Nam's Labyrinth - Solo & Sane

[MrBig]

loving it !!  :thumleft:

 

[Chrisl]

You have the talent to write a book. Keep on!!

 

[doublediamond]

You have the talent to write a book. Keep on!!

Thank you Chris, & thank you again for all your help, advice & suggestions in my planning of this trip  :thumleft:

 

[lightning1]

Welcome back. Just seen your report and will devour it shortly. 

 

[doublediamond]

Welcome back. Just seen your report and will devour it shortly. 

HI L1  Thanks for not courting my wife while I was away  I see u had an adventure of ur own @ dewildt in my absence.... hows the foot?

 

[Tonteldoos]

Nice one DD
:deal:

 

[briv]

DD... uistekend-genotvolle storie, met baie mooi foto's, laat my verlang na 2007 :thumleft:

 

[lightning1]

Foot getting better all the time. We have to get together and watch a slideshow of all your photos with some commentary! Definitely riding next weekend, so keep Saturday open.

 

[funacide]

Come on DoubleDiamond where is the next installment!!!!
 

RUIDD: RUIDD: RUIDD: :Thin5: :Thin5:

 

[Adventurer]

Come on DoubleDiamond where is the next installment!!!!
 

RUIDD: RUIDD: RUIDD: :Thin5: :Thin5:

WHERE is YOUR story???????? You guys have been back so long already it's almost time for the next one..... ot:
Some say you guys didn't even go...... ot: eepwall: :biggrin:

 

[Piston Pete]

Keep it coming! 8)

 

[Brink]

Looking forward to the rest :ricky:

 

[doublediamond]

Day 4 Namib desert Lodge – Solitaire (372Km)

Today’s destination is the legendary Sossusvlei dunes, my host for the past night confirming the roads en-route are pretty good, but I have wisened up to the locals & am now aware that the word good is relative term around these parts.
My warm breath instantly vaporizes in the icy morning air, leaving a trail of miniature cumulonimbus clouds in my wake; you cannot begin to comprehend how cold the desert can become.  Another early start and I am struggling to raise my core temperature above anything other than Eskimo and my friend the Oryx, who has clearly staked his claim to this particular corner of the desert, raises his head to bid me adieu.

It’s too cold for even my unwelcome companion the wind to make an appearance, but I have no doubt that as the sun sparingly casts his gaze upon the land, that my tormentor of the last few days will awaken from his slumber and hunt me down to continue his relentless  barrage of abuse.

Donkey is in particularly frisky & responsive mood this morning and as the sand becomes thicker we start a controlled weave, snaking from side to side, forming a koeksuster pattern in in my wake. In the absence of the wind my confidence soars and deep rifts of thick sand, that violently threw donkey into an uncontrolled wobble and induced inverted hiccup’s in me only days before, are dealt with swiftly by a composed handful of throttle. Pre loading the shocks I even get the front wheel airborne through the endless rolling drifts. I gave the ABS a sleeping tablet when I turned onto the sand 3 days ago & the stability control has been tamed with a mild sedative since then, allowing me to start experimenting & playing more boldly.

I am no longer slave to this quarrelsome bitch that is the Namibian sand road, no longer does she have me pandering to her every mood swing, whimpering at her unexpected outbursts,  clutching for survival until she delivers me tired & disheveled to the next rest stop or destination.
Donkey and I ride her mercilessly. The back tyre flogging her as she bleeds thick plumes of dust from her gaping tyre wounds. I am a belligerent rogue this morning.

The remaining 85km’s of the D707 reaches out to the horizon ahead of me in a solid brown line that T-Junctions with what could well be the edge of the earth.
I am intrigued by how this man made road has become a natural boundary between towering mountains on my right and wide expanses of reddish brown sand to my left. In retrospect where else could they have put this road?

Mountains to the right ....

Dunes to the left

The wind is rising & I feel his minions gusting around me every so often, as a brief detour towards Duwisib Castle has me heading past Betta on the D826.
Duwisib Castle replete with history and romance of a bygone era was built by the German army officer & aristocrat Baron von Wolf for his wealthy American bride Jayta in the early 1900s.
Apart from being a gift of love to his betrothed, Duwisib Castle was a dream turned into reality for Baron von Wolf, who had planned on breeding horses on his 50 000 hectare estate (that’s 500 square km’s !!!) in this semi-desert environment. Sadly, he was killed during the First World War. His wife left for America, never to return, leaving the castle and all of its contents and dreams behind.

Still on the D826 I journey north through the beguilingly beautiful Namib Naukluft park a vast & isolated tract of land the size of Germany, which I later discover is the least densely populated portion of Sub-Saharan Africa.
I love the openness; this road is to become one of my favorites of the entire trip, as there are no fences on either side of me & the armies of telephone poles at attention all along the road don’t stand guard duty here.

The plains on either side of me are teeming with game and much to donkey’s delight they scatter in all directions at the sound of us.

Spot the game in the distance ?

The receptionist at the entrance to the Sossusvlei dunes advises me that they have closed the gates & are not allowing any vehicles, let alone bikes, through as the wind has lost it's temper and is throwing the dunes into the air in a huge dust storm visible on the horison.

C’est la vie, I ate some lunch at a pleasant garage rest stop in Sesriem (the name of which I can’t recall) & decided that Sossusvlei with all its 5 star lodges would have to welcome me back another day. The wind at my side I headed North towards Solitaire & from my map it appeared this would be my destination for the night as Walvis Bay was out of reach with the remaining sunlight at my disposal.

At Solitaire lodge I rented a room, as I was not even going to attempt to erect my tent in this wind & cold.
Awesome buffet for dinner with a huge selection of food’s & delectable desserts and it wasn’t long before I was drifting off to sleep to the sound of the wind whistling in vain for me to let it in …I hope you freeze to death tonight you bastard

Solitaire general dealer & garage

Solitaire International Airport

A tree that got my attention, notice how blue the sky is

Sunset in Solitaire

 

[doublediamond]

Come on DoubleDiamond where is the next installment!!!!
 

RUIDD: RUIDD: RUIDD: :Thin5: :Thin5:

Sorry for making you wait Funacide...

 

[doublediamond]

Foot getting better all the time. We have to get together and watch a slideshow of all your photos with some commentary! Definitely riding next weekend, so keep Saturday open.

Date 

 

[doublediamond]

You are crafting a magnificent report here DoubleD - thank you.

Thanks tutu, what u doing up so late??
I am off to bed to get some sleep :thumleft:

 

[funacide]

Awesome stuff, keep it coming

 

[cloudgazer]

I'm loving this report.

I'm hoping to do a 10 day trip to Nam next year.

I don't like all the wind you're mentioning though. Which is the windy part of the year?

 

[Chrisl]

Sorry for the highjack DD. I camped here a few kms down the road from that farmentrance. The farmer only had chalets and no camping.Stunning place he has. It was Dec of 1999. It got dark and I had to camp. It seems the Augst winds hammered you.

 

[Frog]

Great report. Keep it coming! :thumleft: