Nam's Labyrinth - Solo & Sane

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doublediamond

Pack Dog
Joined
Apr 27, 2009
Messages
112
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0
Location
Glenvista, JHB
Bike
BMW R1200GS Adventure
(I realize it is impossible to post anything new  that has not already been said a 1000 times about a Namibian trip on this forum, however I have decided to write this ride report for many reasons , but the 2 primary reasons are ;-
• Firstly I Hope it encourages & motivates those of you considering a similar trip, and perhaps provides some valuable information    that can be used in the planning of your trip, in the same way I found insight & inspiration from the many RR's on WD's & I feel it only right to give back a little, to in some small part make up for the plenty I have so unconditionally received from this forum.

• Secondly it gives my non WD friends &  family a brief glimpse into why I feel drawn to ride rough shod & bareback  into the relative unknown……. So please excuse & indulge the stuff that is blatantly obvious to WD’s  :)

And finally, no amount of words, no matter how dripping they are with metaphors & no award winning photos of desert roads with distant horizons drenched in sunsets can even begin to convey the “feeling” that is Namibia ………………….


Nam’s Labyrinth

Of late this song has become one of the many “anthems” for my life, and was my anthem for this trip, so in my attempt to convey the spirit & mood that permeated my thinking in planning this trip please start here and allow me this 5 minute indulgence.
TURN IT UP AS LOUD AS YOU CAN & READ THE WORDS OF THE SONG IN THE VIDEO & ALLOW ME TO SET THE MOOD BEFORE WE CONTINUE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dq_RQl_gHU

(If this song dont light your fire then your wood is wet!!)


So that this RR does not become a tome of male menopausal angst I will spare you all my self indulgent ramblings as to why I felt the need for this trip suffice to say that there is a lot of multiple meaning in the title of this RR.

My facebook  status before I left read as follows
My Namibian desert adventure 2wks solo me & my bike. I am grateful for abundance in my life& for tolerance of my wife & daughters who continue to indulge my selfish dreams. The spirit of the seeker & adventurer burns deep in my soul & I am driven to explore the magnificence of the universe both inside & outside of me, and in so doing reinforce what i know to be true, i am one with all &there I find my peace. I wish u love & freedom xx

Much research & discussions with many of you led me to a state of temporary concern, the most common advice I was getting was to not attempt the trip I was planning solo.
I decided to throw caution to the wind and go solo and just be vigilant in my route planning.

For some reason I cannot recall right now but  appeared completely valid at the time I decided  to start in the South West & head up North in a clockwise direction – I posted this in the planning a ride section of the forum  “I have key destinations & a direction UPINGTON - FISH RIVER CANYON - D707 - SOSSUSVLEI - SOLITAIRE -SWAKOP - SPITZKOPPE - PETRIFIED FOREST/TWYFELFONTIEN - PALMWAG - EPUPA FALLS - EAST OF ETOSHA - WINDHOEK - TRANSKALAHARI - HOME everything in between is as the wind blows & as the mood takes me. No reservations made & no plans for where to sleep - camp/lodge/B&B “
An so it was written, follow my nose, camp & meet the locals & get to experience the Namibia that is almost fanatically ranted about in all ride reports on WD’s



I truly felt I had reduced my packing & luggage to bare necessities, but was most disappointed when I laid out everything on my study floor to see that my “essentials” was far  too much stuff, but I had to make it work because it was all stuff I needed……..or so I thought !! I had consciously decided not to take panniers on this trip as I personally prefer soft luggage & held the misguided opinion that Panniers ad to the potential for problems by vibrating loose & the breakage possibility in the event of a fall. This decision would come back to give me the middle finger within the first 50 K’s of my journey. I have come to realize that as ungainly & cumbersome as panniers appear, there is a very good reason you see them on the larger majority of adventure bikes doing any type of long distance trip, but more on that later.

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Everything to pack all over my home office

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Can u see the concern on my face about all the luggage

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Eventually all strapped on & readyto go



Day  1 JHB – Upington (778km)  - planned destination for the night “Die Eiland”

With a frustration that was palpable to my long suffering wife, who wisely chose for the sake of her continuing good health to not comment on the issue, I eventually managed to get everything strapped to the back of “donkey” (indeed an unflattering term of endearment for such a magnificent marvel of modern engineering that is the BMW 1200 adventure, but I shall later reveal how it came to be so named).
I said my final goodbyes and less than 10 meters later, rather unceremoniously and in a mild state of embarrassment ,needed to dismount donkey to relieve some of the pressure on my bladder, which up until that moment I had not discovered was about to explode. My wife found the whole thing incredibly amusing & proceeded to chastise me for peeing on her hanging baskets, invisible to me, as was a certain part of my anatomy, all hidden beneath a leatt neck brace. I am sure in this process I removed any possible doubt that might of remained in my wives mind that I was an absolute idiot & that before long she would be spending the insurance money.

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Trying to avoid giving the camera a full frontal

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OMG that feels good


To get into any journey always takes me time to unwind and I immediately started running through my mental check list….. toolbox – check ……. Puncture repair –check……sleeping bag check and slowly but surely the clutter that was the unwelcome occupant of my mind was been cast into the slipstream & I started humming the song…….”roll, roll me away, wont you roll me away tonight……”
My bliss was short lived, about 50km’s from potch, donkey was becoming decidedly unsettled & I was struggling to keep him straight & true. I was uncomfortable & could not find a comfortable spot to sit, this despite having made the investment in an air hawk comfort seat, which appeared to have the single minded intention of repositioning my testicles to the underside of my appendix. I stopped to reposition my manhood & investigate what was causing donkeys involuntary stagger from pavement to pavement  & all across the road. One of my bags had been jettisoned by donkey & and was barely been held on by the tie down, this was the cause of my drunken swagger.
Operation re-pack phase 1 had begun. But by the time I got to Potch I was in serious trouble again, my tent was threatening to erect itself on the back of my seat & my sleeping bag was inflated & been dragged behind me, like the parachutes used to slow down drag racers.
I needed a solution. I bought a large but practical bag from Cape Union Mart, found a bike shop & bought his remaining supply of cargo nets & stopped in the parking lot of the local McDonalds for operation re-pack phase 2. Two hours and 2 quarter pounders and a new choc mint milkshake later I was en-route to Klerksdorp, I’m lovin it.

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Before repack

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After Repack

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The prettiest thing I could find to photograph in delareyville

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Donkey quenching his thirst

Petrol in Delareyville & by 19h00 I was on the outskirts of a very cold & dark Upington. I don’t think I had quite entered the city when I saw the flashing neon lights of the desert palace casino & hotel advertising rooms at R350 per night & I seriously tested the ABS braking to make the turn into their entrance, while all thoughts of camping at "Die Eiland" were quickly erased from my mind.

A warm room & and a room service order for some oxtail, which came highly recommend, had me quite joy filled.
That is until I dropped the tray emptying the contents of the pooitjie with the oxtail all over my bed,redecorating the duvet cover in the process, more of a mess you have not seen. I swear to you none of this have I embelished it is all the truth!!!!

This would not be the first time on the trip I would be reduced to a whimpering 3 year old who just wanted his Mommy.

I went to bed.



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