Quad bike riding in Swakopmund, Namibia

I would like to continue our African Adventure with the day we went quad bike riding through the Swakopmund desert. Here we also had a quick stop for a little bit of sand tobogganing. Which took a turn for the worst.

After the long drive from Spitzkoppe through the desert we finally made it to the sea side town of Swakopmund.

We were all very excited as the next two nights we will be sleeping in a BED. Like an actual proper bed with our own self contained bathroom. The set up was built out of shipping containers and it was amazing!!

We stayed at a place called Desert Explorers and it is located right at the start of the sand dunes. There are also some awesome locals who live there…

.. Two Macaws. This is a picture of Zeus 😊

We went out to explore the city and check out the beach. The city has a very German influence, hence the name.

One thing we were warned about was not to eat the sea food. The freshness is apparently very questionable. But we found a nice restaurant along the beach called The Tug.

It’s an old tug boat that they have turned into a restaurant. And unfortunately with the deceiving name, none of the meals come with a happy ending.

Now after a couple of Bloody Marys, I chose to forget that we should not eat the seafood. I ordered six oysters that later that night I would regret haha. As I said, no happy endings here 😀

Quad Biking

After our drinks and lunch we headed off to go quad bike riding in the sand dunes of Swakopmund.

quad bike riding Swakopmund

Man it was fun! At the start the quad bike leader had a go at me for doing fish tales on the bike haha. I was like fuck this guy!! But then thinking back I guess he has no idea of what skills people have on these things.

quad bike riding Swakopmund

After 30 min they split the group into two, a fast and slow group. Then it was game on!!

quad bike riding Swakopmund

The bikes had a speed limit on them so the fastest we could go was 60kmh.

quad bike riding Swakopmund

But it was still fast enough and super fun! Riding the dunes was like a roller-coaster. Ups and down, and drifting out the back as you turn at the top of the dune.

quad bike riding Swakopmund

We all meet up on top of this huge dune, standing on top of this dune there was sand as far as the eye could see. There was no way of telling which direction we came from. As there were sand dunes to the horizon every way you looked.

quad bike riding Swakopmund
quad bike riding Swakopmund

Sand tobogganing

We got the sand toboggan boards out and started to wax them so we could bomb down the hill. We each lined up to have a go.

Sand toboggan Swakopmund

Now when you go down the hill the key is to hold on. Either with your arms tucked in, or your arms out like chicken wings. You steer with your feet, if you start going sideways, slightly touch the sand to correct your direction.

Sand toboggan Swakopmund

Half way down the dune you probably hit top speed around 50 or 60 km/h. And you wash off the speed as the sand flattens out at the bottom of the dune. Now after the adrenaline has worn off, the realisation of having to get back up the dune kicks in.

God Damn this is a mission! Each step up the dune your foot sinks into the sand. It feels like forever to get back to the top of the dune. The only thing keeping me going was the thought of the water I could skull at the top.

Once I finally made it to the top I had a rest then gave it another go. This time I knew what I was in for, so I could go even faster!!

I set myself up at the top of the dune then off I went. Flying down the hill full speed with sand hitting my face was super fun!

Sand toboggan Swakopmund

It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt….

I got up and started the climb back up the hill. One of the girls started to go down the hill. All of a sudden, half way down the hill she put her arm down to control her self and BAM! She wiped out at full speed. Rag dolling down the dune. Once she stopped tumbling she started screaming “My SHOULDER!!” she had dislocated her shoulder.

quad bike riding Swakopmund

Now we were in the middle of nowhere and we couldn’t get phone reception. So one of the guys jumped on a quad to get to a higher dune for reception to get an ambulance out here.

quad bike riding Swakopmund

One hour later a 4×4 ambulance arrived giving her the green whistle straight away. They loaded her into the back of the ambulance and started to make their way back through the dunes to the highway.

We got on our bikes and ripped it back through the dunes back to base. Once there, we waited for another hour before the ambulance finally made it back to base. They got a flat tyre on the way back. How unlucky is that?

They got her to hospital and pop the shoulder back in. That now makes two dislocated shoulders on this trip. Fingers crossed for no more injuries.

Quad bike riding in Swakopmund sure was an adventure! Check out this video from the day 🙂

That night we went to an Italian restaurant called Napolitana. This restaurant serves the best God damn ribs in Africa!! They are so delicious. I only recommend the half rack of ribs cause that is enough for any normal human but a full rack is next level! So much food.

This restaurant is very well priced and they also do amazing Italian food like pizza and pasta. Definitely check it out if you’re ever in Swakopmund.

Once again thanks for stopping by and stay tuned for more African Adventure blogs coming soon.

In the mean time check out my other posts from this adventure 😊


Table Mountain

A day trip to Robben Island

Highlanders Wine Farm

Gariep River Canoeing

Fish River Canyon

Canon Roadhouse, Namibia

Dune 45, Sossusvlei Namibia

Solitaire, Namibia

Quad bike riding in Swakopmund

Spitzkoppe mountains Namibia

Waterholes, West Etosha National Park

Etosha National Park Namibia

Etosha Night Safari

Ghanzi Bushmen

Flight over the Okavango Delta

Okavango Delta, Botswana

Chobe River Cruise

Chobe National Park – Botswana Africa.

Victoria Falls – Zimbabwe

Cape Town – South Africa