Southern Africa - Pillion style
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Gumba
Race Dog
Show us the wedding pics !
PART 4
Swakopmund to Epupa Falls
Leaving Swakop along the coastal road towards Henties Bay, we shiver and shake in the in chilly mist. At Henties we swing East on the D1918 towards Spitzkoppe and the mercury starts to climb. By the time we got to Spitzkoppe we could not wait to ditch the gear before a little walk up one of the trails.
Suiting and booting up was done with long faces but as soon as the wind (which was much more now with the missing screen ) was moving over us, it was ok. Next stop Brandberg/ Uis for a lunch then onto Aba-Huab Camps site for the night. When we got here Lolo (who by the way could only get her hands on a leather jacket) was over being in bike gear and promptly de robed next to the bike, much to the delight of the boys having a drink close by…
After only finding “spoor” of the elusive desert Elephants, we popped down to see the “Organ pipe's which are these amazing rock formations and a little further exploring found us some Welwitchia’s. So glad that I have finally seen one of these living fossil's..
Heading up to Palmwag was a lovely ride but there was a lot of wash a ways from the summer rains so had to take it easy through the dips as I had a few “bottom out’s” at first.
Arriving at Palmwag was such a lovely surprise with that green grass and swimming pool. Gin and Tonics helped see the Sun to bed and a few more saw us as well 8)
Next day we hooked up with a friend of mine that heads up the “Save the Rhino” trust in that area and he took us in the Cruiser into the conservancy and to a fancy wilderness safari camp. This all got us off onto the road quite late and a race to beat the light to Opuwa.
With talk of a really steep road that some cars battled to get up, Laura bad mouthed my “baby” but that’s in the clip.. We eventually ran out of daylight and when we stopped to check our way a Himba family popped out the bush for a quick photo shoot!
Eventually rolled into Opuwa around 20:00 and stayed in the middle of town at the only camp site. Nothing like the sounds of an African town to lull you to sleep O0
Last day of this leg took us up the spectacular Epupa Falls, a series of cascading waterfalls found on the Kunene River, the border between Angola and Nam. The vegetation keeps changing as you head north and we came across our 1st Baobab tree, so promptly stopped for a little time out. Also so a nice big “Jumbo” in one of the river bed s as we zooted down the road. He did not hang around long for pics though
Arriving at the falls was possibly the highlight of the trip for me!! For years I had heard my fellow river guiding friend talk about this section of river and I had always conjured up these romantic images of this far away place in Africa with this amazing set of waterfalls. So besides being a little more built up than I had hoped, it was still an incredible sight to see. Lolo had a fellow rider (His centre shock was bust and he was waiting for parts) and a French overlander vying for her attention. Was like I was not even there the
https://youtu.be/cRMryzrIBVI
Swakopmund to Epupa Falls
Leaving Swakop along the coastal road towards Henties Bay, we shiver and shake in the in chilly mist. At Henties we swing East on the D1918 towards Spitzkoppe and the mercury starts to climb. By the time we got to Spitzkoppe we could not wait to ditch the gear before a little walk up one of the trails.
Suiting and booting up was done with long faces but as soon as the wind (which was much more now with the missing screen ) was moving over us, it was ok. Next stop Brandberg/ Uis for a lunch then onto Aba-Huab Camps site for the night. When we got here Lolo (who by the way could only get her hands on a leather jacket) was over being in bike gear and promptly de robed next to the bike, much to the delight of the boys having a drink close by…
After only finding “spoor” of the elusive desert Elephants, we popped down to see the “Organ pipe's which are these amazing rock formations and a little further exploring found us some Welwitchia’s. So glad that I have finally seen one of these living fossil's..
Heading up to Palmwag was a lovely ride but there was a lot of wash a ways from the summer rains so had to take it easy through the dips as I had a few “bottom out’s” at first.
Arriving at Palmwag was such a lovely surprise with that green grass and swimming pool. Gin and Tonics helped see the Sun to bed and a few more saw us as well 8)
Next day we hooked up with a friend of mine that heads up the “Save the Rhino” trust in that area and he took us in the Cruiser into the conservancy and to a fancy wilderness safari camp. This all got us off onto the road quite late and a race to beat the light to Opuwa.
