Our route building and navigation in Namibia is a mix of Googling, speaking with locals, using different apps, and just crossing our fingers.
When we arrived in Namibia, we were lucky to meet very proud and passionate Namibians, and others deeply involved in the cycling scene. We asked everyone for their favourite roads, routes, and places to visit to get a good sense of where to go. But we still needed to fine-tune the logistics.
We then searched if there were any off-road routes on Komoot or RidewithGPS, which can be a big shortcut to our route planning!
We use a variety of apps and websites to help see elevation profiles, re-supply points, and terrain. TracksforAfrica is a new favourite – it highlights points of interest, villages, and 4×4 trails. We also use iOverlander, which has user reviews of everything a traveler could want. And lastly, MapOut shows us elevation change and helps with all our navigation needs.
We then connect our points of interest. Google satellite view helps us to see if a road will be too sandy to ride, or if there are unmarked villages along the way to collect water. Reviews and photos on Google Maps help us to figure out where shops are and what to expect from them.
Even after all of that research, we cross our fingers because, well, things happen. Sometimes a village is abandoned and there is no water, or a shop has precisely nothing we need. That’s all part of the adventure though!