Victoria Falls Tour

Well rested and relaxed, today we will deal with a detailed travel briefing and a thorough briefing on the motorcycles and GPS devices. Then we go for an approx. 100 km inroduction tour, where you can familiarise yourself with the traffic, road conditions and technology so that we can start the tour well prepared the next morning.

t's actually too good to sleep in. A hearty breakfast and we then start our next stage eastwards, which takes us along remote farm roads past the Omatako Mountains and the dam of the same name. On gentle, red tracks we drive through the traditional tribal area of the cattle-breeding Hereros via Okakara to the Waterberg, whose 50 km long profile we can already see for quite some time. By Namibian standards, this large table mountain is unusually rich in water, green, lush vegetation and thus great biodiversity, and the plateau itself is now a valuable wildlife national park. A fabulous view into the infinite distance is offered from every chalet and those who feel like it can explore one of the exciting hiking trails...

In Tsumeb, we find ourselves in a “garden city” characterized by mining, with abundant relics from past mining times; it was already known long before by the San as the place of the Green Hill, due to the oxidized copper ores that came to the surface here. The predominantly dolomitic rock characterizes the landscape here. We leave our “mining hotel” early today, as a long stage of almost 400 km awaits us for the big leap into the Kavango region towards Rundu. Today's route shows a clear transformation from what we had previously perceived as typical Namibian landscapes to the now more tropical flavor of the far north. Makalani palms, lime pans and traditional settlement cranes appear more and more frequently on lonely tracks. We come across the Okavango River eventually, which forms the border with Angola. Our accommodation today somehow gives us the feeling of having arrived in another country..

Today's stage takes us through the BwaBwata National Park. It comprises the aforementioned narrow corridor between Angola and Botswana. The tarred Trans-Caprivi Highway leads us straight east towards Katima Mulilo, Namibia's easternmost town. This region is dominated by high dry forest and is home to a very high diversity of species - everything from prominent “Africans” such as lion, buffalo & elephant, but also the extremely rare sable antelope and the last wild dog population ever. After more than 300 kilometers we reach our next accommodation, located directly on the Zambezi River. Warning signs on the banks of the river should always be taken seriously: Crocodiles and hippos also like to visit the riverbanks...

Well accommodated and catered for, we use our hotel in the centre of the city as a springboard to the nearby falls and have the whole day to admire the falls from all their many perspectives and facets. Bridges and paths lead through tropical jungle forest and along the impressive narrow basalt gorges, where the spray of the falls, fuelled by the massive force of the water, rises in clouds visible from afar and provides a unique canvas for the rainbows in a sounding backdrop. Only from Zimbabwean territory can the Falls be experienced so comprehensively... A relaxing boat trip rounds off the afternoon.

Today's stage takes us along the border between Namibia and Botswana - first along the Linyanti River, then along the Kwando River to Mudumu National Park. The Linyanti-Kwando region is an important cross-border conservation area for the large herds of elephant and buffalo that migrate seasonally between Angola, Zambia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. The pads are either tarred or typically sandy and soft. We stay at the Kwando and get up close and personal with the typical, rustic swamp landscape, where there are many species of game and birds to discover, especially elephants and hippos can be seen up close, at the latest on an evening river cruise.

After a good night's sleep, we can set off without stress and head south, leaving the Kavango region in the direction of central northern Namibia. Once again, the landscape gradually changes and the route crosses the so-called Red Line (a veterinary fence that separates the Kavango region with its buffalo population from commercial cattle farming in central Namibia). Today's stage offers tar and gravel in equal measure, the second half leads through mopane dry savannah and finally ends in the so-called maize triangle, where professional farming is visible on a large scale. But the next accommodation is in the middle of a lovely landscape of green hills and wide grasslands - a former mission station now offers travellers a must-visit stay on a well-kept old farm in the Otavi Mountains.

Waking up in the morning to the peaceful chirping of a rich birdlife that feels just as at home in the rustic scenery of the rugged and beautifully shaped rocky world of the Erongo Mountains as we do ... bizarre granite formations lend the eventful tour another deep impression of the unique diversity in Namibia. After a leisurely breakfast, we set our sights on the last stage. Many roads lead to Windhoek, we take the most beautiful one. Along the Erongo Mountains and away from the tarred roads, we use the gravel tracks to the south and soon enter the hilly, lonely valley of the Swakop River. From there, we enter the Khomashochland, a winding and mountainous gravel road that makes us forget (almost) everything about civilisation until we suddenly emerge at the Windhoek town sign.