In mid-2023, my partner Laura and I embarked on an epic bike journey around Africa, aiming to ride through over 30 countries and cover nearly 80,000 kilometres.
Two years in, and it still feels like a privilege to immerse ourselves each day in the rich cultures, vibrant traditions, and breathtaking landscapes of this vast and diverse continent. Meeting the incredible people who call it home is the cherry on top.
This page offers a country-by-country overview of our journey so far, including the exact routes we’ve followed. We tend to steer clear of main roads whenever we can, which means the vast majority of our adventure has unfolded on dirt roads and rugged 4×4 tracks.
We’ll do our best to keep this page updated with all our downloadable routes as the journey unfolds.
Our Bike Journey Around Africa
Feel free to download any of our GPX files below. Here’s how:
Hit the link > click “More” > “Export as File” > “GPX Track”
Disclaimer: These are our actual routes. We don’t necessarily suggest following them to the letter, as we’re only human and occasionally end up on less-than-ideal tracks, including hike-a-bike sections or restricted areas that require prior permission. If you plan to use our routes, be sure to research land access, road conditions, water sources, and food resupply points thoroughly beforehand.
Namibia
3,092 km or 1,921 mi
Windhoek → Opuwo → Puros → Swokopmund → Aus
View & Download HERE
Our cycling journey through Africa kicked off in Namibia. This might be an unconventional starting point, but its short window of cooler weather lined up perfectly with our timeline. Over three months, we rode from Windhoek north toward the Angolan border, before swinging south and eventually crossing into South Africa.
The remote northwest region of Kaokoland pushed us to our limits. We tackled rugged 4×4 tracks like Van Zyl’s Pass and the Ojitheka track – routes where food and water are almost impossible to source. Every kilometre was hard-earned, with deep sand, rocky trails, and our heavily loaded bikes turning even short distances into gruelling efforts. Just thinking back on it is exhausting!
Scattered throughout this region are traditional Himba villages. The Himba are known for their striking appearance. They coat their skin with otijze, a mix of butterfat and ochre that protects against the sun and insects. Their hair is sculpted into thick ochre-covered plaits, sometimes forming elaborate veils over their faces.
Etosha National Park offered our first true safari experience. In this arid environment, wildlife gathers around scarce waterholes, creating dramatic scenes of lions, rhinos, elephants, and antelopes all jostling for a drink, though some clearly take priority over others.
A major highlight was Twyfelfontein, a UNESCO-listed site near Brandberg Mountain, where thousands of ancient rock engravings depict scenes of Namibia’s early life. It’s like an open-air museum carved into the stone.
After catching our breath along the cool Atlantic coast in Swakopmund, we headed inland again toward the surreal dunes of Sossusvlei. Watching the sunrise from the top of those massive sand hills, surrounded by a rippling desert landscape, was unforgettable.
South Africa & Lesotho
4,122 km or 2,561 mi
Springbok → Cape Town → Knysna → Pietermaritzburg
View & Download HERE
South Africa is vast and incredibly diverse, and we were determined to experience as much of it as possible using a six-month visa!
We entered from Namibia by boat into Richtersveld National Park, a truly unique place known as the world’s only arid biodiversity hotspot, where 40% of the plant species are found nowhere else. From there, we cycled through the flowering Kamiesberg mountains, explored the striking Cederberg Wilderness (a definite favourite), and continued south to Cape Town.
Following the coastline past Betty’s Bay to see the penguins, we ventured through the Overberg district and into the dramatic Swartberg mountains. This was an unforgettable cycling route, you can see in our video HERE. After the exhilarating descent down Swartberg Pass, we rolled through the somewhat underwhelming Garden Route before crossing the expansive Great Karoo en route to Lesotho.
Lesotho turned out to be one of the true highlights of our journey. This mountainous, landlocked country within South Africa is home to sweeping highlands, where locals wrapped in traditional Basotho blankets ride horses through the mist. The roads were gruelling, but the jaw-dropping views made every climb worth it.
Eventually, we made our way to the historic town of Pietermaritzburg before heading across the border into Eswatini.
Botswana (4X4)
3,632 km or 2,257 mi
Johannesburg → Kruger NP → Drakensberg → Maun
View & Download HERE
While travelling through South Africa, we quickly realised that without a 4×4, we’d miss out on many incredible wildlife encounters. So, we rented a car and hit the road.
Over a month, we explored Marakele and Kruger National Parks, the Drakensberg Mountains, Makgadikgadi Pan, the Okavango Delta and more, camping most nights under the stars.
Driving through these parks was an adventure in itself. Every bend in the road brought the chance of a new wildlife sighting. We were lucky enough to spot everything from rhinos and leopards to elusive African wild dogs and even an aardvark! As committed wildlife watchers, we often spent entire days out in the car, from the first light of dawn to the last glow of sunset.
The highlight of our safari month was a guided expedition into the Okavango Delta. This extraordinary inland oasis is teeming with wildlife like nowhere else on Earth. To get a sense of what it’s like, check out our safari video HERE.
Botswana’s guides are exceptionally skilled and deeply knowledgeable, offering a window into animal behaviour that few ever get to witness. Thanks to their expertise, we watched lions roaring and mating, and leopards silently stalking their prey, all at just the right moments. Their level of training and understanding was a cut above the rest.
Eswatini
239 km or 149 mi
Mangcongco → Lobamba → Hlane → Lomahasha
View & Download HERE
Our next stop was Eswatini, formerly Swaziland – a small nation bursting with rich cultural traditions and renowned for its spectacular, high-energy dancing.
One example is the Umhlanga Reed Dance, which is a vibrant annual ceremony in which up to 40,000 young women gather to cut reeds and present them to the Queen Mother, traditionally to reinforce the windbreak surrounding her royal residence. The event culminates in the girls dancing and celebrating in brightly colored attire, creating one of the largest and most stunning cultural spectacles on the continent.
We also had an unforgettable time watching wildlife in Hlane National Park, which is home to a thriving population of white rhinos. One of the most surreal moments was when a group of ten rhinos settled down to sleep just metres from our campsite. We could hardly believe our eyes when we unzipped our tent.
Mozambique
1,435 km or 892 mi
Naamacha → Maputo → Vilankulos → Machipanda
View & Download HERE
Mozambique isn’t exactly known as a cycling destination. With just one main road stretching from Maputo to Beira, we expected a monotonous, traffic-heavy ride. But we couldn’t have been more wrong.
There’s a unique, infectious energy in Mozambique that’s hard to describe. Smiles are everywhere, and each day felt like a celebration. The streets are also alive with colour. People dressed vibrantly, buildings were painted nicely, music was in the air, and there were an impressive number of women cruising by on bicycles.
Even with our limited Portuguese, the locals were patient, friendly, and eager to lend a hand – when they weren’t playfully trying to overcharge us for fruit and veggies (sharpen those bargaining skills!).
That said, eating out was one of the real joys of our time in Mozambique. The cuisine is rich with spices, coconut, and peanuts, and bursting with bold flavours. And the fresh bread sold in even the tiniest towns? Absolutely delicious.
The beaches along the coast were another highlight. They are stunningly beautiful and often completely deserted, as a result of most towns sitting further inland on the main highway.
Central Mozambique’s roads, however, were in rough shape. They were so rough that we were often faster on bikes than the cars and buses around us. We would’ve loved to stay longer, but the steep visa fee for Australians (about US $7 a day) made it tough to justify extending our time.
Zimbabwe
1,391 km or 864 mi
Mutare → Harare → Masvingo → Victoria Falls
View & Download HERE and HERE
Zimbabwe has faced significant challenges over the past few decades, and it’s clear in many aspects of daily life. Buildings are often in disrepair, small villages lack resources, power cuts are frequent, and many highly educated people struggle to find work.
Yet, despite these hardships, Zimbabweans are perhaps the friendliest people in the region. With a strong command of English and a solid education, they were always eager to chat. They were also not afraid to debate difficult geopolitical issues or ask deep philosophical questions about our way of life! And if they weren’t in the mood for a conversation, they’d simply offer help in any way they could.
We loved exploring the country’s quiet, traffic-free backroads and found wild camping a breeze. As the sun set, we’d seek out a peaceful patch of bushland away from homes and enjoy a perfect night’s sleep.
Some of our favourite spots included Great Zimbabwe, the ancient hilltop ruins of a city dating back to between the 11th and 14th centuries, Hwange National Park, where elephants even decided to drink from our second-story swimming pool, and Victoria Falls, one of the largest and most awe-inspiring waterfalls in the world. For the best views, make sure to see Victoria Falls from the Zimbabwean side.
Zambia
3,419 km or 2,124 mi
Livingstone → Mwinilunga → Lusaka → Kasama
View & Download HERE
Zambia may not be a major tourist destination, but its stability and rare geopolitical neutrality (especially in the context of the continent) sparked our curiosity. These factors made us want to dive deeper and explore the country more thoroughly.
What struck us right away was Zambia’s incredible cultural diversity. There are 72 languages and dialects spoken across the country. In some areas, the local language would change daily, so just as we’d mastered “hello” and “thank you,” it was already time to learn a new version.
