Cape Town and Windhoek area

[Chaos Theory]

I'll be in Africa in May 2010, and have always dreamed of riding around there on a GS. Anyway, our ultimate destination is Windhoek, Namibia but for fun we're looking at stopping in Cape Town, South Africa for a bit of white shark diving first.

I initially was looking at riding from Cape Town to Windhoek, as it looks like an amazing trip. But I've recently received opinions from several locals who say the trip isn't all it's cracked up to be. Instead they suggest I tour around Cape Town, fly to Windhoek, and then tour around there.

With that said, in Cape Town I'm looking at doing part of the 'garden tour', and in Windhoek, I'd love to see more of the Kalahari and perhaps the Skeleton Coast.

Has anyone ever ridden these areas? Any suggestions?

[Fudmucker]

Howzit!

That's South African for Howdy, G'day etc.
What do you want to ride, CT?
Mountain passes, desert, Blue Sky country, sand 'n sea...
There's a lot to see in the Western Cape and Northern Cape.
I've ridden through on tarmac, but many others have done the dirt routes.

Put your interests out here and we'll find you just what you want...
I recall that there are 29 mountain passes (or 'gaps' as you call them in USA) within 100km (60m) of Cape Town. Three or four days will get you some great riding at that time of the year.

I've not ridden Namibia.
There are only some 1.5m people living there and it is b-i-g o-p-e-n country with lots of space and beautiful skies full of stars.

Interested?



You could also look about in www dot wilddog dot za dot net

[Chaos Theory]

Hi Fud, thanks for the info!

I'm looking at coastal riding (sand 'n sea) as it's not every day I see the ocean. Desert would be my second option for this trip, but I've got that reserved for my Namibian jaunt.

Either way, I'm going to have no more than 3 days in each city dedicated just for riding (we've got other stuff we want to do), so my trip has to fit that schedule. We'll also be on a bit of a budget, so we'll have to keep the overnights in average hotels, bed and breakfasts or even camping, if that's an option without getting eaten by a Mamba or something. They (not me) also prefer tarmac or very easy dirt roads, as I'm the only one in the group with GS experience (everyone else rides tarmac-only Harleys or Goldwings in the States).

We're in the very early planning stages of this trip so any info would be greatly appreciated.

[Fudmucker]

Howzit CT,

South African five star hotels compare with the world's finest and you pay the same rates. Three star hotels can still be pricey to us that don't earn US$ but they are still economical to overseas visitors ($80-100per person per night) B+B are about $40-60pppn and camping is cheaper still ($10-20).
Bear in mind that the 2010 FIFA World Cup (Soccer) is in South Africa in Jun/Jul 2010 and all prices WILL inflate!

So what would I do?
I would rubberneck in Cape Town and do the tourist thing for 2 days.
Then I'd do a 2-3 day ride out from there and back, crossing mountains, piedmont and semi-desert. (I'll research a good route to ride if this meets your needs? Just tell me how far you can comfortably ride per day 200,300,400miles?)

The Cape Peninsula is sandwiched between breathtaking mountains and the sea. It's windy. It can be hot or cold in the same day - dress in layers - and has a Winter rainy season. The winelands around Stellenbosch and Franschhoek are superb - don't drive if you're tasting as it means you can't swallow any! There are many minibus tour operators that will take you about. Table Mountain is usually covered in cloud. If it isn't, you'll go up with hundreds of others taking the sights.

On your timescale, I would fly up to Windhoek. Namibia is an expedition to ride up due to the distances between towns and you don't have the time.
Visit Swakopmunt and Walvis Bay on the Coast and check on tours through the Skeleton Coast north. I'm told that the Naukluft Mountain Park is truly breathtaking in it's stark beauty. Etosha Pan Game Reserve has become a VERY expensive place to visit as one must pay entry fee for every zone you visit and you cant tour through without going through every zone. Skip it.

If you want to see the Southern Sky, any remote farm B+B will give you clear sky and gazillions of them...

[Chaos Theory]

Alright, you're getting me all excited, so stop that, I've got another year and a half to wait!

I had considered the Cape Town-Windhoek trip myself, and would have been willing to do about 400+ miles per day. But now that this plan is all but scrapped, I'll be with my 60+ year old dad and some of his friends for the local tours. We're going to have to limit our daily rides to around 250, give-or-take, because you're almost back in diapers at 60, right? (hopefully he won't read this) Naw, we do stop a lot if something catches our eye, so 250 miles would be a pretty long day on a new, exotic ride like this.

Again, lots of time, but if you want to take a crack at a 250ish mile-per-day, 3-day trip with old people from Cape Town, I'd love to see what you come up with. Oh and $100/room (x2) for hotels isn't bad.

[Fudmucker]

Originally Posted by Chaos Theory

Alright, you're getting me all excited, so stop that, I've got another year and a half to wait!

Okay, okay.
Sometime in the next year and a half, visit a South African adventure riding forum:

http://www.wilddog.za.net/forum/index.php

There's plenty to read there...unless you think you would get uncontrollably excited, that is!

[Chaos Theory]

LOL Will do. Thanks again!