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

[Noneking]

A few days into the trip, I could not remember the day of the week or how long we had been travelling. Gone were the worries about my practice and family at home. It was all just one big adventure with endless hours of magnificent landscapes riding next to [member=9149]Dwerg[/member].

And then, as if it never happened, it was all over....... We hit the first bit of tar we'd  seen for nearly 2 weeks and it all sunk in.

 

[Noneking]

One of the first threads I read when I joined this forum 6 years ago was [member=370]Metaljockey[/member]  ’s “The Wife, the Ex and the  Kid.  https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=39411.0

It was a detailed report of his family’s trip through Namibia. I was mesmerised and  despite not owning a bike at that time, I remember spending hours reading and looking at the amazing pictures. Over the years I have returned to that thread several times and each time I tought a little bit more about a trip there myself. There have been other RRs in recent years but this was the one that planted the seed……

The next nudge in the right direction was the Honda Quest. I did not enter the event, telling myself that I would not be able to leave my practice for two weeks and blah, blah blah….. the coverage of the event and subsequent RR was the final straw, i wanted to go there!

My Stepdad was born and bred in Usakos and knows Namibia like the back of his wrinkled hand. During a visit to our house shortly after xmas, our conversation turned to Kaokoland and I told him all about my dream to ride this area with my bike. He got a twinkle in his nearly blind eye and for the next two days he waxed lyrical about this place that meant so much to him.

As he drove out of my driveway 2 days later, he slammed on the brakes and reversed the bakkie to where I was standing. “Promise me that you will do this for yourself………”  I promised


Fast forward to 23 January, when [member=19649]Hardy de Kock[/member]  of Specialised Adventures posted about a trip he was planning to Northern Namibia, roughly based on the Quest route, but “with a few additional surprises”. I immediately sent a WhatsApp to my younger and more handsome brother [member=9149]Dwerg[/member]  and asked him to join me on the trip. It would be perfect….two brothers riding side by side on a 701 & a 690.

Initially he had the same excuses I always had when these trips came up, but on 25 January our tickets to Windhoek were booked and all that was left to do was to wait out the 4 months until we departed for Namibia……….or so we thought.

 

[Ian in Great Brak River]

Here comes a great RR me thinks.

:thumleft:

 

[Kobus Myburgh]

Ek ry saam.  :ricky:

 

[Noneking]

In the months leading up to this ride, Dwerg and I both had some misfortune with the bikes we were going to ride. I developed a major issue with the swing arm on my 701 and Dwerg ran out of talent on the back wheel of his 690. My 701 would be repaired under warranty but the dealer wasn’t willing to commit to a completion date due to warranty process and availability of parts. Dwerg’s 690 was rideable, but insurance refused his request to use the bike on the trip while KTM waited for parts to repair his “wheelie gone wrong”.

I wasn’t taking any chances and already had my eye on a used Husqvarna 501. In the weeks leading up to the trip, Dwerg bought a BMW G450x.

 

[Fransw]

One of the first threads I read when I joined this forum 6 years ago was [member=370]Metaljockey[/member]  ’s “The Wife, the Kid and the X. It was a detailed report of his family’s trip through Namibia. I was mesmerised and  despite not owning a bike at that time, I remember spending hours reading and looking at the amazing pictures. Over the years I have returned to that thread several times and each time I tought a little bit more about a trip there myself. There have been other RRs in recent years but this was the one that planted the seed……

The next nudge in the right direction was the Honda Quest. I did not enter the event, telling myself that I would not be able to leave my practice for two weeks and blah, blah blah….. the coverage of the event and subsequent RR was the final straw, i wanted to go there!

My Stepdad was born and bred in Usakos and knows Namibia like the back of his wrinkled hand. During a visit to our house shortly after xmas, our conversation turned to Kaokoland and I told him all about my dream to ride this area with my bike. He got a twinkle in his nearly blind eye and for the next two days he waxed lyrical about this place that meant so much to him.

As he drove out of my driveway 2 days later, he slammed on the brakes and reversed the bakkie to where I was standing. “Promise me that you will do this for yourself………”  I promised


Fast forward to 23 January, when [member=19649]Hardy de Kock[/member]  of Specialised Adventures posted about a trip he was planning to Northern Namibia, roughly based on the Quest route, but “with a few additional surprises”. I immediately sent a WhatsApp to my younger and more handsome brother [member=9149]Dwerg[/member]  and asked him to join me on the trip. It would be perfect….two brothers riding side by side on a 701 & a 690. Initially he had the same excuses I always had when these trips came up, but on 25 January our tickets to Windhoek were booked and all that was left to do was to wait out the 4 months until we departed for Namibia……….or so we thought.

