Angola by the “três cavaleiros” - WatKykJy's executive summary.

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Joined
Jun 5, 2009
Messages
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Location
Cape Town
Bike
Suzuki DL 650 V-Strom
Dave's main Ride Report is here: https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=57397.0

After not getting as far into Angola because we went up Van Zyl's (https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=35018) the wrong way, I decided to start planning to get to southern Angola properly !

Danie, Davie and I left Cape Town early in Sept to trailer the bikes up to Camp Aussicht about 60 km south of Opuwo.

Here's a Map Source screen grab of our trip. The green track goes from Ruakana, through Namibe, and on to Lubango. From there follow the dotted line to Cuito Canavale, back to Longa and down to Calai.
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To get to Tombua, I carried 44 litres of fuel(30 in the tank) and a vuvuzela in case there were language problems.
A smattering of Portuguese will go along way in Angola. :)
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Here is Danie wondering wtf I was going to do next with the vuvu...
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And Dave trying hard not to see his poepal.
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Because the riding was not tough enough, when we got to Monte Negro, I decided that to pump up my weeny biceps.
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Soon, it was time to haggle 1 US$ for some warm 'Ngola beer. I nearly got the vuv out, to convince Pedro that our maths was good enough.
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These Himba biker dudes ran the local taxi service. Note the stereo. I drank lots of beer before this trip, in case the local supply ran dry.  :mwink:
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It's a stunning part of the world with big spaces all around you. Relax into the solitude.
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Getting to the mouth of the Kunene, deserved a serious vuvu blast.
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We headed up the coast before low tide. Can you see the high water mark in this pic?
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My Suzi did about 640 km on 32 litres, from Ruakana to Tombua. Flamingo Lodge was great - definitely worth a visit.
One of my trip moments was catching a 4kg shad after nine casts. Thanks Spyker!
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Ray Sakko showed us the canyons around Flamingo Lodge.
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We got to a dusty, pock-marked Kuvango on Sunday morning. This church blew me away. I stopped outside & peered into the darkness to see a local nun preaching to the remaining faithful.
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The Chinese are busy with a number of infrastructure projects, including this three storey railway station in the middle of nowhere. At first I thought it was a temple!
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Topless Tank - there are lots of war wrecks to see on the main road to Cuito.
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If you want lots of soft sand riding, do the stretch from Longa down to Calai. The middle mannetjie was best to ride on, but required even more concentration.
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The sky was smoky, with much evidence of burning. No surprises if there are deforestation problems in years to come. :'(
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Bezerker started to show signs of sand riding dementia.  ;)
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2StrokeDan was much relieved to get a beer after another day of extended sand riding.
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So was Bezerker. He left his passport in a carrybag which ended up in a dustbin, and rode a 250km round trip to get it.
We waited in Cuangar, where there are Unita supporters.
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Nothing quite like a warm beer after a days dirt riding.
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Last sunset on the way back to Opuwo. A lekker trip - thanks Danie & Dave!
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Plan a trip to Angola and you may learn to appreciate the softer things in your life. Way to go!






 
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