Monthly Archives: July 2015

Namibia

Hentiesbaai and surrounds

Monday morning when we woke up the town was covered in mist. We started the day relaxed enough; oiled the chains of the bike, had breakfast and Kobus did some reorganising of the stuff that came out of the caravan the previous day. And let me not forget the mountain of washing that was still being tackled bundle by bundle. The poor washing machine probably hasn’t been that busy for a while. Then we got ready for the 316km round trip to Brandberg Wes Mine. It is an abandoned tin mine, operated between 1946 and 1980, located in the Erongo Region, in Namibia. I read later that the summit of these mountains, named Königstein, at 2,573 m above sea level is the highest elevation in Namibia.

The salt road until the turnoff to D2303 was a pleasure to ride and that was where the pleasure ended for me. It is a beautiful and desolate area and the temperatures quickly started to rise the further we moved away from the coast. By mid afternoon it was 37˚C and no shade for miles away except your own or that of the vehicle your driving on or in. We only saw one other vehicle on that road the whole day. It is constant riding on corrugated iron with loose rocks and sand thrown in for good measure every now and again. From the salt road to the mine is 74km. That morning I didn’t feel it at all and hated every km of the ride. I couldn’t get into the rhythm and lost my sense of humor.

At some point we stopped to admire the Welwitschia growing in the area and I just walked off into the desert to regroup myself. Christoff and Hannes had a lot of fun on the road and went off ahead with the bakkie on their heels and the Landrover Discovery following my dust trail. As I rounded a corner, the two bikes were parked on top of a little outcrop and the two brothers beckoned me to follow suit for a “we were here” photo.As I was standing on top of the outcrop, the sweat was dripping off me. After the photo session and manoeuvring down again, we followed the rest of the vehicles. And that is where we hit the thick sand! The two vehicles were parked at the junction where the D2342 turned right. I could see them but they felt miles away. I had to duck walk the bike all the way through and when I got there I was sweating profusely and had no desire to continue for what would turn out to be a 10Km round trip with those conditions. It’s physical hard work riding a bike on these types of roads and in the heat. Thanks goodness that we have at least 5L of water between the three of us.

With some persuading by Ockert and Christoff, it was decided that Christoff would leave Stoof at the junction and take my bike further. I opted to get into the Disco. I must admit, cold water and an aircon was a welcome reprieve. Looking back it was the best decision as it gave me the break I needed for the road back. It took us three hours to eventually get to Brandberg West mine. We had a look around the place and then had sandwiches and a cold beer in the shade of one of the “kameel doring bome” in the area. By now it was just after 15:00 and we still had three hours back to Hentiesbaai. As Namibia is on winter time, it gets dark not long after 17:00. When we stopped for lunch Christoff removed the top box off my bike to see what the difference would be and when I got back onto my bike at the junction, he told me how much easier the bike was to handle. It does make sense and on the way back I could feel the difference. Again I had to duck walk the bike through the initial hick sand. I definitely have to practise more riding on sand as the other two make it seem so easy. Once I got through that I decided to put the experience of the morning behind me, enjoy the wide open spaces with the setting sun and just go for it. I stood most of the way and found that this time I was able to let the bike glide across the surface and it was indeed a case of “dance mother….”. It was a great feeling to be able to achieve that sense of freedom and confidence in my bike and in my abilities.

The Disco was following my dust trail again. I stopped to wait for them to get my Camelbak with water. It was at that stop that Ockert realised the Disco had a flat back tyre. We were not standing there for a long time before the bakkie came down the road again. It turned out that Kobus and Christoff turned around to check that I was ok on the road. They left Elsabe and Hannes about 5km further up the road. We decided that Kobus would stay with Ockert and Zelda to assist with changing the flat tyre and the three bikers would go ahead to Hentiesbaai as it was getting dark and the scrambler had no lights. We rode off to fetch Hannes and left Elsabe at the side of the road with a camera and the vast open desert. Later she told us that the sound of silence was overwhelming and that she could hear the hooves of antelope on the rocks, but could not see anything.

