Damaraland & Kaokoland – Finally!

[Rooies]

Today, ladies and gentleman, the real fun starts. Today is the day that the level of difficulty increases exponentially. Our destination is Van Zyl’s, but to get there we leave behind all semblances of civilisation and encounter some very technical routes (ja, okay Andries & @hartebees , maybe not for you, but for most of the rest of us, okay!).

After another hearty breakfast we jump onto a well-maintained gravel road to regroup just before Okangwati. But…, appearances can be deceptive. I am one of the last to leave camp that morning and our ever-patient, ever-present sweeper, @hartebees , ends up riding with me. The road is good and wide, and we are riding at a decent pace. I am riding in front, Jaco a few 100m’s behind me. As I crest a hill, the road descends into riverbed of sorts, but it has been washed away properly and there is a drop-off of a meter into the wash away with a steep incline to manage not 2 meters later. I don’t know how I managed to stop, but I did with my front wheel teasing the lip of the drop off. I am still trying to re-balance and get off the embankment when Jaco comes hurtling over the crest, tries to brake, realises he is not going to make it, and like a champ opens up and flies through that driffie pretty violently. I still don’t know how he made it through, it was spectacular to see from 2 meters away. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any photos. I believe a couple of the other members of the group did get caught out and had spills. If you guys and girls have photos of that driffie, please add.

With that out of the way, we continue and regroup as planned, all accounted for and in one piece. From here on the road deteriorates rapidly and I start wondering if I am going to fall short, if I have bitten of more than I can chew. Whichever way, there is no turning back now.

The couple in this video is a treat. I met @Striggs last year at Honda Quest Bootcamp and immediately liked him. It was also clear that he can ride a bike! It was therefore great to meet up with him again in Windhoek at the beginning of the tour, and then also meeting his beautiful wife, Patty. Ellio, being the rider he is, decided to come and show Patty what this trip was all about, and did it on nothing less than his R1250GS. I started calling him captain Piccard, as he deftly piloted the Starship Enterprise through northern Namibia with Patty in total sync as a pillion. On this specific piece of road, I had stopped for a break and could hear the boxer engine screaming in the riverbed a few hundred meters back. (Also, incidentally, where I had my first fall for the trip, in front of a bunch of laughing children, nogal). Anyway, I can hear that the BMW is working hard to get through the riverbed and just in front of me is a nice sandy patch - perfect opportunity to get a look at Ellio piloting the beast through the thick sand. My disappointment was real when Ellio expertly spotted the little cattle track next to the sandy section and slipped by unfazed, dodging the sand for this would-be award-winning video.

Right behind him is (I think), @NIMMO . Please correct me if I am wrong.




Another legend on the forum and on the trip, @P.K. , was doing this trip on his terms. Here you can see him gliding through the track, I can almost feel his euphoria.

 

[Rooies]

@Striggs made this look so easy, and Patty calmly worked through all the challenges. It was also amazing to see how this astonishing piece of German engineering was coping with this route in the hands of a skilled rider.

 

[NIMMO]

Na die RR sal ek maar net fotos laai - hy dek alles baie deeglik

 

[Dwerg]

Die deel oppad Van Zyls toe was my gunstelling, dalk oor my bike toe nog gewerk het, kort gevolg deur die deel na dit. Eks sommer lus en boek weer

 

[Hardy de Kock]

Bart or @BuRP as he is known here is a "hollandse boer"
Bart did his first ride with us in 2021 and decided to join again this year.
Blessed with a contrarian sense of humor that made for many laughs around the campfire.
Very few people enjoy this sport of ours as much as Oom Bart and he has decided a long time ago that this is how he wants to spend his life.
Deep into his sixties and well on his way to re-discovering his youth, he has the ability to make me shake my head in disbelief every day.
Bart twisted his wrist after a fall on day 3. Never one to let an injury stand in the way of having fun, he, under protest allowed us to strap the wrist, just in time for him to jump back onto his beloved 500 to continue his journey through this beautiful but dangerous wilderness.
Unfortunately his 500 started to leak oil in the fork.
If you know how much time Bart spends in prepping his bike you would understand that this glitch must have pissed him of big time. Despite this he never made a fuss, never complained about anything, and always provided the rest of the group with the best of Bart.

