Brandon Bosch Memorial Ride - Africa 2021

[DASKOP]

13 July 2021

Imagine getting up in the morning to make coffee, and you discover a Leopard paw print in the ground next to your tent.

 

[DASKOP]

Chill day.

A visit from Mr. Moringa.

 

[DASKOP]

Shower with a view.

 

[DASKOP]

Sticker no 24 went up for Brandon.

 

[DASKOP]

Fire going, tonight it is cowboy chow.

 

[Elmer Fudd]

Wonderful updates  Marius. Thx for sharing.

That 'empty' whole slab Cadbury's rapper did not go unnoticed ;D

 

[DASKOP]

14 July 2021

I woke up around 2am and just could not go back to sleep. All types of thoughts and emotions were coming and going.

Fortunately, I had some wood left and re-kindled the fire. Watching Bush TV seems to bring on a sense of calm and meditation. I was calming down.

The next moment a Hippo grunted a few meters away from me in the darkness, then more of them in the reeds along the water's edge. I just sat still for a while and I could hear them grazing for a while, when the grunting started again, but this time louder.

I realised it was time to back away into the lapa area, as I had heard that Hippos may charge a fire and trample it. I was not taking any chances.

 

[DASKOP]

There were enough coals left in the morning to make coffee, always the first requirement of every day.

I packed, went to pay and say goodbye to my host. I was told that their is another road which goes off at the museum board and had less sand than the road I came in on so I headed off.

Sticker no 25 was placed on the back of the signboard.

I made a quick stop at the David Livingstone Museum, before heading for Sangwali, turned onto the C49, through the Mudumu National Park and on to the B8, at Kongola, which runs through the Caprivi.

 

[DASKOP]

Along the way, I saw Zebra and some elephants, before stopping in Kongola to fill up. R14,05 per liter.

 

[swakop_toe]

#stillreading

The immense effort with your photos and write-up does not go unnoticed.
It is a special kind of patience, determination and gift to put these RR's together.

I have tried, I failed.

Thank you for sharing this.

Sent from my Nokia 5.4 using Tapatalk

 

[DASKOP]

The Caprivi strip.

It was getting colder and I stopped to put my jacket on. My jacket was just on when I heard an elephant rumble and the sound of breaking branches somewhere behind me. I raced to put my helmet and gloves on, got on Matilda, started her and sat with my camera aimed in the direction of the sound.

An elephant suddenly appeared out of the bush, it saw me and immediately turned around, I took the photo and departed in a rapid manner.

I was stopped at a road block, they were very friendly, and allowed me to put a Brandon sticker on the back of their stop sign. No 26.

 

[DASKOP]

I don't know if or when I will travel the Caprivi again, so I made the most of the opportunity and stuck up stickers.

No's 27, 28, 29 and 30.

At Divundu I turned off and put up stickers no 31 and 32 on the Rainbow River Lodge and Shametu River Lodge signboards.

My hope was that they would be noticed and recognised, and this was confirmed by the Germans who came to visit me. Joshua and Joanna said that they had seen some of the stickers on their way down after our short encounter on the Luapula road in Zambia.

 

[DASKOP]

Jorg, my host last night, suggested I try Samsito River Lodge, he had helped with the design of the place, outside Rundu which was my next destination

Gone were the forested areas, the surrounding areas were vast open plains with mountains in the distance.

 

[DASKOP]

Great was my surprise when the GPS took me on the Hakusembe road, which I had struggled through on my journey up, to get to Samsito, which was just down the road from Hakusembe.

Covid had taken it's toll on this establishment, the restaurant was closed, the bar was closed and the campsite needed some attention. I did not even take any photos, I just went back up the road to Hakusembe, but I was adamant that I was not going to camp again and sleep in the ablution block to escape the cold.

Nicolene, the manageress was so understanding, and after some discussion, she placed me in a Tour Guide chalet at a quarter of the price which I would have paid for normal tourist accommodation.

I had a beer on the deck, got myself settled in my little cottage and then enjoyed the sunset.

Some firewood was delivered and it was sausage and beans for supper.

 

[DASKOP]

15 July 2021

I was sitting outside, having coffee, when Nicolene came to me. She said that they were going to include breakfast and supper in my accommodation rate, at no extra charge, and they will do my laundry for free. I was so thankful and really humbled by this.

The blessings just keep on coming.

So, I went and had my first decent breakfast for a while. I do not do breakfast if I am going to be riding. My whole colon was removed in 2007, so my sewerage system is a lot shorter, and ablutions are mostly non-existent on these roads and bush toilet privacy also rare, as people will just appear wherever you stop, no matter how desolate it seems.

But, I was not going anywhere.

 

[DASKOP]

I spent the day wandering around. I wanted to, in some way, absorb the privileges and blessings I have encountered. Some how, I had to fill my mind with these thoughts to fight the other destructive thoughts and emotions, which could so easily overwhelm and overpower me to the extent that it would destroy any hope for me to achieve what I had set out to achieve, for Brandon's legacy to live on in a positive and influential way.

 

[DASKOP]

The campsite.

But, I was living the good life, warm room, en-suite, air-con and my laundry done and delivered to my cottage.

 

[DASKOP]

The river level had dropped dramatically and the Hippos and Crocs had moved to deeper river sections.

The Angolan cattle and locals made the most of this.

No matter how big your lens, no Hippos or Crocs to be photographed.

 

[DASKOP]

Some photos of the lodge.

 

[DASKOP]

What more could you wish for?

A fire on the beach, watching the sunset, and then enjoying a complimentary three course meal, Springbuck Carpacchio, Soup with home made rolls and real butter and Pork Chops, all beautifully prepared.

And then a warm room to spend the night in.