We advise arriving in Windhoek at least one day before your tour start date, to allow you time to recover from travelling so that you’re ready to start your adventure on the morning of day 1.
We will recommend pre-trip accommodations for your time in Windhoek.
Your guide will meet you at your hotel in Windhoek in the morning and load your equipment onto what will be your support vehicle for the duration of the trip. We’ll head first to a local bike shop to build bikes, set up rental bikes and pick up any last-minute kit for your adventure, then we’ll set off out of town towards our first adventure camp of the trip, which is around a one-hour drive from Windhoek.
When we arrive at camp we’ll claim tents and get settled in, then your guide will go through the all-important pre-trip briefing over a light lunch. After lunch we’ll go on a leisurely, leg-stretching late afternoon game ride. We will explore the farm in search of oryx, hartebeest, zebra, kudu, and springbok. We will be at 2,000m above sea level here, so we’ll keep a steady pace.
Depending on the vegetation we can cycle cross country on animal tracks, or follow the many jeep tracks. The terrain is mainly flat with mountains in the background, and some slightly technical, rocky sections. We will get back just as the sun sets, freshen up, have some drinks and enjoy typical Namibian hospitality.
We will end the day with a traditional Namibian braai (barbecue) around the fire.
On your first full day of your mountain bike safari tour Namibia we will start with an early ride straight from camp. Again this will be a mixture of farm and animal tracks with some undulating hills. This is a great time of day to see the animals as they are waking up.
We will then have breakfast before loading up the vehicles to drive approximately three-to-four hours through the Namib desert to our first lodge accommodation in the Sossusvlei area.
Once we arrive at our lodge there will be time for lunch and a siesta to allow the heat of the afternoon to dissipate, before embarking on a ride on trails that will lead us into a truly breathtaking valley. Here we will be met by our support team with sun downers, and we can sit down and marvel at the deep red Namibian sunset.
We’ll return to our desert camp accommodation, which lies where the wide grassy valley is sheltered by the Nubib, Tsaris and Naukluft mountains, with a truly awe-inspiring view reaching as far as the dunes of the Namib Desert in the west.
Today we make a very early start (about 05:00) to drive into the national park and on to Sossusvlei. Our aim is to ride from the entrance to the park to Sossusvlei itself. If time allows, we can drive into the dunes to Dead Vlie and possibly climb Big Daddy (the tallest sand dune in the world).
We’ll find a spot in the shade to enjoy another delicious breakfast after our early ride, and once we’re all suitably fed and watered we’ll drive for about 3.5 hours to reach our next lodge. Along the way at the crossroads town of Solitaire you’ll taste their famous apple pie and rest under shade from the midday heat, before arriving at your accommodation for a dip in the swimming pool to cool off.
After the strongest heat of the day has gone we will tackle an afternoon ride that takes about 2 hours to complete. We’ll be mountain biking on jeep tracks through extremely rugged and impressive terrain, and stopping to explore canyons and well-preserved rock art, if light allows.
Our home tonight is at a lodge built on the slope overlooking the north Rostock Mountain range and the colourful dune landscape of the Namib Desert. The unique round structures blend into the granite surrounding, and this “cave” feeling makes for a true wilderness experience in Namibia.
We make another early start, setting off for a ride that will take around two hours, before a late breakfast. The landscape is vast and open and you can spot animals from miles away.
We have a choice of two rides this morning: one more technical, taking in some rocky hiking trails, and the other more flat and gentle.
We can split the group in two and each can ride a different trail, before meeting up at our accommodation, loading the van and departing for our next stop at Swakopmund.
We should arrive at our guesthouse in Swakopmund mid-afternoon, just in time to have lunch then head down to the beach for fun in the cooler air of the seaside! We can also get some laundry done before heading off grid again.
Our guest house is situated in the town centre, a mere five-minute walk from the beach and main shopping area. Make sure to try out the homemade ice cream – ask your guide!
On our first full day in the Swakopmund area, we will mountain bike on excellent singletrack that is a little technical at times, but our guide will be on hand to help you negotiate the trails.
Our morning ride will take around 2 to 3 hours and will reach far into the Namib desert along the Swakop river, with dunes stretching out on our right, then on a quartz rock ridge, before we cross the railway lines and head deeper into the desert.
Here we will find proper roller coaster singletrack – it might feel like riding on the moon – before we arch around and return to Swakopmund. We end our ride at the best coffee house in Namibia, where the coffee menu will make your head spin! We can have lunch here and there are also opportunities for some gift buying in the complex.
We’ll ride back to our accommodation and get showered up before heading back into town to enjoy a typical Namibian dinner on the sea front.
After being based in the same location for two days we’ll rise early, have a good breakfast and travel in the vehicle up the Skeleton Coast, stopping en-route to see the ship wreck. It will take us about three hours to reach Brandberg west, a campsite in the dry Ugab river. The Brandberg is Namibia’s highest mountain and will be towering above us in the near distance.
From the campsite we will ride a steady climb for around an hour through the dry bed of the Ugab River, before the gradient eases and we burst out onto an open wilderness. From this vantage point we load the bikes and drive across some corrugated inclines before we get to a remote spring and our lunch stop.
Once fed and watered we will continue deeper into this extremely remote area all the way to the Huab river, home to the desert elephants and lions. To avoid startling these wild beasts at their watering hole we will get off our bikes and into the vehicle once we reach the river, and do some proper adventure driving to get to camp.
Total riding distance today is about 50km and will take about five hours. The scenery is magnificent and few people have cycled here before, this truly is a first!
We should arrive at our destination in the late afternoon, and once there the team will set up our wild camp, which will be home for the next two nights. Set against a cliff, we’ll have undisturbed views of this vast plain, and with no light pollution, you’ll experience evenings under the stars like never before.
Even though we are ‘wild camping’, we will still have showers with us, so we’ll have a quick freshen up before jumping in the van and drive down the river bed to see if we can spot any of the local elephants, giraffe, or even lion.
Dinner at the camp will be prepared for you around the open fire and served under lamp light with some South African red wine to make sure you’re warm inside and out.
After yesterday’s big day we might have some heavy legs and be inclined to have a more restful day. But for those interested in a short, stunning ride, we have a 3- to 4-hour loop through the mountains on jeep track tucked up our sleeves for you!
We will be back in time for lunch, a rest and then there is time in the afternoon to either spend at leisure or to do another game drive. We’ll enjoy another beautiful sunset drink in the wild Namibian landscapes.
We’ll spend our second night at our beautiful camp, in our comfortable tents under the stars.
We bid farewell to our Damaraland camp and start cycling to Brackenzahn, where we’ll stop to admire the ancient rock engravings found there. Your guides will tell you the story of their origins as you walk round the site.
We’ll then continue our journey another 50 kms or so to our next campsite, enjoying lunch in the shade of a massive tree along the way. If you’re tired or hot you can jump in the air-conditioned van!
We’ll have some time to relax at camp this afternoon, before heading out for a game drive and another beautiful sundowner.
Today we start with another early breakfast and have the choice of riding, or going for a last game drive before leaving the Huab River.
We’ll then drive to Etotongwe and en-route we will stop to visit members of the local Himba Tribe. You can experience the milking ceremony, the smoke bath, learn about the beliefs around the holy fire, ancestors, and herbal medicine. You can also learn how the jewellery and hairstyles are used to imitate the status of each tribe member and their close relationship with nature, their cattle and children.
Once we have experienced this truly unique way of life we will depart and make tracks towards our camp for the evening, not too far from Etosha National Park.
Today our main aim is to get into Etosha National Park as quickly as possible to make the most of its treasures. We should be inside the park around mid-morning and spend the rest of the day focusing on wildlife spotting.
Rhino, lion, leopard, elephant, oryx, hartebeest, zebra, kudu, springbok and giraffe all roam freely around the park and your expert guides will impart some of their vast knowledge of each species as you spot it.
We will return to our safari camp to show pictures and tick off all the animals that we saw during our stay.
We leave Etosha and drive about five hours to reach our final accommodation in Windhoek.
Late-afternoon we will depart on what will be our last ride together in Namibia. The farm is on the outskirts on Windhoek and home to world class trails which we will sample.
We will end our ride on a little hill overlooking the property to enjoy our last sundowner in Africa. Our ride will be relaxed and will take about two hours.
We’ll make our way to our B&B accommodation in Windhoek and enjoy a final delicious dinner together to celebrate this fabulous adventure.
Sadly this is your departure day. We will transport you back to the airport by 12 noon and say our goodbyes, as you bid farewell to Namibia.