SAND, SNOT & RUM, AN ADVENTURE THROUGH THE NORTHERN CAPE AND NAMIBIA
- Thread starter KnopKop
- Start date
Day 9
Sendelings Drif to Felix Unite River Camp – 144km
Today was one of the days I have been looking forward to since I started Dual Sport Riding on my old BMW F650GS! I would finally ride in Namibia!!
We were up bright and early and very eager to get going, get on the pont, and get into NAM!
This is where we will be heading…..
So, at the border post we were told that Marnus’ KTM990 is in fact a Toyota Corolla stolen in Alexandra ………WTF ?? :eek7:
After a lot of convincing we managed to get the Customs guys to admit/understand that it must be a “System Problem” and they let him through……. We sort of knew about this before we crossed, but hoped that nothing would be picked up, as it was never picked up when we went to Lesotho or Swaziland….. more on this later!
NAM!!
Bye Bye RSA!!
We touched down in Namibia and the border formalities were quick and painless….
Quiver Tree at the border post
Then it was on to one of the best rides of my life……….. The road from Sendelings Drif close to Rosh Pinah all along the Orange River down to Aussenkehr has to be one of the most beautiful roads you can ever dream to ride on a bike………WOW!!!
I do not know how many corners I overshot, as it is soooo twisty with so many blind corners and blind rises, but Huge Fun!!!
I will let the pics to the talking…..
How do you possibly beat this on a bike?
I first read about the Gamchab Canyon in one of Metaljockey’s ride reports, and since that day I promised myself that one day I will also ride through that canyon, it is really something!!
I love this pic!!
We finally arrived at Felix Unite Camp, and settled into some serious Rum drinking with this as our view…..
Today was one of the best days I have ever had on bike, and I am so privileged to be able to do this, and to be able to do it with my best riding buddy!!
:thumleft:
Sendelings Drif to Felix Unite River Camp – 144km
Today was one of the days I have been looking forward to since I started Dual Sport Riding on my old BMW F650GS! I would finally ride in Namibia!!
We were up bright and early and very eager to get going, get on the pont, and get into NAM!
This is where we will be heading…..
So, at the border post we were told that Marnus’ KTM990 is in fact a Toyota Corolla stolen in Alexandra ………WTF ?? :eek7:
After a lot of convincing we managed to get the Customs guys to admit/understand that it must be a “System Problem” and they let him through……. We sort of knew about this before we crossed, but hoped that nothing would be picked up, as it was never picked up when we went to Lesotho or Swaziland….. more on this later!
NAM!!
Bye Bye RSA!!
We touched down in Namibia and the border formalities were quick and painless….
Quiver Tree at the border post
Then it was on to one of the best rides of my life……….. The road from Sendelings Drif close to Rosh Pinah all along the Orange River down to Aussenkehr has to be one of the most beautiful roads you can ever dream to ride on a bike………WOW!!!
I do not know how many corners I overshot, as it is soooo twisty with so many blind corners and blind rises, but Huge Fun!!!
I will let the pics to the talking…..
How do you possibly beat this on a bike?
I first read about the Gamchab Canyon in one of Metaljockey’s ride reports, and since that day I promised myself that one day I will also ride through that canyon, it is really something!!
I love this pic!!
We finally arrived at Felix Unite Camp, and settled into some serious Rum drinking with this as our view…..
Today was one of the best days I have ever had on bike, and I am so privileged to be able to do this, and to be able to do it with my best riding buddy!!
:thumleft:
whitedelight
Grey Hound
Lekker :thumleft:
It's just not the same in a car.... How blue is that sky!!! Absolutely magnificent pics and RR....
Day 10 & 11
Felix Unite Camp – Fish River Canyon – Felix Unite Camp – 442km
Today was going to be a rest day with us staying at Felix for two nights before we would head over the border to tackle the Namakwa 4x4 Trail from Vioolsdrif to Pella. We both knew that this stretch will take us at least two days to ride, if we do not run into any trouble. This was going to be by far the most challenging part of the trip…..
We had a long chat about it, and then decided that with us not being in the healthiest shape, that it would be the smart thing to leave this part for another day. I have no regrets, and we definitely made the correct decision. Next time I will do this part at the start of the trip, and not at the end. You need to be on top of your game to ride that track, and we were certainly not on top of ours!!
We decided that we will rather stay one more day and do a ride out to the Fish River Canyon.
Day 10 we just chilled around Felix Camp, walked around the river, had an afternoon snooze, and basically just stuffed around, drinking Rum all day long…………just the things you should be doing while on holiday!
Some pics:
Or room at Felix Camp
The next day we decided to hit the road to the Fish River Canyon, this was another awesome day on the bike, and you just cannot beat Namibia on a bike…………….. it is really very very special….
I am not good at selecting pics, I just generally select ALL of them as I have a hard time deciding what to post and what to leave………….so here’s a lot of pics!!
Very babelaas here……..
We arrived at Hobas and finally at the Cayon, what a breath taking view, I was in awe….
The hunger got to us and we klapped it to Canyon Roadhouse…………fast…………
After the road house we nailed it back to Felix Unite for our last night of Run drinking in Namibia!
We did 442km for the day, and it took up pretty much the whole day, no where in Namibia is “Kom ons ry gou iewers heen nie” everything is far away!
:thumleft: :thumleft: :thumleft:
Felix Unite Camp – Fish River Canyon – Felix Unite Camp – 442km
Today was going to be a rest day with us staying at Felix for two nights before we would head over the border to tackle the Namakwa 4x4 Trail from Vioolsdrif to Pella. We both knew that this stretch will take us at least two days to ride, if we do not run into any trouble. This was going to be by far the most challenging part of the trip…..
We had a long chat about it, and then decided that with us not being in the healthiest shape, that it would be the smart thing to leave this part for another day. I have no regrets, and we definitely made the correct decision. Next time I will do this part at the start of the trip, and not at the end. You need to be on top of your game to ride that track, and we were certainly not on top of ours!!
We decided that we will rather stay one more day and do a ride out to the Fish River Canyon.
Day 10 we just chilled around Felix Camp, walked around the river, had an afternoon snooze, and basically just stuffed around, drinking Rum all day long…………just the things you should be doing while on holiday!
Some pics:
Or room at Felix Camp
The next day we decided to hit the road to the Fish River Canyon, this was another awesome day on the bike, and you just cannot beat Namibia on a bike…………….. it is really very very special….
I am not good at selecting pics, I just generally select ALL of them as I have a hard time deciding what to post and what to leave………….so here’s a lot of pics!!
Very babelaas here……..
We arrived at Hobas and finally at the Cayon, what a breath taking view, I was in awe….
The hunger got to us and we klapped it to Canyon Roadhouse…………fast…………
After the road house we nailed it back to Felix Unite for our last night of Run drinking in Namibia!
We did 442km for the day, and it took up pretty much the whole day, no where in Namibia is “Kom ons ry gou iewers heen nie” everything is far away!
:thumleft: :thumleft: :thumleft:
ClimbingTurtle
Bachelor Dog
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Lekker RR - brings back memories - we stayed at Felix for 2 nights after one of our party crashed a Dakar at speed - used their workshop to beat the bike back into a rideable condition...
Keep it coming!!!
:thumleft: :thumleft: :thumleft:
Keep it coming!!!
:thumleft: :thumleft: :thumleft:
Day 12
Felix Unite Camp – Upington – 453km
Today would be our last day of riding on this trip, we were sad to leave Namibia behind, but we will be back, of that I am sure!!
We thought of going through Vioolsdrif, then on to Springbok, then Upington by tar, but thankfully this idea was thrown out of the window very quickly!
We settled on a route to Warmbad, then on to Onseepkans border post, then to Pofadder, then Upington.
All packed up with a long way to go….
We arrived in Warmbad, where there is absolutely fark all going on! It was freezing cold and we stopped at the local spaza shop and the old oom made Marnus a cup of coffee…. Marnus said it was one of the best cups of coffee of his life!
The biggest shop in Warmbad
The ride to Onseepkans was uneventful, but a very scenic ride, especially when you get closer o the Orange river….
Lekker bike die!!
We crossed over back into RSA, where again Marnus’ stolen Toyota Corolla was picked up by Customs. The guys at Onseepkans is a lot smarter than the guys at Sendelings Drif……… They managed to figure it out.
