This is part of a occasional series highlighting the actual rides with GPS tracks and maps for those who are really serious about following along.

After a tough goodbye from Cape Town on the first beautiful day in weeks, I overloaded my bike with too much crap and headed north - into Southern Namibia; heading west at Mariental until the Namib desert to visit the huge red dunes of countless photographs.

Here’s the route - total is 1,051.4 miles - mouse over and click on the pins for info on the key waypoints for the trip - you can also zoom in and see the terrain using the satellite photos:

The first day was long and boring; long stretches of tar roads with some occasional picture stops as the lush greeness of the Cape turned into the fynbos and eventual desert landscape of the Northern Cape and Southern Namibia, which looks like this:

The first night I stayed at a small self-catering place at Vanhyrsdorp; I left later than planned and had a slower going with rigging adjustments than I had planned; plus I dropped the bike near a concrete planter box and snapped off the left side mirror. Oops.

The second night I camped on the grounds of the Savannah Lodge near Grunau; it is a game lodge type place but rather than artificial watering holes and discreetly penned game it is a working farm with more wild game - I was the only camper and the facilities were great.

Here’s the view from outside my tent upon waking up:

The next day I headed north and west; leaving later again than planned and still struggling with managing the proper rigging for an overloaded bike. I spent too much time on my stops in the heat, and ended up riding in the dark on gravel after my planned camping option didn’t materialize thanks to a bunch of locals hopped up on methylated spirits and a back of feral dogs that almost took a chunk out of my right boot.

So I was forced to bush camp, which I’m going to be doing plenty of, so it was a good time as any. I picked a roadside spot relatively hidden by a small tree, kicked as many rocks and brush away as possible, and pitched.

And froze.

In my ever-present wisdom, I opted out of a sleeping bag for this journey, using a silk sheet instead to cope with the humidity and heat that will plague me for most of my journey.

What I didn’t plan for was sub-zero temperatures in the Namibian desert, which means that putting on every item of clothing I had, all my socks, and pulling my beanie down over my head still resulted in me shivering for about 8 hours straight.

Oops.

The next morning I made it Sesriem and my over-priced campsite, and had an amazing afternoon walking and photographing the dunes and the amazing Deadvlei, an clearing of dead trees between the dunes.

Below is a taste - there are many more here:

The next day I was up early to photograph the famous Dune 45 at sunrise, but with a minor bike problem it was not to be.

Regardless, with bush camping, major photography, lots of gravel riding, and plenty of bike packing practice, it was a pretty solid first week.