Nam's Labyrinth - Solo & Sane

[BlueBull2007]

Thanks for the update, you had us worried for a while there.

 

[pierredb]

Glad to see you have recovered DD!

 

[Soccet]

Can not wait to read more and more  :lamer:

 

[Lootch67]

Glad you're better DD. Welcome back!

 

[LanceSA]

Just found this report today. Read it from start to finish. Respect.

 

[redbikejohn]

Great read mate. i was reading out extracts to the other half, my mum & sister and it had them in stitches! Namibia is a lovely place. I've had a short trip there a few years ago and fell in love with the place. Touring it on a bike would be one of my all time favorite holidays! unfortunately that is something that will never happen as we now live in the UK.
Really looking forward to the rest of the report and relieved to hear you are on the mend. Strange what the body can endure - but then get knocked for six from a little slip!

 

[letsgofishing]

Absolutely awesome read DD - what a truly amazing adventure - excellently written and great pics too!  :thumleft: :thumleft: :thumleft:

 

[GO GIRL]

Welcome back DD....

as for your report stunning.... :thumleft: :thumleft:

I think it was Metal Jockey that stated that " when you in Namibia you somehow are very small" :thumleft:

RRs of this nature are an inspiration to all....

contrary to what you say about the same pics or routes...

Everyone experiences a different emotion/state and it is shared by the 'reporter' which touches us and reaches us all!!! 8)

 

[MEADIAMOND]

Hi ALL

Just want to say I have a huge amount of respect for DD. 
Just like his Nam. trip, he never gives up.

The reason I'm saying this is, I saw him over the weekend at a conference.  Frankly, a lesser man would not have been there as he was clearly still in heaps of pain and discomfort.  The RR is full of awesome words and great photo's however, the character of the man behind the camera is far more awesome and far greater than the RR could ever convey.

DD, you ROCK!

FREEDOM

 

[doublediamond]

Yesterday (Wed 23 Dec), I spent some time with the esteemed Adventurer chewing the fat while adding some more bling to the GSA.
During which time the self same Adventurer impressed upon me the importance of me finishing this RR, failing which I could find myself exiled from WD’s to the proverbial cyber Robin Island, with no chance of absolution.

Adventurer I cannot guarantee when day’s 9 to 12 will be posted but I can promise I will finish, thanks for the encouragement.

So in light of the potential dire consequences of me not returning from my RR hiatus, I humbly offer for your festive season reading pleasure – Day 8.
Much Love & may you be blessed this Xmas, from me & my family to you & yours
FREEDOM



Day 8 – (Part 2) Camp Elephant Song (S19 13.114 E13 27.275) – Epupa

Have you ever been to a wedding were some delightful old aunt of the groom,  exit’s the bathroom with the back of her dress tucked into her pantyhose exposing her chunky white derrière, and in a state of blissful inebriation  makes her way to the dance floor to do the Macarena, drawing gasps of embarrassment from all present.

Well I am feeling like that aunt Mavis, as my arrival at the OK Bazaars in Opuwa has caused some consternation amongst the Local’s.  Clearly my star-trooper outfit is inappropriate attire for a shopping expedition, it’s as though some higher power has pressed the pause button because the entire store is frozen motionless watching me go about my business. I find this all quite surreal because here I am the odd one out attracting all the attention, but all around me are half naked woman & men in traditional dress shopping at the only OK bazaars for 100’s of kilometers.

Main street Opuwa

It’s only when I get back to donkey I realize the cause of all the attention, I have had a brain fart & forgot to take my helmet & sunglasses off and must have looked like Darth Vader in their OK Bazaars.

A very phallic ant hill

As I guide Donkey out on the C43 and head via Okangwati towards Epupa I find I am still seriously rattled by this morning’s turn of events and am incessantly plagued by the reoccurring thought of how close I stood to those Lion while inspecting my exit route. No matter how much I try thinking of other things and to focus on my surroundings and the road ahead, the replay of events keeps sneaking passed the sentinel’s of my consciousness. I think I am possibly experiencing the effects of delayed shock as reality is diluting my bravado. I am vacillating between a multitude of differing emotions, from anger at my negligence, to excitement of the adrenaline rush, to loneliness, to missing home and my family.


My encounters with Himba along the road are becoming more frequent, my initial response to them is one of general disinterest, as I mistakenly regard their whole ”theme”  as pandering to the hordes of tourists by “dressing up” so as to receive payment in return for a few photo’s.
On my travels around the world I have seen locals dressed as gladiators at the colosseum in Rome, Matadors in Barcelona, Superhero’s in Hollywood all with the same intention. 

This logic is flawed however as I venture further north and discover that there are more and more tribes of Himba, and that their culture is very real, this is not some random act of cultural prostitution for the sole purpose of earning a bit of money. I have no doubt that they benefit from their exotic looks by expecting payment if you want a photo, but their way of life is authentic and they appear to be proudly hanging onto their heritage despite an ever encroaching western modernisation . This was not a people imprisoned by our fascination with them. I am becoming quite enchanted with these exotic remnants of a rapidly eroding Africa.

This was now more an Africa I recognized & romanticized about, Uis was the last town I passed through that hankered back to its colonial past. Thankfully the German colonial influences did not reach this far north in Namibia.

Epupa appears amidst an oasis of vivid, lush, welcoming green, hugging the banks of the Kunene River, starkly contrast against the background of the fawn arid bushveld with its Baobab tree’s forlorn of leaves with branches outstretched pleading for rain.

Epupa falls lodge is exactly the remote, rustic, riverside bush camp I need to have me reveling in the beauty of the Kunene River & Epupa Falls. I could not have created a more picturesque location for the Apex of my northward journey, even if the good lord had given me a palette of water colors to paint it myself.

My lodging for the night

It’s been a long day, compressed with a lifetime of emotions & experiences but I am here now & life is good!

 

[doublediamond]

It's great to have you back DD. I have just re-read this entire thread from the beginning, and it is no less inspirational the second time around. Your writing is surpassed only by your humility. Thank you.   

Thanks isiT, I am grateful for your kind words, although those who know me would certainly argue that humility is most definitely not one of my strengths  :

 

[Lootch67]

As always, awesome stuff DD. Thanks for making the effort.

 

[BlueBull2007]

Very nice report, so glad youre carrying on with it at last.

 

[rubiblue]

Glad you back dude! FREEDOM!

 

[pantheru]

An absolute pleasure to read this RR Great writing skills... Glad you are OK and back writing.. this makes me want to ride ride ride...

 

[2 Stroke Dan]

Truly beautiful piece of work, this RR. Enjoyed it even more since I love solo trips. Wiet nettie soemooi vannie louis affie!

 

[JACOVV]

Nice - very nice RR

 

[Kat]

welldone  :thumleft:

 

[doublediamond]

Thanks again for all the positive feedback.

 

[Would I?]

This is fantastic stuff!!!  well done :thumleft: :thumleft: :thumleft: