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December came around and the Bluebanana team got in touch because they wanted me to lead a motorbike expedition in Africa so we could shoot some content for their upcoming summer collection. I had always wanted to ride across South Africa, so I pitched them the idea and they loved it and decided to add Namibia to the mix as well. 3 weeks later 7 of us were on a plane to Cape Town hungry for adventure. We rented three Honda 300Ls, a Toyota Hilux to carry gear and a Toyota Hilux camper, Joe was in charge of guiding us through South Africa and Namibia as well as running day to day operations and logistics. Our route took us 3.200kms across both countries, starting in Cape Town. Here is the full itinerary although we didn't take the most direct route between these places: 1. Cape Town - Lambert's Bay 2. Lambert's Bay - Namakwa (coast) 3. Namakwa - Vioolsdrif 4. Vioolsdrif - Camped near Aussenkehr 5. Aussenkehr - Lüderitz 6. Lüderitz - Sesriem (by plane) 7. Sesriem - Aus 8. Aus - Camped near Aussenkehr 9. Aussenkehr - Springbok 10. Springbok - Cederberg 11. Cederberg - Cape Town 12. Cape Town Having so many people on a trip like this was a new experience for me and I loved it, we all had a great time and we returned home tired and happy. I strongly recommend doing a similar trip to this one, the terrain over there is incredible. Here are some photos from the trip, some are mine are some are from Jorge's Fuji (he's a much better photographer than I am). Soon I'll also be sharing the Bluebanana Film and vlogs from the trip once they are ready. First up, some photos of the crew. Then, our adventure through southwest Africa.   Charlie, the Director. He fell in love with motorcycle adventures on this trip.  The Trio. Julia, Charlie DD and myself.  Ananda, the photographer. Always happy, she enjoys her work and it shows through her beautiful pictures.  Charlie DD, the pilot. He didn't have much off road experience at first but he picked it up so well. Craziest of the bunch.  Julia, a badass rider. Her skills on a bike are incredible, and her attitude is even better, always pushing through.  Jorge, the producer. Never missing a detail, always organised and the friendliest guy ever.  Arnau, the filmer. Loving the adventure with the camera always by his side.  Joe, the guide. He always made sure we were safe, handled logistics and planned the routes with me. A hero.   The heat gets to you during midday hours.  We camped about half of the days, we only used tents once.  Julia trying to keep cool in the heat.     The diamond rush from the early 1900s left some casualties.  Lüdertiz. A Bavarian-looking town in the middle of the desert. Strange.  About to take off in 45 knot winds. The goggles aren't for show, we had to wear them to avoid getting sand blasted in our eyes. Scariest plane take off I've ever experienced.  Worth it.    Airplane camping, dreams do come true.     West South Africa has beautiful tracks, I'll be going back for sure.  Fun fact, while we were changing the tire we had the pleasure to see whales jumping out in the ocean behind us.  Whales jumping out behind us.   Namakwa.    Went to the local track in Springbok.     Jorge and Ananda enjoying a swim in the Orange River.   These canyons... One of the best riding experiences of my life.  Julia had a hard crash, luckily she was fine. Such a happy warrior.  Julia and Charlie hugging it our after her crash, we were so happy she was okay.  Media team enjoying their well earned time on the bikes after sunset.  Air filter maintenance.  When we all go to sleep, the media team gets to work offloading the day's content.  Julia and Ananda wanted some protection out in the desert, so I built them a motorcycle wall to keep animals out.         Thank you for showing us around your village Jimmy.      It was rough going at the beach, the sand was so soft we could hardly move.    Deadvlei.  Sand Lover, I agree.  Charlie flies while Charlie films.  6:00am in Kolmanskop. Enjoying the morning sun.   A wild oryx crossing the road.    The Cederberg.    We forgot a camera the day before, so we had to ride 80kms through the Cederberg's twisty and sandy tracks to go get it. Charlie crashed, tough morning.    My Canon A1 broke half way through the trip, glad I had a back up point and shoot film camera with me.  The Fish River Canyon. This place is Africa's Grand Canyon.   A lonely quiver tree.  So much dust, every single day.  Fixing my bent rim under the shade. My tire went flat but we managed to get a bush fix and ride 80 kms to the nearest town.   Julia making her way down South Africa through long and twisty roads.  Jorge had a crash, he didn't want dust getting into the wound so he taped up his leg. Simple, easy fix.  Hout Bay.   Cruising Cape Town's back roads after a long journey.  The final photo at Cape Town's Airport. It's blurry, just like all the memories from this trip, so epic. Thank you Bluebanana team for trusting me with this expedition. It was the trip of a lifetime and I will never forget it.
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So November 2023 came around and my friends Pablo and Mauro asked me if I could help them out guiding and assisting a motorcycle trip in Morocco, in 4 days time... We were at a cycling race, it had just finished and we sat down for 10 minutes to plan this whole thing. We got a pen and wrote down all the trip details on the paper tablecloth, then took a photo of it, since we couldn't take it home, and got down with the preparations for the remaining 3 days. This is what we got up to in Morocco with Pablo, Mauro, Alex and Alain. We set off from Marrakesh and headed east towards the Atlas Mountains, then continued east to Boulmane Dades and Merzouga. After that we headed south into the deeper desert near the Algerian border to Ramlia, Sidi Ali, Zagora, Lake Iriki and M'Hamid before heading back across the Atlas Mountains to Marrakesh. I had my camera in the car so I didn't take many riding photos.  Sleeping under the trailer in a car park near Almería before getting on the ferry. We drove for 12 hours straight, so we stopped to sleep for two hours.  Driving into Marrakesh. We had not stopped since Nador, a 13 hour trip during the night.  Pablo after driving for two days with very little sleep.  Gear check in Ait Benhaddou.   Atlas Mountains up ahead.   The boys arriving for their midday refuel.   Refuelling on the go.   Heading south towards the dunes.  The views from our room were pretty spectacular.  Enjoying a break in the sunshine of Erg Chebbi.  My 1996 Honda XR600 did surprisingly well in the soft sand.  Now this is a playground.  Mauro and me.      Pablo getting the bikes ready early in the morning.  At camp, every night we had to do standard maintenance on the bike. Dust and sand can quickly ruin a trip!   Resting up in Sidi Ali.  Crossing the endless planes near the Algerian border.  Mauro's landy came in handy when we wanted to camp in the middle of the desert.   We got stuck trying to find a cool camping spot, some hand shovelling did the trick.  Camping out in the middle of nowhere.  Good morning Pablo.  A quick wash before hitting the road.     Crossing the desert, empty tracks up ahead.    Alex having a rest on our way back to Marrakesh with the bikes loaded up on the trailer.  One final Atlas crossing. I wish I had taken more riding pictures, which was the main part of the trip, but I didn't have space to bring my camera with me while riding... Until next time!
Alexia had never been to Africa, so we packed our bags and headed away for a 4 day weekend to Marrakesh and Essouira. March is a great time to travel to Morocco, the weather is light and it's the off season, so you won't find large crowds. In Marrakesh we stayed in the medina for two nights and then we rented a car and headed west for the coast. Essouira is a lovely seaside town with plenty of things to do, the highlight was horse riding on the beach at sunset, but I also saw a lot of sand dunes at the beach where we were staying - I made sure to add a waypoint on my map so I can go back there and ride them on a motorbike. My camera broke during the trip so I couldn't get many photos to come out well...              |