Bikepacking Africa, Week 8: Dekar to Sandwich Harbour

Day 50: Dekar > Tsootsha, Botswana

• Alarm set for 6:15am. Up and packing up while Marina went for a quick run.
• Had a chance to FaceTime Maijken and get caught up on what he’s doing.
• Had an amazing breakfast and then asked for some PB&J sandwiches before we rode out.
• On the road at 8:15am. Another 150+ day.
• Straight nice riding into Ghanzi to have a cappuccino at the Hollandia Restaurant. Marina and Dukes showed up just as we are about to leave so we got a chance to meet him. Another great send-off. Now we ride!
• Just on the course 18! Riding on the A2. Hit a little 5% climb section for a very short time, a bit of a wake up call for the legs…lol.
• Made our turn towards and maybe a border just after 12pm. Stopped at a little bus stop to have some food. Would’ve been nice to have a nice cold drink right now!
• Audiobooks went in and now riding on the Trans Kalahari Corridor.
• Stopped again at 2pm for another snack. About 30K to go. It’s a bit overcast today, so it doesn’t feel as hot.
• Limped in to Jungle Light Rest Camp at 3:30pm. Pretty much ran out of all of our liquids and nothing was cold for the last few hours. It’s crazy that no Overlanders stop, slow down or ask us if we need anything.
• Bought a 2L of Fanta as soon as we rolled in. Grabbed a tent site cabin and chowed down. Ordered dinner as well for tonight.
• Had amazing warm showers and layed down.
• Went for a beer at 6:45 before dinner at 7. It’s definitely getting warmer as neither one of us has coats on and we’re still in our shorts at this time of day. There’s no wind either.
• Had an incredible family-style dinner buffet. PL ate so much he thought he was going to be sick. We sat with three German men who were heading into the Okavango. They have stayed here multiple times.
• Back into our room and asleep by 9 PM.

152.01/149m
TOTAL: 4,051.04km/26,429m

   

Day 51: Tsootsha > Buitepos, Namibia

• Alarm set for 6:30 to have breakfast at 7am. They tried to talk us into eating at 8am, as that’s when the Germans were going to eat. Hiller ground for 7am. Plan is to cross into Namibia today.
• Amazing breakfast and she even gave us a bit of a snacks box for the road. She also charged us for the camping rate only. Not the room rate. Wow!
• Riding out at 8am. Feels like another hot one.
• Hour and a half. We had a lot of discussion in the first hour now we need to just get out of our heads a little bit.
• Slog of a day again. Ugh.
• Stopped at the gas station at Charles Hill at 12pm. Fewer kilometers to the border. Looking for cold drinks and snacks.
• We both bought energy drinks and realized later that they were high energy caffeine drinks. We’ll see how that plays out a few hours from now…lol.
• Heading to the border with about 450m to go, hit a bumpy section and my rear rack busted. That is not good.
• Went across and did the health check then immigration and then Visa application. Everything seemed a little more orderly here.
• Need to figure out what to do about the rack, as it’s a Sunday and we have a few more days to get to Windhoek, where they could possibly ship it.
• Should have crossed into Namibia at 1:30pm but there was quite a delay in getting our Visa. They couldn’t figure out why we had no registration for a bike, no address that we were gonna be at for the whole time, and that we had no Namibian dollars.
• Crossed into Namibia at 2:00pm because we still had Wi-Fi service so we could arrange to possibly get a rack sent from Tailfin to Windhoek.
• Rolled to our campsite 1km from border. Grabbed our site and sat down to figure out the next few days.
• Went to the pool to soak as they’re sort of like an ice bath. This one actually is not as cold as the other ones. Apparently summer arrived a few days ago and that’s why the temperature has been so high.
• Then we had showers and just hung out by our room. Went for dinner at 5:30pm, which actually was quite good and then back to our room and into bed. Lights out at 9pm.

96.78km / 119m
TOTAL: 4,051.04km/26,429m

Day 52: Buitepos > Gobabis

• Up at 6:30 to go for breakfast at 7am. Ordered sandwiches for the road. Need to get to Gobabis today and get sim cards.
• The sunrise was incredible today and the sun looked massive compared to all the other ones that we’ve seen so far. Not sure if it’s just because the terrain is flat and there’s no trees or anything in front??
• Had a great breakfast and were on our bikes at 8:15am.
• Noticed I lost an earring as well! Add that to my stem cap and my earbud silicone pad!
• We saw beware of warthog sign on the highway.

