Cape Town, South Africa to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe by Motorcycle

This is Africa, one of the most sought-after continents for adventure motorcycle touring. In this episode I'm gonna take you on the ultimate African odyssey from Cape Town, South Africa to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. My name is Craig Marshall. I've been an adventure motorcycle tour operator for more than 10 years. I've personally guided 128 tours and I'm gonna share my expertise and detailed route information with you. Be sure to like this video and subscribe to our channel and join us as we explore Africa by motorcycle. Hello fellow bikers from around the world and welcome back to our YouTube channel. Thank you very much for your support so far and let's get on to this new program. I've created the entire route from Cape Town all the way to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and it also includes most of Namibia as in our previous program. So this video is quite long. It's about 20 minutes long and it's really important to watch the entire video even if you don't watch it all now. You can come back and you can watch some of it later but it covers the route right from Cape Town all the way to Victoria Falls literally in day-by-day detail. So it's important to watch the whole movie and if you haven't seen our Namibian movie go back and watch it or click the link above here and it'll take you to the Namibian part of this particular documentary which I've covered in a lot more detail. If you want to start this route with the first day being the Peninsula Loop to the Cape of Good Hope, set aside a full day's riding. Although it is only 150 kilometers it does take a full day with sightseeing and the lunch break at the Cape Point restaurant. Let's take a look at this beautiful 150 kilometer Cape Peninsula Loop. Our journey starts in the beautiful city of Cape Town against the backdrop of Table Mountain. It's a good idea to give yourself two days to experience the city sights. A full day's ride will give you a chance to enjoy some of the twisted coastal roads and visit the southwesternmost tip of Africa named the Cape of Good Hope. We're down here at Cape Point and we're taking a little stroll up to the beautiful lighthouse where we've got a view of the southwesternmost tip of Africa. The riding time from the Cape of Good Hope back to Cape Town City is generally one hour, so be sure to leave with enough time to make it back before nightfall. Or perhaps you'd like to end your day's riding on top of Signal Hill to experience the breathtaking city lights of Cape Town. So let's take a look at the entire route from Cape Town to Victoria Falls broken down into sections. Instead of taking the boring N7 highway north, we suggest you take the incredible historical Bainscliff Pass and up through Ceres and into the Cederberg for your first evening. Entering the Cederberg via the twisted historical Bainscliff Pass is a favorite amongst bikers. Once on the gravel it'll give you a chance to settle in with the bike and get used to the handling fully loaded. You don't want to miss the Cederberg mountain range because it's incredible. The Cederberg is rich with evidence of past civilizations. Cave paintings dating back 8,000 years grace the rock walls and overhangs in mostly unmarked sites. Permits to visit the handful of publicly accessible rock art sites can be acquired at most of the accommodation Plan William and Parkhase Pass, the route takes us to the northern Cape Huntham Karoo town of Califinia for the overnight stop. One of the longest stretches of asphalt is the 420 kilometer road on the R27 from Califinia via Kennaught to the Akrabes Falls National Park. The spectacle of Akrabes Falls that awaits you is well worth the long ride. It's important to note that motorcycles are not allowed inside the Akrabes Falls National Park area due to the large amount of wildlife and big game. The 150 kilometer section from Akrabes Falls to the Onsepkans border post of Namibia is mostly asphalt. The C10 gravel road to Carisberg is incredibly scenic and mostly in good smooth condition. From Carisberg it's all B3 highway to Grunau Country Hotel for the next overnight stop. One of the shortest days on this route is 122 kilometers from Grunau Country Hotel to the mighty Fish River Canyon, the second largest canyon on earth. The overnight accommodation is at Canyon Lodge in the Ai-Ais National Park and it is certainly one of the most unique and stunningly beautiful lodges in Namibia. The Fish River Canyon has multiple viewpoints along the edge and it is well worth spending a few hours exploring but be sure to leave immediately after sunset as it's approximately 25 minutes ride to the lodge and you don't want to ride the gravel roads in the dark. The gravel roads in southern Namibia and around the Fish River Canyon are in great condition having been totally reconstructed in May 2019. The next morning we head south to the picturesque Ousenkere winemans and follow the C13 gravel road along the Orange River border with South Africa and into the Richtersveld National Park. This is a visually stunning route and from Rochebernach it's asphalt C13 highway all the way to Ous for the overnight stop at the well-known Bahnhof Hotel. The short 127 kilometer ride on the B4 highway from Ous to Lüderitz travels through the Namib Nauplift National Park giving you the opportunity to see the wild horses of Karua. They are often along the roadside so caution should be taken when passing. One of the highlights on this day is to stop at the diamond mining ghost town of Kolmanskop, 10 kilometers outside of Lüderitz. Gates close at 1 p.m. so be sure to pay this historical sight a visit early in the morning. Arriving around midday in Lüderitz gives you time to settle in and enjoy the stunning coastline. Lüderitz has many quaint guest houses or if you prefer to be on the ocean the famous Lüderitz Nest Hotel is situated on the rocks with the waves crashing outside your bedroom window. The next day we backtrack again along the B4 highway to Ous for a quick fuel stop and a bite to eat before heading up to Halbringhausen. It's vital to note that the C13 turn off just after Ous heading north to Halbringhausen should only be ridden by expert riders. The first six kilometers can be extremely sandy and dangerous if you don't have the right experience. Rather travel an additional 80 kilometers east to join the junction of the C14 via Bataani and arrive safely at the popular Halbringhausen Hotel and get on. So at this point I need to let you know that this is where the route can actually split. This is where you get the 14-day route and the 17-day route splitting. If you have good off-road riding experience and you can ride sand then you can