Cape Town to Cairo

 

Joining Day: Your Cape Town airport transfer will take you directly to our joining hotel, ready for an early start tomorrow where we shall collect our bikes from our SA shipping agent. Tonight we shall gather for your tour briefing and welcome dinner.

Week One: We start the expedition at the spectacularly located Cape Town then ride south via a stunning coast road, to stand on the very edge of this magnificent continent at Cape Agulhas where you cannot help but contemplate the upcoming 11 weeks of amazing riding across this ancient and wild land. Riding north we ride amongst the valleys and canyonlands of the mighty Cederbergs before entering the spectacular Namaqualand area in the Northern Cape province then crossing the Orange River into Namibia. We hit the dirt arriving at the renowned Fish River Canyon to explore the rim and watch a spectacular sunset at what is claimed to be the second largest canyon on earth. We continue on into the Namib Desert seeing the week out at the absolutely wonderful Burgsdorf Guest Farm

Week Two: Leaving Burgsdorf it’s a short ride to the remote Namib-Naukluft National Park where we take the trip in to visit the famous Dunes 40 & 45 and the staggeringly beautiful Deadvlei in this remarkably scenic desert region. Our next stop is Swakopmund for a rest day and the chance to try any of the numerous adrenalin activities from sand boarding to Parachuting or dune buggies in the many nearby sand dunes. Riding the Skeleton Coast we turn inland and stay overnight at the superb Vingerklip Lodge in remote Namibia. We then visit the Iconic ‘Etosha National Park’ morning of game viewing drive.

Week Three: Leaving Etosha we overnight at Rundu on the banks of the Kavango River, the other of which lies Angola. We continue onto Maun, the gateway to the Okavango Delta where we take, Mokoro’s, “modeled on traditional dug out canoes” into the wilderness of the Okavango Delta for a half-day excursion and a flight over the delta (optional). Leaving Maun we visit Planet Baobab where we spend two nights amongst the Baobabs, our free day at Planet Baobab we shall embark on a wonderful Meerkat safari located on the epic Makgadikgadi Pans.

Week Four: We start the week at the superb Elephant Sands Lodge before riding onto the incomparable Victoria Falls; a sight you will not forget in a hurry, you will have a chance to visit the park and enjoy these amazing falls, and you will see why it is listed as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. You will also have the chance to partake in some of the many adrenalin activities in this great town. Vic Falls we turn south to overnight at the wonderful Matopos National Park then onto the “Antelope Park” on the outskirts of Gweru. This beautiful establishment has a conservation focus on the protection and breeding of Lions with the plan to release them back into the wild to help reduce the decline of the Lion population. Turning north we spend a night on the shores of the mighty Lake Kariba, before crossing into Zambia.

Week Five: We spend a night in Lusaka before visiting what is referred to as one of Africa's best game reserves at South Luangwa. Crossing into the beautiful verdant Malawi we reach the shores of the spectacular Malawi staying two nights at the absolutely wonderful Rafiki Lodge on the edge of the Nkhotakota Game Reserve. Skirting the freshwater Lake Malawi we ride north and spend a night on the beach in rustic cabins at Chitimba Beach Camp before reaching the Malawi / Tanzania border. Riding through tea plantations we turn off the highway to enjoy the single lane tracks though the forests to reach the coffee plantation accommodation of Utengule.

Week Six: Due north we arrive at our luxury accommodation at the Old Iringa farmhouse, a century old cattle station located in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania. We ride further north to Dodoma before reaching Arusha, a township spectacularly located in the shadow of snow capped Mt Meru. Arusha is also our jumping off point for our 3-day, 2 nights, all-inclusive Safari to the Ngorongoro Crater and epic Serengeti National park, an absolute must for any visit to Africa. The Serengeti is your best chance to see “The big five” game from the back of specially constructed safari vehicles led by experienced guides, this simply is the quintessential African experience and nothing compares to listening to the roar of lions from your permanent safari tent at night. Arusha we ride into Kenya’s capital of Nairobi where we will stay three nights to refresh, repair and unwind.

Week Seven: We start the week off leaving Nairobi for a short ride north to Naivasha, on the shores of beautiful Lake Naivasha and site of the old home of Joy Adamson, of Born Free fame. We have a rest day to visit some of the local wildlife and enjoy the sounds of the hippos grazing at night only a short distance from our lodge. From Naivasha we continue onto the superb Solio Rhino Conservancy staying overnight at the wonderful Rhino Watch Lodge, a real highlight of the expedition. We spend our last night in Kenya at the remote Henry's Camp in Samburu territory then cross into the “Rooftop of Africa”, Ethiopia.

Week Eight: Via a series of Mountainous roads we reach the bustling capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, where we spend two nights allowing us time to explore Africa’s largest open air market and the renowned fossilized Skeleton of “Lucy” and of course Africa’s finest coffee!! Leaving Addis we visit Ethiopia’s largest lake, Lake Tana, before we arrive at Lalibela, which is home to the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian churches that were built around the 12th and 13th century. These churches are unique in that they were carved from single monolithic rocks that only have the top surface on ground level, so the churches have been carved from the roof down. You have to see them to believe them.

Week Nine: From Lalibela we retrace a little before arriving at our final stop in Ethiopia at Gondor before we enter the mysterious, remote Sudan. Our personal cook team will meet us at the border and prepare an evening meal in our only wild camp during the entire expedition. It’s a great introduction into the culture of the super friendly Sudanese. We continue due north to Khartoum, a surprisingly modern city and the chance to visit the confluence of the White and Blue Niles. Leaving the Sudanese capital we ride due north into the Nubian Desert before stopping off at the superb Meroe Pyramids, staying at a wonderful permanent tented camp that overlooks the pyramids. Riding into the northern region of Sudan that is made up mostly of the Nubian Desert and is full of spectacular desert-scapes, star laden nights and glorious sunrises we visit the little known & remote Pyramids of Jebel Barkal, a deserted and empty landscape dotted with ancient pyramids that pre date the pyramids of Giza.

Week Ten: Crossing the Nubian Desert we reach the remote dusty border town of Wadi Halfa before crossing the mighty Lake Nasser the following day and into legendary Egypt home to pharaohs & kings. We overnight at the outstanding antiquity of Abu Simbel before riding onto Aswan located on the Nile, to see our penultimate week out. We start our last week in Aswan where we take a leisurely Felucca ride on the majestic Nile River observing a Middle Eastern lifestyle and soaking up the culture from Pyramids to modern day Mosques. Leaving Aswan we follow the Nile to Luxor where we will visit the 3500-year-old Temple of Karnak and the awesome Valley of the Kings & Queens before riding the Red Sea resort town of Hurghada where we spend two nights in a 5 star resort.

Week Eleven: . Reaching Cairo we have plenty of time to visit the legendary Pyramids and Sphinx at Giza & the unbelievable Egyptian Museum. Our last ride will be to Alexandria founded by Alexander The Great where we spend our last three nights, allowing us time to clear our bikes from Customs and visit the WW2 cemeteries nearby at El Alamein and celebrate the end to this epic trans African ride, from the africa's southernmost point to the very top.

Departure day: Spend some time in Cairo or fly home, the choice is yours.