Muito obrigado, Angola

[Das Alpha Tier]

Wait another day for the next part :-(

 

[Damaraland]

Wait another day for the next part :-(

You know I can barely remember what I had for breakfast so feel free to chip in with anything I forgot about P. S Need to have beers tomorrow to alleviate post-trip blues.

Sent from my VTR-L29 using Tapatalk

 

[aka.Goliath]

Keep it up. I'm Inthralled already. [emoji16]

 

[Das Alpha Tier]

So Guys,
I'm not sure if ruan mentioned this somewhere but i'll just share my experience. Please excuse if its a double post.
Just thought it might be interesting what tires etc we ran. I know we were not sure what to do before the trip.
We decided to use a Mitas C02 on the rear. We said that if it would last one trip like this we would be happy. The other option was the Michelin Desert Race (twice as expensive) and the Dunlop D908rr (not readily available and also more than twice as expensive). So the natural choice was to go with the Mitas C02. The front was the standard maxxis that the bike comes out with.
We also decided to go with the Nitrous Mousses since we heard that they are very long lasting and a lot harder than other brands which was what we wanted. I did a 400km trip on my mousses with full luggage to test fuel consumption and also did around 350km riding in the mountains prior to leaving. The nice thing about mousses on a trip like this is that you don't need to worry about punctures, not have to carry tire repair tools and not have to carry tubes. I have to admit that you have to get used to the feeling of riding a mousse. Since i had never ridden them it felt as if i was going sideways at time or almost as if i had a flat tire. This concerned me because i though that maybe my mousses were wasted. When we got back we had them taken out and I only saw the rear one so far and my mechanic says its as good as new. The front he still needs to take out. We can post pictures later. Dont know hat to add pics in here. maybe ruan can post them. Any question about tires, mousses etc just ask...

 

[Das Alpha Tier]

BTW the mitas rear still looks like new. We can do 6 of these trips with this tire.

 

[TVB]

Thanks for the info on the tyres and mouse....sounds like a great option and bargain not to worry about tyre levers and tubes!

 

[Ri]

:sip:

 

[Das Alpha Tier]

Gesendet von iPhone mit Tapatalk

 

[Das Alpha Tier]

Just got feedback from mechanic that my front mousse is still fine.

 

[Goingnowherekwickly]

Awesome ride guys, thanks for sharing
Can't wait for more

 

[Oubones]

Thank you for sharing.
I am itching to go and do what you guys did, but as I do not get any leave it is still just dreaming.
I really enjoy doing the trip with you.

 

[Das Alpha Tier]

Maybe something else worth mentioning is that both ruan and myself are not enduro pros but have been riding all our lives and both said that we would not take a heavier bike on the route we did.

 

[Rooi Wolf]

BTW the mitas rear still looks like new. We can do 6 of these trips with this tire.

Definitely my favourite too. Just a little bit hard to come by nowadays..

Great read, and awesome trip so far!

 

[Das Alpha Tier]

So i got my bike back from its service today and all is good. The oil leak that i had on the repaired magnetic sump plug was just from the replacement plug not being tight enough in the timesert. I didn't want to mess with it on the trip though and rather had it swet a bit on the trip. We are planning our next trip in august (4 day kaokoveld, Van Zyls pass, marienfluss and back) and till then i'll ride my old mousses. Before the trip i will put a new fron tire on (thinking mitas c21) and also new mousses.
The rest of the bike was perfectly fine. new oil, new filter and a general inspection was all that was needed. Total service including repair of oil drain plug and all parts was 1475 Rand. What a bargain compared to the big bikes that i used to ride.

 

[Damaraland]

Day 3 - Part 1

After our experiences with the dodgy cop the night before, we were both eager to put Iona behind us, we wanted to be gone before we could give another cop an opportunity to harass us.  We got up just before 5, broke camp, had our customary coffee and were out of there at first light, just after 6.  The track out of Iona was a very nice two-track, a nice break from the rocks yesterday and an absolute blast to ride in the cool morning air.  It's amazing the exhiliration and sense of it release it gives you when you're able to crack open the throttle after a day or two's slow, technical riding.  You could also feel that the bikes wanted to fly, the only thing holding us back on this stretch was the need to conserve fuel, as then next fuel stop lay at Tombua, on the other side of the Doodsakker.

