Day 14: Khumib River Camp to Sesriem, via Puros
Distance: 246 km
In the morning we continued South along the Khumib river. A scenic mountainous and rocky section follows between the Khumib and Hoarusib rivers.
The riding is pleasant and the scenery is incredible again. Each day offers it's own surprise as far as the environment goes. There is really something new every day. One expects a fairly homogeneous desert landscape here, but it is very far from that. It has been like this every day of the journey. Unbelievable.
As we hit the Hoarisub river
The GPS starting to speak our language....
We start to encounter some game, but no elephants.
The last sandy stretch into Puros
We arrive at the Puros Camp site. Very nice sites with good facilities, but it is only lunch time and we have lots of daylight left, so we move along.
One of the camp sites
We do a stop at the Puros shop and buy some biscuits and drinks. We also fill up the bikes from our Landcruiser Ultra City. The sun is quite hot here. Middle of winter....
We hit the track again, turning West along the Puros Canyon. We are surprised by another complete change in scenery. Flowing water in the river, which we cross countless times as we travel and find lots of game. The rock formations lining the canyon are also spectacular. And the echoing Acrapovic symphony from the vertical walls makes me feel like Andre Rieu.
The traction offered by the wet sand is also a pleasure. A lot would have to go wrong to get the smile off my face here....
We get to the end of the track and leave the river turning South again. We now head down to the Hoanib river, which will be our ride into Sesfontein.
Crossing the desert plains between these rivers is another experience. You get a little bit beyond the recommended operating speed of a 690 around here....
We enter the Hoanib river through Amspoort Gorge. The sand is thick but has a nice riding texture to it. Almost feels like traction....
Around the next corner our luck becomes complete!!
I was happy as happy could be, although these boys and girls quickly remind us to show some respect. They are not as passionate about bikes as we are and some quick real elephant turns have to be made. The bikes all get to pass eventually, with another few charges. The pictures are taken from the cars mostly, the elepants seem more tolerant towards cars.
We continue down the river, seeing lots more game, really great ride. The sand dictates confident riding, it is just SO good here. We get to "Die Poort" and wait for everyone to catch up.
It is getting a bit late and we need to think about camping. We see Elephant Song Campsite on the GPS and decide to see what it holds. Only 8 km down the river.
We encounter some mud en route, with some untidy riding here and there....
The camp site is deserted (due to lions it says on the GPS), there is no water and it is very windy. All of this makes us decide to leave and head for Sesfontein. We are nearly there anyway. The "road" gives us another wake up call. Powder pockets. Deep ruts with powder fine dust. It covers everything in dust instantly and the bike drops to the bottom of the rut. The shape of the rut is invisible, and the rocks and track lines in the bottom of these tracks keep ripping the front wheel in unexpected directions. Difficult to avoid them too, coming around 90° corners you ride the line, and the next moment you are in the rut. This gives an idea of the depth.
Some more untidy riding.... (Which was not photographed....)
We get to Sesfontein and find the camp site at the famous fountain. The facilities are not great, but it is a place to stay and it is nearly dark. Not much option. Another good night around the fire.
Discussions are more about reflection than anticipation now. This is our last night in the "bush". We "achieved" all the goals of the expedition. All the bikes and all the cars are still going strong. Rider wise, we have had to draw one or two impact players from the log team here and there. But the wheels kept rolling and that is what counts. We have a good meal and win the snoring competition with the Italian tourists in the camp site next to us hands down.