When we got to the salt road (C34) it was getting dark fast. Our riding strategy was that Hannes would ride between the two of us; in the end he ended up riding next to me on the left with Christoff heading up the front. The spotlights on the GSA provided ample light for both of us. Although we were lucky not to have mist, the salty air and the spray from the road caused our visors to mist up. The clip on the visor of Hannes’ helmet was broken and every time he lifted his head, the visor lifted up. Uncomfortable riding at night to say the least. We got home to Hentiesbaai all safe and sound and had to wait about half an hour for the rest of the party to arrive. The wheel was changed successfully and all passengers got home safely. It was time for a well deserved coffee, beer and wine and not to forget the hot shower! Unfortunately the mountain of washing did not seem much smaller than the night before and that was continued whilst we made supper. The rest of the evening was spent watching DVD’s. I remember starting to watch the A-Team but couldn’t make it through the first 15 minutes before I fell asleep and decided my warm bed was a better option. I had a great sleep that night after a great day. Looking back on experiences like that, you realise that our guardian angels are hard at work, but the experiences is something that no-one can take away from you. It’s a life well lived!

Bis Bald

Namibia

A little Sossus to Hentiesbaai 

I think I forgot to mention how beautiful the sunset was at A Little Sossus.  

 

We left early in the morning towards Solitaire. We settled in and rode on until we got to Moose McGregors’ road side café where we stopped to taste his famous apple pie. Unfortunately Moose passed away a while back. About 40km north of Solitaire on the C14 stands the Tropic Of Capricorn sign. My first time crossing the Tropic of Capricorn on any vehicle. All previous times I flew across it. Take care when driving on the gravel road for on-coming vehicles, and sharp stones on the road surface. There are sections of the road where the desert winds cause the surface to become corrugated. You can, literally, bounce yourself off the road.

After crossing the desert plains you drive onto the escarpment and then through the Kuiseb Pass. The drive across the highlands is rugged and picturesque. You then negotiate the Gaub Pass. Take care, there are no crash rails on the side of the road and the drop into the pass is a long way. At the bottom of the pass there is a scenic picnic area where we stopped. I had a chat with Marnus from Windhoek who was doing his first trip on a Honda CRF250. The brothers climbed up the mountain and through a kloof and disappeared for at least half an hour only to appear on the other side of the road. It was then that two sets of fellow travellers stopped and gave us a message that the caravan was standing next to the road about 5km back. 

We turned back and when we got to the rest of the party we found out the axle of the caravan bent and as a result the one tire bit through the floor of the caravan and started biting into the fridge that was standing atop of that area. The caravan was no longer road worthy. By the time we got there most of the stuff was already packed out of the caravan onto the trailer and into the Landy and bakkie. The decision was already made to leave the caravan in desert. We assisted to strip down he caravan and left not a lot behind. The carcass and curtains was probably all that was left. 

 

Once you are  on the desert plains the road is not very interesting. The surface is great and we could keep a constant speed on the bikes. All three GoPros were put to good use to capture good footage. I cannot at this stage speculate how much data we have captured but the end result will make a great video.

When we got onto the salt roads going towards Walvis Bay we sped up even more. The closer we got to the coast, the temperatures started dropping again. As we got close to Walvis bay Dune 7 lay to our right hand side. The famous Dune 7 and my fist glimpse of it. Silhoutted against the afternoon sun one could see the people walking on the crescent of the dune. We had a well deserved late lunch at the Spur in Walvis Bay before heading towards Henties Bay. The sun set as we got to Swakopmund and we headed north with the ocean close to the road on our left hand side. We are staying in the house of a cousin of Elsabe’s in Henties Bay and for the first time in over a week we are sleeping on beds and have a constant flow of hot water. After unpacking all the stuff Elsabe and Zelda started with all the washing. I think it took three days to do all the washing and get rid of the dust as every single thing that was in the caravan had to be washed.

The kids discovered 30 Seconds and we started playing by our own rules which caused a lot of laughter. Eventually the rest of the party went to bed and the three bikers retired to our room where we continued with the game. At some point we were so tired that none of the answers made any sense. We slept like babies that night and I woke up when Dawid snuck into the room to retrieve the 30 Seconds cards.

After some practical reorganisation of the “stuff” we headed off to Brandberg Wes where Elsabe spent the first couple of years of her life. Little did I know what road lay ahead.l but that will have to wait until I can blog again.

Bis Bald!

Uncategorized

Lüderitz – A Little Sossus

We left Lüderitz early enough as we had a lot of kilometres to cover and most of it on gravel roads. About 5km before Aus Christoff pulled off the road saying it was time for coffee. We had nothing with us that morning to make coffee and I suggested we head into Aus, but they said the wanted to wait for the caravan. When the caravan and trailer eventually arrived, I found out Stoof ran out of petrol again. They thought the look on my face was worth not telling me.   

