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Adventure Big Five (to the heart of Africa!) ABF1901

Saturday, August 24, 2019 | Domenico Schiano Moriello / Dieter Arnoth | Africa

The Victoria Falls, our final destination, welcomed us with a wonderful rainbow!

Day 16, Kasane - Victoria Falls

Last day of this fantastic tour, this morning we left Kasane, said goodbye to our bikes and headed to Victoria falls by bus. Entering Zimbabwe took us some time for getting the visas, but we reached our hotel in time for lunch and then, after relaxing a bit, we finally went to see the biggest waterfall in the world! Pictures don't do justice to this monument made by nature! We came all the way up from Cape Town, through an amazing variety of landscapes, from the coast to the desert to the savannah, and now the rain forest around the waterfall. Africa amazed our senses! Thank you to everybody, a fantastic group of great riders from many different countries, see you hopefully again on another Edelweiss tour!

At the border between Botswana and Zimbabwe
Arrived at the hotel
A light lunch
Today beer is allowed for lunch
Entering the Victoria Falls park
We made it!
The monument dedicated to David Livingstone, first european to reach the waterfalls in 1885
The main fall
The rainforest around the waterfalls
Lots of pictures!
The famous bridge on the Zambesi river

Day 15, Nata - Kasane

"This is a wildlife area, you are stopping here at your own risk". This was the warning sign that we could see everywhere along the road today! So we stopped just for a few pictures and for lunch, and reached Kasane in time for the boat safari in the Chobe National Park! Pictures don't do justice to this paradise! Today we had to leave our bikes after more than four thousand kilometres through Southern Africa, but the tour is not over... tomorrow we will see one of the wonders of the world, so stay tuned!

 

Morning briefing
Elephants crossing (we hope so!)
The birthday man
Time to leave our bikes after more than 4000 km through southern Africa... but only after a toast!
Our beautiful lodge
Let's go on the boat safari!
Mr Crocodile
Baboos
Buffalos may look peaceful, but they are very dangerous!
Captain and Barman
A giraffe drinking
Hippos!
Sunset, time to go back...
Happy birthday Jörg!

Day 14, Maun - Nata

Not many alternatives, if one wants to go from Maun to Nata there is only one possible road, long and straight! The good thing was that the road had been maintained and there were finally not many potholes! And another good thing was the lunch spot, a wonderful lodge surrounded by huge baobab trees! After reaching Nata, time for checking in and for a little break and then some of us went to the "Bird Sanctuary" for the last off-road opportunity of this tour!

Arrived at Planet Baobab, our lunch spot
Baobab trees are so majestic!
Termites are great architects
In the Nata Bird Sanctuary
Barbara and Kelly
The lake is dry and we take the chance for a nice picture

Day 13, Jeep safari in the Okavango delta

The day that many of us have been waiting for has finally arrived, today we went for a long jeep tour in the Okavango Delta! Since there is not much water this year, we were afraid not to see many animals, but actually we saw sooo many! Seeing elephants, giraffes, zebras, lions, cheetas and many others in their environment is something really amazing! It was a long day, we left at 6am and came back at 6pm, all tired but very happy! Enjoy the pictures!

At 6am it is still chilly... and the jeeps are open!
Very soon we saw the first giraffes
Elephant family
Also birds are very beautiful!
Zebras!
In the Moremi Game Reserve
Lions! Wooooow
We saw the queen of the savannah today!
Lions food...
Hippos must not be so happy this year, unfortunately
Warthogs
Reached our picnic spot
Regina and Laszlo
time for some pictures...
... while our guides are preparing the picnic
Also in the Savannah, it is a good habit to wash hands before eating
Lunch with a view
A curiuos (and huge!) elephant passing by...
Somebody is interested also in a old american V8 engine!
Luca enjoying the view
Cheetas are so beautiful!
a Kudu
Somebody spotted a T-Rex!!!
99 km to go back... it will take almost 3 hours on these roads!
Goodbye Okavango Delta, we really hope that this paradise will always be preserved.

Day 12, Ghanzi - Maun

Another long and straight stretch of road in Botswana! Finally we are in Maun, the gateway to the Okavango delta. We reached our lodge in time for lunch and, in the afternoon, some of us went on a scenic flight to see this nature wonder from above! We are spending two nights here, and tomorrow we are going for a jeep safari, everybody is looking forward to that!

Picture stop under a baobab
At the lake Ngami, this year there was no water!
embarking for the scenic flight
The Okavango delta from above
spot the elephant!
buffalos?

Day 11, Windhoek - Ghanzi

Time to head to Botswana, today a long "transfer of around 530 kilometres... so there was not much time for pictures! We spent most of the day on the "trans Kalahari highway", taking extra care for animals on the side of the road, and came to Ghabnzi at around 5pm. Stay tuned!

