Malawi to Namibia
 

Anyone got any tips for Zambia, Zims, Botswana, and Namibia.
Campsites, must be seens, and routes.
We have four weeks and don't like tarmac and leave Malawi the first week of October.
Andy

Hi there!
There is not much point on using the Caprivi strip as part of your trip, as you'll be forced to joing a very fast military convoy that goes through it only stoping once for only five minutes. There its plenty of off-road to be done; in Malawi check with local for secundary road and minor trucks as sometimes bridges over river are no longer there; in Zimbabwe finding petrol maybe a problem, so stock as much as you can carry at any oportunity; Namibia its just great for off-road and well signed secondary roads.

have fun!
javier

Thanks for the tips Javier partic. the caprivi strip which had been in the planning until now. andy

Namibia is well cool and apart from the major road (s) is mostly hard packed dirt .

Must sees are Sossusvlei ( red dunes ) , there's another in the north where the world's largest meteorite can be found . Also Fish river canyon and for me the weird aloe trees that grow in a small forest in the south .

The road into the red dunes in the national part is very sandy so might be a bit of a pain on bike . I went into the park as far as the last building which is a shop and where you pay your fees and hitched with some nice Belgians in a 4x4 .

Also this park is closed at night so if you are a keen photographer and want those early morning shots you must stay in the park overnight . Space is limited in the park so arriving early may help .

The road from walvis bay to Sessreim (sp?) is longish without petrol , around 300km . There may also be some distance between gas stations in the north , past Etosha .

HTH,
Chris

Definatly go read up on the countries you wish to travel through at : http://www.go2africa.com

Loads of info there. Enjoy and don't forget to post the highlights of your trip on your return!

We're doing a similar trip in 2003 but want to focus on the East coast. SA to Kenya. Something to keep in mind is that for October to March is the rainy season in Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania area. Often roads can be completely washed away.. Let us know how it went.



------------------
Many Miles to Motor

Once again the trip is over and back to hard work. We decided to spend as much time as possible in Namibia which turned out to be a good decision. Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana were commuted thro on perfect tarmac roads which is somewhat boring at a cruising speed of 80kph. Zimbabwe has a problem with petrol shortages at the moment but otherwise a 5x the bank rate blackmarket made it a cheap country. A planned route from Kasane to Maun thro Chobe NP wasnt possible cos of the bikes not being allowed in the National parks of Botswana (Namimbia aswell). Namibia was truly amazing particularly Damaraland and Kaokoland, just gravel roads and spectacular scenery. Recomended!!
As the roads get better and travelling a bit too easy in South Africa the bikes have been stored in Windhoek ready to be shipped to Asia next April for the next few weeks holiday.
Thanks for the tips and see you on the road. Andy