With talk of a really steep road that some cars battled to get up, Laura bad mouthed my “baby” but that’s in the clip.. We eventually ran out of daylight and when we stopped to check our way a Himba family popped out the bush for a quick photo shoot!
Eventually rolled into Opuwa around 20:00 and stayed in the middle of town at the only camp site. Nothing like the sounds of an African town to lull you to sleep O0
Last day of this leg took us up the spectacular Epupa Falls, a series of cascading waterfalls found on the Kunene River, the border between Angola and Nam. The vegetation keeps changing as you head north and we came across our 1st Baobab tree, so promptly stopped for a little time out. Also so a nice big “Jumbo” in one of the river bed s as we zooted down the road. He did not hang around long for pics though
Arriving at the falls was possibly the highlight of the trip for me!! For years I had heard my fellow river guiding friend talk about this section of river and I had always conjured up these romantic images of this far away place in Africa with this amazing set of waterfalls. So besides being a little more built up than I had hoped, it was still an incredible sight to see. Lolo had a fellow rider (His centre shock was bust and he was waiting for parts) and a French overlander vying for her attention. Was like I was not even there the
https://youtu.be/cRMryzrIBVI
AcidSam
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Cool
Nice way of sharing the story. And a nice slection of music too.
Nice way of sharing the story. And a nice slection of music too.
whitedelight
Grey Hound
Very cool,something nice to watch when you can't sleep on a Sunday morning... :thumleft:
Beagle Boy
Race Dog
Well done ... I'm Subscribed!! :thumleft:
Tonteldoos
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Lekker lekker!! :thumleft:
Single Cylinder
Race Dog
Nice trip, well edited ;D
rogerg
Pack Dog
Very Cool!
spoedvark
Grey Hound
And so my "BUCKET LIST" grows some more!!
Subscribed!
Subscribed!
PART 5 –
Epupa Falls to Katima Mulilo (Caprivi Strip)
So after fighting off Lolo’s boyfriends (the Frenchman brought her coffee in the morning and just smiled at me… classic French
) we headed out again. I had to carry extra fuel for this leg as there is not fuel between Opuwa and Rucana!
The section between Epupa and Swartboys drift was to hectic for us so we back tracked for a bit and took another trail up to Swartboys.. From here we followed the Kunene River to Runcana. Really lovely along the river and saw a couple of “Flat Dogs” in the water, which I had been told to look out for. As also lekker to be riding past all the traditional villages along the road.
Rucana was nothing to write home about and the falls where dry, so camp over the night and hit the road early the next morning towards the Ethosha Pan eastern gate. Riding through Ovamboland (were 85% of Namibia’s population stays) was a colorful experience with loads of little shack houses in bright colours and every second house was a “Shabeen” beer hall with some classic name..
Had absolutely no luck finding fuel on this section and limped into the Camp on fumes. Ended up being a very nice camp site as we were allowed to use the lodge’s facilities and promptly took our grubby asses to the poolside for G&T’s while watching the sun set over the African bush. Did a little night drive and saw some lions relaxing under a tree which was a treat but also a little nerve racking as we were camping in the same reserve.
Next morning we awoke to a ransacked camp!! Some little critter had come and turned our spot upside down. All the leather stuff it could get its paws on where chewed and Lolo’s one bike boot was gone.. We followed the tracks through a hole in the fence but it had vanished!
The lodge refused to give me even 5lt of fuel to get to Tsumib and so we left camp with the Orange fuel light glaring at me and feel of dread in my heart. Finding an accommodating 30ton truck to fall behind, we remained a constant 3m from its ass for 115km until we hit Tsumib. Not something I want to repeat in a hurry!!!
Once topped up with fuel we headed for Rundu and an irritating shopping experience looking for some sort of boot to replace Lolo’s “Hiawatha” slipper/ shoe thing she was wearing on the one foot. Think I bumped into “Metal Jockey” here with his family on a trip. He was looking for some part for his bike and did not seem to be having much luck.