  Apparently Aus was slightly further away than he calculated Stoof could run without a refill. 

At the turn off to Helmeringhausen the scrambler came off the trailer and Hannes was all smiles again. Even Kobus took it for a slight spin up the road and back. The rest of the party left us whilst we got ready. About 5km’s down the road we hit sand which is not my favourite surface to ride. We were travelling at about 90km p/h when my bike started snaking across the sand and I could not pull it straight again. The end result was that I bought a piece of Namibian gravel road, cosmetic damage to my bike, a blue butt and a bruised ego. Thank goodness nothing serious happened. But for a while after that I took it easy and the adrenaline was pumping.  Yet another piece of thick sand where I somewhat ungratefully duck walked the bike through and then the road became better and we could maintain a nice speed.

At some point in the afternoon the scrambler got a flat front wheel and had to be loaded on the trailer. Hannes again rode pillion  with Christoff. We decided to skip Duwiseb castle as it was getting late and took the road to A Little Sossus which was about 90km away. By then it started getting dark and dark in the dessert before the moon rises is dark. (Full moon was a couple of days ago). I asked Christoff to ride my bike and I rode pillion. I never think riding at night is a good idea, but seeing road signs warning of wild antelopes, giraffes, wind and sand in the desert is in my opinion never a good combination. We saw Eland at the side of the road at some point.

We got to A Little Sossus all in one piece and were allocated site 8. What an amazing campsite. It’s like a massive barn with two bathrooms on either side and a kitchen in the middle and open to the front and the veld. We pitched the three tents against both walls and the caravan on the outside. About 100m from the site was a salt licking spot and we had Springbok the first night and small Buffaloes the second night. Living in a city we tend to forget how beautiful the night sky is and the Milky Way was breathtaking. The silence and wide open spaces is what sticks in my head when I think of this country. We had two “donkeys” that are used to heat the water and a warm shower was well deserved.

Kobus had to do another round of vacuuming of the caravan due to the one window not sealing properly and the Namibian dust seeps into every opening. The caravan was covered in a thin layer of dust. This  was the second time he had to do this after Ais Ais. After a great dinner the camp settled down.

The next day we headed to Sossus vlei. As we were not allowed to enter the park with our bikes the three bikers took Kobus’s bakkie whilst the rest went with Ockert in his Landrover Discovery. The 65km’s in the park to Sossus vlei is the only piece of tarred road we’ve seen since leaving Aus. A cold beer and a slow drive made the trip seem shorter. From the end of the tarred road it’s another 5km’s to Sossus vlei and one can only attempt it with a 4×4 vehicle. The sand is thick powder and I was glad I did not have to ride that on my bike. Ockert took the other six first and then returned to fetch us. We walked about 100m down the sandy road and decided it’s a bad idea to walk the 5km’s. Two German girls started walking down the road with two bottles of 350ml water, short sleeves and no hats. On our outward bound trip we found them about 1,5km’s down the road and gave them a lift. It turns out both of them are interns in South Africa doing a trip at the end of their internship through Namibia. I seem to have a knack running into German interns.

     The pictures I’ve seen of Sossus vlei does not do nature justice. Dead trees surrounded by massive dunes on three sides is an amazing sight to behold. Off course the brothers convinced me to climb the highest dune from the most difficult angle. Climbing in loose sand up a massive dunes at midday on a winters day is tougher than one of the WOD’s I’ve had to perform. Dry desert air, 25°C and a dune to conquer. We had enough water and the view from the top was worth it.  

 We met the two German girls on top of the dune and still no hats and a little bit of water. We ran into them at Sesriem later and it was good to see they were ok. On the way back to the parking area we passed at least three vehicle stuck in the sand. A Unimorg was busy doing the rescue so we drive on. At the parking area the gas braai with Christoff as chef served a very late brunch. Somehow the mossies in the tree above us kept on finding Hannes and made their deposits first on his plate and then on his shirt. Somehow the road back to the entrance gate seemed much longer than on the way in. We stopped at Sesriem and walked a bit down the canyon. If one didn’t know about it one would drive right past this little canyon with all the beautiful round river stones.

Back at the camp we did chain maintenance on the bikes and checked that all nuts and bolts were still tight. Then it was another awesome braai and a nice chat round the campfire. The next day we had to hit the road towards Hentiesbaai via Walvisbaai. Another long day lay head of us with a minimum of 200km’s of gravel road. Little did we know what the next day would bring us.

