Are you looking to explore uncharted territory or discover interesting spots around South Africa? Then make your next trip an adventure challenge. By turning travel into a game of sorts, events like the Turkana Challenge provide fresh inspiration for explorers.
A voyage of discovery, a bounty that will make you the envy of others… If this sounds like the treasure hunts of childhood, you’re not entirely wrong. Although an adventure challenge offers the same excitement, it’s been updated for adults who love overlanding. But this time around, the treasure you’re searching for consists of special places and experiences. This winter saw the launch of the Turkana Challenge 2025/26 and Tracks4Africa is playing a key role.
What is the Turkana Challenge?
The folks behind Turkana, which makes tough-as-anything gear for adventure bikers, wanted to inspire people to explore South Africa. So, two years ago, the Turkana Challenge was born.
The challenge sends participants around the country in search of specific things, like a lighthouse, a waterfall or a roadside tortoise. Once found, they photograph their bike with their entry number alongside, then submit the pictures online. Every picture is an entry to win prizes like Turkana luggage and Tracks4Africa maps. Although you have to be an adventure biker to officially take part in the Turkana Challenge 2025/26, the inspiration is there for any overlander to use.
“I personally ride motorbikes and I just love the concept that they came up with,” says Johann Groenewald, who heads up Tracks4Africa. “Since our maps power most adventure bike trips in Southern Africa, it’s a good way to be involved with our customers. We also learn from the community in terms of what they want out of these products.”
What can you expect?
Now in its third year, the Turkana Challenge is casting the net wider to get more bikers involved. You don’t have to be hard-core to take part; weekend warriors will have just as much fun. “It’s not a race and you have 12 months to do trips on your own steam. You can choose if you want to ride in groups or go solo, and it also caters for all types of bikes,” says Johann.
The challenges range from easy, such as snapping your bike with a coffee at sunrise, to the more extreme, like photographing it in the snow. Depending on your interests and the type of riding you enjoy, you can choose to do a specific safari or individual challenges. But you don’t need to pick just one or try to do them all in one go either.
A look at the challenges
Nature Safari: 1. With a roadside tortoise/zebra; 2. On a camping/glamping trip; 3. With coffee and a sunrise; 4. At a roadside braai; 5. At a waterfall or cave; 6. Find a rural geocache.
Historic Safari: 1. Historic tunnel; 2. Historic bridge; 3. Castle; 4. Lighthouse; 5. Ghost town/derelict train station; 6. With a steam train; 7. With a wind pump; 8. Next to an ossewa.
Warfields Safari: 1. Anglo-Boer War/Zulu War battlefield; 2. Blockhouse or fort; 3. Concentration camp; 4. Historic cannon.
Bikers Safari: 1. Join a charity run/do a good deed; 2. Visit a bike museum/collection; 3. Do 1x400km day trip; 4. Do 1x800km multi-day trip; 5. Tackle 1×1,200km multi-day trip; 6. Visit a Turkana dealer.
Individual challenges:
- Don’t be a snowflake! Photograph your bike in the snow.
- Going the distance. Photograph your bike in Namibia/Botswana/Zimbabwe.
- Baboon butt. Ride 1,000km in 12 hours.
- Follow the light. Do one of three lighthouse tours.
- Ben 10. Ride 10 of SA’s highest gravel passes.
- Ride the four corners and centre of SA.
Enter the Turkana Challenge 2025/26.
How can you use Tracks4Africa?
Since Tracks4Africa is built for exploration, it’s the perfect companion to help you tackle the Turkana Challenge. Obviously, there aren’t waypoints for roadside tortoises, but you’ll be able to locate many of the others by using your Tracks4Africa maps.
The Tracks4Africa Online Trip Planner is ideal for exploring places and building your route. For example, use it to search for a ghost town, cannon, lighthouse or waterfall. With the Trip Planner, you can plot your route between challenges, so you know exactly where to go and how long it will take.
“I’ve begun by creating a trip for the challenge and populating this with points of interest to visit for completing my challenge,” explains Johann. “This way I have a quick reference to what I need to get done, call it a to-do list if you like. Then I create routes based on the time I have available. For example, on a day trip, I will select nearby points to string together a route. If I do trips with friends, I will also look to see if any of the challenge points are along my routes and include them.”
Aside from the basic functionality of calculating routes, the Tracks4Africa Online Trip Planner is a practical way of managing your Turkana Challenge. You can also export your route for use on the GPS or view it on your phone in the Tracks4Africa Guide App – very handy for the motorbike.
So, what are you waiting for? Let the Turkana Challenge begin!
