Virgin Sand In Kaokoland (a post lockdown adventure)

[Amsterdam]

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[mother]

Awesome adventure ......and a great read ......thanks for sharing

 

[stroke her]

Yes...the dynamic is very different when you are out there on your own. You very very quickly learn that you are not as tough and brave as you thought you were

But there is also something very special about being in Kaokoland on your bike on your own...for some of us its worth the risk.

 

[2StrokeDan]

Yes...the dynamic is very different when you are out there on your own. You very very quickly learn that you are not as tough and brave as you thought you were

But there is also something very special about being in Kaokoland on your bike on your own...for some of us its worth the risk.

Admit it, you missed my navigation.......

 

[stroke her]

As ek saam met jou daar moes deur sou ons seker nou nog in sirkels om die olifante gery het :imaposer:

Tyd vir koffie n slag...

 

[2StrokeDan]

As ek saam met jou daar moes deur sou ons seker nou nog in sirkels om die olifante gery het :imaposer:

Tyd vir koffie n slag...

Maak n draai, ons moet julle weer nooi vir n ete....

 

[big oil]

Excellent reporting on an area of this rock I dream of riding someday, though not solo, hopefully a handful of WD's will accompany my tour of Namibia.

 

[White Rhino]

Nice hanger .... It's been a special account of a very special part of the world - thank you!  :thumleft:

The 500 It is the most versatile solo adventure bike around - perfect for this sort of riding  :deal:

I got weak in the knees and went for it. Just needs some adventurising.  :biggrin:

 

[ktmmer]

Boskak Bruce, this rates among the best ride reports on here.

 

[Sheepman]

Great report, shot  :thumleft:

 

[OomD]

Boskak Bruce, this rates among the best ride reports on here.

Yes, I vote for him changing his forum name :imaposer:

 

[Breekbeen]

Het Bruce verdwaal?
Kom ons wag.
:deal:

 

[BoskakBruce]

Hi guys. I just got back from my Namakwa 4x4 trail trip yesterday. I'll complete the ride report tonight - promise.

 

[funacide]

Hi guys. I just got back from my Namakwa 4x4 trail trip yesterday. I'll complete the ride report tonight - promise.

It is tonight :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:

 

[BoskakBruce]

Boskak Bruce, this rates among the best ride reports on here.

Yes, I vote for him changing his forum name :imaposer:

That's a great idea! Boskak Bruce. Now to convince the moderators to allow me to change it!

 

[BoskakBruce]

It’s 5am. I’m wide awake. I can’t sleep any longer. It’s our last day in remote Namibia.

The trip has been incredible so far. We're ridden rocks, riverbeds, sand dunes - everything I could hope for.

Perhaps more meaningful for me is that I’ve bonded with my two new friends.

I’m feeling a cocktail of emotions as I lay there contemplating the day - everything from excitement to sadness.

The thought of riding through the Desolation Valley again gets me excited, but I’m anxious about riding without Jan Lucas and Marc.

I’ve crossed 18 countries on a mototcycle alone, so it’s not riding alone that worries me - it’s the wildlife that inhabits my route today. I, for one, do not want to end up as lion food or under the paw of an elephant... and as unlikely as those scenarios are, they are a real risk out here.

But, the call to adventure is stronger than my Amygdala's fear response, so I get out of bed secretly hoping that Jan Lucas or Marc have changed their minds.

Jan Lucas gets up shortly after me and it becomes clear that he hasn't changed his mind.

To be completely honest, I feel sad that the two people I had imagined would have my back – whose back I feel responsible for having - have sort of abandoned me. The team I thought that we were seems not to be the team we are in reality.

The thought that keeps looping around in my head is that both Jan Lucas and Marc are physically capable of completing today’s route, they just decided that they were too tired to.

I mean, we’re at the finish line. This is the last day of the trip!

**** being tired. But that's just me.

I make peace with their choice and shake off my kak feelings, prepare some coffee, get dressed, pack the bike, give the guys a hug goodbye and hit the road.

It’s 6:30am as I pull out of Palmwag Lodge. The air is chilled and there’s not a breath of wind so the dust from the car that passed a few minutes ago is still lingering in the air creating a kind of eerie feeling.

 

[BoskakBruce]

It seems that my fears of running into an elephant may not be that far fetched. I notice some fresh dung and a line of elephant tracks leading down the road into the distance…

 

[BoskakBruce]

Before I bump into any, I turn off towards desolation valley on a small rocky track.

 

[BoskakBruce]

I’m playing my Electronic music playlist in my helmet and feeling great - focusing on not losing the front wheel on the stony gravel corners.

Soon I see the Desolation Valley looming in the distance.

I pass a well that's pumping ground water out of a pipe and consider filling up my water bladder. But the well is surrounded by elephant footprints and some fresh dung, so I decide not to.

 

[BoskakBruce]

A fox runs across the track in the distance, reminding me again that in this place, I’m not at the top of the food chain.,

I descend into the valley and the track turns sandy.