   

• Saw our first person on a bike in two countries.
• Seems to be a lot of pollution towards Gobabis?
• Riding on the B6, Trans Kalahari Corridor. I also noticed how much cleaner the roads and the rest stops are. No garbage anywhere.
• Also saw our first motorcycle traveler.
• Saw two, what looked like cats, maybe lion cubs cross in front of us on the road?
• Seems to be a lot of beef cattle ranches around this area as well.
• Stop for snacks at 10:30am. About halfway in. So far so good as the winds have cooperated and it’s been relatively flat. Traffic has been excellent and trucks have moved way over when they’ve come by us.
• A lot of [Mary] container trucks going by in both directions.
• Rolled into Gobabis at 1pm. Warm, tired and thirsty.
• Stopped at the bar for some quick COLD drinks before we went to our campsite. Then went to get SIM cards which took about an hour.
• Found the guest house and decided to get a room as there is no camping. The whole thing is decked out in bike paraphernalia. I wonder if all the rooms are like this?
• Had showers got caught up on our media and then went to check out food. Went to the restaurant to have snacks, beers and dinner. Had a great meal.
• Back to our room to discuss what we will do because we have more time in Windhoek.
• Lights out at 8:30pm.

109.36km/265m
Total: 4,160.40km/26,548

Day 53: Gobabis > Astra Hunting Safari

   

• Alarm set for 6:30 for breakfast at 7am. I was up at 5:30am, and PL had a headache all night.
• Went to the restaurant for breakfast, which was excellent.
• Had a fun FaceTime with Maijken as he gets ready to go backpacking this weekend.
• Met a group of motorcycle travelers. They said it’s just not the right season as things are really sandy and it’s really hot.
• Riding out at 8am.
• Decent cross/tailwinds today. Even had some rollers for a bit.
• Started listening to “An African History of Africa”. Taking a break from Nelson Mandela as I want to listen to it when I get to SA.
• Stopped in Witvlei for cold drinks and snacks. Had some Fanta and leftover pizza. This town has a bit of a strange vibe.
• Now riding through the Seiss Conservatory.
• Leaving the Omaheke region and entering the Khomas region.
• Made it to the turn off at 1:00pm. Stopped at the Padstal (warehouse) and got some cold drinks and treats.
• Rode 2km on the gravel road and found Astra Hunting Safari. By the gate for a bit while the dogs barked quite a bit and then we were let in.
• Met Zane the manager who grabbed us a beer and showed us where we can set our tent up. This farm has been in the family for five generations.
• I went and sat in the pool, as it’s like an ice bath and PL had a nap on the loungers with four dogs sleeping with him.
• Got the tent set up, had hot showers and then sat by the patio to do some planning.
• Got a message from DHL saying that our rack won’t be in until Wednesday, the 2nd. That’s two days later than we had hoped. And usually it takes longer. I was quite frustrated so we started brainstorming.
• Decided that welding could be an option, so we discussed it a bit. When Zane the manager came back, we asked if he could do it. He said sure, no problem.
• We both laughed, like any good farmer you get excited about trying to fix things.
• They went off to the shop while I hung out taking photos of this incredible property.
• Finally went out by the patio to read and wait.
• They had lights on in the trees out in the fields by the watering hall. Saw a bunch of springbok come to get water.
• Guys came back pretty excited about how well they fixed my bike rack. He even spray-painted it all black.
• Had an incredible dinner where we learned about the farm and all of the game that they have. Did not know that you can hunt anything here, any type of wild game, even rhinos, elephants…wow. He said there was a lot of misinformation out there.
• Spent a bit more time just chatting and then in our tents by 9pm.

   

