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Then we proceed to race down the Marienfluss drunk, looking for the campsite. I have a video of it that I’ll try to post later. It was SO much fun and we laughed the entire way.  We arrive at the campsite and it’s incredible.    Two years later, the wood is still there waiting for us. We...

But we’re still not finished our riding for the day. We’ve got to find a place to camp. I decide to use my iOverlander app for the first time on this trip. It’s a great app for finding wild camping spots. There’s a 2018 listing that says “This campsite lays between 3 mountains. We made a braai...

We decide to buy some food for our campsite tonight. This will be the first time we’ve camped – not because we haven’t wanted to camp, but because the luxury lodges have been almost as cheap as camping (thanks to COVID-19). But Ben is more interested in selling us necklaces than food. He tells...

We waltz into his shop and order beer. I’m overcome with joy. After the epic ride we’ve just had, this is the cherry on top. Jan Lucas is smiling again after looking somber for most of the day. We share a few beers and chat excitedly. It turns out that Ben is saving up money to take his...

After half an hour of hooligan blasting down the Marienfluss, the GPS says that I’m getting closer to the place where the fabled shack is supposed to be. I look left and see something in the distance, so alter my course and head over there. I see a man leaning up against the shack with...

As we emerge into the Marienfluss, the sand gets red colored and deep. The track we’re following is barely visible as nobody has driven it in weeks, possibly months. We ride around for a while looking for the turnoff, but can’t find it so we decide to just bundu-bash in the general direction...

We wake up refreshed and for me personally, chomping at the bit to hit the sand and to cross the Marienfluss. The Marienfluss is the vertical stretch or red sand in the middle of the map below. There’s nothing there but sand. And perhaps a small hut that is rumored to sell fuel, but nobody...

By the time we get to the bottom of the pass, I’m in front. Marc in the middle and Jan Lucas at the back. I blast off towards the Marienfluss excited to see the red sand that it is famous for. But after a while, Jan Lucas and Marc are nowhere to be seen. I turn around to investigate and...

I see that I’m not the only one who messed up on this section…

After chilling for 45 minutes or so, we decide it’s time to head down the steep section with the rocky lip that Van Zyl’s Pass is famous for. I‘m confident I can clear it in one go. The other two paddle their bikes down without incident. I opt to stand on my pegs and practice my balance skills...

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Van Zyl’s Pass is a bucket list pass for many bikers. It’s notorious for a little steep section that can catch you off guard. I’m excited to ride it and practice my hard-enduro balance skills. The road continues to entertain us… rocky hills, sandy tracks.   At one point, I realize that we are...

We arrive at Otjitanda and discover a hundred Himba milling about under the trees, chatting, smoking pipes or drinking beer. It’s a Sunday and they are chilling, but I suspect this is what they’d do on any day of the week. We head straight to the school to pick up our fuel. The principal of the...

Eventually, we arrive at Heartbreak Hill – a hill that must have been named after the number of cars it’s destroyed. I forgot to take a photo, so I stole this one from another ride report just to give you a sense of it. Jan Lucas is obviously exhausted from the heat and the rock riding we’ve...

I meet a sweet Himba girl and her children as we take a rest under a shade tree in a riverbed. She keeps her distance, so I approach and practice my Otjiherero.  “E-naranje a mi Bruce” I say. Her face lights up with surprise that this white guy is speaking her language (or at least trying...

We head out of Okangwati in the direction of Van Zyl’s Pass. The track is unpredictable. - sandy in places and then rocky. We pass the Swiss Family on the way, who have made a lot more progress that we had expected them to in 4x4s. I pass a Himba village with a graveyard along the way… and...

It feels like we are prepared for anything. We have food for camping the next few nights and Marc and I are both carrying 6 liters of water. I have two 3-liter water bladders in my backpack and Mark has 6 liters in his (brand new) fuel bladder. Speaking of water carrying, I’ve been loving my...

We arrive in Okangwati and bump into the Swiss family from last night. It’s great to see them again. They’ve rented two trucks, each with a rooftop tent. Mom and Dad in one truck. Son and daughter in the other. We don’t stick around to chat, because we’ve got a long ride ahead today and want to...

We’re on our way to Okangwati first. That’s where we’ll buy our last fuel. My good spirits are short lived. Something happens on the way that rocks all of us a little. Marc has an unfortunate collision with a goat. I wish that I could say that nobody got hurt, but that’s not the case… The...

I’m up at 5am. I want to soak in the last moments of this spectacular place while sipping my morning coffee. I know that a great adventure awaits today. I’ve been looking forward to this second half of the trip for months. Why? Because it’s going to be a little more technical and (if the...