Namibia/Botswana/ZA. 19-27 April 2014

[PaSeHonne]

Day 3
Grunau - Seeheim

The excitement and thought of the first gravel roads on this trip got me up very early. The thought of yesterday's pouring rain on those gravel roads almost got me back in bed. The thought of dropping/sliding a rider/bike combo of 400kg on the muddy mess I was expecting almost got me crying..moffie..ek se mos

I gave more thought to tyre pressures on this trip than what I gave when we decided to have kids or not. Yes I'm married, to a woman...and my son's 16 months old today. As far as I was concerned, I couldn't give a sh*t about punctures, I had enough worms, glue, cannisters and tools to plug the fish river canyon and make it as flat as the endless flat kms I'd spend riding on the last gravel day to Swakop. That being said, ek was nie lus vir gate en kak nie, so I decided on 1.7 front and 2.2 rear.

So, I was off before sunrise, but breakfast-location was still an unknown and I was saving my 2-minute noodles for the possible eventuality that I'd be homeless upon my return in the event that my wife found out how much I actually spent on prepping for this trippie.

I ended up at the Canyon Roadhouse for breakfast. It was my first time here and I absolutely loved it.  

A few pics of the day so far. Day 3 will continue later this weekend..was my hard-packed gravel coming to an end???

 

[PaSeHonne]

Day 3 pics cont..

 

[Ian in Great Brak River]

Lekker as only Namibia can be, we will be there in early Sept and I cannot wait!

Seems like you planned to do low km numbers per day, was this by choice or just because you stop a lot and like to get to where you're headed early ... ?  Of course I could also wait for the next installment.

I also see you have a GoPro, how much wind resistance does the camera produce?

8)

 

[adv]

Lekker as only Namibia can be, we will be there in early Sept and I cannot wait!

Seems like you planned to do low km numbers per day, was this by choice or just because you stop a lot and like to get to where you're headed early ... ?  Of course I could also wait for the next installment.

I also see you have a GoPro, how much wind resistance does the camera produce?

8)

In my opinion its actually pretty bothersome at speeds over 140kph. I take it off and put it on when the good stuff starts.

 

[n0b0dy]

Ek sien jys n kort gat new ek. Mooi rr ek geniet. Moes van oggend Botswana toe ry. ALS gekanseleer.
Volgende jaar.

 

[PaSeHonne]

Lekker as only Namibia can be, we will be there in early Sept and I cannot wait!

Seems like you planned to do low km numbers per day, was this by choice or just because you stop a lot and like to get to where you're headed early ... ?  Of course I could also wait for the next installment.

I also see you have a GoPro, how much wind resistance does the camera produce?

8)

Hi Ian.

The low kms were obviously limited to gravel. Some of the tar days saw 800km/ day. It was done purposefully to do low kms on gravel per day. It was ultimately still a solo ride and a loss on concentration leads to falls - I know, ask my KTM 300 on races

It was ultimately also suppose to be a holiday, so I wanted to arrive early, knock back some bears en sleep and not break myself everyday.

The go-pro on tar, whilst seated is fine at 140kmh and more - I have a lower seat than standard and this helps eliminating wind resistance. Whilst standing on gravel, 120kmh is probably the limit.

 

[Ian in Great Brak River]

Lekker as only Namibia can be, we will be there in early Sept and I cannot wait!

Seems like you planned to do low km numbers per day, was this by choice or just because you stop a lot and like to get to where you're headed early ... ?  Of course I could also wait for the next installment.

I also see you have a GoPro, how much wind resistance does the camera produce?

8)

Hi Ian.

The low kms were obviously limited to gravel. Some of the tar days saw 800km/ day. It was done purposefully to do low kms on gravel per day. It was ultimately still a solo ride and a loss on concentration leads to falls - I know, ask my KTM 300 on races

It was ultimately also suppose to be a holiday, so I wanted to arrive early, knock back some bears en sleep and not break myself everyday.

The go-pro on tar, whilst seated is fine at 140kmh and more - I have a lower seat than standard and this helps eliminating wind resistance. Whilst standing on gravel, 120kmh is probably the limit.