After a night just outside Rundu we headed to Popa Falls and a lovely nights camping on the Okavango pan handle!
The final day was sent riding along the Caprivi Strip to Katima Mulilo. We were hoping to see lots of game on this section but only saw live stock but it was a really pretty drive. On arriving at Katima we pull into the Engen garage and I drop the bike going sideways thought a tiny little gutter!!! As we get it up and pull into the pump the attendant starts making wild gesticulating movements toward the ground where we went over.. I go back and find a HUGE bolt lying on the ground. One looks and I say “there is no way this came from my bike” on closer inspection it turned out to be the bottom engen mount bolt!!! Incredibly luck it stayed in till that point
Next it’s off to Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana… Yay
https://youtu.be/zDr74FyrOW0
Epupa Falls to Katima Mulilo (Caprivi Strip)
So after fighting off Lolo’s boyfriends (the Frenchman brought her coffee in the morning and just smiled at me… classic French
) we headed out again. I had to carry extra fuel for this leg as there is not fuel between Opuwa and Rucana! The section between Epupa and Swartboys drift was to hectic for us so we back tracked for a bit and took another trail up to Swartboys.. From here we followed the Kunene River to Runcana. Really lovely along the river and saw a couple of “Flat Dogs” in the water, which I had been told to look out for. As also lekker to be riding past all the traditional villages along the road.
Rucana was nothing to write home about and the falls where dry, so camp over the night and hit the road early the next morning towards the Ethosha Pan eastern gate. Riding through Ovamboland (were 85% of Namibia’s population stays) was a colorful experience with loads of little shack houses in bright colours and every second house was a “Shabeen” beer hall with some classic name..
Had absolutely no luck finding fuel on this section and limped into the Camp on fumes. Ended up being a very nice camp site as we were allowed to use the lodge’s facilities and promptly took our grubby asses to the poolside for G&T’s while watching the sun set over the African bush. Did a little night drive and saw some lions relaxing under a tree which was a treat but also a little nerve racking as we were camping in the same reserve.
Next morning we awoke to a ransacked camp!! Some little critter had come and turned our spot upside down. All the leather stuff it could get its paws on where chewed and Lolo’s one bike boot was gone.. We followed the tracks through a hole in the fence but it had vanished!
The lodge refused to give me even 5lt of fuel to get to Tsumib and so we left camp with the Orange fuel light glaring at me and feel of dread in my heart. Finding an accommodating 30ton truck to fall behind, we remained a constant 3m from its ass for 115km until we hit Tsumib. Not something I want to repeat in a hurry!!!
Once topped up with fuel we headed for Rundu and an irritating shopping experience looking for some sort of boot to replace Lolo’s “Hiawatha” slipper/ shoe thing she was wearing on the one foot. Think I bumped into “Metal Jockey” here with his family on a trip. He was looking for some part for his bike and did not seem to be having much luck.
After a night just outside Rundu we headed to Popa Falls and a lovely nights camping on the Okavango pan handle!
The final day was sent riding along the Caprivi Strip to Katima Mulilo. We were hoping to see lots of game on this section but only saw live stock but it was a really pretty drive. On arriving at Katima we pull into the Engen garage and I drop the bike going sideways thought a tiny little gutter!!! As we get it up and pull into the pump the attendant starts making wild gesticulating movements toward the ground where we went over.. I go back and find a HUGE bolt lying on the ground. One looks and I say “there is no way this came from my bike” on closer inspection it turned out to be the bottom engen mount bolt!!! Incredibly luck it stayed in till that point
Next it’s off to Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana… Yay
https://youtu.be/zDr74FyrOW0
spoedvark
Grey Hound
Superb!
PART 6 – THE LAST LEG
Zambia/ Zimbabwe/ Botswana and SA
Crossing into Zambia was a breeze… had a pay some dollars to a dodgy dude in a bust up caravan round the back for road tax and then we were on our way. Crossing the mighty Zambezi is always such a spiritual thing for me.. I always think of this river as the main life line of Africa.