Bis Bald

Namibia

Ai Ais to Lüderitz

We left Ai-Ais at 09:15 yesterday morning 01 July. The day before we did 176km on gravel roads and yesterday we did 196km on gravel roads. A record set for me of one continuous day on gravel roads on a motorbike. And not all of it flat gravel roads. We hit areas where it was like riding on corrugated iron with sand thrown in to boot. They were scraping some sections of the road but the last 13km’s to Seeheim was particularly bad. Corrugated iron like they made it in the good old days with “dongas” dotted in between. It was a case of grit your teeth and ken throttle to glide across that. We stopped for breakfast at the Canŷon Road house again where the rest of the group caught up and joined us for coffee. I think the caravan got slightly twisted on the last piece of gravel road before we hit the tar.

The fact that we ride bikes seem to attract attention. Everywhere we go someone has to ask something and tells us a story. I love the cameraderie that is created. At Ai-Ais our neighbours were a South African German family and we keep on running into each other. 

At Aus the NG Nerk had a braai bazaar next to the road where I had the best Eland sosaties ever. The brothers thought I needed convincing to decide between the stoep of the one horse hotel or the road side braai with “skaap tjops, skaap wors; eland sosaties and roosterkoek”. However the braai won the day. 

   The road between Aus and Lüderitz constantly disappears in the distance. It is straight and boring apart from the wild horses about 10km after Aus. After that the bikes just have to eat kilometre after kilometre. At Aus the temperature was 25°C and when we arrived in Lüderitz it was 13°C. With the wind chill it got cold on the bike.

We’re camping on Shark Island and found a spot that is relatively protected from the wind. The first night we had dinner at Ritzies. The next morning it was misty and cold but we had a great camp breakfast before we headed out to Kollmanskuppe. The famous diamond ghost town. We took a guided tour which gave us interesting facts and stories about the German town in the desert. After that we rode to Dias Cross where we had a light lunch.  

   The rest of the afternoon was spent at the campsite. Had a luke warm shower, but to be clean feels great so we grin and bear it. Ockert made a great chicken potjie after which all headed to bed early. The three of us attempted to watch a series on the notebook but we all faded quite fast. I got up during the night to find thick mist had rolled in.

We are hitting the road towards Aus, Helmeringhausen and to camp at A Little Sossus campsite. I will blog again when there is WiFi

Bis Bald

Namibia

Vis Rivier Canyon

We arrived at Ai Ais last night where we setup camp for two nights. After Noordoewer we hit the gravel roads and about 10km’s in, the scrambler came off the trailer and Hannes was no longer riding pillion. The desolate countryside has something mesmerising. A picture cannot paint a thousand words in this country, even though we try. 

We found the hidden Spar at Aussenkehr where we bought food, cold beers & wine. When we got into Ai Ais we setup camp and had an ice cold beer, took a swim in the pool fe by the warm water spring (65°C spring) and then sat round the fire and a braai. Life is good.
This mornin after breakfast we cleaned and lubricated the chains of the bikes and hit the road to the Vis rivier canyon. Most of the gravel road was in good condition but at some point we hit sand which I hate. Suck it up and let the bike “dance mother…” as Christoff always says. 

  We got to the Vis Rivier canyon which I believe is the second biggest canyon in the world after the Grand Canyon. What a sight to behold from the viewing point. This is also one of the hiking routes on my bucket list – 90km over 5 days and you have to carry everything you need. Another 20 odd kilometres and we got to the Canŷon Roadside in where we had lunch. This place has a collection of old rusted vehicles in the garden as well as in the restaurant. Lost license plates all over and an amazing collection of memoribilia. Guys should definitely open Pandora’s box in the Gents!  

As we got ready for the return trip three bikers turned up. It turns out they shipped their bikes to Cape Town from the UK and are now doing an African adventure all the way up to Malawi over three months. Flow these guys at http://mathersafricatrip.blogspot.com/ Hope to catch up with you again during the next two weeks.
We headed back towards Ai Ais and a cold beer  Namibia is on winter time which Ian hour behind RSA. As a result the sun start setting earlier to our clocks. Riding NW with the low hanging sun and dust made for a challenging last 20km’s into camp.a well deserved cold beer, warm pool and amazing “potjie” awaited us ( the latter compliments of Christoff with preparation by yours truly). All early to bed as tomorrow is a long day towards Luderitz.