Thanks PSH and to adv too, that was what I had expected for the GoPro ... I have just gotten one.

My first trip to Nam was also solo and I agree with slow and easy.

8)

 

[PaSeHonne]

Day 3...continued

So…did the hard-packed gravel continue? Nope. The previous day’s rainstorm turned the piece of road from the Grunau/Seeheim/Hobas Intersection to Seeheim into mud-puddles every 100m, with two streams and a largish river crossing just before the Seeheim hotel thrown in for good measure. Most of the mud patches were deep and big enough to motivate 100m detours around it into the veld.

The go-pro footage has evidence of an almost off after deciding to take a patch on at speed. How I saved it, I don’t know, but I’m glad, because the pig was heavy, me unfit and help few and far between.

The Seeheim hotel was the overnight stop. Again, the idea was to unpack the tent and again the mud and water convinced me otherwise…I swear, you’ll see a pitched tent again in the following days.

I arrived early enough to enjoy a few R&C’s, relaxing snooze and an afternoon drive with Marinda (who co-owns and runs the Hotel with her husband) to their hunting farm, about 40kms from Seeheim on the Luderitz road. The idea behind the trip was to check up on rainfall measurements and I couldn’t help feeling sad when we arrived only to find 5mm showing on the rain catcher. The farm’s very dry, so dry in fact that there’s absolutely nothing for the animals to feed on. It’s been the case since 2011 she said. The contrast in rainfall/no-rainfall or rather the effect of it would only later on become apparent.  – thie trip would later on yield grass-lands and dams alongside the rode for miles on end.

Seeheim is an interesting place…all 4 houses, 1 taxidermist (Marinda’s) and the Seeheim Hotel of it.

The silence in the late afternoon on the koppie behind the hotel was deafening. What a stunning view and sunset I enjoyed with the camera in one hand and a R&C in the other.

A view pics of the last few hours of day 3:

 

[Gasman]

:happy1:

 

[Jakkals]

:sip:  hier gaan dit lekker raak,,,,

 

[0012]

:ricky:

Man ry ek nou lekker saam!

 

[frans1]

Ai dis nou lekker om jou RR te lees en saam te ry!

Pratige wereld daardie.

Kan nie wag vir die res

 

[Red-J]

Great RR.
I'm going to be doing a solo trip myself through Namibia in a few weeks, your pics are getting me really excited for the trip.

 

[Ian in Great Brak River]

Great RR.
I'm going to be doing a solo trip myself through Namibia in a few weeks, your pics are getting me really excited for the trip.

Please do the D707 so you can tell me what it's like for our Sept trip.... ;D

 

[tankgirl]

[quote author=PaSeHonne]
Now, for those that have contemplated doing a trip like this, but haven't for reasons that include leave, work, riding buddies (or no riding buddies) etc etc, this is my 2c: If you don't pick a date, complete the leave form and tell the "uhm-and-ahh, yes MAYBE one day"- riding buddies to f*ck off, then it won't happen. With this in mind, I picked the 19th of April 2013 as start date, packed my stuff and left.[/quote]best advice ever!  :thumleft:

 

[Jakkals]

[quote author=PaSeHonne]
Now, for those that have contemplated doing a trip like this, but haven't for reasons that include leave, work, riding buddies (or no riding buddies) etc etc, this is my 2c: If you don't pick a date, complete the leave form and tell the "uhm-and-ahh, yes MAYBE one day"- riding buddies to f*ck off, then it won't happen. With this in mind, I picked the 19th of April 2013 as start date, packed my stuff and left.

best advice ever!  :thumleft:
[/quote]

Stem 100% saam,

Sonder 'n datum sal jy nooit die trip doen nie,

 

[Mark Hardy]

enjoying this RR  :thumleft:

more please

 

[heti]

Fok ek love daai land!!!  Keep it coming!  :thumleft:

 

[alwyn_gs]

:thumright:

Jaloers hier waar ek sit!!!

 

[BEN TAP]

:sip: