Day 4 TuesdayUp by 7am and go and drop some more N$ at the restaurant for brekkie. Got my photo taken for their overland book...I will be XT660z #3 on the 2016/2017 red file
Today is the last of the tarmac so I take it easy...some warthog and springbok. Then police checkpoint. Lots of crashed cars at the checkpoint...the result of the cattle farming in that area. They farm with cattle extensively...but no fences! Cattle literally everywhere....take it easy if travelling there. This now the C35 Kamanjab to Ruacana.
Landscape slowly changing...less bush and more rocks.
At my second smoke stop at 200km roughly the following plays itself out:
I am standing there having taken some pics next to the road. Enjoying a ciggie and taking in the morning. I observe a new white BMW X3 approaching from the North at a moer of a spoed. I thought...what fucking gansta idiot is this now?! P03s.
Then after nearly connecting a cow the X3 swerves of the embankbent and comes to a screeching halt right next to my bike...Oh p03s!
Two black dudes jumps out. My first reaction as a crime terrorized Saffer is "O fok...hier kom kak!"
No I ride in MX books so running wasnt an option...and in all the bleddie ATGATT I did not even thing I could throw a decent punch. Fuck.
Then I started actually pay .hang on a minute. Thse guys are dressed well. Casual but expensive. Gangsters? Mafia?
Look again...one with the Ray-Ban Aviators has a Tafel can in hand...what ganster drinks Tafel?!
Then the bubble burst with a barrage of questios:
"Where you from, where you going, why you alone, how long, how fat etc etc etc"
The penny dropped...Van Rooyen you fucking idiot...these guys are busy with a long drive to Windhoek and you are simply something interesting along the way. They were genuinely friendly and interested. We spent about 15mins just chatting and then they were of again at a spoed.
I stood there and felt like a right prick...so far this country has been nothing but kind to me, especially the people. Not one begger, skew look, remark...nothing but kindness. Take your RSA crime paranoia and shove it up ur arse boet. This is Nam
Arrive at Puma garage in Ruacana mid afternoon. Bike back on 20km/l
Fill up with fuel as well as 2 x 2l coke bottles and my Desert Fox bladder. I knew next fuel at Okangwati woud be expensive so rather stock up here.
The garage shop is well stocked. From fishing rods to tubeless repair kit. No bike tubes though.
Then off to Kunene River Lodge about 60km on. I passed the bulldoser clearing the vegetation next to the road once on the gravel...mmmm so it seems the rumours of the Swartbooisdrift road upgrade may be true after all.
Gravel is a bit tricky as the doser had just worked it so although it appeared smooth it was rather loose and uneaven with some holes.
Luckily my OsmAnd directed me to the old track that runs closer to the river. So onto the 2 spoor sandy track it was
. I manage to interweave the two and rode as much of the old track to Kunene Lodge as possible.
Booked into Kunene Campsite and had dinner on the deck. Met Volker and hit daughter from Walvisbaai...he gave me some route advise and invited me for coffee. He showed me some footage he took with his drome of the Marienfluss. He advised that after last years rain the area was exceptionally green and special to view. He recommended the Community Campsite and not my planned Camp Syncro at the top of the Marienfluss.
The lady that runs the lodge said the road is now upgraded all the way through Swartbooisdrift to Opuwo
. She reckoned 3 hrs by car. Shit.
My phone did not charge so lekker on the bike so I begged a charge from the lady at reception.
Although my plan was to change the worn out E07 rear at Kunene Lodge and put on the new D606 I decided not too as the tyre was still ok and the road supposedly improved.
Topic: Kaokoland: I was tired of reading about it!!! (Read 18386 times)
