Selected
JOURNEYS
"Travelling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller",
by Ibn Battuta.
Our journeys are bold and ambitious, and perhaps the flagship of this homepage.
Although we are also trekking and island nerds, our journeys are sorts of trailblazing travel expeditions which are unique, challenging and adventurous, and thus they epitomize our spirit within adventure.
Often, the regions, countries and places we visit during our journeys take on an exotic quality. What matters is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. Often, we might have to overcome a bit of hardship and logistical challenges since our journeys most often don’t run smoothly. This is all part of the fun.
In our view, a journey is something you would recommend to others. To us, what really matters, is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. We are not talking about the ultimate expedition, but to move away from the familiar, out of the comfort zone, where everyday situations and events take on an exotic quality.
Selected
JOURNEYS
"Travelling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller",
by Ibn Battuta.
Our journeys are bold and ambitious, and perhaps the flagship of this homepage.
Although we are also trekking and island nerds, our journeys are sorts of trailblazing travel expeditions which are unique, challenging and adventurous, and thus they epitomize our spirit within adventure.
Often, the regions, countries and places we visit during our journeys take on an exotic quality. What matters is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. Often, we might have to overcome a bit of hardship and logistical challenges since our journeys most often don’t run smoothly. This is all part of the fun.
In our view, a journey is something you would recommend to others. To us, what really matters, is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. We are not talking about the ultimate expedition, but to move away from the familiar, out of the comfort zone, where everyday situations and events take on an exotic quality.
Selected
JOURNEYS
"Travelling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller",
by Ibn Battuta.
Our journeys are bold and ambitious, and perhaps the flagship of this homepage.
Although we are also trekking and island nerds, our journeys are sorts of trailblazing travel expeditions which are unique, challenging and adventurous, and thus they epitomize our spirit within adventure.
Often, the regions, countries and places we visit during our journeys take on an exotic quality. What matters is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. Often, we might have to overcome a bit of hardship and logistical challenges since our journeys most often don’t run smoothly. This is all part of the fun.
In our view, a journey is something you would recommend to others. To us, what really matters, is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. We are not talking about the ultimate expedition, but to move away from the familiar, out of the comfort zone, where everyday situations and events take on an exotic quality.
Selected
JOURNEYS
"Travelling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller",
by Ibn Battuta.
Our journeys are bold and ambitious, and perhaps the flagship of this homepage.
Although we are also trekking and island nerds, our journeys are sorts of trailblazing travel expeditions which are unique, challenging and adventurous, and thus they epitomize our spirit within adventure.
Often, the regions, countries and places we visit during our journeys take on an exotic quality. What matters is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. Often, we might have to overcome a bit of hardship and logistical challenges since our journeys most often don’t run smoothly. This is all part of the fun.
In our view, a journey is something you would recommend to others. To us, what really matters, is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. We are not talking about the ultimate expedition, but to move away from the familiar, out of the comfort zone, where everyday situations and events take on an exotic quality.
Selected
JOURNEYS
"Travelling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller",
by Ibn Battuta.
Our journeys are bold and ambitious, and perhaps the flagship of this homepage.
Although we are also trekking and island nerds, our journeys are sorts of trailblazing travel expeditions which are unique, challenging and adventurous, and thus they epitomize our spirit within adventure.
Often, the regions, countries and places we visit during our journeys take on an exotic quality. What matters is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. Often, we might have to overcome a bit of hardship and logistical challenges since our journeys most often don’t run smoothly. This is all part of the fun.
In our view, a journey is something you would recommend to others. To us, what really matters, is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. We are not talking about the ultimate expedition, but to move away from the familiar, out of the comfort zone, where everyday situations and events take on an exotic quality.
From Europe to the Himalayas along
THE HIPPY TRAIL
Part II
From Europe to the Himalayas along
THE HIPPY TRAIL
Part II
From Europe to the Himalayas along
THE HIPPY TRAIL
Part III
From Europe to the Himalayas along
THE HIPPY TRAIL
Part III
TravelTwins.dk
Exploring the less beaten paths of the world
- look, read, dream, travel!
Road trip across
SOUTHERN AFRICA
Exploring some of the best wilderness areas on the continent.
Southern Africa is one of the best road trip destinations on the planet and hence we’ve done three longer road trips throughout the years as well as a couple of visits here and there.
The region has few white sandy beaches, no tropical waters or offshore coral islands. However, it does have huge tracts of pristine wilderness, home to stunning wildlife, mountains, village outposts, tribal people and numerous national parks perhaps found nowhere else on earth.
From Namibia’s vast deserts, semideserts and nomadic tribes over the mountains of Lesotho to South Africa’s wineries and remote Transkei region, we simply love this region which is easy to explore independently.
During our travels here we’ve seen the key highlights, but we’ve also strived to choose backroads, driving for hours through endless plains, huge mountain massifs and spectacular canyons without seeing a soul. For everyone who choose to hire a car, the entire region is their oyster.
Location: Namibia, South Africa and Lesotho, during 12 weeks
This journey is kicked off in Namibia, where we spend three weeks criss-crossing the country.
The route takes us from Windhoek towards the vast Namib-Naukluft National Park, offering great hikes and unparalleled desert scenery. From here, we continue north towards the Waterberg Plateau, the highlands and Etosha National Park, which is one of the best wildlife areas in the region. From there we continue across northern and southern Damaraland and the remote Kaokoland region, focusing on visiting Himba villages, hiking to remote waterfalls and seeing ancient cave drawings.We then cross the vast areas of Damaraland to Swakopmund. From there, we explore parts of the Skeleton Coast as well as the Walvis Bay area. Finally, we cross the central corridor down to Lüderitz and the southern Kalahari.
