Kaokoland...makes you thirsty...for more!

[chopperpilot]

Chopperpilot thanks vir jou deel aan een van die beste tye wat ek gehad het. Sien uit om al die ander karakters se mannewales te herbeleef op jou RR.

Welkom op Wilddogs Abel!

Beslis een van die hoogtepunte in my lewe om hierdie tyd saam met julle te kon geniet!

Dankie vir jou en Elsabie se foto bydrae! :thumleft:

Ek hoor graag die "Bloed en OMO" verhaal!

 

[chopperpilot]

Day 2: Night stop at Palmwag

Hardy and his team surely know how to organize, and to some degree make camping luxurious! :thumleft:

For me, a comfy bed, hot shower and a full tummy, is all I need.

We were the first group to be upgraded to 4 star status though, with the added comfort of camping mattresses on our stretchers! :biggrin:

Janco had the responsibility of loading and off-loading the Iveco daily, which transported our 85 liter Nomad duffel bags, stretchers, mattresses and camping chairs. This was done with our help, but Janco had the privilege of a daily sauna in the back of the Iveco. Thank you Janco!

We each provided our own sleeping bag and pillow, which was stowed in the duffel bag. :thumleft:

Herewith some pics at our campsite at Palmwag:

Pic 1: Some of the kit off-loaded from the Iveco.

Pic 2: Chantal, Gene and Samantha packing the lunch packs in their Palmwag "kitchen"!

Pic 3: Lance, Bertie, Henk and Hardy reflecting on the day's riding.

Pic 4: Abel and Elsabie's secluded campsite. (Apparently to get away from the champion snorers! :imaposer

Pic 5: Brian, Peter and Hennie having a red wine sundowner!

 

[firecoast]

Lekker lees die!

 

[0012]

Later verneem dat Brian Harmse, Hennie Roos en Ian Timoney by 'n sjebeen "verdwaal" het! >

:imaposer:

Ek cruise lekker saam  :ricky:
lekkerrrrrrrr

Daai vulstasie is nogals seinig met sy afdakkie, waar moet mens dan parkeer as n haelstorm daar neerlsaan  :eek7:

Lyk eerder vir my hy het kwaai uitgebrei, so het hy gelyk so ruk terug.  :biggrin:

:spitcoffee:    :imaposer:

 

[AbelvanderMerwe]

Later verneem dat Brian Harmse, Hennie Roos en Ian Timoney by 'n sjebeen "verdwaal" het! >

:imaposer:

Ek cruise lekker saam  :ricky:
lekkerrrrrrrr

Daai vulstasie is nogals seinig met sy afdakkie, waar moet mens dan parkeer as n haelstorm daar neerlsaan  :eek7:

Lyk eerder vir my hy het kwaai uitgebrei, so het hy gelyk so ruk terug.  :biggrin:

Dis die een wat my weggejaag het oorlaat my XR650 te veel olie gelek het (cover kraak opegedoen op Heartbreak Hill op pad na Van Zyls kamp).

 

[chopperpilot]

Day 2: Night stop at Palmwag...Continued

Bikes required maintenance and repairs in this harsh environment.

Pre-trip servicing and preparation is therefore key, as mentioned by Kobus. :thumleft:

Bikes should be equipped as minimalist as possible. The KTM 500s of me and Bertie proved to be ultra-reliable. We both had major services done on them. (I do my own preparation. )

The KTM 500s were fitted with KTM Powerparts 19 liter long range tanks, hand guards, GPS's, power points to charge phones/cameras, bash plates and saddle bags. (My saddle bags were used to pack an insulted 750ml water bottle with rehydrate and an additional 750ml water bottle in each saddle bag. :thumleft

With mousses fitted, there was no need to pack any tyre related tools.

Both rear mousses however failed at the end of the 276k Twyfelfontein to Brandberg stretch, on the second last day!

The bikes were ridden the last few kilometers to camp, where Hardy and Kobus fitted a tube, in order for me to complete the last day. Thank you gents!

The mousses failed within 5 km of each other. The mousse on my 500 did not appeared to be lubed at all. A miracle that it lasted that long, including a 3 day trip before Kaokoland! :'(

Bertie's 500 had new tyres and mousses fitted before Kaokoland, and he stood by when they were fitted and lubed. We are awaiting feedback on the rear mousse failure. :'(

Pic 1: Kobus pictured here sorting out his dust clogged air filter.

Pic 2: The clogged air filter.

Pic 3: Kobus appears a bit despondent here!

 

[chopperpilot]

Day 2: Last few pics at Palmwag

Pic 1: Coffee for the early risers!

Pic 2: Lance and Zanie's "lager", keeping far away from the snorers!

Pic 3: Janco packing up the "honeymoon suite!" :biggrin:

Pic 4: The Iveco being loaded. Hennie Roos and Hennie Oubones assisting Janco. Henk being instructed by Kobus to stay in
          4th gear! 

 

[TK]

Sub
Skryf mooi en vinnig Henk!

Ditto.......but in Engels. 

 

[chopperpilot]

Sub
Skryf mooi en vinnig Henk!

Ditto.......but in Engels. 

You've been my friend long enough...to understand the Boere taal!

Missed you on the trip Tony! :'(

 

[TK]

And I missed being there.......damn.
But the next best thingy is this RR.
Nice Henk.

 

[chopperpilot]

And I missed being there.......damn.
But the next best thingy is this RR.
Nice Henk.

Enjoy Tony!

