Hi guys, I'm looking at planning a trip to SA and hopefully Namibia and Botswana this coming January. I've never been to Africa before and I need your help with some basic info and advice about biking in these countries.
I will 90% likely be travelling solo (unless I find a friend on this forum or somewhere else randomly to come with me for a bit) and plan to either buy a 2nd hand bike or more probably a brand new cheap Chinese bike, something small like a 200-250cc Enduro style probably. I won't be riding off road or in remote places and plan to stay where there is at least occasional traffic.
I have a full UK bike license and some experience on other bike trips - around Vietnam, Europe and through the Peruvian Andes for a month on my own.
The very rough idea I have is to fly to Cape Town and buy a bike, ride up the coast and into Namibia almost to Windhoek, then across to Botswana and across Botswana to Johannesburg. I have 6-7 weeks for the trip so have no need to ride fast or cover many miles each day.
I'll number my main questions to make to easier for people to answer
1. How easy is it for a foreigner to buy a second hand bike or new bike in SA, and how long does it normally take to register/sort documents etc?
2. Is it hard to get a bike from SA into Namibia or Botswana at all?
3. How safe am I likely to be solo? What sort of security risks are there likely to be? Do I have to watch out for certain places aside from big cities?
4. I have read the rainy season starts in January, are most non paved but large roads still going to be fairly passable after some rain?
5. Are there likely to be places to stay most nights along B-roads? - By B-roads I mean local roads that aren't the main highway / road used by trucks etc in the region.
I have a whole bunch of other stuff I need to ask but that's all the really fundamental stuff covered. Am I mad to try this solo or do you think it's pretty doable?
Thanks in advance for your help!
Mark
I will 90% likely be travelling solo (unless I find a friend on this forum or somewhere else randomly to come with me for a bit) and plan to either buy a 2nd hand bike or more probably a brand new cheap Chinese bike, something small like a 200-250cc Enduro style probably. I won't be riding off road or in remote places and plan to stay where there is at least occasional traffic.
I have a full UK bike license and some experience on other bike trips - around Vietnam, Europe and through the Peruvian Andes for a month on my own.
The very rough idea I have is to fly to Cape Town and buy a bike, ride up the coast and into Namibia almost to Windhoek, then across to Botswana and across Botswana to Johannesburg. I have 6-7 weeks for the trip so have no need to ride fast or cover many miles each day.
I'll number my main questions to make to easier for people to answer
1. How easy is it for a foreigner to buy a second hand bike or new bike in SA, and how long does it normally take to register/sort documents etc?
2. Is it hard to get a bike from SA into Namibia or Botswana at all?
3. How safe am I likely to be solo? What sort of security risks are there likely to be? Do I have to watch out for certain places aside from big cities?
4. I have read the rainy season starts in January, are most non paved but large roads still going to be fairly passable after some rain?
5. Are there likely to be places to stay most nights along B-roads? - By B-roads I mean local roads that aren't the main highway / road used by trucks etc in the region.
I have a whole bunch of other stuff I need to ask but that's all the really fundamental stuff covered. Am I mad to try this solo or do you think it's pretty doable?
Thanks in advance for your help!
Mark
