Northern Namibia with my brother......and a few other clowns

[0012]

werk keer my van opvang hier, eks op bl 15.

Ek vra net dat iemand vir my n PM stuur wanneer hierdie RR roll of honour toe gaan sodat ek dit nie verloor nie  :lol8:

 

[Dwerg]

What is the timeframe necessary for these trips? a day to get to Windhoek, a day back and 12 days on the trip? iow 2 weeks leave?

In small groups you could cover a lot more ground but that defeats the purpose. Also the areas are vast and extremely remote. An issue here like you had on RTH can be catastrophic, possibly fatal. Don’t just gun it up and through without proper planning and contingency. That’s just asking for ****

 

[Noneking]

It was getting very late and we were still riding away from Brandberg on our left. I started thinking about what could happen to  two South African softies in the desert after dark.......

Fascinating how the top layer of gravel differs in colour from what's underneath......

 

[Noneking]

Luckily I was on a beast of a bike........  :ricky: :ricky:

 

[Ian in Great Brak River]

Damn, this just gets better and better!!

I have still to see Nam proper...

8)

 

[Fransw]

Luckily I was on a beast of a bike........  :ricky: :ricky:

Ek hou van jou briekmerke! :lol8:

 

[Noneking]

We turn left at a 20 degree angle off the D2303 and we're back on Mars again. Next landmark to look for is the Messum river, where we will turn left into the river at start heading towards Brandberg at last.

 

[Noneking]

Dwerg waits at the turn-off to make sure everybody stays on track and I wait for him up ahead, in total awe of this seemingly lifeless landscape.......

 

[Noneking]

The rest of the group is also making progress further back

 

[Noneking]

We are now in the Messum river and going gets tricky again. The riverbed is made up out of very fine pebbles which is even trickier to ride than sand.

Sun is setting at our backs :-\

 

[Noneking]

Breathtaking views in the Messum crater towards Brandberg

 

[Noneking]

Getting closer to Brandberg

 

[Noneking]

This was the last time Dwerg and I stopped to take photos. We were in a race against daylight. I was wearing tinted goggles and it was not long before I had to remove them to see better. This in turn lowered our speed as the wind and insect were a hazard to my beautiful brown eyes

 

[Noneking]

Meanwhile, further back Willie creates more art with his camera

 

[Noneking]

 

[Noneking]

 

[Noneking]

 

[Noneking]

Going gets very tricky with lots of aardvark burrows as can be seen here in [member=12174]JannievandieVaaldam[/member]  's photo

 

[Noneking]

And then the last photo anyone took on that day's ride............ but it was far from over  > >

 

[Noneking]

By the time the sun had set, the riders were split into 3 groups.

1. Dwerg and I were getting very close to camp. We stopped on a long sandy downhill to confirm the track on GPS. It was very difficult to see where we were going as my eyes were tearing up due to the wind (not being able to wear goggles due to fading light) I zoomed in on the GPS and confirmed we were still on track. As we were about to pull off, Dwerg pointed to fresh Lion spoor not five feet in front of us. They were massive.....as lion spoor tends to be when the sun is setting and you are on your bike in the bush. ???

We thought it a good idea to start moving again, but not far from there we were off track again due to me concentrating on the sandy track in the dark. I stopped again, while Dwerg turned back to a small settlement we had passed a little further back. Dwerg returned with a message from the villagers: "Be careful of the lion!" I just then remebered about the 2 way radio clipped onto my jacket. "Hardy vir Canzius" I called on the radio. Hardy answered immediately and it dawned on me that they were probably worried by now. "Hardy, hier is Leeus!" Hardy and Janco were driving towards us and diverted us from the track as it ran through the riverbed where the lions were apparently at that moment.


2. Trevor and Hannes were approximately 30 min to an hour behind us and had to abandon their bikes next to the road, roughly where we had seen the lion spoor. Hardy brought them back on the back of the Cruiser

3. The Three Stooges and the backup vehicle had taken a wrong turn and were on their way to Uis, Brandberg lodge if I'm not mistaken. They arrived 90 minutes later