Anyway not long after getting into Zambia we start heading down these small little sand tracks looking for a place called “Jungle Junction” a notoriously cool island pack packers situated in the middle of the Zambezi River. You can only get there by boat and it’s covered with little trails and secretes spots!
Well after loads of wrong turns and animated games of charades with locals we finally made it to the parking area (think it was a Tamnboti tree) and park up the bike while waiting for the local poler to pole his wooden boat over and take us to the camp. It was a lovely stay and even though we were the only people there we had a lekker little wooden hut on stilts with no front and a great view of the Zambezi River..
Leaving as much the same as getting there and after getting it wrong a few times, the sand gave us a little “spank” and it ended up popping my pannier frame out of the pillion foot rest (that sounds weird!) anyway the only way to get it back in was to use a length of local wood I found under the tree and a rock… some tools you just can’t carry with you.
Finally made it to the tar road and scooted down to Livingstone and over the Vic Falls Bridge into Zimbabwe. Unfortunately the falls where very dry and we where only passing through on route to Chobe. So it was two border posts and dodgy directions which lead us into Chobe a little later than we wanted.
Having missed the big boat safaris our local camp site dude said he had a friend who had a friend that had a boat…. Video will tell the rest.
Next day we were meant to hit he delta where I had worked before but the road in the north of bots are so bad and the distance so long that we only made it to a spot called Plant Baobab… what an amazing spot.. Well worth the visit.
From here we were on tar all the way and mainly just eating up the miles to get back home but going through the free state was really lovely and our last night in the pretty town of De rust ended up with us drinking “Wit Blitz” with the local tavern owner. Let’s just say the 300m walk home took a long time !!!!
https://youtu.be/Av5nIUDXhe4
Zambia/ Zimbabwe/ Botswana and SA
Crossing into Zambia was a breeze… had a pay some dollars to a dodgy dude in a bust up caravan round the back for road tax and then we were on our way. Crossing the mighty Zambezi is always such a spiritual thing for me.. I always think of this river as the main life line of Africa.
Anyway not long after getting into Zambia we start heading down these small little sand tracks looking for a place called “Jungle Junction” a notoriously cool island pack packers situated in the middle of the Zambezi River. You can only get there by boat and it’s covered with little trails and secretes spots!
Well after loads of wrong turns and animated games of charades with locals we finally made it to the parking area (think it was a Tamnboti tree) and park up the bike while waiting for the local poler to pole his wooden boat over and take us to the camp. It was a lovely stay and even though we were the only people there we had a lekker little wooden hut on stilts with no front and a great view of the Zambezi River..
Leaving as much the same as getting there and after getting it wrong a few times, the sand gave us a little “spank” and it ended up popping my pannier frame out of the pillion foot rest (that sounds weird!) anyway the only way to get it back in was to use a length of local wood I found under the tree and a rock… some tools you just can’t carry with you.
Finally made it to the tar road and scooted down to Livingstone and over the Vic Falls Bridge into Zimbabwe. Unfortunately the falls where very dry and we where only passing through on route to Chobe. So it was two border posts and dodgy directions which lead us into Chobe a little later than we wanted.
Having missed the big boat safaris our local camp site dude said he had a friend who had a friend that had a boat…. Video will tell the rest.
Next day we were meant to hit he delta where I had worked before but the road in the north of bots are so bad and the distance so long that we only made it to a spot called Plant Baobab… what an amazing spot.. Well worth the visit.
From here we were on tar all the way and mainly just eating up the miles to get back home but going through the free state was really lovely and our last night in the pretty town of De rust ended up with us drinking “Wit Blitz” with the local tavern owner. Let’s just say the 300m walk home took a long time !!!!
https://youtu.be/Av5nIUDXhe4
rogerg
Pack Dog
Thank you very much - that was great!!
White Rhino
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.... and that's a proper trip - thanks for the share
Freaking awesome !! :blob1: :blob3: :blob5: :blob6: :blob7: :blob8: :blob9: :blob10:
.... now where that map
Freaking awesome !! :blob1: :blob3: :blob5: :blob6: :blob7: :blob8: :blob9: :blob10:
.... now where that map
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