Exploring Namibia Africa by motorbike - Episode 1

In this series... I just wanna climb on top of a hill and throw it all away, away Take me far away before my mind spins off and I am all derailed, derailed Just try, try, try Keep on saying Never turn our backs again Welcome to Namibia in Africa, or Southern Africa. How did I end up here? Well, when I was in the Himalayas I bumped into Jodie MacDonald, the National Geographic photographer and she said, if you're going to Africa Namibia is probably the best place to enter as it's safe, easy to get around sort of thing and stunningly beautiful with great trails. So I started to do some research and I was watching a video when a message came through from a guy named Murray, who is Australian but has been living here for 20 years and he said, have you ever thought about riding through Namibia? and I was like, yes, yes I have. So he was kind enough to give me some contacts and he gave me a contact of a guy named Chris who runs Namibia Motorcycles and Chris reached out and just said hey, if you ever need any help, let me know. So I got myself sorted and got over to Namibia and Murray kindly offered for me to stay with him the first night he was actually on a trip in South Africa and got held up so I couldn't make it back in time. So I reached back out to Chris and he happened to be with a guy, Elaine who is also an adventure bike rider on a Royal Enfield Himalayan and he has some lodges around Namibia so he kindly offered for me to stay at one of his places the first night and then said well, why don't you start a few of our other lodges we've got it's called Gondwana so I went thank you very much so I have got my camp gear here so I'm going to camp at a lot of spots too and then where some of the lodges are I'll stay there because they're in some quite unique and stunning areas so should be a good trip. The motorbike I'm riding, well Royal Enfield were trying to get me a 450 here but there were none in the country yet and let's just say Africa can take a while for things to happen. So as Chris has got Namibia motorcycles he's got a few 411s that are available and he's kindly lent me one of his and for this type of terrain and conditions something really reliable because there is quite some remote areas is perfect and well I still have my 411 so I love it. So to catch you up I'd left the hotel in Vinhook the capital of Namibia early in the morning heading out of town firstly towards the east and then to the south. There is a main sealed highway heading south but that might get a bit boring as only 10% of roads are sealed in Namibia and I'd prefer to be riding off road I was going to take another route which was longer but would take me to the dirt. I reached a small settlement where the first dirt track began and also a corrugation on the road past some seemingly wild horses in the middle of nowhere. I continued along the track which led me to the spot he first found me. So I'm going to continue south through the Kalahari Desert which is very green it just seems weird saying a desert the lodge is probably about 200km left along a dirt track just got to watch out some of the sand has been washed because of all the rain over the track so they've just told me if you get these red patches of the sand just take it a little easier. It's right at the end of the wet season so there shouldn't be any rain it's actually been late this rain this year so we'll find out what's out there. I was riding along the edge of the Kalahari Desert which covers large areas of Namibia, Botswana and into South Africa. I was expecting to see only the browns, oranges and sand colours of the desert. After four years since any real rain and nearly a decade since they've had good rain the drought had broken this wet season. Normally most of the heavy rain falls in January and February but this year it had come a little later in March. There were a lot of vultures in the air which means there must have been a decent sized animal carcass on the ground nearby. I came across what looked like my first wildlife and by the shape of the horns on the large one it looks like a kudu. I made it to another turn which had a small turrent in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Every dirt road is made up of different dirts, soils and or sand. Not being the most skilled rider I always take it a little easier when I get to a change in the surface until I get the feel of it. I was riding over long ridged sand dunes which are formed due to the wind blowing predominantly in one direction like I found in the mid north of Western Australia. Just a quick stop to get some water as it is a desert so I've got to keep the water up. It's a dry heat so it's not too bad. I'm guessing it's 34-35 degrees. I'm also just getting used to the bike constantly moving under me on the gravel again. I'll just eventually get used to it. It's not too bad though, it's not deep. I'm sure there will be sections where it will get very sandy and very deep. Alright, we've got just under 100km to go. The first day of riding. I rode through a small town which had some donkeys and felt like it was in the middle of nowhere. I then made a turn onto a different road. This one had seen some recent rain. It had some mud holes and it looked like that sticky kind that sticks to your tyres and turns them into slicks. And as if on cue the bike went down. The tyre tread had filled up with mud. It came to rest on the pannier so I picked it up and tried to keep the front wheel heading straight until I could get through the mud. There were sections of dry road then patches of wet where you can see the water from the rain had run across the road. The vehicle tracks looked a bit foggy on the left hand side so I stuck to the right. Being in the middle of nowhere and not having seen a vehicle all day I thought it best to check the depth. Although it had about 6 inches of slimy mud under the water it shouldn't be a hassle. This one didn't look like I needed to check it so through I went. Although it was a little foggy. The Anib Lodge. Hello. Yes. It was about 3km along this sandy track. They do have campsites here as well as the lodges. I've just checked in and this is the Gondwana room. Now it feels like the Kalahari Desert. We've lost the green and we've got the ochre colour. Beautiful place. There's two pools and most importantly we have air conditioning as it's got even hotter. It's about 3pm now. I'm just going to turn it on. And just stand under it for the next 5 minutes. I had a quick look outside. The staff here have got a little sundowner. It's basically a drink in the evening. I'll explain that later. But there's a little drive around to see if there's any animals around. So I thought I'd jump aboard. I will be a driver. My guide, Silist, shared information about the flora and fauna. This tree, we call it a shepherd tree. There were marabou storks, social beweavers, which are the