I managed to lose my #Fusion360 Camera in the whirlpool suction at the bottom of a waterfall abseil during our @isuzusa #BeyondAukoerebis Expedition. Bummer, especially some of the footage which I'll probably never be able to shoot again in my life... But there's always a flip side,and this time around it was @GarminSA who saved the day by couriering a #Virb360 to me for the final few days of our trip. Hugely impressed with the quality of the device, especially the interface, which allows you to overlay any number of parameters onto the footage. Great to see that you easily replace the lenses as well, while with #gopro you pretty much have to chuck the device if you pick up a scratch on the glass. The stabilization looks spot-on, too, as one can see in this low-res sequence of a run along the precipitous #arrowpoint in @sanparks_aridregion #augrabies. We were given permission to explore this incredible section of the national park as part of an @ozone.africa #adventure event recce, and it is insanely exhilarating 👌👌👌 #IsuzuSa #WithYouForTheLongRun #DunlopTyresSA #FrontrunnerZA #BornToRoam #SpotAfrica #GetLostStayFound #NorthernCape #Namibia #DarlingBrew #NamaquaWestCoastWineRoute #BeanThereCoffee #TopWraps #OrnateDesigns #GiantBicycles #giantlivrsa #TribalTourist #ifollowthetribe #garminsa #beatyesterday #sealandgear #discovernewpaths (at Augrabies Falls National Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzr8hkgnxRF/?igshid=1uo026y0k7h6o

At first glance, many deserts seem devoid of life. That is, until you begin to look beyond the obvious, and focus in on the miniscule, the unusual and very often extraordinary fauna and flora teeming within these arid landscapes. In the words of Pieter Van Wyk, arguably one of southern Africa's most knowledgeable desert botanists, there are floral ecosystems in the #richtersveld alone which are richer in diversity than the Amazon jungle. The scary thing is that some of these deserts are being denuded at a rapid rate due to climate change, with parts of the Richtersveld specifically having lost 85% of its biomass in just over three decades. This is potentially an irreversible process, and this is in part why @PetervanKets and I are trying to draw attention to these natural areas under extreme environmental threat through our series of @beyondexped adventures. #BeyondAukoerebis was our 3rd expedition, with a specific focus on five of southern Africa's key arid regions. Our @isuzusa #Xrider vehicles, fully kitted with @FrontRunnerZA equipment & @Dunloptyres_SA rubber, meandered via the #namaquawestcoast, #richtersveld, #NamibNaukluft, #kgalagadi and #augrabies on a 3-week, off-the-grid adventure, and we were fortunate to come face to face with Mother Nature at her immaculate best. Statuesque kokerbooms; miniscule conophytums; giraffe arabesquing across hard-rock plains; ancient boscia albitrunca trees clinging to vertiginous cliffs; crimson-breasted shrikes by the handful; Hitchcockian flocks of sand-grouse; honey badgers out on dawn patrol; pairs of spotted eagle owls huddling against the morning desert chill ... how privileged we are to have experienced this 🙏 🦉 🌵 #IsuzuSa #WithYouForTheLongRun #FrontrunnerZA #BornToRoam #SpotAfrica #GetLostStayFound #NorthernCape #Namibia #DarlingBrew #NamaquaWestCoast #namaquawines #BeanThereCoffee #TopWraps #OrnateDesigns #GiantBicycles #giantlivrsa #TribalTourist #ifollowthetribe #garminsa #sonyza #hellosonyza #sonyxperiaza (at Northern Cape) https://www.instagram.com/p/BziOz92nkv_/?igshid=1k9mnfp002dod

Currently chilling - on and off the @giantlivrsa bikes - as the @isuzusa #BeyondAukoerebis Expedition rolls through spectacular #Namibia. Our stay in #Luderitz was short, but we did make time to explore the gorgeous German architecture and taste some traditional local delicacies, as in #apfelstrudel, ja! Our @frontrunnerza tents and hammocks are the bomb, and the #campsite at @gondwanalodges puts @nwrinsta at #SharkIsland to shame. Only disappointment of the trip so far, so kudos to the guys at #CanyonRoadHouse. @petervankets, @maraiskaryn and #dieooms just got back from a gorgeous wilderness ride on the #giantbicycles, and we'll soon head down to the canyon proper to crack a @teubeswyne Karoobossie Sparkling as the sun sets over the craggy Namib landscape 🇳🇦🌵👌 #BeyondAukoerebis #IsuzuSa #WithYouForTheLongRun #DunlopTyresSA #FrontrunnerZA #BornToRoam #SpotAfrica #GetLostStayFound #NorthernCape #Namibia #DarlingBrew #NamaquaWestCoastWineRoute #BeanThereCoffee #TopWraps #OrnateDesigns #GiantBicycles #giantlivrsa #TribalTourist #ifollowthetribe #GarminSA #beatyesterday (at Gondwana Cañon Lodge) https://www.instagram.com/p/BzNsQmkJ7vv/?igshid=c57bbrwi2psq

