Seeheim is a railway halt turned crossroads, a handful of buildings in the south of Namibia where the road from the coast and the road from Keetmanshoop converge near the Fish River. It is not much to look at, but the scale of the country around it is a reason to stop. The land is dry, rocky and enormous, with granite hills, dark dolerite outcrops, and gravel plains that run out to a horizon that never quite arrives. Rain is rare and fierce when it comes, and the riverbeds are dry for most of the year, but after a good storm the Fish River can flood the lowlands.
The name is German, and so is the history. The area was part of German South West Africa from the 1880s until the First World War, and the railway that ran from the port of Lüderitz to Keetmanshoop made places like this possible. A famous old hotel here, with a stone-built look and a terrace over the valley, has been serving travellers for generations, and it is the kind of place where you can sit under a ceiling fan with a cold drink and listen to the wind. Quiver trees, the tree-sized aloes that are one of the symbols of the south, grow on dolerite hills nearby.
The riding in this part of the country is long, straight, empty and deeply satisfying, if you like space. The tarmac is generally fine, with occasional potholes, and the gravel roads off it vary from smooth to corrugated and loose. Wind can be a problem, particularly crosswinds on exposed straights, and the sun is strong. Few vehicles share the road, and distances between services are long, so a full tank and a decent water supply are the first rules of the region. Watch for livestock and wildlife on the road, especially at dawn and dusk.
Keetmanshoop, the regional town, is the place for fuel, a proper supermarket and repairs, and you should fill the tank there or at Grünau rather than count on a pump at the crossroads. Meat is the mainstay of local cooking, from braai to biltong, and a cold Windhoek lager tastes very good here. Nights can be chilly, so a warm layer is worth carrying even in a hot season.