The younger guys can learn a lot from omies like Johan Liebenberg and Bart. I know I do

 

[Hardy de Kock]

Today, ladies and gentleman, the real fun starts. Today is the day that the level of difficulty increases exponentially. Our destination is Van Zyl’s, but to get there we leave behind all semblances of civilisation and encounter some very technical routes (ja, okay Andries & @hartebees , maybe not for you, but for most of the rest of us, okay!).

After another hearty breakfast we jump onto a well-maintained gravel road to regroup just before Okangwati. But…, appearances can be deceptive. I am one of the last to leave camp that morning and our ever-patient, ever-present sweeper, @hartebees , ends up riding with me. The road is good and wide, and we are riding at a decent pace. I am riding in front, Jaco a few 100m’s behind me. As I crest a hill, the road descends into riverbed of sorts, but it has been washed away properly and there is a drop-off of a meter into the wash away with a steep incline to manage not 2 meters later. I don’t know how I managed to stop, but I did with my front wheel teasing the lip of the drop off. I am still trying to re-balance and get off the embankment when Jaco comes hurtling over the crest, tries to brake, realises he is not going to make it, and like a champ opens up and flies through that driffie pretty violently. I still don’t know how he made it through, it was spectacular to see from 2 meters away. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any photos. I believe a couple of the other members of the group did get caught out and had spills. If you guys and girls have photos of that driffie, please add.

With that out of the way, we continue and regroup as planned, all accounted for and in one piece. From here on the road deteriorates rapidly and I start wondering if I am going to fall short, if I have bitten of more than I can chew. Whichever way, there is no turning back now.

View attachment 774948

View attachment 774949

View attachment 774950




The couple in this video is a treat. I met @Striggs last year at Honda Quest Bootcamp and immediately liked him. It was also clear that he can ride a bike! It was therefore great to meet up with him again in Windhoek at the beginning of the tour, and then also meeting his beautiful wife, Patty. Ellio, being the rider he is, decided to come and show Patty what this trip was all about, and did it on nothing less than his R1250GS. I started calling him captain Piccard, as he deftly piloted the Starship Enterprise through northern Namibia with Patty in total sync as a pillion. On this specific piece of road, I had stopped for a break and could hear the boxer engine screaming in the riverbed a few hundred meters back. (Also, incidentally, where I had my first fall for the trip, in front of a bunch of laughing children, nogal). Anyway, I can hear that the BMW is working hard to get through the riverbed and just in front of me is a nice sandy patch - perfect opportunity to get a look at Ellio piloting the beast through the thick sand. My disappointment was real when Ellio expertly spotted the little cattle track next to the sandy section and slipped by unfazed, dodging the sand for this would-be award-winning video.

Right behind him is (I think), @NIMMO . Please correct me if I am wrong.




Another legend on the forum and on the trip, @P.K. , was doing this trip on his terms. Here you can see him gliding through the track, I can almost feel his euphoria.

Not sure if anyone enjoyed their bike more than Pete King did his

 

[Hardy de Kock]

Today, ladies and gentleman, the real fun starts. Today is the day that the level of difficulty increases exponentially. Our destination is Van Zyl’s, but to get there we leave behind all semblances of civilisation and encounter some very technical routes (ja, okay Andries & @hartebees , maybe not for you, but for most of the rest of us, okay!).