This is about as far away as anyone can get away from 'civilization' 😊💙 The #BeyondAukoerebis Expedition with @petervankets in our @isuzusa #Xriders have just emerged from that beautifully stark and incredibly dusty #richtersveld paradise, where we camped wild on the gorgeous Orange River. Big mountain hikes, long fireside evenings, psychedelic night skies, endless river play and headspace for days ... what an experience to share this with our families. Seriously scary to hear that more than 85% of the botanical biomass of the Richtersveld Mountain Desert has disappeared over the past three decades, due to on-going global warming. This is not just scientific talk, and even I could clearly see how areas around #Kokerboomkloof have been denuded by drought over the 20 years I've been visiting the park. It remains, however, one of the most visceral landscapes imaginable, and once you manage to focus in on the miniscule conophytums, lichens and succulents, a magical natural experience awaits you. SUPing and paddling the river with Grace and the older kids allow you to experience an adventurous flipside, as does night #mtb missions or hunting scorpions with your UV Light. More images to follow tomorrow, specifically of our ascent of the rugged #Tatasberg. Huge thanks once again to everyone at @sanparks_aridregion and the #ARTP - this is an unparalleled desert destination for the truly #moerandgone crowd. #IsuzuSA #WithYouForTheLongRun #frontrunnerza #BornToRoam #DunlopTyresSA #DarlingBrew #Passion4Wholeness #BeanThereCoffee Coffee #Specialkindofidiot #TopWraps #BeyondExpeditions #TribalTourist #SonyMobileZA #GarminSA #SPOTAfrica #getloststayfound (at Richtersveld National Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/BzGz93FJTv-/?igshid=l9j895j36eeo

It's time! Nearly a year has whizzed past since @petervankets and #DieOom missioned off on their 15 000km journey into the rainforests and volcanic peaks of #Rwanda. That was our @beyondexped #BeyondTheRiftValley adventure, pretty much an endorphin high as we summitted some of Africa's highest volcanoes, paddled deep-water #RiftValley lakes & came face to face with endangered mountain gorillas 🦍 And now we're ready to roll again, this time with our families, and with no less than 6 arid regions waiting to be explored. #BEYONDAUKOEREBIS will be our 3rd Expedition into Africa's wildest places, and our @isuzusa #Xriders will be venturing via @namaquawestcoast into the #richtersveld Transfrontier National Park, #NamibNaukluft, #kgalagadi Transfrontier Park & #augrabiesfalls NP, before returning to Cape Town via the #Karoo. That's a whole load of desert right there! 🌵🌵🌵 This 4000km road trip is wholly driven by #IsuzuSA, but we're grateful to @Dunloptyressa for fitting #Treva & #Noah with their #GrandTrek #AT25 Tyres; to @spotafrica for providing tracking security; and of course to our long-standing #outdoor equipping partner, @frontrunnerza for their bombproof vehicle fittings and camping equipment. Great logo design by @threepotatofour & 'top' signage by @top.wraps; #SungazerLager from @darlingbrew; best #rooiwyn from @namaquawines #wineroute; breakfast goodies from @passion4wholeness; coffee from @beantherecoffee ... you guys all rock. Huge thanks to @gen_maasdorp & her professional @sanparks_aridregion #AridParks Team for accommodation & to @nwrinsta, too. This promises to be an amazing journey via the @northerncapetourism region & #Namibia, all the more so with @maraiskaryn, @kimvankets and all the kids with us! And @peterkirkmedia, @peebsman1 & @zaneschmahl & family, of course 🙌🏻 🙏 💙 #BeyondAukoerebis #IsuzuSa #WithYouForTheLongRun #DunlopTyresSA #FrontrunnerZA #BornToRoam #SpotAfrica #GetLostStayFound #NorthernCape #Namibia #DarlingBrew #NamaquaWestCoastWineRoute #BeanThereCoffee #TopWraps #OrnateDesigns #giantlivrsa #giantbicycles #garminsa #beatyesterday (at Namibia) https://www.instagram.com/p/BypDsrhp7kg/?igshid=1egraelmq9rp