Bikepacking Africa, Week #10: Sesriem, Keerweder, Betta, Tiras & Aus, Namibia

Day 65: Sesriem > Keerweder, Namibia

Alarm set for 6:15am to go to breakfast. Quite busy today, a lot of people are leaving. We both were up quite a bit, and we think it’s just because of all of the food we’ve been eating and desserts probably. All that extra sugar!
Riding out at 7:15am. Beautiful morning. Not as windy so not as cold.
Plan is to just ride and see how we feel and how the conditions are as to when we stop. We have 3 options: short, medium & long.
Made omelet sandwiches for the day.
GoPro battery died so had to change it. So riding at 7:30am.
So far so good. Jackets off by 8am!
Passed through the Sossusvlei [play] private desert reserve with helicopter pad.
Stopped for snacks at 10:20am. 3h/43km
Into the Namib Rand Nature Reserve. Passing the Kwessi Dunes.
Gravel just kept getting worse and worse so when we hit Keereweder, our first option to stop, we drove in to check and see what the conditions would be like moving forward. They said it gets worse for the next 30 K, so we decided to just stop early today. Our bodies and minds were just mentally and physically a bit tired. Rolled in around 12:30.
Just chilled for a bit looking at options and planning until the border.
Had a shower and snacks and then PL sort of napped. It’s so peaceful here. My guts aren’t feeling so great so I laid firm for a few minutes.
Made dinner early – 5:30pm – so we could go to bed. Only so much you can do, so you might as well sleep. (Pasta with red sauce & sausage – P.L. Special.)
Set up my phone to time lapse the sunset. Fell over but I got most of it. Stars are incredible tonight as well.
There were mosquitoes last night and one was in the room, and I kept hearing him off and on. We tried to get him before we fell asleep. Here’s hoping.
Into bed at 8pm.

Animals we saw today:

* Zebra
* Ostrich
* Jackal
* Springbok

65.53km/369m
Total: 4,765.54km/30,419m

Day 66: Keerweder > Betta, Namibia

Alarm set for 6am. PL said he slept great, mine was average. Both our stomachs were off the last couple of days and we’ve had the runs. Hoping it’s just a 24 hour thing.
Riding out at 7:15am.
Shitty gravel again and then hard crosswinds at 30km. Turning so hopefully tailwinds!!
Audiobooks in with 38km to go.

Truck stopped to ask if we wanted a ride with 25km left. They work at the campsite that we were stopping at today. We said yes! It was too random to pass up. They said we looked tired…lol. The wind was fierce today so yeah, I probably did look tired.
Another early finish but there’s more to see and do here.
Hung out by the WiFi for awhile and then set up our tents. The pool is 1.5km away at the mountainside chalets so we didn’t get to soak. A shower will have to do.
Head showers, pee, had a little nap, and then back to the restaurant for Wi-Fi before dinner at 6pm. Ordered a whole bunch of extras for today as we won’t have any restaurant or stores for the next two nights.
[Need] our rice meal ahead of time as they had a big propane tank. In our tents at 8 PM.

Saw:

* Oryx
* Springbok
* Jackel

76.67km/557m
Total: 4,842.21km/30,967m

Day 67: Betta > Barby’s Guest Farm

Alarm set for 5:45am for breakfast at 6:30am. It’s definitely a lot warmer out this morning and it’s a beautiful sky. So many stars every night. These skies are incredible!
Packed up all of our lunch food that we ordered from the restaurant and we’re not riding out until 7:30am. It’s going to be a long climbing day! Here’s hoping for good gravel.
Rolled by Sinclair Nature Reserve.
Stopped for our first Snack at 10:24am, 47 km in.
The first 30 K was still pretty crappy with soft sandy sides. Also a cross wind with some elevation. Then the gravel turned great! Some descending, and a little table for a bit. Still have the cross winds but at least it’s rideable! Super quiet on the road and only seen one car so far.
Climbing, climbing, climbing & hot for the last 25km, about 450m!

