2023 we bought two brand-new Honda CRF300 Rally, aiming to ride with them from Berlin to Cape Town. We didn’t make it. Here’s an honest review of the bikes. 

Maun, Botswana – Windhoek, Namibia – Cape Town, South Africa. Our Honda CRF300 Rally bikes are not up to the task – for the last kilometers of this trip, we switch to a new mode of transport.

Windhoek, Namibia – Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe – Maun, Botswana. So. Many. Animals! Botswana’s wildlife really sets it apart from all other countries we’ve been to.

Ondjiva, Angola – Windhoek, Namibia. Namibia is weird and wonderful – but our trip comes to a sudden halt: one of our Honda CRF300 Rallys has an engine failure.

Pointe-Noire, Congo – Ondjiva, Angola. Mountains, beaches, gravel and good food: Angola has everything a motorcycle traveler can wish for.

Ntam, Congo – Pointe-Noire, Congo. In Congo, our motorcycles continue to misbehave.

Idenau, Cameroon – Ntam, Congo. Crooks, corruption, sputtering engines and beautiful landscapes: Cameroon throws a lot at us.

Akraké, Benin – James Town, Nigeria. Traveling through Nigeria is an intense experience. We hurry eastwards.

Dahomey, Benin – Akraké, Benin. It’s only a quick visit to Benin, but an enjoyable one.

Dzodze, Ghana – Dahomey, Benin. We’re in Togo for a short time only and battle bureaucracy – but that’s not the fault of the Togolese.

Grand-Bassam, Ivory Coast – Dzodze, Ghana. Ghana is the second English-speaking country of our trip – and maybe the most Christian of them all.

Nzérékoré, Guinea – Grand-Bassam, Ivory Coast. Perfect tarmac and some astonishing sights: Ivory Coast is quite different from Guinea.

Fongolembi, Senegal – Nzérékoré, Guinea. Guinea is beautiful but provides us with a few unforeseen challenges.

Sabi, The Gambia – Fongolembi, Senegal. A constitutional crisis looms in Senegal, changing our plans slightly.

Toubakouta, Senegal – Sabi, The Gambia. A small country with a big river and beautiful nature. We like it.

Saint-Louis, Senegal – Toubakouta, Senegal. Not more of the same: Having left the Sahara behind, Senegal feels different from the countries we’ve been to on this trip so far.

Bir Gandouz, Morocco – Saint-Louis, Senegal. Mauritania is one of the world’s least visited countries, so we didn’t really know what to expect – besides sand. And there is plenty of sand indeed. It’s still the Sahara, after all.

Tafraout, Morocco – Bir Gandouz, Morocco. As we make our way south, the landscape changes completely: We enter the Sahara.

Genova, Italy – Tafraout, Morocco. A looong ferry ride lies behind us. We start to explore Morocco – and are impressed by its beauty.

Berlin, Germany – Genova, Italy. After months of planning, we’re officially on our way.

From Berlin to Cape Town, that’s the plan. A damn good one if you ask us (but we might be slightly biased).

Mount Fuji, Japan - Tokyo, Japan.
Woohoo!
 

Sakaiminato, Japan - Mount Fuji, Japan. Japan is unique - and a great country to explore on a motorcycle. If you escape the traffic. 

Six months, Germany to Japan, with two brand new motorcycles: KTM 1290 Super Adventure R and KTM 1090 Adventure R. On a trip like this, your bike becomes your partner. Scenes from a happy marriage.

Vladivostok, Russia - Donghae, South Korea - Sakaiminato, Japan. On our last days in Russia, we get in trouble with the law - but manage to catch a ferry.

Magadan, Russia - Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia - Vladivostok, Russia. Since we started this trip in April, we got used to riding our bikes almost everyday. But there's no road leading out of Magadan except the one we came on. So we slightly changed our traveling mode.

Yakutsk, Russia - Magadan, Russia. Between the world's coldest city and Magadan lie 2000 kilometers of dirt road: We head east on the famous Kolyma Highway, also known as Road of Bones.

Irkutsk, Russia - Yakutsk, Russia. Less cities, more nature: the landscape gets lonelier. Still we're far from being isolated on these dusty gravel roads. The Siberian people are very friendly to us. Especially the bikers.

Altanbulag, Mongolia - Irkutsk, Russia. On our return to Siberia it is hot and sunny. Lake Baikal is huge and enormously beautiful. And cold enough to remind us, where we are.   

Khyargas Lake, Mongolia - Altanbulag, Mongolia. We continue to cross Mongolia on the middle route. The gravel is great and the sand, well, it's part of the adventure. Mongolia surely is one of the highlights of our trip so far.