98.84km/293m
Total: 4,259.24km/26,841m

Day 54: Astra Hunting Safari > Windhoek

• Alarm set for 6:30 for breakfast at 7am. Had a pretty decent sleep with the dogs hanging out by our tent most of the night, especially Grandma who slept right beside PL. Even growled at him when he moved…lol.
• Had an incredible breakfast where we got to try some of their homemade salami and smoked cured meat. We actually were able to buy some to take with us as it’s the first salami type of meat that we found. Oryx, zebra, hartebeest….
• Had more great chats with Zane and learned more about the farm and he said that instead of paying him for fixing the rack, that PL should book a hunting trip here!
• Did a quick video and pictures with Zane and then we were on our bikes by 8:30am.
• Really happy that they put that extension on my rear rack is now my pack doesn’t touch my seat or my butt at all. Huge difference, as my low back and knees were sore from the last few days of adjusting my riding. This thing is solid as a rock!
• Speed limit is 120 km/h. That is definitely the minimum around here! Just about got taken out by a car but didn’t pull over as a truck was coming the opposite direction. Didn’t even hear it. Heart rate shot straight up! I felt nauseous. Jerk!
• Found some porcupine quills to add to my collection. And…a Namibian license plate!
• Saw a bunch of warthogs on the side of the road, big ones. Also an ostrich ripping down a fence line.
• Seeing quite a few more Volkswagens on the road now too. There are quite a few Germans in Windhoek and east on the coast, there are these little German communities.
• Starting to see mountains on the horizon. It seems pretty overcast. Not sure if it’s pollution or not.
• Rode along the old railroad into Seeis. Stopped at the Der Bahnladen shop, but it was closed as today is their holiday. Had our snack anyway. I was hoping for a cold drink. It’s quite the hobby farm with Friesian horses, goats, looks like llamas and alpacas and ostriches. Really pretty.
• Thinking Namibia should establish a rail trail here as it runs parallel to the highway all the way into Windhoek.
• Keep seeing the grouse and the warthogs together. They must be rely on each other for hearing possible predators.
• Definitely a lot more mazungos in cars.
• Seeing all the German cars now. Even some electric ones.
• “Windhoek is surrounded by the Auas Mountains to the southeast, the Eros Mountains to the north, and the expansive Khomas Hochland highlands to the west.”
• Ended up on the A1 for about 15 K, then got back onto the B6, the Trans Kalahari Corridor. Course found!
• Spooked by a group of baboons when we got off the highway, and then more warthogs.
• Rolled into Windhoek at 2:15pm.
• Stopped at the cycle tech bike shop to grab some water. Then up to Ecki & Vera’s house. Arrived at 3pm.
• Showed us our room and then made us food and gave us cold drinks. Hung out and chatted and then got caught up with our media.
• PL washed the bikes, I did laundry and had a shower while we waited for supper. Tonight is a braii, which is super exciting.
• Had a wonderful supper with great conversation.
• In bed by 10pm.

   

112.04km/663m
Total: 4,371.28km/27,504m

   

Day 55: Thursday, August 27, Windhoek

• No alarm set, we’re up by 7am. Had coffee, granola and a doughnut – all that Vera could find at the bakery…lol.
• Had some good chats and then PL worked on the bikes and I got all the laundry and our bags sorted.
• Tried to get the Yango taxi app but it isn’t working.
• Vera drove us to the car rental place and we booked a vehicle for the weekend.
• Rented our vehicle for tomorrow. And then asked for a ride to the Nvidia craft center.
• Had a great lunch and did some planning and walked around the craft fair looking for bracelets.
• Walked to the one on the street and had a few people come up to us asking for food and money.
• Started to make our way back to Vera’s and we passed a woman singing quite beautifully. PL had mentioned that that would be somebody who would give money to, but didn’t feel right at the moment. She started to follow us singing out loud and then walked ahead of us and sat down and kept singing. PL had said in his own head he needed a clear sign, and this was it! He gave her some money and told her to keep singing. It was quite cute.
• Came back to the house and just hung out and waited for supper. Nobody was home so we weren’t sure exactly what was happening and we were actually closed in the house.
• Martin and his wife Crystal came over and we shared a drink while waiting for dinner. By the time everything was ready, Vera had come home from her meeting and joined us.
• We had a great night having food, wine, and good conversation.
• In bed at 11:30 PM.

Day 56: Windhoek > Swokopmond, Namibia

• Up at 6:45pm to have breakfast and pick up the car at 8am.
• Grabbed some coffee and snacks and hit the road. Both feeling a bit out of sorts as neither of us would have imagined this would be our life!!! Humbled.
• So many baboons in the middle of the highway.
• A really long brick wall about 2m all along the highway along Okahandja before the B2 exit to Swakopmund.
• Went through Karibib gold mining town & Usakos, old railway central town.
• The landscape reminds us of the Okanagon, Osoyoos area.
• Saw another group of motorcycle tourists.
• Started to see the mountains located roughly 30 to 40 kilometers to the north of Usakos, Namibia – “the striking Erongo Mountains, a massive volcanic ruin made of ancient granite…”
• Getting a taste of the gravel we will be riding on Monday!! A lot of washboard! Yikes…this poor little car.
• Finally made it to the Spitzkoppe entrance at 12:30. Grabbed some sandwiches and Fantas for lunch.
• ‘Spitzkoppe, known as the “Matterhorn of Namibia,” is a spectacular group of bald granite peaks rising over 700 meters above the desert floor in the Erongo Region. These dramatic rock formations are roughly 700 million years old and stand out sharply against the flat landscape of the Namib Desert.’
• Drove around quite a bit, took lots of pictures and made it to the arch. Spent about an hour and a bit and then on our way back out.
• The road is pretty washboard so it was not a nice drive and felt bad for our little punter wagon.
• Back onto the highway cruising pretty good and then there was an abnormal load coming towards us and PL went a little too far left and there’s no shoulders so he hit the broken pavement and we got a flat tire.
• Ended up pulling off right exactly where there another car was getting fixed on the other side of the road. So the gentleman decided to help us. Probably made it take a lot longer as he had a slow maneuvering Jack. Got it changed and back on the road…max 80kmh 😉
• Passed Nasar Uraniam and Rosser uranium mine along Dorab National Park.
• Massive pipeline from the ocean to the line. We think it’s the desalinization pipeline.
• Basically desert-like terrain with a crazy cloud barrier towards the ocean. Love the street names: Nelson Mandela, Edison, Einstein.
• Pulled into Swakopmund to the Best Drive Repair Shop at 4:45pm. Really hoping they can fix it tonight.
• They have to get a new rim, so we have to come back tomorrow late afternoon.
• Drove downtown and found our hotel. Had a quick change and then a walk along the ocean to have dinner on the jetty. We didn’t have a reservation, but they let us in for only an hour as they had somebody coming in at that time. Got a beautiful window seat.
• Had some amazing seafood and then walked back to our hotel.
• Had showers, updated our photos and then to bed.

