You all might be wondering why there are two RR's for this trip. Well, Gummi and I wanted to give our experiences and so we decided to do two seperate ones. We try not to duplicate pictures, but sometimes there is only one picture of the place and then we have no choice. So if it bores you to read both RR's, then don't. But if you don't want to work or don't have any friends and no where to go on a Friday night, then read both. I'm sure there are worse things to do.
Anyway...
Day 7 Kunene River Lodge – Epupa Falls 96km (supposed to be….)We met these other bike riders (some also WD’s) that were doing the same route for the day and we all first had a proper breakfast to prepare us for the day. But to be honest – I don’t think anything could have prepared us for what we were about to endure. Before the trip we were always concerned about Van Zyl’s Pass, but then a few people, including Hermit (WD) told us that this “Epupa river road” is way worse than Van Zyls and that if you can manage this section, you can manage anything. So, knowing that this was probably going to be a hard day, we set off.
The first 20km or so was relatively easy and I was enjoying the ride. That was up until we got to this lose rocky downhill that you have to go down in this ”S” line. Did I mention that I am not fond of going downhill? I HATE going downhill! For some reason it completely freaks me out.
And this was one moer of a downhill section!
I make it to the bottom without crashing (to my surprise…)
After this the uphill sections started and some of these hill climbs were quite something. We are used to riding little plastic bikes at De Wildt, and for those of you who know De Wildt, some of these hill climbs were worse than Longrocks. But this time we were on 200kg+ bikes with maybe 40kg of luggage and fuel strapped on the back – we had to dig deep!
We soon got into a routine where the front rider would stop at the top and walk down to help the other riders. This was mostly done by Liam and he was soon becoming very annoyed and upset with us! I was obviously the one at the back and was doing most of the falling over.
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Gummi giving me pointers on what line to take.
I walk down to help Gummi.
You don't want to be standing behind the Beast - just ask Liam!
At the top of a hill the KTM riders we met the previous day caught up with us and we all took a breather.
Luckily no one had any real crashes, but just fell over because the bikes were just too heavy. We all fell over, but I was the only one that took pictures of my bike lying on its side. Maybe the other two felt that if there was no proof that maybe it never happened?
When I was coming round a corner and was just about to get on the gas to keep momentum for the next hill climb, I got this sight – The Beast was down and Karools was just sitting next to it in a tiny bit of shade. Almost looking lonely. I parked my bike at the bottom and walked up to help him. Now this was a bit of a struggle to get the heavy Beast into the rut to give it a clear line up. But with teamwork and lots of roosting, Gummi got to the top. Then I had to walk down again and take on the hill with the Dakar.
Take on a hill, moer over, wait for someone to walk down, pick it up and try again. This is how it went on for hours and hours. At one hill Gummi falls over, walks down to help me pick up the Dakar, we both get to his bike, we pick it up and when he presses the happy button – nothing! The inevitable has happened. The Beast was dead. The KTM 990 would not start. (I just know that all you BMW riders are now having a chuckle!). And yes, I’m sure that this “KTM not starting” problem has been documented before. But now was not the time for debating which bike was better. Let me explain. We were standing in full gear on a rocky hill climb, in the scorching heat with no shade, and we were deadly tired. And we realized what had to be done to bring the Beast back to life – take off all my luggage and tank bag, take off the seat and loosen some of the plastics to get to the Dakar’s battery, and then jumpstart the 990. And then put everything back!! We were not happy. (Maybe someone can tell me if there’s an easier way to get to the battery). The Beast started and we told Gummi to just go and not to stall that thing again.
By now I was very tired and was running on empty. I could feel that I was coming close to running out of energy. After a few km’s my brother and I got to where Gummi had stopped and we took a well deserved rest. Liam and Gummi took some pictures with the locals (I couldn’t be bothered at that stage), and then we struggled on. Hill after hill, riverbed after riverbed, rocks after rocks – it just never seemed to end.
When we stopped for the next rest, I got off my bike, took off my jacket and just collapsed on the ground. I was farked! Finished. Completely drained of any energy and resources. I seriously thought that I might die that day. No jokes. Gummi got some water from the river and poured it all over me because I was burning up. We rested there for maybe an hour and although I was in worse shape, the other two were also feeling the strain. After some food and water and a good rest I felt better and we continued.
I was feeling much better and even though there were many more hill climbs and difficult sections, I felt good and enjoyed the riding. We stopped once more to rest and take in the amazing scenery. This place is truly beautiful.