After another hearty breakfast we jump onto a well-maintained gravel road to regroup just before Okangwati. But…, appearances can be deceptive. I am one of the last to leave camp that morning and our ever-patient, ever-present sweeper, @hartebees , ends up riding with me. The road is good and wide, and we are riding at a decent pace. I am riding in front, Jaco a few 100m’s behind me. As I crest a hill, the road descends into riverbed of sorts, but it has been washed away properly and there is a drop-off of a meter into the wash away with a steep incline to manage not 2 meters later. I don’t know how I managed to stop, but I did with my front wheel teasing the lip of the drop off. I am still trying to re-balance and get off the embankment when Jaco comes hurtling over the crest, tries to brake, realises he is not going to make it, and like a champ opens up and flies through that driffie pretty violently. I still don’t know how he made it through, it was spectacular to see from 2 meters away. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any photos. I believe a couple of the other members of the group did get caught out and had spills. If you guys and girls have photos of that driffie, please add.

With that out of the way, we continue and regroup as planned, all accounted for and in one piece. From here on the road deteriorates rapidly and I start wondering if I am going to fall short, if I have bitten of more than I can chew. Whichever way, there is no turning back now.

View attachment 774948

View attachment 774949

View attachment 774950




The couple in this video is a treat. I met @Striggs last year at Honda Quest Bootcamp and immediately liked him. It was also clear that he can ride a bike! It was therefore great to meet up with him again in Windhoek at the beginning of the tour, and then also meeting his beautiful wife, Patty. Ellio, being the rider he is, decided to come and show Patty what this trip was all about, and did it on nothing less than his R1250GS. I started calling him captain Piccard, as he deftly piloted the Starship Enterprise through northern Namibia with Patty in total sync as a pillion. On this specific piece of road, I had stopped for a break and could hear the boxer engine screaming in the riverbed a few hundred meters back. (Also, incidentally, where I had my first fall for the trip, in front of a bunch of laughing children, nogal). Anyway, I can hear that the BMW is working hard to get through the riverbed and just in front of me is a nice sandy patch - perfect opportunity to get a look at Ellio piloting the beast through the thick sand. My disappointment was real when Ellio expertly spotted the little cattle track next to the sandy section and slipped by unfazed, dodging the sand for this would-be award-winning video.

Right behind him is (I think), @NIMMO . Please correct me if I am wrong.




Another legend on the forum and on the trip, @P.K. , was doing this trip on his terms. Here you can see him gliding through the track, I can almost feel his euphoria.

I admire Ellio and Patty. Navigating the tank through Kaokoland must have been very difficult at times.
It was evident that the two of them has a fantastic relationship. Well done you two

 

[hartebees]

As I crest a hill, the road descends into riverbed of sorts, but it has been washed away properly and there is a drop-off of a meter into the wash away with a steep incline to manage not 2 meters later.

This is the washout where Bart hurt his wrist. Fred also hurt his ribs here when he smacked into his own handlebar. I was lucky to not hurt myself here, luckily the embankment into which I slammed was quite soft and absorbed some of the impact.

 

[BuRP]

As I crest a hill, the road descends into riverbed of sorts, but it has been washed away properly and there is a drop-off of a meter into the wash away with a steep incline to manage not 2 meters later.

Sorry Roux, this was not this day but towards the end of the previous one, the last bit towards Epupa Falls camp.... and trust me I remember it well!
I missed a cold beer you see, and doing that is a crime there!

I was jaaging a little to catch up with Fred & Johannes - which I thought were ahead of me, however later it turned out they had seen the sign of Camp Cornie (which I completely missed yeah, the bain of my riding-life, more so when I'm a bit haastig) so they were having a cold beer already somewhere riversidish behind me at that time , I was chasing mere ghosts!
That crest was in the very last bits of the road to Epupa Falls camp so one could make for a decent speed - and I'd been there before a year ago, so I knew I could give it a little... right?
Well NO, because the road had washed away during the rains in February into some sort of gully, and the friendly locals had put down a tree marking that the road veered off supersharp left (I only saw this later ) - but this tree & the lurking havoc behind it only proved visible when one is on the crest, not before.... so: "too late"!
That lil tree didn't bother me, I was over it in a blink and without caring because that gully looked nasty enough! I know I tried to lift the front wheel (like in "when in doubt give it a handful" ) to clear the uphill but the rear didn't dig into that sand - so I came down on the other side, luckily a sandy patch. My mishap must have left tracks there, and no, I didn't take any pics lol
Bike fine but for crooked handlebars, and me fine too but for a bitofa unwilling wrist
At least I was the first to arrive at Epupa camp, so had a cold beer there!

