Prologue

The Kalahari is a magical place. The saying goes that once one has felt it red sands between ones toes one will feel compelled to return. It is almost ten years since we were last there.

The only reason why the word Kalahari appears in the title of this journal is because this trip starts in Upington, the largest town on its southern edge and the only town in the region served by scheduled flights capable of carrying our bicycles (*). From there we will make our way home via some of South Africa's more arid regions. Firstly heading westwards into Namaqualand, then southwards to the Cedarberg and the Koue Bokkeveld, then eastwards through the Karoo and finally down to the coast and back to our home town of Gqeberha.

A broad brush overview of our possible route.

Upington to Springbok with a probable detour to the Augrabies Falls.

Springbok to Citrusdal with a probable detour to the West Coast.

From Citrusdal through Cedarberg Mountains into the Koue Bokkeveld and the south-western parts of the Great Karoo. Then over the Swartberg Mountains into the Little Karoo. Then over the Outeniqua Mountains to the coast near Plettenberg Bay.

The home stretch along the N2 from Plettenberg Bay to Gqeberha.

The satellite images above indicate that, apart from the last section, we will be traveling through desert and semi-desert for most of the way and our journey is likely to be hot and dry. Daytime temperatures will mostly be in the mid thirties and we can expect a bit of wind at this time of the year. We're definitely not taking any rain gear!

We have two months to make it home before the start of the Christmas holiday season and the increase in traffic levels that goes with it.

(*) SA Airlink, the only large airline that flies to Upington, has a standard checked luggage limit of 20Kg. However, if you are flying with a bicycle, they give you an extra 15Kg at no extra cost. How's that for promoting healthy living ?

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Rich FrasierAs always, I look forward to following along on your adventure!
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3 months ago

Scott AndersonI'm especially looking forward to this journey. Like so many other spots we never fit in, this is country we dew up detailed plans for years ago while we were still working - we had even found our candidate lodging all the way from Port Elizabeth to Springbok, if I'm remembering right - but then lost our nerve.
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3 months ago

Elspeth JarmanGreat to see you on the bikes again. Phew ...sounds a tad warm!

Tailwinds!
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3 months ago