Rolled into Barby guest Farm at 12:30pm, checked out the campsites which were an extra kilometer away on a really rocky road with no shade. He gives cyclists a deal so we took a cabin. Same price we paid for camping last night in Betta.
Hung out for a bit, did some videos and checked our route for some planning. Had warm showers as the hot water was too hot and the cold water was warm…lol.
Walked to the main house at 4 for beers and to chat with farmer Lesley. He has sheep, goats and cattle. The goats are lambing so all the babies are everywhere. At the end of the day all of the lambs are brought out to the moms to milk.
Barby is the name of the town in Germany where the original farm owner came from. After the war, they were offered land or 300 Deutschmarks. Many took land in this area.
The story of how his great great grandfather came is pretty incredible. He was arrested in Scotland and back then criminals were sent to Australia. Ship got stranded off of South Africa and that’s how he ended up there. He was taken in by a Jewish farmer. They worked for home transporting cattle for a bit, but then they realized that they could just keep the cattle and sell it for themselves so they did. The farmer came after them and because it was a British colony at the time he could still get arrested, so they came up to Namibia.
…also interesting stories about the German clothing trucks coming here and just giving clothes away for free. Another example of how NGO’s just give without making them pay or do anything for things. It has created a culture of begging. Not the first time we’ve heard this.
…also heard a story about a National Geographic study that found that a lot of indigenous people around the world are lacking a gene that helps them handle alcohol. So they’re not alcoholics, they just don’t have the gene to handle it.
Felt bad because we said dinner at 5 and it’s after 6 and no food yet. He said he’s getting it going.
Continued chatting and finally ate around 6:30pm. It was a great meal, typical of what farmers usually have. Mashed potatoes, breaded, lamb, cutlets, candied, carrots, and salad.
Walked back in the dark and got ready for bed. Guys are still [working].

72.09km/857m
Total: 4,914.30km/31,833m

Day 68: Barby Guest Farm > Tiras, Namibia

Alarm set for six. Made breakfast in our room of oatmeal with canned peaches and coffee.
Riding our bikes out at 7:30am.
Hit our alternate route turn-off at 9am. Came through some incredible rocky mountain landscape. It’s like they’re just piles of rocks just dropped all over the place.
Completely different kind of gravel. Red sand, but we got lucky with the grader so we had some clear sections.
Saw a [dik-dik] rip back-and-forth across the road at least seven times trying to get away from us. Fence on both sides. [Freaking] rammed its head into there more than once thinking there was a hole.
Some more of the fuzzy jackal looking animals. I’ll have to look up what they’re called as we’ve seen them before. Bat eared foxes.
Stopped for first snack at 10am, 48 km in.
The flies were so bad. We both took our helmets off hopefully that works as they were getting stuck in our hair.

Got to Tiras Camping at 11am. Way ahead of schedule, but still not early enough to keep going to Aus. Took a break to have a cold drink and maybe arrange a ride. If not, we will stay here. Already 40 degrees out.
The ride was going to be $220 so we decided to stay the night. Got settled in our room and then had showers.
Located in the Naturpark Tirasberge Conservancy. Stunning views. [The Tiras Mountains (also known as the Tirasberge) merge with and are bordered by the Rooirand Escarpmentto the north and northeast, along with the nearby Tsaris Mountains further north.]
Back to the reception area for WiFi at 3pm.
Reheated our rice for dinner and a beer with some cookies for dessert.
Now, just hanging out at 6pm which means it’ll be early to bed. It’s windy & overcast tonight.
Bit more Wi-Fi. I’m reading and then to bed.
Crazy amount of bugs inside the little cabin as soon as we turn the lights on as there’s no screens on the windows. Had to turn the lights on outside and off inside with doors open just to get them outside before we went to bed.
In bed by 8:30.

68.66km/384m
Total: 4,982.96km/32,217m

Day 69: Tiras > Aus, Namibia

Up at 6am. We both had pretty decent sleep as it’s completely black here. You can’t even get up to go anywhere cause you can’t see anything.
Today is a short day so we didn’t rush anything. These self catering places with kitchens just make everything that much easier.
Had oatmeal, coffee and made the rest of our peanut butter and Nutella wraps for lunch today. We also have leftover oatmeal in the PB and Nutella bag, and rice from last night’s dinner. We still have our freeze-dried meals too, so we have lots of food.
On our bikes at 7:30am.
Nice little 6% grade on sand to wake you up and get you back to the main road!
No jackets this morning as it’s already 18°! Yikes.
Saw some ostrich with babies and some bat eared foxes. Other than that, it looks like Saskatchewan again to the west with the gorgeous Tirasberge mountains on the east.
Earbuds & helmets off at 9am.
It’s like a freaking traffic jam today! We’ve seen dozens of cars already going north. We haven’t seen any cars in two or three days so they must be coming from Aus, but not sure where they’re going. Seriously crazy.
Had a snack at 10am by the graders trailer. One of the workers was there as well so we had a little chat. Now we have a big climb to our campsite. About 20k & 250m.

Saw our first big semi truck going east on the B4. It is a spar truck.
Tarmac!!!
Rolled into Aus at 11:30am. Booked a room at the hotel. Last one. Not cheap but tomorrow is a big day. It’s busy here. Not sure why yet??
Found out Aus serves as the primary strategic gateway and pit-stop between the coastal town of Lüderitz and Namibia’s interior. And there are wild desert horses 20km from here.
Had a radler as it’s hot while we raided for our room to be ready.
Gotta love all the short shorts [on] all the guys in Botswana and Namibia.
Saw two more guys on motorcycles. It brings our total to six!
There are wild horses 20km from here but no tours. May try to find a ride with someone. No luck. Gas is expensive!
Now looking at booking flights. Done. We will be home Monday, September 28th at 2pm 🙌🏻🙌🏻
Finally got our rooms and had showers. Had to convince them to let us have our bikes in the room but PL worked his magic with the ladies again.
Walked to get some supplies at the store and then back to our room. Dinner will be at 6pm.
Ate too much! Ugh. Had Spatzle but it was really rich. And we had dessert!!! Oh well. 170km tomorrow so maybe I’ll burn it off.
Back to the room. I was in bed at 9pm but couldn’t sleep. PL came around 10pm as he was setting up our WiFi at the lake.

67.69km/522m
Total: 5,050.65km/32,739m

Day 70: Aus > Rosh Pinah, Namibia (Four Seasons Lodge)

Alarm set for 6am to be down for breakfast by 6:30 so we could eat and then get on the road as early as possible. Neither one of us slept great as it was too warm and my guts were not great so [I] was up in the middle of the night going to the bathroom. Just should’ve opened the window, which neither of us did!
Did some planning for South Africa while we waited for breakfast to be ready.
On our bikes at 7:30am.
Pretty incredible scenery and so far the wind is cooperating at 50K-2 hours in. [Riding along the Aus Mountains near [our] starting point and passing through the rugged edges of the Great Escarpment and the Tsau Khaeb (Sperrgebiet) landscape as you head south on the C13 toward Rosh Pinah…]
Seeing a few ostriches, a small gazelle, lots of geckos on the road that dart across. Not much else here, but the flat top is spectacular.
Earbuds in right away as there is a lot to listen to on a long day today.

Stopped for our first snack at 10am 60+ kms at an awesome site. Wild camping would be great as it had a pit toilet too!
Seeing more cars now that it’s tarmac and also big semi trucks.
…also more roadkill-geckos & birds than any wildlife.
Day of 1/3- crosswinds and down/ headwind and up / cross & down.
35 degrees!?! 2nd break at noon – 100km in.
Just passed Namibia‘s largest solar power station. 30 km before Rosh Pinah.
Last quick stop at 1:30. 132km in…
Had an awesome downhill that was supposed to be 20km. Well the first 10 was and then bam…headwinds and only 0-1%down. And 41 degrees.
[Felt] really bad for PL as the last 15 K was pretty gnarly and he just pulled like crazy. He was a machine today.
Rolled into Rosh Pinah just before 3pm. Straight to Choppies for treats and something cold.
Checked into our lodge.
Had a quick swim and then showers and uploaded everything.
Went for a beer and then waited for the restaurant to open. Too many bugs and so we went back to the room. Done with bugs after today!!!
Back for dinner which was great! We had pizzas so we have leftovers.
Watched a bit of tv and then to bed.