I later heard that exactly at this same spot Fred (also waayy too fast of course, he's no slouch at all!) came down as well, but he hurt (broke?) some ribs. Fred is 67 plus can ride, and he's fit as a fiddle, done a few Roofs... and this mishap broke his speed a bit later on in the tour - a bit yes, the bugger still proved quick
Also Jaco later owed up to being forced to go 'straight over' this washout but he made it - you lucky lucky git you!
Anyway Roux, nice to read you saw it all happen, plus that you were able to stop juuuuust in time

 

[OomD]

Loving this!

 

[BuRP]

Unfortunately his 500 started to leak oil in the fork.
If you know how much Bart spends in prepping his bike you would understand that this glitch must have pissed him of bi time.

I only do what I think is necessary, but for a big trip like this yeah, I look twice beforehand - which is way better then finding out that your trip is going to be cut short by some silly niggle, that leaking clutch-slave from last year springs to mind here!
It's also why I brought a boxie with some spares.... of which only a wheelbearing might have been needed were it not that someone else brought these too.
Oh no, not for my bike but for Roger Dodger's, his bike having been prepped for this tour by some paluka (Roger, I hope you do read here?) so he proved to have a rear-wobbly early in the trip! Anyway, that was sorted quick so he could continue

But yeah, the next day (the runup to Van Zyl's rest camp) the Compression stanchion's seal leaked a LOT, so bad even that I didn't have a front-brake anymore
And the next day - Van Zyl's Pass up&down - also the Rebound stanchion's seal went, so this all proved a bit too much of kak..... so I opted to do the Easy Way Out this day, I'd follow Chantal & Hennie in the Kitchen-Cruiser and Unimog over normal roads instead of going to look for shit on those rocky inclines.
Oh, Hardy, thanks for offering to ride my bike (and me driving your cruiser) on the shitty bits, but you also would have struggled without any front brake - there was really none, and your foot.... better me riding the easy way!

Now here's a surprise for you all: there is no easy way!
Keep in mind that this area has had a lot, no wait, LOT of rain in/around February, and this was visible everywhere - I'd been there a year ago so I could clearly see the differences!
The 'route' the aforementioned vehicles had to take proved a proper track, with also some real up- and downhills, and ranging from loose sandy tracks to rocky outcrops, washed clear of their loose fillings.... I was genuinely surprised to 'see' where Hardy puts his vehicles on & through!
And Chantal & Hennie work really hard! At some spots Hennie had to cut trees so as to clear a path for the high Unimog, and elsewhere he, led by Chantal walking ahead of him, had to veer off through the bush on a hillside, re-pack stones doing real work in the blazing sun (sorry boet, my hand made me a bit useless there, rerig jammer), and just driving there requires an expert 4x4 pilot!
Of course Hennie is, but on this, let it be know for all that Chantal proved so good a driver (I should know, I was right behind her!) that I told her that I'll give her my own cruiser do drive anywhere without even thinking - well done girl, that's a tiiiny group of people you join with this earned compliment!

Only after some two-thirds of the distance the landscape flattened out a bit, and I left these two splendid drivers to go ahead - to try to burn my frontbrake into action: keep the pressure On until it smokes the oil off, and do this until it starts to work a bit! All oil had already leaked out by this time, so let's try a little mechanical violence
This sortof worked but not too well initially, until the very last 3 or 4 kilometers of high speed flat sandy track! Here some decent speed could be made... et voila, I ended up with a sufficient brake again.
Marble Camp here I come!

Now Murphy has weird ways to present his ever-presence..... just before I was expecting the Marble Camp turnoff with my new-found brakes I saw a whole bunch of bikes parked at a lone spanking-new silvery-shining-still sinkplaat hut with my riding mates watching me approach, each holding....... COLD BEERS!
Thank you Murphy, that was a dogsend!

 

[ETS]

and what a warm evening it was at Epupa ... never thought I could stare so longingly at a simple stretcher..

Mmmmmm but you had something extra......................

 

[Leo]

Nou hoe ry almal net so verby sonder om "hallo" te skreeu of te waai of iets, in die videos?

 

[Knorvarkie]

Brilliant RR!! Great advertensie vir volgende trips! Ek sal beslis seker maak ek mis nie die volgende een nie.

 

[Rooies]

Nou hoe ry almal net so verby sonder om "hallo" te skreeu of te waai of iets, in die videos?

Die ouens fokus!

 

[Psycho Porra]

Loving your RR Roux. Eendag as ek groot is gaan ek dit ook aanpak, maar moet eers leer sand ry

 

[ETS]

Loving your RR Roux. Eendag as ek groot is gaan ek dit ook aanpak, maar moet eers leer sand ry

Met n 500 of kleiner is dit bitter lekker!!!

 

[Rooies]

Seems like the bump to the head might have been more serious than I originally thought, mixing up some of the events…

Be that as it may, the tougher stuff is now lying before us. For years I have heard about Heartbreak Hill, and today I will meet her. Already the approach is rocks, then sand, then rocks, then more sand. We are properly in the bundus now and I am anxiously excited.

There is plenty of time for breaks. Hardy couldn't stress enough the critical importance of keeping hydrated and resting often. I averaged 6+ liters of water and 2 Rehydrates a day, even in May, day-temperatures would soar and working hard on the bike takes its toll.

@NIMMO enjoying the good life:

@P.K. & @hartebees

We stop under some trees where a Himba-family is sitting. At some stage the man comes and inserts himself between us. I am led to believe this is a form acceptance of us there?

At this point it is now properly technical and it is very heartwarming to see how Andries sticks to his sister like glue, not letter her out of his sight. Not that Bernice needs anyone to look after her, but brother-mode kicks in and she is chaperoned.

And then suddenly we are at Heartbreak Hill. It was quite daunting to come out of a riverbed, around a bend and immediately start to ascend the Hill. What is then even worse is to see there is a crowd gathered at the top, waiting to see the fireworks! I did have a good tumble there to the delight of the cheering crowd.

For some riders it was a piece of cake. Andries rode up and down a few times and also took some other bikes up as well. Show off.

The peanut gallery at the top of Heartbreak Hill:

Nothing about my ride up here was graceful or stylish. Maar bo is bo!

I try again after the spill, with Rodger Dodger having helped me up and getting onto the bike again. The peanut gallery is of course enjoying every second of my suffering.

 

[Rooies]

Just past Heartbreak Hill, in the middle of nowhere, I ride past Andries (@ETS ‘s son). He has parked and is standing next to a 4x4 just off the road, chatting to a woman. I can see a man at the car and as I ride by I ask if everything is okay by showing the universal thumbs up. Andries gives the thumbs up back, and I continue.

Later that day Andries shares the story: As he was riding by, he stopped and asked them if they were okay. The woman’s voice was thin at that stage, this was their 2nd day that they had been stranded there, their wheels being torn to shreds by the rocks. They attempted that route with 19-inch mags and the tires got slaughtered. They had to walk a couple of kilometres to get signal, where they could eventually phone someone in Windhoek who was bringing through new tires, only arriving on day 3. There is no quick roadside assist there. This was a very good example of how things can go wrong if you don’t have the right equipment and are on your own.

 

[tgg]

Met n 500 of kleiner is dit bitter lekker!!!

ja jy was in army ryer van vormaat, is dit al wat jou seun van gene het