Day Seven – Swakopmund, Uis, Brandberg
Moving up the Skeleton Coast from Swakopmund is a salt road. It is made of salt and the perpetual fog next to this cold ocean keeps it wet and clear of sand.
Turning away from the coast towards Uis you are rewarded with one of the best open desert roads to be had. Now, just try to tell me this doesn’t appeal to you.
We ride directly inland in a cold coastal wind for 50km. Then, suddenly the wind direction reverses and the temperature shoots up by easily 15-20 degrees, leaving us totally overdressed and having to stop and get rid of clothing.
After refueling in Uis (abandoned, bought and resurrected mining town), we travel north to get to White Lady Lodge and Camping at the foot of the Brandberg. Peanut is sleeping again.
We get camp set up and I am just pleased as punch. We are now in the territory of the Goat Meat trip. The Goat Meat trip was one of my trips that was really special, opening my eyes as to what was possible. If you have some extra time between updates, have a look at this:
Goat Meat, Good Friends and Riverbeds.
At the time I so much wanted to have Tharina experience the things that I did, because I knew that she would absolutely love it. Yet, I knew that she would probably never have the skills to do that kind of trip with me.
Let me give a little background on my wife. Tharina does not have the obsession that I and a lot of you have with bikes. She rides because I ride. Because she likes me and wants to be with me.
Regardless, she has done a lot as far as riding goes. Here’s some pics.
She did Rhodes on the DRZ.
She did the Transkei many times on the DRZ.
She has done Gamkas kloof and Baviaans on the DRZ. She enjoyed that trip.
She did Lesotho on the 640. She did not enjoy that trip.
She did a 6000km, six country trip around Southern Africa on the 1200. It blew her mind.
So she is well travelled, yet, she only does these trips and no riding in between. Her skill level stays pretty much stagnant.
Then we did a trip in the Northern Cape where I misjudged the difficulty level somewhat. Also, it was my first trip with my kid on the back, so I could not give the necessary support to my wife and she
kakked off. I personally saw her go over the handlebars of that DRZ three times, and there were more.
But at the end of that trip I saw that she saw. She saw what it was about, where I found the joy. For the first time she felt that elation of having been pushed far past her limits and finishing the job, sore and battered maybe, but the MAN. Because she did it, she started it, she finished it, and by herself.
I think it is that trip that made all the difference. When I on a whim suggested a Namibia bike trip with the kid, she immediately responded “Yes, let’s do it”. I didn’t expect that, but there it was and in a very short time I planned my ideal route.
And now, here we are, on my ideal route, doing what I love best, with my wife and kid with me. Fucking fantastic man! Sometimes life is just so good that it feels unreal.
And Namibia delivers sunsets like only Namibia can.
This day, this night, here, right now, is where I want to be. Everything is as it should be. Look at that.
Perfection.
.
Topic: The Wife, the Ex and the Kid (Read 85376 times)
