- Joined
- Feb 6, 2006
- Messages
- 12,911
- Reaction score
- 6,168
- Location
- Cape Town, deep in the lentils
- Bike
- KTM 990 Adventure
ROUTE INFO
The Richtersveld is an iconic, remote, endlessly beautiful mountainous desert.
It has an allure that pulls travellers to its magical spaces.
It’s also not a place to take lightly. Some serious respect should be afforded its trails.
DO NOT GO OFF THE TRACKS AND ESTABLISHED ROUTES
We spent the last week testing the venue, organising all the necessaries and riding around looking at the best routes.
The technical sections have been ridden and plotted. One is 67km, the other 121km.
Both will take at least 5 hrs if you stop often, take lots of photos and enjoy the place.
You will need:
A smaller bike, (or be completely comfortable in technical trails and kilometres of deep rutted sand on a bigger one)
Ultra-heavy duty tubes and all the tools, spares and the "know-how" to fix punctures.
Fresh knobbly tyres or fresh aggressive dual sport tyres are mandatory. Road biased tires will not make it.
Motocross boots, or high protection Dual Sport boots at the very least. The more protection the better. Ideal is Boots, knee guards/braces, pressure suits, neck brace, elbow guards, Helmet.
3 litres water in a camelbak. No carrying water in bottles. It’s a camelbak type rehydration device or you are not riding these sections. Dehydration is a very big issue here. 5 litres water per day excluding soft drinks and alcohol is the barest minimum to play here. Rehidrat sachets are highly recommended
The sun is radical - please make sure you take a nice big floppy wide brimmed hat and put it on as soon as you take your helmet off.
GPS that can accept tracks from Garmap or Mapsource. NO ROUTING . Please know ho to use your GPS and trust it - do not second guess your GPS
Two vehicles will follow the riders.
It’s deeply remote with no cell reception. Only if you are absolutely comfortable with going very off the beaten track should you consider it.
As for the easier scenic routes, we suggest day trips to Port Nolloth via Steinkopf, or over the border to explore the Orange River via Aussenkehr. If you don’t mind a longer ride, the Fish River Canyon or AiAis is lekker to see. Those roads are in great shape.
If you are on bigger bikes and are comfortable with sand, then going over Hellskloof gives a lot of options. Visiting Namibia for the day via Eksteenfontein and then getting across the border at Sendlingsdrift and back via Aussenkher.
There is a big bike route we rode to Port Nolloth and back, but you would have to be VERY comfortable in kilometres of sand and jeep tracks. Your bike would need knobs and you would need to be completely self-sufficient.
Due to the plethora of options, none of the scenic routes will have back-up. A GPS is highly recommended. Self-sufficiency in fixing flats and niggles. A satellite phone is a good idea.
Organise to ride in groups and never alone - never leave a rider behind.
The Richtersveld is an iconic, remote, endlessly beautiful mountainous desert.
It has an allure that pulls travellers to its magical spaces.
It’s also not a place to take lightly. Some serious respect should be afforded its trails.
DO NOT GO OFF THE TRACKS AND ESTABLISHED ROUTES
We spent the last week testing the venue, organising all the necessaries and riding around looking at the best routes.
The technical sections have been ridden and plotted. One is 67km, the other 121km.
Both will take at least 5 hrs if you stop often, take lots of photos and enjoy the place.
You will need:
A smaller bike, (or be completely comfortable in technical trails and kilometres of deep rutted sand on a bigger one)
Ultra-heavy duty tubes and all the tools, spares and the "know-how" to fix punctures.
Fresh knobbly tyres or fresh aggressive dual sport tyres are mandatory. Road biased tires will not make it.
Motocross boots, or high protection Dual Sport boots at the very least. The more protection the better. Ideal is Boots, knee guards/braces, pressure suits, neck brace, elbow guards, Helmet.
3 litres water in a camelbak. No carrying water in bottles. It’s a camelbak type rehydration device or you are not riding these sections. Dehydration is a very big issue here. 5 litres water per day excluding soft drinks and alcohol is the barest minimum to play here. Rehidrat sachets are highly recommended
The sun is radical - please make sure you take a nice big floppy wide brimmed hat and put it on as soon as you take your helmet off.
GPS that can accept tracks from Garmap or Mapsource. NO ROUTING . Please know ho to use your GPS and trust it - do not second guess your GPS
Two vehicles will follow the riders.
It’s deeply remote with no cell reception. Only if you are absolutely comfortable with going very off the beaten track should you consider it.
As for the easier scenic routes, we suggest day trips to Port Nolloth via Steinkopf, or over the border to explore the Orange River via Aussenkehr. If you don’t mind a longer ride, the Fish River Canyon or AiAis is lekker to see. Those roads are in great shape.
If you are on bigger bikes and are comfortable with sand, then going over Hellskloof gives a lot of options. Visiting Namibia for the day via Eksteenfontein and then getting across the border at Sendlingsdrift and back via Aussenkher.
There is a big bike route we rode to Port Nolloth and back, but you would have to be VERY comfortable in kilometres of sand and jeep tracks. Your bike would need knobs and you would need to be completely self-sufficient.
Due to the plethora of options, none of the scenic routes will have back-up. A GPS is highly recommended. Self-sufficiency in fixing flats and niggles. A satellite phone is a good idea.
Organise to ride in groups and never alone - never leave a rider behind.
| Routes | Distance | Difficulty | Cross into Namibia | Refuel | Support back up |
| Technical 1 | 78 | Very difficult; Soft sand, rocks, technical, small bike suitable, knoblies, 3l camelbak | No | No | Yes |
| Technical 2 | 122 | Very difficult; Soft sand, technical rocky climbs, small bike suitable, knoblies, 3l camelbak | No | No | Yes |
| Scenic 1 Namibia Sendlings | 360 | Medium, Hellskloof; some sand and one potholed climb. The rest good gravel. Not pillion friendly | Yes | yes Rosh Pina, Noordoewer | No |
| Scenic 2 Port Nolloth | 316 | Medium, Hellskloof; some sand and one potholed climb. The rest good gravel. Not pillion friendly | no | yes Steinkopf, Port Nolloth | No |
| Scenic 3 Alexander Port Nolloth | 543 | Easy, mostly tar and good gravel. Pillion friendly | Yes | yes Steinkopf, Port Nolloth, Alexander Bay, Rosh Pina, Noordoewer | No |
| Scenic 4 Fish River Canyon | 405 | Easy, mostly tar and good gravel. Pillion friendly | Yes | yes Ai Ais, Noordoewer | No |
| Scenic 5 Port Nolloth, Alexander Bay, Eksteenfontein | 418 | Medium, Hellskloof; some sand and one potholed climb. The rest good gravel. Not pillion friendly | No | yes Steinkopf, Port Nolloth, Alexander Bay | No |
| Scenic 6 Port Nolloth | 320'ish | Difficult, Hellskloof. Must be comfortable in deep sand for long stretches. Knobblies only no street tires. Big mix of terrain. Must be Very competent rider on your A Game. Very fit. Even at moderate pace it's a very long 10 hour day. Completely self supporting. Bike 100%. Not pillion friendly. Return via Steinkopf or Hellskloof | No | yes Steinkopf, Port Nolloth, | No |
| Scenic 7 Norotshama Ausenkher Gamkab Dunes | 194 | Easy or Difficult, If you stay out of the Gamkab canyon or off the dunes, tar almost the whole way. Lunch at Noroshama. Pillion friendly but for the above bits | Yes | yes Noordoewer | No |
| Scenic 8 Goodhouse Eco Trail | 288 | Medium, Small doable part of the eco trail. Mostly good gravel, some hard pack jeep tracks. Not pillion friendly | No | yes Steinkopf | No |
