Destination Epupa Falls
Ridden by the founder in 2017 · KTM 1290 Super Adventure, with 990, 1190 and an Africa Twin
Canyon Village, Sesriem, Swakopmund, Grootberg and north to Epupa Falls on the Angolan border, back via Opuwo and Windhoek. Sand, corrugations and long gaps between fuel.
Open in the plannerChange the dates, stops and your vehicle. The planner works out fuel, night stops, sunset, weather and the grade of every road.
Distances and grades from the planner's route on OpenStreetMap roads. Your plan may differ.
Hardest stretch: Pre-single, rocks, steep climbs, sand, river crossings. The grade reads differently by vehicle: what's fun on an adventure bike can be slow and hard in a car.
Day by day
- DAY 1 · 159 km · 69% gravel
Noordoewer → Canyon Village - DAY 2 · 509 km · 97% gravel
Canyon Village → Tsauchab River Camp - DAY 3 · 414 km · 92% gravel
Tsauchab River Camp → Swakopmund - DAY 4 · 440 km · 86% gravel
Swakopmund → Grootberg Lodge
Via Henties Bay - DAY 5 · 434 km · 100% gravel
Grootberg Lodge → Epupa Falls
Via Opuwo - DAY 6 · 174 km · 100% gravel
Epupa Falls → Opuwo Country Lodge - DAY 7 · 778 km · 97% gravel
Opuwo Country Lodge → Windhoek
The story
A sandstorm on day one, a broken arm on day two, a tyre change by committee in the middle of nowhere and an oil light 180 km from Angola. Textbook how not to adventure bike, which is exactly why we ran bootcamps. We still made Epupa Falls. When I stopped at Opuwo, a lodge owner I'd never met drove me and the bike to Oshakati and sorted the rest over a braai. Namibia does that. It was my father's birthday at the falls. Couldn't think of a better place to spend it.
Good to know
- Fill up at every station you pass north of Henties Bay.
- Carry a satellite phone. Cell signal is good in towns, nothing in between.
- Grootberg Lodge: 4x4 or motorbike for the driveway.
- Heed the oil light. Nothing good comes from pushing on.
Read the misadventures
Roads change. Check conditions before you go, and report what you find in the planner so the next rider knows.