When it came to landscapes and wildlife, Zambia delivered some memorable moments. We loved crossing the expansive floodplain near Mongu, where homes are cleverly built from reeds. Kafue National Park offered beautiful river scenery and rich bird and aquatic life – plus we had an unexpected visit from lions at our campsite!
We also timed our trip perfectly to witness the bat migration at Kasanka National Park, where up to 10 million fruit bats take flight each evening, crowding the treetops for a month of feeding.
While the bats feasted on the season’s wild fruits, we found food to be a challenge in Zambia. Shops were often poorly stocked, fresh vegetables were scarce, and restaurants in small towns were few and far between.
On top of that, Zambia faces serious power issues. Days without electricity were common, which made things tough during the hot season, especially when all you wanted was a cold drink or a break from the heat.
Still, despite the difficulties for cyclists riding around on small backroads, Zambia had just enough depth and intrigue to keep us exploring for three full months.
Tanzania
2,095 km or 1,302 mi
Sumbawanga → Njombe → Mikumi → Moshi
View & Download HERE
Crossing from Zambia into Tanzania felt like stepping into a whole new world. Swahili replaced the languages we’d grown used to, and the presence of a larger middle class was immediately noticeable.
Street food was everywhere, fresh fruit stalls lined the roads (hello, fresh juice!), and even the tiniest shops were stocked with an impressive range of products and flavours. We felt at ease almost instantly.
But just as we were settling in, the rainy season arrived – and it came in hard. Roads turned to rivers, mud was knee-deep, and serious flooding was widespread. We crossed deep rivers with strong currents, watched trucks slide off washed-out roads, and saw firsthand how quickly half the country’s roads can become impassable in the wet season.
Sure, we could have stuck to the main roads that remain open year-round – but that’s never been our style.
We loved riding the remote backroads of the Maasai Steppe. In some of these rarely visited areas, adults would literally run away at the sight of us on bikes, and occasionally people would lock themselves inside their homes when we stopped to ask for directions.
But the Maasai we did connect with turned out to be among the warmest and most generous people we’ve met so far.
Tanzania (4×4)
1,746 km or 1,085 mi
Arusha → Tarangire → Serengeti → Lake Natron
View & Download HERE
Having grown up enchanted by The Lion King (movie), a 4×4 safari into Tanzania’s protected wildlife areas felt like a must, especially since many of these places are completely inaccessible by bicycle.
Ngorongoro Crater was a definite standout. With its steep crater walls and vast open grasslands, the setting is stunning… and jam-packed with wildlife. The animals are incredibly easy to spot, and within just a few hours, we had seen all of the “Big Five.” One of the most unforgettable moments was watching a wildebeest give birth, and seeing her calf running and playing within half an hour.
The Serengeti was just as magical. A whole pride of lions lounging in a tree was a rare and lucky sight, and something seldom seen outside of Tanzania. We also saw cheetahs playfully stalking giraffes, a cluster of lion cubs tucked under a tree, and a leopard perched high above with its kill swaying gently in the breeze.
We spent time with the Datoga and Hadzabe tribes near Lake Eyasi. The Hadzabe are known to be some of the last hunter-gatherers in Africa. They showed us how they hunt and the different arrowheads required for each animal. The Datoga are known to be great blacksmiths, and they have historically traded their incredible arrowheads with the Hadzabe in return for bush meat and honey.
Our journey ended with a visit to Lake Natron. The lake’s extreme alkalinity and scalding temperatures make it inhospitable to most life (flamingoes are an exception!). It’s beautiful, but also one of the deadliest lakes on the planet.
OUR VIDEOS:
Ngorongoro Crater
Serengeti National Park
Hadzabe Tribe
Datoga Tribe
Lake Natron
Kenya
1,313 km or 816 mi
Nairobi → Kabarnet → Nyahururu → Mwingi
View & Download HERE
Crossing into Kenya, we were immediately struck by how widely English was spoken and how seamless everyday transactions became. Kenyans use a mobile payment system called M-PESA, which lets people send and receive money on any phone. Once we got set up, we barely needed to think about cash again – it was a game-changer.
Nairobi felt like the most cosmopolitan city we’d visited in Africa. It’s full of life, with restaurants, bars, cafes, cinemas, and sprawling malls scattered throughout. It’s also incredibly lush. Mature trees line many streets, giving parts of the city an unexpectedly serene beauty.
We took on the Kenya Bike Odyssey bikepacking route, which led us through tea plantations, pine forests, natural hot springs, private conservancies, and around the base of Mount Kenya, the continent’s second-highest peak (5,199 m / 17,057 ft). The diversity of landscapes was astonishing.
One of the biggest surprises was just how much wildlife we spotted from the saddle. I’m talking giraffes, hippos, hartebeest, and even the endangered Grévy’s zebra, of which fewer than 2,000 remain in the wild.
A major highlight was hiking Mount Satima and the Dragon’s Teeth, an alpine trail between 3,000 and 4,000 metres (10,000 to 13,000 feet). It’s marked by dramatic rock formations and sweeping views as far as you can see. Kenya really has a bit of everything!
Ethiopia (4×4)
2,934 km or 1823 mi
Addis Ababa → Gonder → Lalibela → Jinka
View & Download HERE
Ethiopia might just be the most intriguing country in all of Africa. Nearly everything about it stands apart from its neighbours. The calendar, cuisine, religion, high-altitude landscapes, unique wildlife, tribal diversity, and even the way time is measured.
We were eager to visit, but Ethiopia has a notoriously tough reputation among long-distance cyclists. In many villages, large groups of children and teens swarm cyclists, begging, jeering, and often throwing stones. On uphill climbs, it’s common for kids to follow for kilometres shouting “you, you, you!” or demanding money. The closer you get to tourist hubs, the more intense this becomes.
We made the sensible call to explore Ethiopia without our bikes.
We started at Lake Tana, dotted with centuries-old monasteries and churches, many tucked away on islands. From there, we headed to Gonder to wander its remarkably preserved medieval castles, and then drove into the dramatic Simien Mountains. The landscapes here are spectacular, and we were lucky enough to spot glamorous gelada monkeys (pictured above), soaring bearded vultures, and the endangered walia ibex.
Our next stop was Lalibela, home to an extraordinary complex of 11 churches carved entirely from solid rock. You’ve likely seen them featured in National Geographic magazine. These impressive monolithic structures feature intricate stone columns, arched interiors, and beautifully carved murals, all made using nothing more than basic tools like chisels and hammers.
From there, we flew to the Bale Mountains, south of Addis Ababa. On the high-altitude plateau that sits above 4,000 metres, we witnessed the elusive Ethiopian wolf, the world’s rarest wild canid, stalking prey across the stark alpine landscape. We also briefly spotted a serval navigating the rocky terrain.
Southern Ethiopia was a true cultural highlight. We were fortunate to meet some of the region’s tribal communities, whose traditions have remained largely untouched by Western influence for generations. Scarification, colourful beadwork, painted bodies, stretched lips and ears, and hair styled with ochre and butterfat all tell rich stories of identity and heritage.
Egypt (4×4)
2,670 km or 1659 mi
Taba → Cairo → Aswan → Farafra
View & Download HERE
Egypt was the country I was most excited to visit before arriving on the continent. However, it’s currently not ideal for cycling, so we opted for other means of travel.
Although riding within towns and cities is possible, police checkpoints are frequent, and you’ll need permits to cycle between most towns. In some areas, like the route between Aswan and Luxor, you might be allowed through, but expect to be closely followed by police escorts, which can quickly become frustrating.
The pyramids of Giza lived up to all the hype that has been bestowed upon them for over 4000 years. Yet somehow, their extraordinary scale, perfect geometry, enchanting shape and unbelievable longevity were just the beginning of our journey into understanding the advanced life of ancient Egypt.
From Cairo, we flew to Luxor, a city that offers a glimpse into the staggering wealth and power of ancient Egypt. Our breaths were taken away by the Temples of Karnak and the well-preserved tombs dug into the Valley of the Kings. Inside each of the lengthy royal tombs are colourfully-painted sunken reliefs, as well as perfectly-carved hieroglyphics that not only describe ancient life, but provide great insight into the gods and religious rituals of the time.
We then spent four days slowly drifting from Luxor to Aswan on the Nile. This leisurely pace gave us time to absorb the lush farmlands, dramatic sandstone cliffs, scattered ancient ruins, and the remnants of quarries that supplied the stone for grand monuments some 4,000 years ago.
Along the way were greeted by the Temple of Horus. This is likely the best-preserved Egyptian temple, as it was entirely buried by sand and rubble for millennia. It’s hard to imagine a sandstone structure with a monstrous 36-metre high entrance (120ft) disappearing into history, but this fact only makes you realise how much of human civilisation must be lost to time.
After a packed ten days diving into ancient Egyptian civilisation, we escaped to the surreal White Desert. Towering chalk formations sculpted by wind dominate this hauntingly beautiful landscape. Over two days in a 4×4, we climbed dunes, searched for crystals, and camped under a sky bursting with stars – a peaceful contrast to the crowds and chaos of the cities.
Coming Up Next On Our Bike Journey Around Africa
Kenya Part II
Uganda
Rwanda
Burundi
Tanzania Part II
Malawi