First stop in Gobabis, before the border. In the picture you can see a Herero woman, wearing a traditional dress.
Border crossing, soon we will be in Botswana!
First break in Botswana
Long and straight, Trans-Kalahari highway

Day 10, Swakopmund - Windhoek

Two options for today: to go straight to Windhoek, the capital city of the country, and relax for the whole afternoon... or to make a detour and go to see also the Spitzkoppe, one of Namibia's most beautiful landmarks (adding around 60 km of dust and gravel!). So we split the group in two and everybody made it safely to Windhoek and enjoyed a great dinner in the hotel!

Arrived at the Spitzkoppe
The Spitzkoppe stands out dramatically from the flat surrounding plains.
The rock arch is really a wonder of nature
This area is one film location of "2001 a Space Odissey" by Stanley Kubrik
Darren, thanks for holding the arch, so we have time for pictures!
Kelly and Darren
Petra and Jörg
The Spitzkoppe heroes
Time to go
Spitzkoppe again, so beautiful
Arrived at Okahandia for our last break
Last coffee break

Day 9, Namib Naukluft - Swakopmund

Another long gravel section, passing through the beautiful areas of the Gaub canyon and the Kuiseb canyon, and fortunately without having to face a strong wind, took us back to the Atlantic coast! Tonight we sleep in Swakopmund, a former german colony... where of course we could taste good beer for dinner in an authentic german restaurant!

The Oryx is a symbol of Namibia
Arriving in Solitaire, where we had to refill our tanks
Solitaire
Crossing the Tropic of Capricorn
Find the Edelweiss sticker!
D&G (dust and gravel)
Ferenc
Regina
At the rock of Vogelfederberg
Also the van can face problems!
Beautiful flamingos in Walvis Bay
On the pier of Swakopmund
Last picture stop...
Irma
The Light tower of Swakopmund
Let's go to the hotel, we are tired!

Day 8, Rest day in the Namib Naukluft National Park

Today our bikes could rest, and we went on a jeep safari to see one of the most beautiful spots of Namibia, the enchanting area of Sossusvlei with its huge sand dunes! The day started very early, pick-up time at 6:30 am, so we could enjoy the sunrise in the desert. After a walk to the deadvlei, a well deserved picnic and then we headed to the Sesriem canyon before coming back to our lodge. Finally a relaxing afternoon!

Entering the Sossusvlei area
Small and big dunes
In the deadvlei. These trees died a few centuries ago because no water (in case of rain) can reach here anymore.
Picnic
Dieter
In the Sesriem canyon
Oryx is such a beautiful animal

Day 7, Mariental - Namib Naukluft

A very quiet and relaxing day until lunch time in Maltahoehe, then Africa showed us its wild beauty and also gave us a taste of its equally wild environment! We could luckily enjoy the wonderful landscapes around the Tasrishoogte pass and then a quite strong wind lowered a lot our pace for the last 100 kilometres. Moreover, the C19 road is being maintained right now, so unfortunately it was not in its best shape, but that's part of the adventure! Everybody made it safely to the Namib Naukluft National Park, one of the biggest national parks in Africa, and we are going to spend two nights here. Stay tuned!

Morning briefing
Time to hit the gravel
At the Tsarishoogte pass
Irma and Ferenc
Enchanting
The road became then tougher, but the wind played an important part in making this ride even tougher!
Andreas
A little break along the road
Let's go, we almost made it
Good to know that the van is always behind
Road maintenance... why did you not pass by a few days earlier?
friendly squirrels welcoming us at the lodge!

Day 6, Keetmanshoop - Mariental

Heading northward in Namibia! Today we left Keetmanshoop and, after visiting the very interesting Giant's Playground and Quivertree forest, the main road took us quite quickly to Mariental, where we could have lunch before going to see Hardap Dam, the country's biggest dam that is a very important water reservoir in this harsh region (we are in the Kalahari desert!). This desert is famous also for its red sand, and of course we had to face it before reaching our fantastic lodge! Some time to relax, watching animals passing by, and a delicious dinner was ready for us!

 

First picture stop at the Giant's Playground
Jörg
What a beautiful cheetah
At the quivertree forest
A little break along the road...
At the Hardap dam
The Kalahari red sand... here Greg and Barbara!
Jörg
Bettina
Bob followed by Andreas and Luca.
Well done guys!!!
beautiful wildebeest

Day 5, Fish River Canyon - Keetmannshop

Leaving our lodge, we quickly reached Fish River Canyon, where we spent almost more than one hour, looking for the best pictures spots! Our next stop was at the Canyon Roadhouse, where we had an early lunch and then continued to the Naute dam, where a "surprise" (look at the pictures!) was waiting for us! We reached Keetmanshoop in time to relax before dinner, another great day!