birds that build these giant nests. It's like an apartment block. There can be hundreds of birds. Springbok. Plain zebras. The other kind in Namibia is the mountain zebra. We came across a tortoise who was trying to make a run for it. I saw my first oryx, which is the national animal of Namibia. There was a jackal. Then we came across this rather tall guy who was munching on some leaves. We got to a spot to have a drink and watch the sunset, although the clouds were making that difficult. We drove back through the dunes in the dark, spotting the occasional animal. Then we made it back to the lodge and straight into dinner. And yes, the food was really good. And you could still see wildlife while eating dinner. Well, first day done on the bike in Namibia. And it ended up being quite a long day with the little drive at the end there. I don't know if you can see over my shoulder. There is a lot of thunder and lightning and it looks like it's going to rain quite a bit. So that may change tomorrow's plan. I was going to go down a track that Chris had mentioned that goes along a river. But after today, coming across some water and I think they said it had rained two or three days ago. So that might not be the best option going along a river where all the water runs down into. Going to have a look at some alternatives. There is a highway that will get me to roughly where I'm heading basically down towards the South African border. There's a couple of canyons and rivers down there that look quite interesting. There was a bit more thunder and lightning. Then it rained most of the night. I got up early to the desert view. Then quickly got my stuff sorted and got on to the bike. I made my way back out along the sandy track which was a lot easier riding after the rain had firmed it up. Thank you sir. I headed out onto the road with some pockets of rain still around. A quick stop for fuel. I'm gathering that sign means no hitchhiking along this road. Morning. Well, after last night's rain decided to miss the riverbed and we're going to continue down this major, I think it's the major highway, B1. Good news, the weather for the rest of the week looks like the next two weeks it looks like it's sunny. I've only just got the end of the rain but nothing too bad. As I was coming out this first section on the side of the road there's several feet of water and you can see all the edges are very muddy and soft. So, although it's fun in the mud, by myself it could get way more interesting than I'm ready for right at the beginning of the trip. So right now as I head down to this there's a town about 200km away, or 220. There is some sort of mountain or volcano I gather it's extinct but off the side so I might go in there and test the dirt. Hopefully it's not too muddy. Check that out. There was rain to the north but it looked clear to the south in the direction I was heading. I turned off the main highway to a dirt road that looked like it would take me to the extinct volcano. I came to a section of the track that had been beefed up with large rocks. Hopefully that was a good sign that the road had been maintained. Then past a small sand mining facility. There were a few small dips in the road where the flowing water had left sand but as they were so short when I rode over them you didn't even notice it. But then I came to a section that had that thick sticky mud. So again, as I was riding solo, I did the sensible thing and got off and checked. The slimy slippery mud was under the water as well so the rocks looked like the best way through. You can see it's just the top couple of inches but enough mud to turn your tyres into slicks and have absolutely no grip. I just needed to sneak up the side of this one. This one looked a bit more substantial. So, once again, off the bike to see if I could get around it. But from looking at it, my chances weren't good. I slipped down the bank. It was a few feet deep. Well, that one's more like a river than a water crossing. I went a bit further up and it just got yeah, it's quite probably about six inches of that slimy mud underneath and then it's over my boots. So, there is actually another way. It looks a lot easier to direct onto the south side of the volcano mountains. I think I might just turn around this time and go that way. All good. A bit of fun. A bit of dirt. Always good to get onto the dirt. It does look like a river from here. So, I turned the bike around and headed back the way I'd come. It was a lot quicker back as I could just follow my tyre tracks. Now, this is where it got super slippery as the tyre treads filled with mud. After passing through the mud, I gave it a bit of time for the mud to flick out before getting on with it. I got back to the highway. This is one of the main highways in the country. And well, as you can see, there's not a lot of traffic. The reason? Namibia is one of the least populated countries in the world. It wasn't long before I made the turn off to the south side of the mountain. This is the Fish River, which I'll be checking out later, further downstream, as it cuts through the landscape, creating a pretty impressive canyon. I got my first decent look at the Bukharas Mountain. As I rode towards the mountain, it seemed to rise in front of me. I got to an abandoned gate, so I rode through. The road turned into a narrow track, and quite a rough one at that. I followed the track as it wound its way further up the mountain. The track had lots of washed out sections, and looked like it hadn't been maintained for years. Although it looks like an impact crater, it isn't. Also, it isn't a typical volcano, as this was formed in the Wanabin. It does look like a volcanic caldera, which is the top of the volcano falling into the empty lava chamber. But this is one of the planet's largest tough rings, caused from the eruption over 77 million years ago. The rim is 3.3km at its widest point, and it rises 610m from the level of the surrounding desert. Seems I made it to the end of the track, and what a fun track it was. That was a surprise. A lot more comfortable on rocks than in the slippery slimy mud. There's some old abandoned buildings here that seem to have been worn down over time, and I don't know, maybe there's some camping here too. Seen some fireplaces. Did have one little mishap on the way in. I didn't see a star picket as I went around a corner, and I have ripped my pannier. So I'm going to have to somehow work out how to keep it together. I dug into my spares and bits and pieces box, and found a spare strap. Oh well, we'll see how that patch job goes. If it makes it down that hill, then it will be doing pretty well. Better check it at the bottom. In the next episode, my campsite gets hit by a storm. I check out the second biggest canyon in the world, hang out with some more local wildlife, navigate some water crossings, watch a desert sunset, and sleep amongst the boulders under the Southern Cross.