This is the story: Marnus’s number plate differs from his licence disk by 1 letter, no one has ever picked this up in the past. It was sold to him like this by KTM who also did the number plate and the registration for him when he bought the bike. So the guys at Onseepkans figured this out and then they just said that Marnus should get a new number plate made up when he is back home, they were fine with everything and we were waved on our way!
Just after the border we decided to take the short cut to Kakamas instead of going all the way to Pafadder.
Suidwes-Afrika nogal!!
Mobile Petrol Station….
We stopped in Kakamas for a lekker Cheese Burger and a few beers before the stretch back to Upington. The “Rose”of Kakamas as well as the high society people of “The Rose Café” were a bit stumped when these two dirty stinky bikers walked into their fine establishment demanding beer! We got some funny looks!!
The burgers were great though!
We finally arrived in Upington, safe and sound with an awesome odd 2,700km behind us. We went out for some celebratory Rum and Steak, while the rains started falling in Upington, before hitting the road back to Pretoria at 05:00 the following morning!
Thanks for reading!
And a huge thanks to tankgirl and her family for letting us crash their camping holiday, but most of all thanks to my riding partner, with whom I always have such a great time riding!!
Cheers!!
ps.... Marnus and tankgirl....please post any pics you want, and fill in where I forgot or missed something! :thumleft:
Felix Unite Camp – Upington – 453km
Today would be our last day of riding on this trip, we were sad to leave Namibia behind, but we will be back, of that I am sure!!
We thought of going through Vioolsdrif, then on to Springbok, then Upington by tar, but thankfully this idea was thrown out of the window very quickly!
We settled on a route to Warmbad, then on to Onseepkans border post, then to Pofadder, then Upington.
All packed up with a long way to go….
We arrived in Warmbad, where there is absolutely fark all going on! It was freezing cold and we stopped at the local spaza shop and the old oom made Marnus a cup of coffee…. Marnus said it was one of the best cups of coffee of his life!
The biggest shop in Warmbad
The ride to Onseepkans was uneventful, but a very scenic ride, especially when you get closer o the Orange river….
Lekker bike die!!
We crossed over back into RSA, where again Marnus’ stolen Toyota Corolla was picked up by Customs. The guys at Onseepkans is a lot smarter than the guys at Sendelings Drif……… They managed to figure it out.
This is the story: Marnus’s number plate differs from his licence disk by 1 letter, no one has ever picked this up in the past. It was sold to him like this by KTM who also did the number plate and the registration for him when he bought the bike. So the guys at Onseepkans figured this out and then they just said that Marnus should get a new number plate made up when he is back home, they were fine with everything and we were waved on our way!
Just after the border we decided to take the short cut to Kakamas instead of going all the way to Pafadder.
Suidwes-Afrika nogal!!
Mobile Petrol Station….
We stopped in Kakamas for a lekker Cheese Burger and a few beers before the stretch back to Upington. The “Rose”of Kakamas as well as the high society people of “The Rose Café” were a bit stumped when these two dirty stinky bikers walked into their fine establishment demanding beer! We got some funny looks!!
The burgers were great though!
We finally arrived in Upington, safe and sound with an awesome odd 2,700km behind us. We went out for some celebratory Rum and Steak, while the rains started falling in Upington, before hitting the road back to Pretoria at 05:00 the following morning!
Thanks for reading!
And a huge thanks to tankgirl and her family for letting us crash their camping holiday, but most of all thanks to my riding partner, with whom I always have such a great time riding!!
Cheers!!
ps.... Marnus and tankgirl....please post any pics you want, and fill in where I forgot or missed something! :thumleft:
Mikie
Grey Hound
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Fantastic!! Thanks for sharing
- Joined
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Great RR, thanks for sharing
Hentie bm
Race Dog
Great RR :thumleft: :thumleft:
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Great ride, just love that area I do.
Thanks for sharing.
8)
Thanks for sharing.
8)
Heimer said:Subscribe :thumleft:
(ETS - waar is hulle stoof
:biggrin:
DAAI STOOF IS AL AUGUSTUS GELEWER :thumleft:
atch: :thumleft: atch: :xxbah:
ETS said:Heimer said:Subscribe :thumleft:
(ETS - waar is hulle stoof
:biggrin:
DAAI STOOF IS AL AUGUSTUS GELEWER :thumleft:
Ons was daar by haar op 19 Augustus ;D