Sunrise
The daily morning briefing
Oryx family... worth a photo stop!
Fishriver canyon - the second largest canyon on planet
Petra taking a professional picture of Andreas
Bob, Bettina, Jörg and Andreas
Domenico
Laszlo
Lunch stop at Canyon Roadhouse
Our soul mate - Tourguide Stephen
Kelly, Darren, Greg and Barbara
don't open Pandora's box ...
Eating dust
Surprise! There is water in the desert
Man made lake
Luca
Regina
Petra, Jörg, Lisa and Leo

Day 4, Springbok - Fish River Canyon

Time to enter Namibia! Leaving Springbok, we used to N7 (Cape-Namibia route) to reach the border, and after some paperwork to "import" the bikes into Namibia, we were ready to hit the gravel! Today the first 130 km (more or less) of dusty roads, first to the hotsprings in Ai-Ais and then finally we reached our beautiful lodge, hidden between huge rocks... what a place! Time for a quick shower and then we admired together the magnificent sunset show in the desert!

Daily Briefing in Springbook
Border to Namibia
Orange river - the border between SA and Namibia
Laszlo and Regina
Ai-Ais : the hot spring
What a beautiful oryx
Sunset in the desert

Day 3, Citrusdal - Springbok

What a fog when we woke up this morning, and what a cold day! But, after a good breakfast, the fog started to disappear and the temperature started rising! We took a wonderful backroad (on gravel, of course!) until Clanwilliam and then, after the coffee break, went to admire thebig waves of the Atlantic crushing into the coast in Lambertsbaai. Another beautiful gravel road took us then to Vredendal, where we had lunch before finally using the highway for the last 25o kilometres. A long day, but a big step towards Namibia!

First picture stop on the way to Clanwilliam
Gravel is our friend!
So many orange and lemon trees, now we know where the name "Citrus-dal" comes from!
Coffee break
Lambertsbaai
Dieter is a passionate photographer
I love seagulls
On the way to Vredendal
Andreas
Cape - Namibia Route

Day 2, Cape Town - Citrusdal

After some days of winter, today we left Cape Town under a clear blue sky, what a perfect way to start our tour! Our first stop was at Bloubergstrand for some pictures, and then beautiful backroads took us to Paarl, where we visited the Afrikaans Language Monument and had a coffee break. The twisty Bains Kloof pass was a great apetizer before having lunch in Ceres! After that, the first "challenge" was awaiting us, more than 20 km of gravel to reach the Middelbergpass at an altitude of around 1000 metres. We reached Citrusdal with big smiles on our faces!

Everybody is ready for the morning briefing
First group picture at Bloubergstrand
There was probably some rain yesterday...
Coffee break
Amazing view from the Afrikaans Language monument in Paarl
The Afrikaans Language Monument
Reaching the Bains Kloof Pass
The view from the Gydo Pass
On the Middelbergpass
Some riding fun!

Day 0 and 1, Getting ready in Cape Town!

The Adventure Big Five is about to begin, Tour Guides Dieter and Domenico are in Cape Town organizing the welcome briefing and the motorcycles handover, but there is also time for some sightseeing together with Luca, who also reached this wonderful city a few days before the tour begins. So, after taking a look around, of course we also went to the Cape of Good Hope!

Simon's town, on the way to the Cape of Good Hope, is also famous for its penguins colony
A very strong wind at the Cape of Good Hope!
Baboons
The Cape seen from the lighthouse
The lighthouse
Beautiful coastline and rough sea!
At the Chapmans Peak
A walk through the Waterfront of Cape Town
The food market
Seals enjoying the sun
Bikes are ready!
Welcome briefing
dinner out!
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Jörg Gaab
Thursday, August 29, 2019 at 08:26

After some cruel days in reality (work) it is fantastic to see the blog and the pictures again and to remember what a beautiful and adventurous time we spent together with all the nice people of our international group. Hope to see you again on a similar trip somewhere in the world...
Joerg from hot and dry Berlin (somehow like Africa)
tiberiu berger
Wednesday, August 28, 2019 at 22:24

Domenico, what an awesome trip !!! As Uli said, it is already on the bucket list !!

