune road, depending on local reports of game sightings. Pick up supplies in Twee Rivieren, have lunch at the Loch Marie saltpans before driving along the Malopo River. The evening offers the opportunity to participate in a guided night time exploration of the park in an open vehicle. Maybe this will hold your closest encounter of a big cat with only the cool evening breeze separating you?

Day 12 The green Kalahari (60 km gravel, 290 km paved) After breakfast you leave the park and return to Upington to pick up the bike and head off through the orchards of the Orange River. Leaving the red dunes behind you reach the Northern Cape’s vineyards where you can wash down the dust of the day’s riding with an ice cold beer or a glass of wine in your guest houses garden.

DAY 13 The great plains of the Karoo. (100 km gravel, 150 km paved) Following the dry river bed of the Hartebees River you reach a small Karoo town and a hotel where time seems to have stood still for the last 50 years. The landscape loses features and distance becomes a new meaning. The people living in these places don’t seem to mind being passed by the jet age (let alone the internet age!) at all and are very friendly as well as a bit bizarre. You feel as if you entered the set of a road movie.

Day 14 Table mountains and windmills. (120 km gravel, 160 km paved) Today you cross the south-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 and just the Atlantic Ocean ahead.

Day 15 Strandveld and Swartland. (110 km gravel, 140 km paved, or 290 km paved) Along the windswept west coast and through the wheat fields of the Swartland you reach the Cape Winelands. The primary route is challenging, containing lots of sense numbing corrugations and rough dirt roads as well as some sandy sections. As a reward you will travel past desolate beaches and sand dunes and through the impressive landscapes of the Strandveld. The end of a dusty day’s ride is our guesthouse amongst vineyards. If there’s time, visit one of the neighbouring wine estates in the afternoon for a tour and wine tasting.

Day 16 Olives and wine. (230 km paved) You visit the Karoo for one last time and wind your way over mountain passes and through vineyards before reaching the pretty Robertson Valley. Overnight in a private guesthouse high up in the vineyards.

Day 17 Franschhoek, False Bay and the Cape of Good Hope. (30 km gravel, 220 km paved) Your ride takes you out of the Winelands and along the coastline of False Bay to the Cape Peninsula. There’s time to explore the Cape of Good Hope in the afternoon before you retire to a historic beach hotel for the night.

Day 18 Chapman’s Peak, Table Mountain and Cape Town. (100 km paved) In the morning, visit a colony of African penguins or watch the whales in False Bay before you head back into town via the famous Chapman’s Peak Drive. Return your trusty motorcycle and your amazing adventure is rapidly coming to a close. Our shuttle will then either return you to the airport or take you to your accommodation in Cape Town should you wish to extend your stay.

Total distance c. 3750 km

Kalahari and beyond self-guided adventure

Suzuki DR650

Passenger

Sgl rm suppl.

£2,495

£1,375

£175

Ready to book? Please click here

Price includes: Rental motorcycle, equipped with 35 or 42 l luggage system; tour mileage and motorcycle insurance; tour description, road-book and maps; accommodation in good standard hotels, guesthouses and guest farms; 13 x breakfast; 3 x dinner; complementary guided Orange River canoe trip; complementary diamond mine tour; complementary wine cellar tour and wine tasting; luggage storage. (All complementary trips are subject to availability.)

Price excludes: Fuel, lunches, bar accounts, souvenirs, gratuities or items of a personal nature. Escorted game drives, Cape town transfers, Upington car/4WD hire, 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. For riders wanting more dirt road riding, again we can modify to suit.

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