Namibia is the country I’ve spent the most time in, about five months. And I made two videos, one for the half north of Windhoek, with amazing scenery, and one for the second half south of Windhoek, with equally amazing scenery.
Cycling in Namibia part 1 (North) took place between April and June 2014, and lasted 2400 KM along stunning gravel roads, starting at the Kunene river, at the border with Angola.
This video features a lot of scenic D gravel roads, terrible headwinds on the Skeleton coast, the fantastic scenery behind the Brandberg and at the Brandberg West Mine, some wildlife, including a Namaqua chameleon passenger, the desert elephants, cannibal armoured crickets and the fur seal colony of Cape Cross, the Vingerklip and Twyfelfontein rock formations in Damaraland, a morning in the empty Dorob national park with the 1000 year-old Welwitschia plants, the rollercoaster C28 through the Namib national park, the steep Boshua pass and the Khomas Highland … and so much more. As I like deserts, Namibia has been the most picturesque part of my journey.
More details and stories in the Namibian blog posts and more photos in the Namibian Flickr album. The HD version only works on the vimeo website.
The Namibia – Part 2 (South) video will be online in a week or so, with even more desert landscapes between Windhoek and the Orange river.
Places traveled:
Ruacana dam, Opuwo, Okahao, Oshakati, Ondangwa, Tsumeb, Grootfontein, Hoba meteorite, Waterberg plateau, Otjiwarongo, Outjo, Vingerklip, Khorixas, Twyfelfontein, Sorris-Sorris, Brandberg, Uis, D2342 Brandberg West Mine, Dorob National Park, Mile 108, Cape Cross, Hentiesbaai, Swakopmund, Rössing uranium mine, Moon landscape, Hotsas, C28, Windhoek.
Salut JB !
Bravo pour ton voyage et ton blog !
Hyper bien réalisé…. et belle performance physique.
Je reviens d’un voyage d’1 an à vélo avec mon copain (AM du Sud et Asie). Après avoir vécu une telle aventure, on en entame une autre en se mariant dans quelques mois.
On pense à votre voyage de noce et on rêverait de reprendre nos vélos pour pédaler en Afrique. Forcement, on pourra pas partir 1 an. En 1 mois… qu’est ce que tu conseillerai ? Je pensais à Afrique du Sud / Namibie. Ca te semble jouable ?
Merci pour tes conseils !
1 mois c’est trop court pour ces 2 grands pays 🙂
Ce qui est le plus varié et joli en Af Sud, c’est la côte et les chaines montagneuses du Western Cape et Eastern Cape, et KZN. L’intérieur est plutôt sec, et pas aussi chouette que la Namibie. Je conseillerais donc soit la Namibie, d’Etosha au Fish River Canyon en prenant soin d’éviter toute route goudronnée, soit le sud de l’Af Sud. A vouloir faire les 2, tu risques de passer beaucoup de temps sur des routes moins spectaculaires … Tu pourrais aussi prendre un bus longue distance entre Windhoek et Cape Town par exemple.
Sinon les 2 endroits restent magnifiques ! Bonne préparation
Bonjour JB,
Ton voyage a l’air d’avoir été incroyable !
Je m’appelle Guillaume, je suis un étudiant ingénieur, et je vais entamer un voyage de 7 semaines en vélo de la Namibie jusqu’au Botswana en janvier 2017. Je voulais te poser quelques questions pour mieux préparer mon voyage (si tu as le temps de répondre!).
– Quels étaient la capacité de tous tes sacs au total ? 2x20L + 2x15L + backpack de 20L ?
– Quelle était la quantité de nourriture que tu avais souvent ? Pour 3-4 jours ?
Bonne journée !
Salut,
Bonne préparation et bon courage!
Pour tes questions,
– 2 x 24L (back) + 2 x 12.5L (front) + 7L (handlebar) = 80 liters (En détail sur https://freewheely.com/equipment/). J’ai pas de backback, car je trouve que l’avantage d’avoir un vélo c’est aussi de le charger et de garder le dos libre.
– Oui, 3-4 jours de bouffe de backup (i.e. 750g de spaghetti par jour), mais ca dépend de ta route : tu regardes sur ta carte la prochaine petite ville avec un magasin et tu prévois en fonction. En Namibie j’ai eu au max 6 jours sans rien. Je suppose que dans l’est et dans le Botswana ca peut être beaucoup plus, à moins que tu restes sur le goudron.
Thank you for taking the time to put together this site and videos, well done.
I am headed to Namibia for the month of April. I am looking at a similar route from south to north. My main concern is water. What was the most water you carried at a time? What is the best way to mitigate tire punctures from thorns (Tuffies/Goo)? Why did you not roll with a Bob/trailer? Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.
Dan from Colorado
I had 10 L max, after I started to carry a 5L plastic container on the top of my 5L usual load. I would have liked one of these 5L water pouches secured in a bag. On some segments, and if you like to cook/wash, these 10 L will need to be refilled at every single opportunity …
I had nothing against punctures, I tried Slime (sold in Namibia) once and didn’t like it (it didn’t seal the puncture and kept leaking). Good tires and careful riding when next to thorns worked for me, but I know some cyclists’tires really suffered in Namibia.
No trailer for me! It’d work fine in Namibia I think, where the roads are well maintained, but I wouldn’t have made it there on pirogues/singletracks/rocks with one.
Good luck!
Hello JB
I will be leaving for Windhoek on Tuesday. A couple more questions if you don’t mind. 1st, what food did you travel with? I am on the fence taking the whisper lite.
I do enjoy a good cup of coffee in the morning.
2nd, why no sunglasses in the video ? It looks sunny.
3rd, I am intrigued with the turban head scarf. Was is practical to bike in?
Last, I am thinking of bringing a camelback. My concerns are chafing and freedom of movement.
I am excited for the trip but we’ve been blessed with 2.5 meters of snow this past week.
Thanks in advance for your reply,
Well done and loved seeing the landscape. Particularly interesting as I am writing a memoir of a vehicle trip done in 1970 from Johannesburg, via Namibia and into Angola. Now have to watch the Angolan video. Thanks for the memories…Lorraine