Cheers
Tiberiu
Martin & Uli Fischer
Sunday, August 25, 2019 at 13:33

Domenico, a fantastic blog and equally the tour which we have added to our „to do list“. Hope to see you on another tour.
Darren Williams
Saturday, August 24, 2019 at 18:01

This tour exceeded my expectations in every way. The planning and logistics where perfect. The route was spectacular and exposed us to some many different African landscapes, people and animals. The difficulty of the route was exactly as described.
The accommodations and meals were in most cases better than I expected.
Stephen, our support van driver was so helpful and knowledgeable.
And most of all our guides Domenico and Dieter were fantastic. Everyday I truly looked forward to our morning briefing. I could go on and on, but I’ll finish by highly recommending this tour!!!
And most of all Domenico as a guide!!!
Jörg Radtke
Sunday, August 25, 2019 at 17:45

Well said Darren, we fully agree
Dieter Arnoth
Sunday, August 25, 2019 at 15:06

Hello Kelly, Darren,

yes, we have had great tour - I am currently looking at the pictures and miss Africa.... so unique wonderful landscapes - especially the gravel roads in Namibia with endless horizon

Hope we will meet again on another Edelweiss Tour
all the best
Dieter


Domenico Schiano
Saturday, August 24, 2019 at 21:32

Darren, thank you so much for this kind comment! It was really a great tour... and you were a great group! I already miss Africa!
Usha Riemann
Friday, August 23, 2019 at 20:40

Hallo Dieter,
Eure Reise geht morgen grandios zu Ende. Welch' eine fantastische Tour! Danke für die aussagekräftigen Fotos (eine kleine Mitreise für mein Augen und Gemüt).
Gute Heimkehr für alle.
Usha
Dieter Arnoth
Sunday, August 25, 2019 at 15:01

Hallo Usha,

danke, wir hatten eine wunderschöne Tour und Südafrika ist grandios.

Liebe Grüsse
Dieter
Karl
Monday, August 19, 2019 at 13:03

Hallo tolle Tour und Reiseletung
Dieter Arnoth
Sunday, August 25, 2019 at 14:59

Hallo Karl,

danke - war eine schöne Tour mit Dir und Elli.
Domenico Schiano
Saturday, August 24, 2019 at 21:23

Danke Karl!
Kelly
Saturday, August 17, 2019 at 22:40

Every day has been fabulous! Dominico really goes out of his way to find new things for us to see.
Domenico Schiano
Saturday, August 24, 2019 at 21:25

Thank you Kelly! It was a real pleasure to meet you and Darren!
Regina
Saturday, August 17, 2019 at 17:21

....such a fantastic tour... Domenico, it’s a pleasure to have you as our guide! Thx
Domenico Schiano
Saturday, August 24, 2019 at 21:24

Thank you Regina! I hope to see you again on another tour!
Heike Kleinert
Tuesday, August 13, 2019 at 16:34

Hi Domenico,
your pictures arouse great memories and I am sure that I have to return to Africa soon.
Greetings also to Stephen
Domenico Schiano
Tuesday, August 13, 2019 at 21:49

Ciao Heike! Thanks for following our blog, I really believe you when you say that you have to return to Africa soon, it is a fantastic place!!! Stephen says hi, and we both send you and Marco many greetings from the Kalahari
Wim Doms
Sunday, August 11, 2019 at 19:00

Hey guys!
On your way to my favourite country (or even countries) in the whole wide world. Say hello to Namibia for me, and have fun in the most stunning scenery it has to offer. Oh, and don't forget to play Under African Skies by Paul Simon on the iPod
Have a great tour!
Wim
Domenico Schiano
Monday, August 12, 2019 at 22:54

Hi Wim!
I didn't know that song, thank you, I liked it! I'm happy that you are following our blog and I hope to see you soon! Hug from Namibia!
Christopher
Wednesday, August 14, 2019 at 02:33

And do you know any other music besides reggaeton?
Domenico Schiano
Wednesday, August 14, 2019 at 23:10

I love Rock n Roll
Dieter Arnoth
Monday, August 12, 2019 at 21:28

Hey Wim,

thanks for the wishes - we will definitely hear the song at sunset and enjoy a beer - all the best to Belgium - Dieter
Wim
Thursday, August 22, 2019 at 13:00

Thanks Dieter!

bunch of wonderful memories came back when seeing the Okavango and Moremi! We stumbled across a whole pack of 25 wild dogs there last year. Unbelievably lucky, but Africa always has surprises in store.

Good to see you enjoying the wildlife. Well... or the wild -space- life

Safe travels to vic falls with everyone, and talk to you soon!
Michaela Achatzi
Saturday, August 10, 2019 at 00:11

Hey Domenico

You had a good flight from the North Cape to Cape Town having a good tour..
Here it is not so hot anymore

CU
Michaela
Domenico Schiano
Saturday, August 10, 2019 at 22:23

Ciao Michaela!
Here all good so far, perfect weather, beautiful sceneries and great riders!
I wish you a great Viking Experience! Ciao!

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