Africa Archives - BIKEPACKING.com

SAND: Segment 4 – Namib

Johan Wahl — Tue, 13 Feb 2024 12:30:46 +0000

Let’s not sugarcoat it: The south of Namibia, particularly those parts within or adjacent to the Namib Desert, are painfully inaccessible for bikepacking when the focus is on travelling well off-road and away from the main routes. The reality is that alternative tracks and trails are few and far between, they’re often fragmented over vast […]

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SAND: Segment 3 – Richtersveld

Johan Wahl — Wed, 13 Dec 2023 12:17:51 +0000

As you travel northward towards Namibia, the land becomes visibly drier, more barren, and, in the presence of rising mountains, more rugged. But it also gets increasingly beautiful the further you go. By the time you reach the Richtersveld and the Orange River—the boundary that separates South Africa from Namibia—the landscapes have matured into the […]

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SAND: Segment 2 – Namaqualand

Johan Wahl — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 11:32:32 +0000

With the arrival of spring each year, South African social media feeds come alive with colour as images of Namaqualand’s wildflower extravaganza begin making the rounds. The spectacle gets people talking and causes a surge in visitors to the region, but as soon as the flowers die, so does the hype, sending Namaquand back into […]

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SAND: Segment 1 – Karoo

Johan Wahl — Thu, 28 Sep 2023 11:14:58 +0000

The Karoo is incredibly vast. Including its smaller counterpart, the Klein Karoo, it extends from the Langeberg Range in the far southeast of South Africa all the way to the foothills of the Drakensberg in the country’s central interior, covering an expanse of more than 400,000 square kilometres of mostly unpopulated semi-desert. While its arid […]

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Kenya Bike Odyssey

Guest Routes — Mon, 17 Oct 2022 12:37:32 +0000

When thinking of Kenya, most people are likely to call to mind the vast savannahs of famous national parks such as the Maasai Mara, but Kenya, situated on the equator, is also home to the Rift Valley. As such, it’s far more mountainous and varied than most people assume. You’ll be amazed at how the […]

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The Lesotho Traverse

Logan Watts — Tue, 24 Jul 2018 13:00:15 +0000

Lesotho is a relatively small, landlocked country encircled by South Africa. Known as the “Mountain Kingdom,” it is the only independent state in the world that lies entirely above 1,000 meters (3,281 ft) in elevation. Over 80 percent of the country lies above 1,800 meters (5,906 ft), with peaks that reach as high as the […]

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Route of Caravans: Morocco Traverse (South)

Logan Watts — Tue, 27 Feb 2018 13:54:59 +0000

To preface, this ‘new’ route formerly existed as three disconnected segments — some of the first routes created on this website — which have been joined and reworked to make up the larger Morocco Traverse. The Route of Caravans is a monumental bikepacking route that explores three distinct regions in southern Morocco, the first of […]

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Vavanguer: Bikepacking Reunion Island

Guest Routes — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 05:04:08 +0000

The French Department of Réunion is a small volcanic island off the coast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. This route offers a means to discover the diversity of landscapes and culture on Reunion. The route is primarily on Reunion’s west coast where the views are constantly directed toward endless blue of the ocean. The […]

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The Trans-Uganda

Logan Watts — Fri, 08 Apr 2016 12:52:32 +0000

The internet has surprisingly few resources for those planning independent travel in Uganda. The maps we’ve found lack detail and, on a more concerning note, consistency. Ultimately, the Trans-Uganda had to be created while it was being ridden. With a list of “must-see” destinations serving as the backbone, we used a combination of Google Earth, […]

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The Congo Nile Trail (Bikepacker’s Edition)

Logan Watts — Thu, 10 Mar 2016 14:23:06 +0000

Imagine a stretch of primitive dirt roads and single trails winding through verdant jungle and farmland, exuberant children cheering and chasing as if you were riding for Team Rwanda. There are banana trees, coffee plantations, small fishing communities, and colorfully dressed women carrying impossibly large bundles of firewood, bananas, and avocados to market. To your […]

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Bikepacking South Africa via The Dragon’s Spine

Nicholas Carman — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 21:26:57 +0000

Much of the route passes incredible scenery from the wide berth of well-managed dirt roads, with frequent access to food and water. But in Lesotho you will work for your dinner on active walking paths, animal trails, abandoned 4×4 roads, and famously steep grades. Elsewhere across South Africa you follow railroad service roads, everyday footpaths, […]

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Western Cape Passes Epic, Bikepacking South Africa

Logan Watts — Wed, 27 Aug 2014 01:34:17 +0000

If there is a country that deserves the term epic in its description, it’s South Africa. Western Cape, the fourth largest of nine provinces, possesses a wealth of dirt and gravel riding options across a diverse, rugged, and beautiful landscape. The Western Cape is all but covered in sharp mountain ranges such as the Swartberg, […]

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Cycling Nyika National Park, Malawi

Logan Watts — Tue, 26 Aug 2014 23:02:36 +0000

The word Nyika is Swahili for hinterland, and I’d say it was a fine choice of a name. It is extremely isolated. The one ‘road’ that gets you to the gate continues to skirt the western edge of the park bordering Zambia and climbs through highland forests teeming with birdlife and herds of elephant. The […]

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