take the 17-day route which goes through Sossusvlei, goes to Wolfers Bay, Swakopmund and then joins back up with Windhoek and you carry on from there. So it adds a few days to the tour but it gives you much more of the central Namibia but bearing in mind you need to be a good off-road rider to be able to do this. So in the links in the description below you're going to be able to download both routes. You're going to be able to download the 14-day route which is for intermediates and beginners. In fact you could probably even take a passenger on the 14-day route and you're going to be able to download the 17-day more advanced route. This is a route that includes Sossusvlei. Remember this is an area that has incredibly bad roads for about 350 kilometers. Deep sand patches, corrugated gravel. You really need to be an expert rider to take the 17-day version of this route. What you'll also find in the links below is the link to the Tracks for Africa mapping software that I use to create these routes. If you wait till the first week in June you'll be able to download the latest version of Tracks for Africa from the link in the description below. Okay let's carry on. Leaving Halmeringhausen the next morning we start the 471 kilometer journey north to Windhoek on a good gravel road the C13 to Maltehuur and then a shortcut on the C21 gravel road to Kalkgrund where you'll join the B1 highway heading north to Windhoek which is 213 kilometers of asphalt. And I want to point out that the route to Sossusvlei dunes and Balthus Bay is highlighted in red because it's the most dangerous road in the entire country and for expert riders only with over 300 kilometers of corrugations and soft sand patches. Sossusvlei is the biggest attraction in the country and has the highest level of traffic so the C19 and C14 to Balthus Bay is 300 kilometers of highly challenging loose and corrugated gravel with soft sand patches. It's more than four hours riding on probably the toughest section on this route. Mostly you'll need to be standing up and negotiating soft sand patches as well as oncoming traffic. If you do have the off-road riding ability to add this section into Sossusvlei, Balthus Bay and Swakopmund it will add an additional four days to this route for you to experience the dunes at Sossusvlei. If you do not have the necessary sand riding experience to get to Sossusvlei dunes perhaps consider renting a 4x4 in Windhoek to do the loop to Sossusvlei, Balthus Bay, Swakopmund and Spitskop in the safety of the vehicle. It's well worthwhile doing to experience this most beautiful part of central Namibia but remember safety first. Do not attempt to do this section if you are a novice rider. A fairly long but easy day is the 500 kilometer route on the B6 highway heading east from Windhoek across the border to Ghanzi in Botswana. The tar road is in perfect condition and the border crossing is generally quick and painless. It's important to note that once inside Botswana there are very few fences so you will encounter a variety of domestic animals and wildlife crossing the roads at various points. The roads on this route through Botswana are all asphalt but some parts are in desperate need of repair. Large potholes are a danger for bikers so keep your eyes on the road at all times. From Ghanzi to Maun it's a relaxed 300 kilometer day of A3 asphalt highway finishing at the world-renowned Island Safari Lodge on the outskirts of the town on the water's edge of the Okavango Delta. We're in Botswana in Maun in the Okavango Delta we're heading off for another African Bouncy Massage and then we're in the Makaros and we're on the water. The Okavango Delta in Botswana is one of the world's largest inland deltas. The Kavango River brings summer rainwaters from Angola in the months of June and August flooding the savanna and increasing its size by threefold to an estimated 15,000 kilometers of waterways and islands. kilometers on the A3 highway through the Makaros. A quick lunch stop at Planet Bobab offers tasty food and a welcome break from the flat tar roads. Refueling in Nata is necessary then we travel north 60 kilometers to the incredible Elephant Sands Camp for a wildlife encounter of a lifetime. The ultimate places to stay in Botswana we're now at Elephant Sands Camp which is about 60 kilometers north of Nata and it doesn't get closer than this. When you want to stay close to nature in Botswana the Elephant Sands Camp is definitely one of the places you want to stay. I mean there must be 20 meters from a massive herd of elephants that's just come into our camp. The final stretch is 322 kilometers from Elephant Sands Camp up to Victoria Falls on the A3 highway. The road is in great condition with no potholes. Shortly after the fuel stop at Pandamatanga there is also a border entry point into Zimbabwe through the Matesi Safari area on a reasonable gravel road. It's about 60 kilometers shorter with a small and quick border crossing that joins the A8 highway heading north to Victoria Falls. But it's extremely important to know that although motorcycles are allowed into the Matesi Safari area it's common to see big game like elephant, rhino and worse large prides of lions. So extreme caution should be taken if riding through this region. The Kazangulo border crossing has recently been reconstructed in 2019. Once across the border it's an easy 75 kilometer tar road through the Zambezi National Park to the town of Victoria Falls. Caution should be taken on this road for big game like elephants and buffalo. Once in the bustling tourist town of Victoria Falls there is of course an abundance of luxurious and budget-conscious accommodation to choose from. Along the banks of the mighty Zambezi River to the centrally located and famous colonial Victoria Falls Hotel. So the mist you can see behind me is the reason why Victoria Falls gets its name Moise Ayatunya, which means the smoke that thunders. And that's what you can see right now is the smoke thundering up out the waterfall. There are multiple viewing points from the rainforest pathways along the edge of the falls. Between the months of May and June water levels are high and the falls are at their most spectacular. The best way to view the falls is by helicopter at around 160 US dollars for a quick 12-minute flight. It's more than enough time to get those once-in-a-lifetime So thank you everybody for watching this video. I certainly hope that the information you take away from this video helps you to ride Africa safely and to get more out of your journey. There's lots of customers who come to South Africa, rent a bike and just head off and actually miss all the highlights and miss the great parts or end up on really bad roads and have a really bad time. Thank you for watching. We'll see you again.