The road got better and because we were running late, we soon got into a fast riding pace and started to eat the km’s. The road to Epupa Falls is 96km, to be precise, so we were constantly keeping an eye on the odometers. With about 20km to go, the 990 got a flat at the front wheel. Again! What is it with this bike and front wheel flats? This wasn’t good. We were gatvol, tired and in no mood for this, but what can you do? Off comes the wheel, in goes the new tube, start to inflate it – nothing. We pinched the bloody tube! Shit! We had to change the tube for a second time. We do what we have to do and get on with it.
Then we really start chasing the km’s. When we got to 96km there was still no sign of life, never mind a campsite. We decided to keep going as daylight was fading fast. The km’s ticked by one by one and soon we realized that we had messed up somewhere. We were on the wrong road!
The GPS only shows that we are nowhere near the river road and that there should be a main road somewhere in the distance. We pushed on. And then. And then! First the 990 died, then I almost died, then we start running out of water, then the 990 gets a flat, then we get lost and then……….…… then I drop my bike in a riverbed and brake my clutch lever! Fuck!!!! Now I’m de moer in with myself for making stupid mistakes and costing us time. It's not like I'm a very bad rider (well, I'm not Cyril Despres either), but I kept on making stupid mistakes!
Gummi kept calm and helped me to change the lever. Now we had no more spare 21” tubes and no spare clutch levers for the Dakars and this was worrying me as we rode further. I knew that if we mess up now, we are stuffed. The road became thick sandy, two wheel tracks and I did what I do best – I put the Dakar in race mode and just rode like a Maddog! Only stopping every 5km to wait for my buddies. By now the sun was almost gone and there was no sign of a road, so I felt that we should just accept defeat, stop and set up camp while there is still some light. There’s no use in trying to ride these sandy tracks in the dark and risking injuries or breaking the bikes. “Let’s just stop! We’re lost anyway, we shouldn’t ride in the dark!” I shouted over the comms to Gummi. I wasn’t bothered about camping in the middle of the bush, it would have been kinda exciting actually. Make a fire, eat noodles and baked beans, fight off some wild animal……..I kinda liked the idea. But Gummi wasn’t having any of that. He wanted to push on. I don’t think that he minded the idea of camping in the bush, but I think that he at least wanted to know where, in the bush, we were. Because we had no idea where the hell we were. My brother was in front and as the sun disappeared I looked up and I saw him make a sharp right turn and stop. That’s when I decided enough is enough, and NOW is the time to stop riding. It was pitch black and as I got to him and wanted to tell him that this is the end, the bush opened up and my bike rolled onto a big, smooth graded gravel road. We had made it to the main road! It was all over and we had some idea of where we were. Now the first and biggest rule in Namibia is to “NEVER, ever ride in the dark”. Screw that rule! We didn’t come this far to stop now. Tonight we are sleeping in the campsite!
The GPS said it was something like 20km to Epupa Campsite, so we headed off. We rode next to each other with the 990 in the middle. This gave us more light and we could see the road a bit better. Not even 5 min on that road and the Springbokke were running across the road in front of us. We were taking a big risk here by riding in the dark. All of a sudden this rabbit ran into the road right in front of me. What do you do? Hit the brakes and swerve violently? Well, sadly, I have to say that, that night I send a cute, fluffy little rabbit to bunny heaven. And I did feel bad about it for a while. But only for a while. After what felt like 20km, Liam told us that the GPS said it was still 17km to go. What?! Liam was not impressed with the GPS and had a few words to say about GPS’s. I wouldn't mention those words as there might be kids reading this.
I think it was just after 20:00 when we pulled in to Epupa Campsite. We had done it!!!! We had done the 96km “river road” from Kunene River Lodge to Epupa Falls. Obviously we had done way more than 96km, maybe 140km. Who knows? Who cares? We made it and that’s all that mattered!
Again the friendly people of Namibia made us feel welcome at their campsite and organized us a meal – the best Russian & Chips I’ve ever had! Then they offered one of the half built chalets to us where we could crash. After the meal and a shower we rolled out the sleeping bags and went to bed. We didn't even have a single beer. But we made up for that the next day!!
We had spent more than 10 hours doing that 100 odd km river road. Honestly, it’s not easy, but if any of you ever come to this region – you have to do this road! It was the best riding day of my life!
Topic: 3 Idiots take on Nam! (Read 11107 times)
