Your adventure begins with your arrival in Windhoek. From the airport, you travel north through Okahandja and into the rugged foothills of the Erongo Mountains. Massive granite outcrops rise like ancient fortresses as you arrive at Ai-Aiba Lodge — a sanctuary built among the rocks.
Here, you take your first gentle ride along the trails of the Bushmen, discovering centuries-old rock paintings that whisper stories of Namibia’s first people.
After an early lunch, the landscape shifts dramatically. You travel via Uis, passing the monumental Brandberg Mountain — Namibia’s highest peak and a spiritual landmark for the San. Your destination is the Save the Rhino Trust’s original research camp on the banks of the Ugab River. This remote site, with its basic but authentic facilities, places you in the heart of conservation history. Tonight, you sleep where rhino trackers have worked for decades.
The route pushes deeper northwest — towards the Skeleton Coast border and into the raw, magnificent emptiness between the Huab and Ugab Rivers. This is the Road of No Shade, a surreal crossing through volcanic formations, desert plains, and sculpted valleys. Every bend is a reminder of how ancient and untouched this land truly is. Tonight’s camp lies in the wilderness beneath towering acacia trees or at the famed “Overhang Rock” — a natural shelter that has protected travellers for centuries.
Today’s ride follows the Huab River — a place of surprising life. Dry desert sands suddenly transform into lush reed fields, shaded groves, and the thrill of a water crossing at Peter’s Pool. Tracks of black rhino, lion, hyena, giraffe, and antelope weave across your path. This is pure wilderness, intimate and unpredictable in the best way.
You continue tracing the Huab River, seeking the famous Huab elephant clan. These desert-adapted elephants roam between dry riverbeds and rocky outcrops, living in one of the harshest habitats on earth. In the afternoon you arrive at Twyfelfontein — a return to civilization with flowing water, a soft bed, and a refreshing swimming pool. A well-earned recharge.
A big day of approximately 90 km through dramatically shifting landscapes.
You ride past the Red Mountain ridge, cross the ancient volcanic fields of the Doros Crater, and enter the world-famous
Ugab Folds — where the earth’s crust tilts vertically in jagged black ridges. It feels like cycling on another planet.
It’s our final night in the wild, and by now, the real world may feel far away. Our Bush Kitchen team will make sure this
last night is an unforgettable one.
The final stretch leads west across vast gravel plains — a region that receives barely 10mm of rain a year. You visit the haunting ruins of an old Tin/Zinc mine before descending toward the icy Atlantic. Cape Cross Lodge awaits — perched directly on the beach. It’s a dramatic and fitting end to a week of desert immersion.
Cape Cross is a place of history, where Portuguese explorer Diego Cão first stepped onto Namibian soil in 1485.
After breakfast, you journey back to Windhoek via the iconic Spitzkoppe — Namibia’s granite crown and the “Matterhorn of Namibia”.