Here’s a collection of clips from our time exploring Namibia’s coast: Spitzkoppe, Sandwich Harbour, Swakopmund… 

Day 57: Walvis Bay – Sandwich Harbour, Namibia

• Alarm set for 6:15 to be down to breakfast early as we had to leave at 7:15am. Scarfed down some food and then we were in the car driving.
• B2 goes all along the ocean on the right and the Dorab National Park on the left, which is all sand dunes. Beautiful.
• Heading towards Walvis Bay for the kayaking/4 x 4 day.
• Port of Walvis Bay: Many large ships off the shores. “The large structures visible off the coast between Swakopmund and Walvis Bay are mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs), such as drillships and semi-submersible oil rigs, temporarily stationed, staged, or undergoing maintenance….”
• A lot of developments all along the water. Really pretty.
• Arrived at the lagoon at 8am ready for our trip.
• Walked around trying to find our check-in and listened to the wrong people as they said wait till 8:30. So we ended up being 15 minutes late to check in…lol.
• 45km/1hr. drive to the put-in. A guided tour by Hugo along the way.
• Not a German enclave, so different architecture. It was declared independent 4 years after Namibia. SA held onto the port. Walvis means whale. Developed around the shipping industry. A lot of waterfront walkers/runners. More locals than Swokupmund.
• Walvis Bay Lagoon, protected. Millions of cape cormorants & flamingos. Dune belt all along the left. Quizá delta.
• Final stretch was a 15km ride on the sand spit which was really fun. Greater & Lesser (all pink) Flamingos , swans, cormorants.
• And brown hyena tracks all around. Front paw is bigger than the back. Jackels.
• Spent 2 hours in the water hanging with the seals. It was so cool.
• “Pelican Point is a dramatic, wind-swept sand spit stretching into the Atlantic Ocean near Walvis Bay, Namibia, famous for its historic lighthouse and massive Cape fur seal colony. Acting as a natural barrier guarding the harbor, this isolated peninsula is one of the most productive marine ecosystems in the world. It offers travelers a stark, beautiful meeting point between the roaring ocean currents and the silent dunes of the Namib Desert…”
• Then we had coffee, sandwiches & sweets.
• Back to the Walvis bay.
• Transferred to the Sandwich Harbour Tour with Bertie.
• “Sandwich Harbour is one of Namibia’s most spectacular natural wonders, famous for being the unique place where 100-meter-high desert dunes plunge directly into the Atlantic Ocean. Located inside the Namib-Naukluft National Park about 60 km south of Walvis Bay, this remote tidal lagoon is a world-class wetland sanctuary. It is protected as a Ramsar Site and shelters over 150 species of migratory and resident birds, including massive flocks of flamingos and pelicans…”
• You can drive on the beach for 788km south!
• One of the oldest deserts in the world.
• Bombed along for a bit and then got to climb up a big sand dune. Super cool. Just a quick stop as the tide was coming in and needed to avoid the water.
• Worked our way to the end by the point and then up to the top of the dune to the lookout and had snacks and bubbly. Such amazing views.
• Then we went down!!! So fun. Then bombed back all over the place. Saw onyx and springbok.
• Back to the marina and then to get our tire fixed. Had it quickly changed and then back to our hotel.
• Got our photos organized and I had a hot shower.
• Then we had our smoked meat, cheese, crackers and some red wine. Watched a movie then to bed.