- Joined
- Jul 19, 2014
- Messages
- 721
- Reaction score
- 165
- Location
- Table View, Cape Town
- Bike
- Honda CRF-250 Rally
Day 4 continued
Back on dry land, Lance was certain that we were meant to take a more obscure path. Duncan objected when he saw the reeds. It meant one of two things: boggy conditions or elephants! Oubones and Duncan decided to keep to the ‘main road’.
Pete and I continued to follow Lance, and found neither grey mammals nor green marshes.
What we found instead was a last remnant of the old Kunene road!
Lance was bounced off the road to the left here:
A check-in by Lance at a split: “You ok with following this old road?” A unanimous: “Yes!”
It used to take people one to two days to traverse this road. My parents did it by 4x4 and needed a stiff brandy to calm the nerves.
If you dig on this forum, you will find some RRs featuring the old road. Sadly, hardly any of it is left. The new road mostly follows the old road’s route, obliterating the older track in its wake. This section was a rare gem.
Photos don’t do the gradient justice:
The Kunene River to the right:
The “wow” response!
Hardy meant for us to take this route. We were soon joined by Craig, Abel, Hardy, Kobus and the air-con boxes. I assume that most of the rest missed out.
Both Lance and Ian went down to the river, but were called back due to the very real threat of crocodiles. These sneaky logs have a deadly burst of speed and have nabbed some people before.
Continuing on the old road:
We were advised to head to the new road when we could, because today would be a long day. We found the split…
…but decided to stick on the old road as long for as long as we could.
It didn’t take long before the old road was swallowed up by the new one.
But we kept looking for the old road, taking random turn-offs during the search.
Seems legit?
Pete was with us and in a similar frame of mind. He and Lance had a short sand excursion.
And so it went, good / new road, followed by bits of old road…
…back to the new road, etc.
My closest call to a fall on this day actually happened on the new road. It still had some unexpected dongas, dips and rocks to throw at you when you least expect it. The road is like a roller-coaster, with very steep hills and dips. The gradient hides the wash-aways until the last moment.
I hit a good-sized rock on a mini-step and was flung forward over the handlebars. Lance said I was on my front wheel for a bit. I don’t know how, but I managed to hang on, with only some sore fingers to show for it (I ride with two fingers on each hand resting on my levers, as a rule).
The new road is obviously a health hazard! Time to find pieces of the old one again.
Back on the new one. Bugger!
Friendly locals:
At least the new road still had water crossing obstacles.
The bank on the other side was steep and had a donga to the right. Some local kids were gesticulating wildly. We took it as a wave or the usual “make-your-bike-go-vroom!” action, but when considering the footage, it looked more like a “slow down!” wave. Later that day we found out why: a biker had hit earth hard in that donga.
Another piece of old road:
Back on the new one:
Still pretty:
We were less than 40 km from our destination of Epupa Falls when we spotted a sign that is surely irresistible to most bikers. It said “cold beer”. Sure enough, we spotted some of our crowd.
Gordon, Brian, Hennie R, Pete and Lance:
Oubones had a prime spot:
We decided to try some cold juice. In Kaokoland, this can cost upwards of R30 for one! This particular spot (owned by someone called Corrie, I think) was more reasonably priced.
Refreshment bliss:
Don’t turn your back on the water for too long:
There were interesting objects, both of the natural variety (such as this big tree)…
…and man-made.
It was here that we bumped into the riders of the Triumph and new Africa Twin. The guy on the Triumph was obviously having a bad day. He was the biker who had come short on the donga by the waving kids. The front end of his bike looked a bit sickly.
Back on the road again, all refreshed:
Excuse the lens flare from the GoPro lens protector:
Still hugging the Kunene:
Beautiful scenery:
With a beautiful baobab:
And then we arrived!
Epupa Falls Lodge and Campsite:
Pool and beer available at the end of the magical stairs:
The Epupa Falls are visible from the deck of the camp restaurant / bar.
But the best view is out the main gate…
…and around the back.
Given the good facilities at the campsite, it was time for some bike TLC. I was worried about my air filter, given the state of the air filters I’ve seen from Duncan, Oubones and Kobus’s bikes. I needn’t have worried. Mine was still good to go.
Next was an oil change. I like doing my own, because that means that no washers go missing (looking at you, Lance!) and all bolts / nuts are tightened to Zanie-strength, i.e. I can loosen them again without stripping a bolt or my moer.
Lance got called in to be the official oil-container-holder (pic by Kobus):
The humidity was high next to the river, which meant uncomfortable heat. I did not touch the hot water tap of the shower.
Supper was a carboload smorgasbord: pasta bolognaise, served with bread. We were being prepped for survival. Tomorrow is our first shorter-distance day. Remember what I said about short-distance days?
The high humidity and heat also meant mozzies! Craig’s tent set-up seemed like a plan. For some reason he brought his own tent (Mr. Camel Man?).
