Tuesday, September 12, 2017 | Domenico Schiano Moriello | Africa
The final ride of this tour has "finally" arrived, today we reached Cape Town. It was a great ride, a perfect way to finish the tour! We started with the Middelbergpass (on gravel!) and then after a nice break in Ceres we could ride on the very curvy Bain's Kloof pass to reach Paarl, where we had lunch and where we also visited the Afrikaan's language monument. From there, Cape Town was very close, but we had to face some traffic to enter the city!
Angelique, Michael, Raquel, Carlos, Genuino, a small, international and very nice group, I really enjoyed your company and riding with you! See you in Patagonia? 
Direction: South! This morning we left our lodge and entered the N7, the Cape Namibia Route. Around 250 kilometres to reach Vanrhynsdorp, where we had lunch, and then a nice gravel road took us to the Atlantic coast at Lambert's Bay. Thanks to the cold water of the ocean, the temperature dropped down very quickly, good that it was just a photo stop! From there, we reached Citrusdal very quickly and it was amazing how quickly also the landscape changed!
Time to leave Namibia unfortunately, but we are sure that South Africa won't disappoint us! After leaving our beautiful lodge, we had to face the last 130 km of gravel before reaching the border between South Africa and Namibia. After crossing the borer, in around one hour we could reach Springok, so we had enough time to relax... and I could finally update this blog! Stay tuned!
One of the greatest highlights of the tour was awaiting us today, the second biggest canyon in the world! So we left our lodge and, after a visit at the Giant's Playground, a very original rock formation, we headed to Keetmanshoop and then to the Canyon Roadhouse, where we had lunch before entering the Fish River Canyon area... and inside we were almost alone there, what a paradise! Finally, our lodge was not less spectacular... enjoy the pictures!
A not really challenging ride today, because we need to recover a little bit for tomorrow! So we left our lodge and, after a visit at the Hardap dam, the biggest of Namibia, we rode southward (on asphalt) to Keetmanshoop and we reached there just in time for lunch. After that, it was just a short ride to the Quivertree forest camp, and we reached the accomodation in time for seeing a big cheetah being fed.
After a "relaxing" rest day, we were ready to hit the gravel again! Today after around 200 kilometres of dust and amazing landscapes, especially around the Zarishoogte pass, we reached Maltahöhe where we had lunch, and then back on the asphalt until Mariental. But to reach our beautiful lodge there was another little challenge to face: a 3 kilometres long sand road!
The day started 6am when the jeep came to pick us up and take us to Sossusvlei and Sesriem. Sossusvlei is a salt and clay pan surrounded by high red dunes and is the main visitor attraction in Namibia. The area is really breath-taking, with mazing huge sand dunes and the surrealistic "Dead Vlei", sights that will be difficult to forget! Back at our lodge, somebody (Carlos!) did not have enough, so we rode to the beautiful Spreetshoogte Pass, erectd during World War II. The view from up the pass, with the Sun going down, will be difficult to forget!
Following the coast, we rode southward from Swakopmund to Walvis Bay and then turned left to the inland again. Soon the asphalt road turned into gravel... and the adventure began! After around 150 kilometres of gravel and stunning landscapes around the Kuiseb and Gaub passes, we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn and then passed by Solitaire, where we could have a break before finally reaching our lodge.
Another quite long ride to reach the coast of Namibia, it could have been a "relaxing" ride only on asphalt, but after lunch we decided to reach the stunning rocks of "Spitzkoppe", a loop of around 60 to 80 km of gravel that were a really good test and training for what is awaiting us in the following days in Namibia! Approaching the coast, the temperature really dropped down, and from 35°C near Spitzkoppe we are now freezing in Swakopmund with 13°!!!
Finally we have reached Namibia, the country where we are going to spend the next week! It was a long ride today, around 530 kilometres, so there was not really much time for pictures and sightseeing. Now it's time to rest a bit... and tomorrow the "second part" of the tour can begin!
Another long and straight ride, the Trans Kalahari highway is slowly taking us to Namibia! Today we reached Ghanzi quite early and we had time for a little walk and, why not, some shopping!
Maun is the basecamp for most of the Okavango Delta safaris, and of course being here we can not miss this chance! But what is this Delta? Well, imagine a big river that does not end in the sea, but in the Kalahari desert, creating a vast oasis that of course attracts all possible animals! Today, luckily enough, we could also see some lions, what an emotion!
Another long straight road, today we crossed the Botswana salt flats westward direction Maun, and we could admire some really great Baoban trees when we stopped for lunch at the Baobab Planet. The road was flat and straight, but the landscapes made it not boring... and we always had to watch for animals crossing!
And finally time has come to hop on our bikes! A quite easy ride today, a long straight road to Nata, but after reaching our lodge we went for an offroad ride in the Bird Sanctuary, that is part of the Makgadikgadi Pan (Botswana salt flats), one of the largest salt flats in the world... and we came back with a big smile under our helmets!
After admiring one of the greatest waterfalls on this planet, we left our hotel and reached Kasane by bus. Some time to relax and we were then ready for a fantastic boat safari in the Chobe National Park. The amount of animals you can see in only three hours is simply incredible!
Welcome to Zimbabwe, to one of the most spectacular places that Mother Nature has created, the Victoria Falls! Another Adventure Tour is about to begin, and in a couple of weeks we will reach Cape Town. Amazing landscapes and a lot of emotions, stay tuned!
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