Namibia

Period: August 2002

Partecipants: Alessandro Farolfi, Marco Taverniti, Axel Kaiser

The goal is to travel in the remote Northwest of Namibia by Mountain Bike.
For this trip I bring along a recumbent bike, I bought this bike after a bike trip in southern India at Christmas. My butt hurted so much in this trip that I wanted to try a new way of travelling by bike.
My friends were, at first, very convinced about this circus tool, as they called it.

Our first challenge was to store our three bikes and gear into a brand new Mercedes C class car, the only one we found available at the airport. We wanted to make the trip from Windhoek till Svakopmund by car as our time was limited and the road passes trough a quite boring desert landscape.
The temperature was perfect but while we launched the car at 140 km/h over the gravel roads the temperature started o rise. I had already broken the left side rear mirror due to the unusual driving position ( Namibia has left hand driving), and Marco and Allessandro urged me to slow down as rolling the car is not covered by insurances. The landscape is really scaring, severalhundreds of kilometres without any living form. No water, no green, just barren plains.
We stop at the famous Welvitscha drive. Here the temperature is already at 42 ° Celsius. We are worried about this temperature it sems impossible to breath, let alone riding a bike. We spend almost an hour sprinkling our only water to lichens which are said to miracously bloom at the first drop of water. probably we pick the wrong plants as nothing happens. Also the Welvitscha plants are rare and scarce even if the Area is named after them. When we reach Svakopmund it’s already dark we find lodging in a privat house of a German lady. She informs us that the heat is caused by cold wind coming from the Highlands which heats up descending to the sea bringing hot arid and dusty weather normally it lasts three days.
It’s difficoult to realize that we are in Africa wandering around the town which has a strong German character, the food also is strictly german with some seafood variant.
Next morning we find our way trough a dust storm to bring back the car, we make also big shopping buying food for 6-7 days as in the north it’s difficoult to find anything more than very basic provisions. In the afternoon the wind subsides and we have a swim in the roaring ocean.
Our plan is to get up early to avoid the heat. Next morning the temperature is 2° Celsius and heavy fog. We still have to get used to this mutable weather conditions.
We are on a Salt road parallel to the sea, there is notjing around us except a few sand dunes and lichen fields (we try again sprinkling water on them without any results.
After only 30 km Alessandro’s knees start to hurt, it’s strange because he trained heavily without any problem. We suggest that he hitches a ride with some of the pickups passing by at great speed. But he doesn’t intend to start his trip on a pickup. Obviously a strong headwind is picking up and for the 80 km we need 4 ½ hours even if it’s all flat. Alessandro arrives 30 minutes after us and is barely able to walk. Once arrived we realise that Marco left the guide book in Svakopmund, as this book is essential for us we try to find a way to get back to collect it.
At the bar we are informed that there is no public transport, but a already quite drunken local offers us his car throwing us the keys. We are astonished, giving your car to complete strangers is a great sign of hospitality. We leave Alessandro at the bar as security and go back. At top speed the 80 km just fly along and we are back in less than two hours.
Alessandro looks at us with dull alcohol swollen eyes when we come back, but he made a great job at entertaing the locals, we obviously join the party. Between various drinking games the afternoon passes quickly, but in the night we have to face the real problem, Alessandro can’t bike, at least for a few days. It’s hard to decide what to do, we settle that Marco and me go along the Skeleton coast and cut then through the mountains by a very rough track and meet Ale at Twyelfontain.
It’s hard to leave him there, it’s the first time that this happens in of our trips.
Next morning we feel a little guilty but happy to be on the road.
In early afternoon we arrive at the cape cross seal reserve, this seals are so many that they are butchered because they endanger the fishing grounds. We can walk in the middle of houndreds of seals, the noise and odour are overpowering. Here is also a cross planted by Portugese explorers in 1485. We spend our first night in the tent only the strong wind disturbs an almost perfect night.
Next morning we program to leave the main road to cross the mountains to reach the Brandberg massive. A few houses are signed on our map, but except a few huts for the fishers along the beach there is nothing and we have to go13 km further nord against a very strong wind to reach a military station were we can take the 12 litres each we count to use in the next three days. Than we have to backtrack to the road junction. Till this moment my recumbent bike worked great, when I lead or team we could maintain average speed of around 30 km/h. As this kind of bike is very aereodinamic. The new road gives us a foresight of what expects us in the rst of the trip, gravel roads ranging from very good to miserable, we were on a miserable stretch.
We<stop for lunch sheltered behind bulders against the wind. When we finish we see a Pickup Pass by at great speed and in the back are two bikes. This seems strange to us we run in the middle of the road and start weaving. The pickups turns and on board are Ale and Steve, the owner of the bar at hentys bay.
Ale had made his friendship the day before. When Steve heard about the road we intended to take and was horrified. In his opinion we were going to die in the mountains as the tracks are difficoult to follow and there is no water, well we’ll never know.
He made 200 km to reach us and bring us back and take then the main road. He is one of the only cycling enthusiasts in Namibia and he decided to follow us for a few days. We go back with him, the biking north and then go south again with a car seems to became a habit.
Once in Hentys Bay again we agree that Marco, Steve and me would bike along the road and Ale and Steves brother would go by car waiting some 40 km ahead. To tell the truth I would have preferred to go by car too as we already made 65 km against the wind but Marco convinced me to bike as well. We stop along the road and when the dark fell Steves wife and children join us for a ‘Brai’ the Namibian barbecue. We have a fun evening and when it’s time to go to bed Steves wife and brother leave for home leaving us to fit all four of us in the tent, a little cramped. Next day we see that all the equipment of Steve is a sleeping back and a gun ( for the blacks and lions). We already saw that the distrust and hate between white and blacks still exists as in the old days of Apartheid. The next day Ale waits for a lift and we start our day. It’s about 90 km of uphill to reach Uis where we will stay with a friend of Steve. The landscape is changing slowly and for the first time we feel like being in Africa.
Next day Steves friend lends us his VW minibus to go visit a little around. Steve knows the area well because he used to sell Alcohol here. We visit the White Lady of Brandberg. This are prehistoric paintings. The Brandberg is covered with hundreds of this paintings.
Next day Steves wife comes to pick him up, holiday is finished for him.
Ale feels better and decides to try his knees again. Marco has some problems on his rims he keeps puncturing the tires, we lined them with tape but it’s useless. Now we are in the middle of Damaraland one of the bigger tribes in Namibia.
The road is gentle rolling and it was recently ‘graded’ (a machine which smoothes the roads from time to time). On a long ascend ale quits and asks for a ride. We sleep all together in the middle of nowhere, it’s a wonderful night and we are happy tobe all three together. Next morning we see Elephants tracks in fron of our tents, we are not sure if they were there the night before us we arrived at dusk.
The road today is quite hard, very sandy, but we have only 40 km to go so we arrive totwyvelfontein, which is basically only a big Camping ground full with jeeps of organized tours. But it’s a great place to have something cool to drink. In the afternoon we hire a guy with car who brings us to the petrified forest. The dinner is nothing special, most of the people went to a luxury lodge nearby where the food is probably better than what we got.
Next day is the probably the hardest even if we don’t know it. It starts with the usual rolling landscape and good road. Around noon we have a very steep pass about 700 meters of bad road and in searching heat. I realize that a recumbent is not the first choice for steep hills, worse if they are bad gravel road. I arrive to the top very tired, but the road seems to improve but this only apparently after a short steep descend it’s uphill again on sand road with headwind, I average only 4-5km/h. We stop for lunch and decide to stop at the first opportunity, Ale’s knees hurt badly but we didn’t have any passing cars for hours. After a few km we reach a junction with a little roadside bar. We stop for some beer and decide to stay here for the night. The bartender provides us with some water to have a quick shower. As usual we have some rice and lentils for dinner. Ale decides to stop biking. He will reach Sesfontein and wait there for us.
The next day starts very hard, uphill on a bad road, we stop at a luxury lodge. We asked for some water and they made a big fuss about because they had to water the lawn!! Absolutely they wanted sell us no food. So we left the unfriendly place and stopped at a little kiosk further ahead where there is unofficial border which separates the herds of animals of the ‘civilized south’ from the wild north. The only food we found there was two cans of meat but everything was welcome. Now we enter the famous Kaokeveld, the most remote part of the country.
The road became worse there were hundreds of very steep Up and Downs which were in correspondence to dry creek crossings. Our tecnic was to go up to 75 km/h downhill to gain us much as possible on the uphill part. This was dangerous as on the lowest part we had often loose gravel and rocks. At about 1 o’clock we have to stop, the temperature is well over 40 ° and I feel like fainting. We mount the inner tend to have some shade and wait, the incredible dry wind is like a giant hairdryer and we keep drinking our scarce reserve of water. At 4 PM we resolve to start even if it’s still hot. We decide to make another 25 km before stopping, in the whole day we managed barely 75 km. The night was glorious, as everybody imagines an African night, endless horizonts, quite and incredible amounts of stars.Next day is mostly downhill and we stop only to pick up some water before going to Warmquelle, a thermal waterfall with natural pool, perfect for relaxing aching joints. We enjoy the relaxing afternoon swimming and wandering around shooting pictures. The people her are, as always in this country, friendly and helpful.
Next morning we have only 22 km to reach sesfontein where Ale is waiting. We have to cope with his bad humour as he spent three days in a mosquito infected treehouse, the only economical option to the costly hotel rooms, only bonus was the use of the hotel pool.
Marco scavenges two big chicken which we rost for the evening dinner accompanied by several bottles of beer for them and a frozen Coke for me.
Next day we decide to rent a jeep and guide to visit the wild country side and animals. Marco amd me need some rest and Ale needs some people around. We go to a remote valley where we see the whole range of African animals: Elephants, giraffes, zebra, antelopes etc.
Our next meeting point is Opuwo two days further north. To cross the mountains we have to cross a pass, this day we rise around 1800 meters. The last 200 meters are so steep that we push the bikes one by one, not all cars can pass this point and so not more than 5 cars pass in the whole day. We enjoy the day even if the road is hard and steep. We sleep in the middle of the Savannah. Next day Marco, the infatiguable , is not in top form and it’s the only day I’m always in front, we pass trough a forest of huge Baobabs, we see also several tribes of Himba people still dressed in the traditional way, the women are barebreasted with a complicate hairstyle hold in place by mud.At noon we reach Opuwo, the first real town after Svakopmund, to find Ale we seat ourself in the bestlooking bar of the town and wait and after only 30 minutes he turns limping around the corner.
Our original plans where to reach the Epupa falls on the Angola border but this would mean for Ale stayinl alone for several days again. So we decide to quit biking and go by car and bus to the Etosha national park. It takes us two days to reach Tsumeb trough the Owambo country, the most populated and richest part of the country.
We rent a car and go to the Etosha pan. This world famous park has a incredible high density of wildlife. The park is a big saltlake surrounded by bushland. It’s almost too easy to spot the animals. We sleep in one of the three official campsites in the park. At night we go to a illuminated waterhole at which the whole night al kinds of animals seem to wait for their turn.
We visit also the Waterberg Plateau park which is a sanstone tower emrging from the surrounding flat dessert. We climb the plateau to see the big herds of Baboons and walk amidst the sandstone towers. At this point the desire to bike again is over helming. We decide to regress to Windhoek by Bike, Ale will go by bus. We ahev a few pases and the the road becames flat we have 200 km to go to reach Okahandja were we intend to sleep.The road is really boring and as usual after noon a strong wind picks up and guess what it’s a head wind.
After 110 km we are really pised of the dull landscape and the wind, we quit. A few young guys gives us a lift. We sleep in a dessert municipal camping and next morning a South American truck driver gives us a lift to Windhoek. We arrive at the prearranged hotel were we find Ale in a shirt and underpants, The Hotel was robbed by two guys in the night they shoot even at a german guy who tried to stop them, fortunately they missed, they stole everything except his money and passport. Obviously Ale is not very fond of the whole trip and it’s end but a great dinner in a very good restaurant resolves his spirits.
Next morning we have the flight home.