The first hint that we were entering the Namib desert again was that we started seeing Welwitchias, which of course reminded me of my beloved Damaraland.

We also saw our first signs of wildlife in the park, two cheetahs and a couple of springbok.  I heard that most wildlife was killed during the war so it's good to see that slowly it is being replenished and even guarded.  Springboks in the desert, just breathtakingly beautiful to me:

We got to our very first Angolan Road Sign:

The first stop again was Espenhierra.  Nowadays it is where the Iona park entrance is, and where you have to pay an entrance fee.  We didn't know that, thought it was just a ghost town.  Our plan was to just cruise past because we didn't want to talk to police again, ecause of that one ******* in Iona.  The road kind of forces you to drive past the station, which is actually more park control than police, also it wasn't painted in the customary blue that all police stations are in Angola.  Interestingly, all police stations are blue, whilst municipal buildings are pink.  Wonder why they do that?  Perhaps to help people that cannot read?

Anyways, we stopped there, the park officials were very friendly.  They took down our details and we had to pay 1000 Kwanzas (about 50 Rand).  Everything above-board, they also gave us receipts and all that.  Unbeknownst to us the also radio'd the station at Foz do Cunene and told them that we are on our way.  We also picked up a slight coolant sweat on Heiko's bike earlier that morning, where the hose-clamp was sweating a little bit.  It proved tough to get in there with the stock toolkit so we just left it, seeing as coolant loss was minimal.  Anyhow, there was a guy sitting there, he had a mine somewhere around there and he was waiting for some spares.  He had a pretty extensive toolkit so he borrowed us some tools and we could sort Heiko's bike out.

Just for reference, Espenhierra is about 30 km's out from Iona, and about 100 km's away from the sea.  So the riding and scenery was really awesome:

The further out west we got, the sandier it got.  Really gorgeous riding over the seemingly endless plains.

Being born and bred in Swakop, on Namibia's west coast, seeing the dune belt and mist bank over the sea come into view was something that really took me back to when I started out riding on the dunes there.  There is also something really special about getting that first whiff of sea air in your helmet, it really energized me.

On the Namibian side - big house and mining operation:

The last stretch to Foz through the dunebelt was a blast.  I can see how one can get a bit of sinking feeling if you're on a big adventure bike, but on the 500's it was an absolute blast, I felt like Marc Coma, Toby Price and Cyril Despres all rolled up into one.  Judging by how I was losing Heiko in the dunes I think he felt the same way.  It's at this point on a trip where you really become one with the bike, you know instinctively how it's going to react in a given scenario and it truly becomes effortless.  Everything just distilled into you, your bike, the terrain and that single point in time.  This is why I ride.

Then we hit the beach and instead of the desolation I was expecting, it looked a bit like Henties Bay in December.  Cars and fisherman everywhere.  This made me happy, because people + beach + fishing = beers.  Or it does in my world at least

There was a large contingent of South Africans there, about 8 people and two bakkies.  There was also a group of Angolans there.  I was a bit dissapointed in the South Africans, they weren't interested in talking to us, they were also very closed off, sticking to themselves, sitting around their own fire.  If it was me and I'm out in a place like that and I see two people on bikes, talking my language nogal, I would be all over them to hear their story, offer them beer etc.  The one exception to that was an older man that later brought me some lure to use while I was fishing.

Contrast that with the Angolans: we walked up to them, introduced ourselves and they couldn't hear enough about our story, despite the fact that there was only one person among them that spoke English.  His name was Nuno, he immediately offered us beer (only later we realized that he gave the groups last beer to us).  He also invited us to have lunch and dinner with them.  Later on I asked him about the hospitality.  I think he was a bit surprised that it was not the norm,  his words to me was: "If you in my area, you my family, we take care".