Mooi man! Jy en Dwerg lyk nogal na twee stoute donners! :lol8: :thumleft:

 

[Noneking]

One of the first threads I read when I joined this forum 6 years ago was [member=370]Metaljockey[/member]  ’s “The Wife, the Kid and the X. It was a detailed report of his family’s trip through Namibia. I was mesmerised and  despite not owning a bike at that time, I remember spending hours reading and looking at the amazing pictures. Over the years I have returned to that thread several times and each time I tought a little bit more about a trip there myself. There have been other RRs in recent years but this was the one that planted the seed……

The next nudge in the right direction was the Honda Quest. I did not enter the event, telling myself that I would not be able to leave my practice for two weeks and blah, blah blah….. the coverage of the event and subsequent RR was the final straw, i wanted to go there!

My Stepdad was born and bred in Usakos and knows Namibia like the back of his wrinkled hand. During a visit to our house shortly after xmas, our conversation turned to Kaokoland and I told him all about my dream to ride this area with my bike. He got a twinkle in his nearly blind eye and for the next two days he waxed lyrical about this place that meant so much to him.

As he drove out of my driveway 2 days later, he slammed on the brakes and reversed the bakkie to where I was standing. “Promise me that you will do this for yourself………”  I promised


Fast forward to 23 January, when [member=19649]Hardy de Kock[/member]  of Specialised Adventures posted about a trip he was planning to Northern Namibia, roughly based on the Quest route, but “with a few additional surprises”. I immediately sent a WhatsApp to my younger and more handsome brother [member=9149]Dwerg[/member]  and asked him to join me on the trip. It would be perfect….two brothers riding side by side on a 701 & a 690. Initially he had the same excuses I always had when these trips came up, but on 25 January our tickets to Windhoek were booked and all that was left to do was to wait out the 4 months until we departed for Namibia……….or so we thought.

Mooi man! Jy en Dwerg lyk nogal na twee stoute donners! :lol8: :thumleft:

Een van ons is 'n stoute donner, besluit jy maar self..... ;D

 

[Noneking]

Traveling to Namibia

I had to catch an 8am flight to ORT on 2nd June to meet Dwerg for a drink before we flew to Windhoek later that afternoon.

Saying goodbyes to my wife and kids was harder than I thought and I had tears rolling down my cheeks as I boarded a flight from Kruger Mpumalanga International. I had never been away from home for more than a week tops and seeing them wave from the large windows inside Wimpy made me very emotional

The nasty smog from SAPPI Ngodwana stinks up our town in winter

We would also met up with Steff from Specialised adventures , Trevor - [member=8559]trevo[/member]  and Hannes - [member=12174]JannievandieVaaldam[/member]  at ORT.


Dwerg at ORT - might be the only pic of him smiling on the trip  eepwall: eepwall:

 

[Noneking]

An uneventful flight into Hosea Kutako airport and then a Shuttle bus to take us to Safari Hotel in Windhoek where the Specialised Adventures team were waiting with the rest of riders.

 

[Noneking]

Rest of the riders:

[member=8559]trevo[/member] , the comedian of the trip. We laughed so much at times that it started to hurt. Tevor was on a BMW F650GS Dakar

[member=12174]JannievandieVaaldam[/member] aka Hannes was always ready to lend a helping hand. Hannes was on a KTM 690
Hannes on the left with Trevo and Dwerg to the right

 

[Noneking]

[member=4383]P.K.[/member] Pete King on a Suzuki 650 DR - sorry about the pic quality Pete!

[member=18545]Ri[/member] , the only female rider on a Suzuki 650DR

 

[Noneking]

Pete's mates Shane and Hennie are not forum members. The Three Stooges did everything together and always looked like they were having a great time.

 

[Wolzac]

sub

 

[Dacquiri]

Sub’d.... this should be memorable!!

 

[Noneking]

My biggest issue on the first night was trying to remember names, which I’m notoriously bad at….but apparently not as bad as Dwerg who mixed up names right up to the last day of the trip.

GPSs were loaded with tracks for each day’s route.

I checked my bike on the trailer, making sure that it would start as Hardy had some issues with it when it arrived in Loxton and had to replace the battery. Everything looked fine and we all strolled to the restaurant for a great meal and drinks.

Dwerg and I may have spent some time in the bar afterwards…….

 

[Dwerg]

After checking my credit card statement, we certainly spent quite a bit of ‘time’ at the bar


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Noneking]

After a quick breakfast at the hotel, we got into the shuttle bus again for a trip to Usakos where the bikes would be unloaded.

Some were more tired than others.....

First stop at Okahandja for some snacks and babbalas remedies. [member=19649]Hardy de Kock[/member] 's fleet is impressive!

 

[Noneking]

Bikes were filled up at Engen at Usakos. We drove round to the back where the trailers would be stored until our return in 12 days.

 

[Draadwerk]

Sub. Lekker man lekker.

 

[Noneking]

Sub. Lekker man lekker.

Bespreek solank vir volgende jaar......jy kan later vir my dankie se