Why this ride
A desert coastal road from Swakopmund, Namibia to Torra Bay, Namibia, via Henties Bay. Key character: fog desert; shipwreck coast; seal colonies. Surface: gravel.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Skeleton Coast Road
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 284 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 10
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Skeleton Coast Road point 1 → Skeleton Coast Road point 2
Slow enough to look. The surface follows the shoreline, so the corners arrive where the water decided, not where an engineer did. Water arrives beside the road and stays for 67 km. The line follows the shore because there is nowhere else for it to go.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 67 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Swakopmund
Swakopmund is a German seaside town that someone dropped into the Namib Desert, and it is still a little startled to be there. Palm-lined streets, half-timbered houses, a lighthouse and a pier would suit the Baltic, yet the sand dunes begin at the edge of town and the sea is the cold, grey Atlantic, chilled by the Benguela Current. The German colonial administration founded it in 1892 as a landing point, since the lagoon harbour at Walvis Bay lay in British hands, and the old buildings, bakeries and the Kaffee und Kuchen habit are what remains.
Read the complete Swakopmund write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Skeleton Coast Road point 1 sits at 0 km, early in the day. Next is Skeleton Coast Road point 2.
2. Hentiesbaai
Planning note
Skeleton Coast Road point 2 comes up 71 km in. Next is Skeleton Coast Road point 3.
3. Skeleton Coast Road point 3
Cape Cross is the place on this coast where history, wildlife and smell all arrive at once. The seal reserve here hosts one of the largest colonies of Cape fur seals in the world, with tens of thousands of animals crowded on the rocks and beaches, barking, squabbling and basking. You will notice the colony long before you see it, because the odour is strong, a mix of fish, ammonia and salt that carries on the wind, and the sound is a constant chorus of grunts and bleats.
Read the complete Skeleton Coast Road point 3 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
142 km in you reach Skeleton Coast Road point 3. Next is Skeleton Coast Road point 4.
4. Skeleton Coast Road point 4
North of Cape Cross the C34 enters a different Namibia, a stark, empty coast where the desert comes right to the water and the number of people drops to almost none.
Read the complete Skeleton Coast Road point 4 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Skeleton Coast Road point 4, late in the day. Next is Skeleton Coast Road point 5.
5. Skeleton Coast Road point 5
It is a small seasonal campsite within the Skeleton Coast Park, open only for a short period around the Christmas and New Year holidays, when anglers from across Namibia drive up to fish the surf. For the rest of the year the bay is empty, and the wind has the place to itself.
Read the complete Skeleton Coast Road point 5 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Skeleton Coast Road point 5 sits at 284 km, late in the day.