Well, if we were gonna be invited for lunch we wanted to contribute.  Heiko is an avid fisherman, and he carted his gear all the way from Namibia.  I almost broke my back carrying his lure box in my backpack!  We set off fishing and it wasn't long before Heiko caught a nice one:

I also tried, got a lot of bites and lost one in the breakers in front of me.  The guys around us were hammering the fish though, I can see why the South Africans pay to have guided trips here.  We gave the fish to Nuno (kind of superfluous with the amount that they have caught already, but it was important to us to give something).  Nuno's guys set about frying the fish on the coals:

This was without a doubt the best fish I've ever head.  They put garlic, chilli and olive oil on the fish continuisly, using a bird feather as a brush.  Then there was this spicy Chakalaka sauce they serve with it, along with Portuguese buns.  It was such a heavenly meal after all the tinfood and biltong we've over the last couple of days.  And boy, the beer went down like a fat kid on a slide.

 

[Damaraland]

Day 3 - Part 2

After lunch we decided to build camp and Nuno invited us to pitch next to his:

Seeing that we finished all his beer, Nuno offered us Gin and Tonic or wine.  Heiko had some G&T's and I set out to prove that it is in fact possible to not catch any fish in Angola.  The local cops came past a bit later (remember that Espenhierra radio'd them) and asked for our papers and that we go check in.  They were friendly, no doubt helped by the fact that Nuno was translating and joking around with them.  Heiko rode off to the Police station, which is about 6 km from the beach.  Pretty miserable looking if you ask me, you probably have to stuff up seriously to get posted there:

I had a pretty lazy afternoon not catching any fish:

We were treated to a spectacular sunset:

In the meantime we helped Nuno make a nice big fire with driftwood.  As a thank you we also gave his guys our two packets of cigarettes (we don't smoke, but we took it for "gazoza") and the last of our Jameson whiskey.  Nuno is a whiskey lover and apparantly it is very difficult to get proper whiskey (that is not counterfit) so he really appreciated that.  It also made us feel good to somewhat reciprocate his hospitality and generosity.

For dinner Nuno made a spectacular chicken pasta, which tasted even better because it was really getting cold.  Lying in the sand, next to a roaring fire, eating that delicious warm pasta whilst talking to people who helped you and wanted nothing in return is one of the most endearing memories of the trip for me, and one that will stay with me for a very long time.

During dinner we discussed Doodsakker, as that was heavy on both myself's and Heiko's mind.  Nuno really put us at ease, but in the back of my mind I also realised that for him it's different, he can drive it with his eyes closed.  But sometimes, like a child, all we need to hear is that it'll be OK.

We went to bed at about ten 'o clock that night, I think that was also the first time we set our alarms.  You need to enter the Doodsakker one hour before low tide, that means we would need to be there at 07:30, and we still had about 40 km of beach riding to go.  I fell asleep feeling content and more than ready for the much fabled Doodsakker.  No matter what happens in the Doodsakker, the good things that happened this day has made the trip worthwhile.

Tomorrow we ride the Doodsakker!

 

[Xpat]

Nice  :thumleft:

Two pictures are not showing though - maybe make sure they are in shared album and repost their link. One is in Part 1 right after the picture of car wreck in the desert and second is the first picture in Part 2.

Ta

 

[sidetrack]

Fantastic report  :thumleft: Have to wonder how the car got there in the first place.

 

[Fransw]

Cool! I'm so glad Angola is open for us! A huge country to explore.. This Riaan Mansor oke also mentioned that Angola is one of his favourite place because of the interesting people! Sorry about the Gauteng cage drivers there!..

 

[Damaraland]

Nice  :thumleft:

Two pictures are not showing though - maybe make sure they are in shared album and repost their link. One is in Part 1 right after the picture of car wreck in the desert and second is the first picture in Part 2.

Ta

Think 90% of comments on this thread is about missing pics :imaposer:

Deleted and re-uploaded the pics to the album, looks OK now on my side.