In South Africa, the entire Cape region, with Table Bay, Table Mountain National Park, its vineyards, penguin colonies, the vibrant Khayelitsha township and amazing road trip options such as the Whale Route to Kleinbaai and Gansbaai, is a magnet, so we spend two weeks here exploring the region. Thereafter, we drive along the classic Garden Route to, among many places, Riversdale, Mossel Bay, George, Wilderness, Knysna Lagoon, Plettenberg Bay and Colchester. This route takes three weeks, focusing on hiking along the Oyster Catcher Trail, trekking in Storms River and exploring the nature in Tsitsikamma National Park, as well as doing private game drives in various places, e.g. in Amakhala.
From East London, we follow the backroads during another two weeks through the entire Wild Coast and Transkei region, stopping in small villages and key backpacker hubs such as Coffee Bay and Port St. Johns. We focus on beach hiking and freediving with bull sharks along the coast. In KwaZulu-Natal, we dive with tiger sharks on the Aliwal Shoal and party in Durban, before we venture north into the Drakensberg Mountains and the mountain kingdom of Lesotho. We spend a full week in Lesotho exploring remote villages such as Maseru, Qiloane, Roma, Malealea, Leribe, Semonkong and Butha-Buthe, hiking to remote waterfalls and looking for prehistoric dinosaur footprints.
The journey is finalized in Johannesburg, exploring the city, Soweto and surrounding sites, as well as smaller towns in the Free State such as Cradock and Clarens.
More of this region:
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Next to South Africa is Mocambique with the amazing Bazaruto Islands
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Going further East, we've visted Mauritius, Rodrigues and La Réunion in the Mascarene Islands
Selected pics during our encounter:
(to see all photos, click Show More at the end of the gallery)
Our journey was kicked off in Windhoek, Namibia, where we spent a few days planning the trip before driving north. This German Lutheran church built in whimsical gingerbread style is an unoffical symbol of the city and the past.
Far horizons and a haunting beauty that seduces the senses. Most days are driving on gravel roads all over Nambia.
Early the morning, as soon as the park gate oped (6:30 am), waiting cars rush forward into the national park. Everywhere are beautifully shaped sand dune.
Climbing is best done early in the morning when it is no too hot. The angle of ascent was quite steep (300 meters up!). The soft sand is deeply sunken, it was quite hard.
Standing on a high place, we had a completely different view! The Namibian desert is the oldest desert in the world, and its age is estimated to be around 3000-8000 years.
This is the world's tallest sand dune "Big Daddy" (Dune 7), which is 383 meters high!
In the afternoon, the sand dunes here look orange-red because they contain iron, and in the morning or evening, they look even more fiery red, and the contrast between chiaroscuro is strong, and the beauty is amazing!
All kinds of grilled game is being served during the evenings.
Next day, we drive all the way to the end of the road to Sossusvlei,
This is the Dead Lake, a lake between swamps or raised sand dunes a thousand years ago, where many "camel thorn trees" grew. Every year during the rainy season, when the water of the Tsauchab river rises, water enters the lake, and because the sand dunes are slowly moved by the wind and block the passage between the river and the lake, the lake gradually dries up (which should have happened hundreds of years ago), and the locust trees also die. But there are still a few more drought-tolerant pla
God uses the earth as a canvas, and wonderful creations abound! These dead trees have been exposed to the scorching sun for hundreds of years and are tanned, but they do not rot because the air is too dry.
Driving further north towards the Kuene region, Kaokoveld region and the borderlands with Angola, we visit a few villages on the way. This is a school next to a Himba village where the government is hoping to educate the otherwisely semi-nomadic Himba kids.
Beautiful woman from the Herero tribe, known for their colorful, Victorian-style dresses and strong cattle-herding culture.
Proud woman and her boy. The Himbas are famous for their red ochre skin and distinctive hairstyles
The Himbas live in small, scattered villages (kraals), usually near water sources. Homes are simple huts made of wooden poles, mud, and cow dung—cool inside during the heat.
The chief of the village. A Himba community is usually led by a chief (headman), known as an “ondjambo” or “ombara”. typically, he settles disputes and oversees cattle issues. He also leads communication with the ancestors through the holy fire.
Young Himba girls typically wear two plaits (braids) hanging forward over their face (called ozondato). They signal that she is a child who has not reached puberty. Braids are made using mud, butterfat, and sometimes goat hair.
The kids are relaxing in the swanky pool at probably the best resort in this part of the remote part of northern Namibia.
The drive from Opuwo to Epupa is 4-5 hours where we crossed several rivers. In the rainy season, this trips is probably impossible.
A quite remote corner of the Kaokoveld. Anders' son standing on the Namibian side of the falls is looking into the depths of the falls. To the left is Angola. The sight of so much water in the middle of the dry Kaokoveld is miraculous.
One of the world's best wildlife-viewing venues. We spent three days here criss-crossing the entire NP on several drive through trips (in our own rental car).
There a lots of giraffes, lions, cheetahs, elephants, jackals, gemsboks and all manner of antelope species.
Unlike other parks in Africa, were we would spend days looking for animals, Etosha's charm lies in the proximity to animals - all the time!
The characteristic of Himba teenage girls is to have manybraids coated in otjize (red ochre + butterfat).
The “big red necklace” is the ohumba, one of the most iconic pieces of jewelry worn by Himba girls. It signals that a girl is past childhood and entering or already in young womanhood.
The top piece worn on the hair by fully grown, married Himba women is called the Erembe. It is made from tanned goatskin or calf hide. It is a sign of social status and respect within the community.