 

[Minxy]

I am curious, which mousses were you guys running? Usually the desert race mousses if used with enough rubber grease/mousse juice and the right tyres are quite fool proof :O

 

[chopperpilot]

I am curious, which mousses were you guys running? Usually the desert race mousses if used with enough rubber grease/mousse juice and the right tyres are quite fool proof :O

Minxy. Michelin BIB High Speed mousses on both 500s.

Both rear tyres were Mitas C02 Stonekings, 120 x 18. :thumleft: 120 Mousses. :thumleft:

I had mine serviced/lubed at a "reputable" bike shop in Nelspruit. Did however not find any lube when the mousse was removed and tube fitted. (Will remove the front mousse soon, but expecting it to be dry too. :'()

I would go the mousse route again on such a trip. It is awesome in both sand and rocky terrain. Spare tubes are carried on the support vehicle.

We did do quite a distance over the 10 days till the mousses collapsed. About 1875 km. Lots of "high speed" gravel roads, but kept the speed at not more than 100 km/h. :thumleft:

The last's days riding was mostly rocky jeep track. We did not ride like Granny Goose either, but still slow enough to have an occasional break, take pics and enjoy the scenery. :biggrin:

Does not make any sense, as Bertie had new mousses, and they were properly lubed under his supervision. Mine were used at the start of this trip, but freshly serviced.

Both bikes were exposed to Namibia gravel highways and the 280km of reasonable rough terrain on Day 10, at most probably an average of say 50 km/h.

The only other bike on the trip with mousses was Brian Harmse's 690, which was ridden a little more aggressive than the 500s, and also did the 280km rocky jeep track, albeit without incident. (I have to confirm his tyre and mousse selection though. )

I have to add that our group hardly had any punctures. Gordon Buckley had a rear puncture on the 750 AT. A piece of steel wire, most probably from an old fence we crossed for the lunch spot, caused his puncture. Kobus had a puncture on the 640, running a Michelin T63 in front. :'(

Most of the group were on Dunlop D 606's and D 908s.

Hardy advised us to maintain high tyre pressures, and not deflate for the sandy sections, and it paid off.

As most technical tracks are a combination of numerous sand and rocky sections, it is not practical to adjust pressures continuously. :thumleft:

The only possibility that comes to mind is that we were running Michelin mousses in Mitas tyres. Some riders reckon that both should be the same brand and size of course.

 

[chopperpilot]

Day 3: Palmwag to Opuwa: 235km

This route was mostly gravel highway, one unexpected obstacle along the way, and a number of drifts washed away on the C43 to Opuwa by the rainstorm we had the day before. 

These drifts were our first "technical" exposure. :biggrin:

The C 43 routes through mountains to Opuwa, which made for a stunning and scenic ride. ;D

Herewith some riding and resting pics of this day:

 

[chopperpilot]

Some more Day 3 pics

 

[Ian in Great Brak River]

Fantastic area to see and ride ... great bunch of riders too.

I long to return to Northern Nam!

8)

 

[dirt rat]

As the only Bmw rider in the group I had to be a bit different.
Firstly my bike was not trailered to Windhoek. A roundabout route via Victoria West - Onseepkans - Fishriver Canyon-Solitaire and Khomas Hochland took me to Windhoek.
Secondly I was running Tubliss and could run tyre pressures of 1.5 bar.
The bike performed flawlessly as did the Tubliss.
The rider possibly less so. By day ten of the ride I was toast and opted the cop out route.
Moral of the story maybe trailering the bike up is not a bad idea.
Also never use 80w90 gear oil as a conditioner for you hair.
Total distance covered was about 6400km.
TIP OF A LIFETIME.

 

[dirt rat]

Trip of a lifetime- The tip is that if you are considering doing the trip don,t over think it . Just do it !

 

[Hardy de Kock]

As the only Bmw rider in the group I had to be a bit different.
Firstly my bike was not trailered to Windhoek. A roundabout route via Victoria West - Onseepkans - Fishriver Canyon-Solitaire and Khomas Hochland took me to Windhoek.
Secondly I was running Tubliss and could run tyre pressures of 1.5 bar.
The bike performed flawlessly as did the Tubliss.
The rider possibly less so. By day ten of the ride I was toast and opted the cop out route.
Moral of the story maybe trailering the bike up is not a bad idea.
Also never use 80w90 gear oil as a conditioner for you hair.
Total distance covered was about 6400km.
TIP OF A LIFETIME.

The mystery man someone called him
This guy personifies adventure rider for me. No nonsense personality, loves his wife and he loves his life.
Craig Botha it was an honour meeting and riding with you

 

[Oubones]

As the only Bmw rider in the group I had to be a bit different.
Firstly my bike was not trailered to Windhoek. A roundabout route via Victoria West - Onseepkans - Fishriver Canyon-Solitaire and Khomas Hochland took me to Windhoek.
Secondly I was running Tubliss and could run tyre pressures of 1.5 bar.
The bike performed flawlessly as did the Tubliss.
The rider possibly less so. By day ten of the ride I was toast and opted the cop out route.
Moral of the story maybe trailering the bike up is not a bad idea.
Also never use 80w90 gear oil as a conditioner for you hair.
Total distance covered was about 6400km.
TIP OF A LIFETIME.

The mystery man someone called him
This guy personifies adventure rider for me. No nonsense personality, loves his wife and he loves his life.
Craig Botha it was an honour meeting and riding with you

Yip, and I got the benefit of his experience and tutorship that made my trip much easier! Thanks Craig! :thumleft:
Shared some good times with you under a tree and we got soaked together! :imaposer: