Northern Namibia with my brother......and a few other clowns

[ClimbingTurtle]

My Liewe Ding.....

I cannot wait to get back up there - I need a smaller, lighter bike - like the G450X or something - and I must really make a plan to book for next year......

[Dwerg]

We refuelled in Uis and had a fizzy drink. The rest of the guys started arriving and unfortunately, @P.K. had a puncture






Team effort....... Thank goodness I was running Mousses front and rear..






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We bumped into you lot here! Funacide, Poipipants, Plothond & myself were on the loaded 1190 x2/1090/1200LC bikes. 

Ek neem aan jy was die ou op die BMW? Was lekker om in julle vas te loop 

[Hardy de Kock]

My Liewe Ding.....

I cannot wait to get back up there - I need a smaller, lighter bike - like the G450X or something - and I must really make a plan to book for next year......

Wise choice (the smaller bike comment) - no matter the skill of the rider.
DRZ 400 with a long range tank works beautifully too.

[Noneking]

Lekker man! Hoe was die res van julle trip?

Woorde kan dit nie beskryf nie. Ons het net Damaraland explore, en dit was onbeskryflik. Sal nou pak en ry as ek kan.

Bly om te hoor!

[ClemS]

 

[>Herman<]

:

Net so

[ROOI]

:

Net so

SUB !! SO where is the Ride Report ?

[m0lt3n]

Ai manne, ek will ook so bitter graag dit doen. Great report!

[Matewis]

SUB!!!!

[>Herman<]

...SO where is the Ride Report ?

Ask Popipants, he is our designated writer 

[Noneking]

A couple more by @JannievandieVaaldam on day 3

[Noneking]

[Noneking]

DAY 4 - OPUWO TO VAN ZYL'S CAMP

Before trip commenced, Hardy sent out a route description via WhatsApp. I didn't pay much attention to the details in the message, but rather memorised the destinations for each day. 

Day 4's description read like this " Opuwo To Van Zyl's Camp. This is where you start questioning your initial motivation for joining this trip. The road to van Zyl's camp is every bit as daunting as Van Zyl's Pass itself. Good luck - Many Quest contestants' hearts were shattered here" 

Reading this on the moring before departure from Opuwo, I could feel the butterflies in my tummy waking up..........

I tried to make contact with my wife one last time before we left Opuwo as we would be out of reach for a few days.


Dwerg waiting for breakfast

[Buff]

Super RR, loving it so far 

[Tom van Brits]

I assume the 'bike talk' will follow at a later stage, and what the ideal bike for the trip is but in my mind it seems the Huskey 501 (or a KTM 500) to be ideal.

Looking forward to the rest! 

[Noneking]

The morning started off with an easy ride along the C43 towards Okongwati. It was actually quite cold on the bike and took the lead and tried to keep speed down a bit. It was a lekker mix of open road and driffies here and the which allowed us to get some air from time to time .....

First toilet break

[Dwerg]

While sitting next to the road in that first pic, we commented on how fast a car was approaching in the distance. In the second pic you can see its' dust trail. We rounded a corner and went over a blind rise and this car came towards us over to our side of the road doing 100+. Hardy warned us to be vigilant on turns and rises and heeding his warning definitely saved me in this instance.

If you get to a blind rise, slow down and stay well left.

[Noneking]

I assume the 'bike talk' will follow at a later stage, and what the ideal bike for the trip is but in my mind it seems the Huskey 501 (or a KTM 500) to be ideal.

Looking forward to the rest! 

Tom, not for me to say what the ideal bike for trip would be. I can however tell you that the 501 was epic on this trip. Nothing got it out of shape and even on these long open stretches, it was epic fun to ride.  It was especially telling on days where we did a LOT of sand riding in riverbeds. I was just getting along so much easier than Dwerg and the rest. It was not about skill, but purely the ability of the light bike.

 In an ideal world, I would ride my 1090 R to Okongwati, then load it on the bakkie and complete the trip on the 501.

We were so lucky to be able to travel without luggage and in my case oversized fuel tank. Under different circumstances, I might have been better off on the 701 with extra fuel and luggage options.

[Hardy de Kock]

I assume the 'bike talk' will follow at a later stage, and what the ideal bike for the trip is but in my mind it seems the Huskey 501 (or a KTM 500) to be ideal.

Looking forward to the rest! 

Tom, not for me to say what the ideal bike for trip would be. I can however tell you that the 501 was epic on this trip. Nothing got it out of shape and even on these long open stretches, it was epic fun to ride.  It was especially telling on days where we did a LOT of sand riding in riverbeds. I was just getting along so much easier than Dwerg and the rest. It was not about skill, but purely the ability of the light bike.

 In an ideal world, I would ride my 1090 R to Okongwati, then load it on the bakkie and complete the trip on the 501.

We were so lucky to be able to travel without luggage and in my case oversized fuel tank. Under different circumstances, I might have been better off on the 701 with extra fuel and luggage options.

I must admit that the Husky made mincemeat of the technical (sand and rocks) sections. It really is a weapon for the technical terrain and Canzius even said it was enjoyable on the longer stretches.
Tom - reliability and basic knowledge of your bike is underestimated in most cases and this is where the thumpers shine. Old school, easy to fix technology is what I would recommend any time of the day. I am sure Dwerg would tell you that the DR might not have the best suspension etc, but he will also tell you that  Ri's DR brought him home without a glitch.

[Tom van Brits]

I assume the 'bike talk' will follow at a later stage, and what the ideal bike for the trip is but in my mind it seems the Huskey 501 (or a KTM 500) to be ideal.

Looking forward to the rest! 

Tom, not for me to say what the ideal bike for trip would be. I can however tell you that the 501 was epic on this trip. Nothing got it out of shape and even on these long open stretches, it was epic fun to ride.  It was especially telling on days where we did a LOT of sand riding in riverbeds. I was just getting along so much easier than Dwerg and the rest. It was not about skill, but purely the ability of the light bike.

 In an ideal world, I would ride my 1090 R to Okongwati, then load it on the bakkie and complete the trip on the 501.

We were so lucky to be able to travel without luggage and in my case oversized fuel tank. Under different circumstances, I might have been better off on the 701 with extra fuel and luggage options.

I must admit that the Husky made mincemeat of the technical (sand and rocks) sections. It really is a weapon for the technical terrain and Canzius even said it was enjoyable on the longer stretches.
Tom - reliability and basic knowledge of your bike is underestimated in most cases and this is where the thumpers shine. Old school, easy to fix technology is what I would recommend any time of the day. I am sure Dwerg would tell you that the DR might not have the best suspension etc, but he will also tell you that  Ri's DR brought him home without a glitch.

Agree 100% Hardy 

Respect to Ri for handing him her bike after her unfortunate mishap. Spoke to her yesterday, she went to the hospital and got X-ray's and confirmed a broken fibula - will need an operation and fusion. That is one tough lady to walk around with a smile on her face with a broken fibila!

Know she will read here at some time - Strongs Ri, hope you recover quick to be back in the saddle soon!