We used one of the Specialised Adventures tents, minus fly-sheet, for maximum possible air-condition.
Back on dry land, Lance was certain that we were meant to take a more obscure path. Duncan objected when he saw the reeds. It meant one of two things: boggy conditions or elephants! Oubones and Duncan decided to keep to the ‘main road’.
Pete and I continued to follow Lance, and found neither grey mammals nor green marshes.
What we found instead was a last remnant of the old Kunene road!
Lance was bounced off the road to the left here:
A check-in by Lance at a split: “You ok with following this old road?” A unanimous: “Yes!”
It used to take people one to two days to traverse this road. My parents did it by 4x4 and needed a stiff brandy to calm the nerves.
If you dig on this forum, you will find some RRs featuring the old road. Sadly, hardly any of it is left. The new road mostly follows the old road’s route, obliterating the older track in its wake. This section was a rare gem.
Photos don’t do the gradient justice:
The Kunene River to the right:
The “wow” response!
Hardy meant for us to take this route. We were soon joined by Craig, Abel, Hardy, Kobus and the air-con boxes. I assume that most of the rest missed out.
Both Lance and Ian went down to the river, but were called back due to the very real threat of crocodiles. These sneaky logs have a deadly burst of speed and have nabbed some people before.
Continuing on the old road:
We were advised to head to the new road when we could, because today would be a long day. We found the split…
…but decided to stick on the old road as long for as long as we could.
It didn’t take long before the old road was swallowed up by the new one.
But we kept looking for the old road, taking random turn-offs during the search.
Seems legit?
Pete was with us and in a similar frame of mind. He and Lance had a short sand excursion.
And so it went, good / new road, followed by bits of old road…
…back to the new road, etc.
My closest call to a fall on this day actually happened on the new road. It still had some unexpected dongas, dips and rocks to throw at you when you least expect it. The road is like a roller-coaster, with very steep hills and dips. The gradient hides the wash-aways until the last moment.
I hit a good-sized rock on a mini-step and was flung forward over the handlebars. Lance said I was on my front wheel for a bit. I don’t know how, but I managed to hang on, with only some sore fingers to show for it (I ride with two fingers on each hand resting on my levers, as a rule).
The new road is obviously a health hazard! Time to find pieces of the old one again.
Back on the new one. Bugger!
Friendly locals:
At least the new road still had water crossing obstacles.
The bank on the other side was steep and had a donga to the right. Some local kids were gesticulating wildly. We took it as a wave or the usual “make-your-bike-go-vroom!” action, but when considering the footage, it looked more like a “slow down!” wave. Later that day we found out why: a biker had hit earth hard in that donga.
Another piece of old road:
Back on the new one:
Still pretty:
We were less than 40 km from our destination of Epupa Falls when we spotted a sign that is surely irresistible to most bikers. It said “cold beer”. Sure enough, we spotted some of our crowd.
Gordon, Brian, Hennie R, Pete and Lance:
Oubones had a prime spot:
We decided to try some cold juice. In Kaokoland, this can cost upwards of R30 for one! This particular spot (owned by someone called Corrie, I think) was more reasonably priced.
Refreshment bliss:
Don’t turn your back on the water for too long:
There were interesting objects, both of the natural variety (such as this big tree)…
…and man-made.
It was here that we bumped into the riders of the Triumph and new Africa Twin. The guy on the Triumph was obviously having a bad day. He was the biker who had come short on the donga by the waving kids. The front end of his bike looked a bit sickly.
Back on the road again, all refreshed:
Excuse the lens flare from the GoPro lens protector:
Still hugging the Kunene:
Beautiful scenery:
With a beautiful baobab:
And then we arrived!
Epupa Falls Lodge and Campsite:
Pool and beer available at the end of the magical stairs:
The Epupa Falls are visible from the deck of the camp restaurant / bar.
But the best view is out the main gate…
…and around the back.
Given the good facilities at the campsite, it was time for some bike TLC. I was worried about my air filter, given the state of the air filters I’ve seen from Duncan, Oubones and Kobus’s bikes. I needn’t have worried. Mine was still good to go.
Next was an oil change. I like doing my own, because that means that no washers go missing (looking at you, Lance!) and all bolts / nuts are tightened to Zanie-strength, i.e. I can loosen them again without stripping a bolt or my moer.
Lance got called in to be the official oil-container-holder (pic by Kobus):
The humidity was high next to the river, which meant uncomfortable heat. I did not touch the hot water tap of the shower.
Supper was a carboload smorgasbord: pasta bolognaise, served with bread. We were being prepped for survival. Tomorrow is our first shorter-distance day. Remember what I said about short-distance days?
The high humidity and heat also meant mozzies! Craig’s tent set-up seemed like a plan. For some reason he brought his own tent (Mr. Camel Man?).
We used one of the Specialised Adventures tents, minus fly-sheet, for maximum possible air-condition.
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