My 'Mother' of a Solo ride to Namibia

[DirtRebell]

Hel 'n man kan net nie van van die thread wegbly nie.

 

[mother]

Ongongo to Epupa


after camping on noodles and warm bottled water stopped early next morning to get refreshments at this cute shop

the day from Ongongo to Epupa was around 300km of dirt mixed terrain the pass just north of  Sesfontein was in a bad condition lots of washes and it was slow going i got to one hill and it was very very steep lots of loose stones and they had recently been working on it it seems…stood up and hit it in second gear there was no room for error…if you stalled its fall over time and go back down to try again…lucky i have a little bit of conscious competence  hehehe and made the hairy accent  without incident…reminded me a lot of the last section at the top of sani pass

a piece of the bad section just after Sesfontein



nice roads


Himba lady lots of these folks in this part of Namibia


after a 100 or so km i got to the town of Opuwa….like nagmal in Koppies was hectic with locals all in your face trying to sell you something….i filled up with Fuel bought my self a sandwich at the shop and headed to the outskirts of town just to have peace and quiet and eat without a following


from Opuwa to Epupa Falls is 180km the dirt not too bad but as in most parts of Namibia you had to pay attention…for locals when passing villages….for wild animals….saw lots of springbok……for bad roads and washes…..pay attention was the name of the game

lots of Boabab trees


as you arrive at Epupa Falls you see this mass of trees by the river and it looks like a beautiful Oasis in the middle of the desert

Epupa falls lodge where i camped


the guy that owns Palmwag owns the lodge at Epupa and due to always having friendly folk at Palmwag i headed to his lodge to camp…it was a good idea….meals were good….nice bar ….wifi and again friendly folks…the Manager Udo and his wife Thelma were great hosts and made me feel very welcome…..even on the first night they had a bus load of tourists…they masse space for me…was so nice there i took an extra day



my Rest Day at Epupa i spent doing some washing lazing around the pool..chatting to other visitors and taking a hike along the river

 

[mother]

the mass of trees you see on arriving at Epupa falls the Oasis in the dry land

sorry forgot to upload pic

 

[mother]

gonna try wrap it up today

 

[mother]

so after doing close on 4000km to get here and an incredible ride with tons of good memories….home started calling me
but i wanted to do the Caprivi strip….how many of us can say we done that in our lives and i only been there once before

so on the last evening of my stay i started getting my mind in play for the nearly 3000km trip home via the Caprivi and Botswana
there is petrol available in Epupa but on the black market the guy was wanting R18.50 a litre……mmmmm no
i had last fuelled in Opuwa some 180km away and looking at the Map i had around 220km of gravel to Ruacana…..no problem

so bright and early next morning i set out to Ruacana and by 11.30 i had got through the hectic bad section between Kunene lodge and Ruacana…..also the last of the gravel roads right by Ruacana falls

still a long way to go if i wanted to make Rundu for the evening

 

[mother]

the run for home

Epupa falls to Ruacana was about 220km of gravel and the rest of the home trip was tar roads

end of the gravel


i took this picture for some of us that did National service…will say nothing about it just post it here and you can think your own thought as i did when i saw it

just outside Oshakati where i spent some time in my youth many many years ago


more familiar places

passed about 6 or seven road blocks en route to Rundu and the law were always friendly being on the bike they always wanted to know about bikes top speed and where i was from ….i took the time out to have a friendly chat and at times it was a nice break from the long straight roads


there is not much option on places to stay in this section of Namibia and i was really in no mood to camp on the side of the road so i pushed for Rundu riding the last 140km in the dark….not a clever move but i took it very slow and it took ages…inspite of this i had a close call with a dog and an owl….so i don’t recommend riding in Africa after dark

Rundu
the place i stayed the next morning…budget accommodation R250.00 for the night…i had done just over 900km the day…was nice and tired



not bad for R250.00 a night

 

[mother]

my ride for home first day from Epupa to Rundu

 

[Draadwerk]

Mother, very nice RR. I sent you a PM- please give us more details on your camera- I like the idea that you can trigger a camera from a distance away via your iphone...

 

[mother]

Day two of my homeward bound trip
Rundu to Katima Mulilo through the Caprivi then into Botswana at Ngoma bridge border post to Botswana to Kasane then Nata and Francistown…..looong days ride but i was ok with it i had had an awesome trip and was keen to see my family….

leaving Rundu for Katima early the morning


entering the Caprivi


signs says Elephant i still thought …mmmm sure


finally got to Katima



then Ngoma bridge border to Botswana


in Botswana around Kasane i saw lots of Elephant

 

[mother]

as you can imagine the ride from Rundu to Katima to Francistown was a long one plus a border crossing so just after Nata to Francistown about 120km to go i had to ride in the dark again....now that is definitely not recommended so please avoid at all cost.....cattle and donkeys right on the roads edge....going was slow until i got a piggy back with a bus riding 100km an hour.....my thoughts were i hang back about 15 meters if any one was going to smack a cow it would be the bus.....
any way i finally got to Francistown and got a weekend rate at the Nest lodge for 400 bucks.....wont do that again in a hurry...

my ride for the day over 1100km....

 

[mother]

so as you can see i had an interesting trip home ....hehe

a trip to remember in total for sure...i feel blessed to have been able to do it...to have the means and health to do it...for my wonderful family and friends who support me ...for every thing i have done in my life i am grateful to God for without His grace i could do none of this

thank you for letting me share my trip and story with you its been great!

 

[Lem]

a trip to remember in total for sure...i feel blessed to have been able to do it...to have the means and health to do it...for my wonderful family and friends who support me ...for every thing i have done in my life i am grateful to God for without His grace i could do none of this

thank you for letting me share my trip and story with you its been great!

and that is why you are blessed as you are  :thumleft: May there be many more!

a trip to remember, but for us plebs a read to remember as well!

Thank you for also sharing your experience & knowledge with us wrt doing proper trips. I will know where to ask about routes & planning when it's my turn to explore the greater bits of Southern Africa. You obviously packed well & the bike was neatly loaded on all the pics.

hope there will be many more of these trips & reports from coming your pen  :thumleft:

 

[badballie]

Thanks for sharing Mother - awesome trip

 

[Carrots]

:hello2: :headbang: :salut:

Dankie vir die deel Chris.

Wanneer reel jy weer bietjie 'n nuwejaars bash?

 

[GIDEON]

Die was nou baie lekker.
Begin sommer weer van vr af vr die 3rde keer.  :thumleft:

 

[Leo]

Thanks for sharing Mother - awesome  :thumleft:

 

[Stanley from Oz]

A really good report and it looks like you really had a good time.I plan to do part of your trip but in reverse, in about two months time. Really good to see what the country will be like and the road conditions. Thanks again. 

 

[punisher]

hentie has bay named after him !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


wonderfull trip you did there man ,  thank you for sharing your adventure

 

[ClimbingTurtle]

Thanks again Mother!

We are planning a trip in September next year in a similar vein (again) - it's great to get some different pics than what I have!

:thumleft:  :thumleft:  :thumleft:  :thumleft:

 

[mother]

:hello2: :headbang: :salut:

Dankie vir die deel Chris.

Wanneer reel jy weer bietjie 'n nuwejaars bash?

Hahaha thanks Carrots maar dis nou iemand anders se beurt om die Nuwe jaar ding te doen ek het dit al vyf agtereenvolgende jare dit gedoen...nou die jong ouens se beurt ;-)