Thanks to the new Sendelingsdrif border post between South Africa and Namibia, exploring the “other side” of the Richtersveld* is plain sailing. Join Barnie Louw on two delightful dirt roads just across the Orange River in Namibia.

It is just as difficult to define what makes a beautiful woman beautiful, as it is to define exactly what makes a dirt road a great dirt road.

Just to qualify as a great dirt road however, it should at least have a few basic features: There should be enough bends, but they shouldn’t be too sharp; there has to be a few surprises, but not too big; the road shouldn’t have too much traffic; the road should rise and fall; somewhere there has to be a causeway or drift; it has to give off a trail of dust, but not too much; there has to be a nice picnic spot or two for having padkos; and it should have interesting or beautiful things on either side of the road ...

Two dirt roads in southern Namibia comply with all these requirements: the road between Rosh Pinah and Noordoewer along the Orange River, and the Kyk-in-die-Pot (literally “look-inside-the-pot”) road through the Huns Mountains, north of Rosh Pinah.

Don’t ask me exactly what makes them great, but believe me, these are seriously lekker dirt roads − a must for anyone who regards himself as a serious dirt road lover or connoisseur.

Moreover, you don’t even have to put in an extra day’s leave to explore them, because they’re not the type of roads along which you stop and explore, they are more drive-and-just-enjoy-it type roads.