Table of contents
- Out and about in Namibia Heavy showers, merciless heat and off-road at its best
- Out and about in Namibia
- Thundering waterfalls in the Kunene River
- Like on a roller coaster
- Coast, salt road and huge dunes
- Facts and Tips
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Sun, rain, sand – an intense experience.
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Herero woman with head jewelry shop.
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The large tank locusts can become a nuisance in the rainy season.
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Grandiose nature, pure driving pleasure!
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During the rainy season, the passage of the Ugab swamps is hard work.
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Acacia thorns are responsible for half of all flat tires.
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Pelicans at your fingertips on a boat trip in Walvis Bay.
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For the children, passing motorcyclists are a little sensation.
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Moonscape formed by the Swakop River over millions of years.
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to travel
Motorcycle trip: With the motorcycle in Namibia
Out and about in Namibia
Heavy showers, merciless heat and off-road at its best
Namibia is a real adventure for motorcyclists: magnificent nature, extreme climate, tough slopes. Organized travel providers facilitate tour logistics. The country will remain unforgettable.
Matthias Haupt
03/20/2013
Out and about in Namibia
Merciless heat, 45 degrees Celsius. Sweat drips from my nose, dust grinds between my teeth, I dig my motorcycle through knee-deep sand in the scorching sun. “Ride standing up, hold the handlebars loosely and use third gear if you want to get through there”, explains tour guide Axel Cordes. Our motorcycle adventure starts at the famous Waterberg
Table Mountain Namibia. “We drive with 1.6 bar air pressure, because that is a good average for sand and gravel”, knows Axel. For mud too, because now I feel the rainy season. A rainy season of the century. Short, heavy showers, then the sun again. The earth is red-brown and greasy. After a water hole we are wet to the skin. There is a roar in the distance: A family of baboons is crossing the slope in front of me. The last part of the camp “Waterberg Wilderness Lodge” becomes steep. Sand and loose stones let me feel every kilo of the DR 650.
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Uwe arrived some time before us, he takes the better slopes with his support vehicle. Because he is our man for the food and the transport of the equipment. This is the only way we can go off-road in a relaxed manner. There is a sweet smell from his fireplace. We enjoy a tender teriyaki chicken on spicy curry rice and sleep soundly despite the baboon roar. In the morning Uwe spoils us with scrambled eggs and bacon as well as muesli with fresh fruit.
It gets dusty again while driving. The eyes hurt. My mouth is dry. You should always have a drinking water supply of three to four liters with you. The P-2232 track to Khowarib Gorge is sandy ruts and I feel like I’m riding a motorcycle in an oven. When we turn north onto the D-3710 runway to Opuwo, we are surprised by a torrential rain. Not at all good, we are in the middle of large Fesch-Fesch fields. Dust like flour – and now also wet. Zero lead on the front wheel, the rear wheel on its own anyway. We slide – and we are already lying next to the enduros. When we struggled in the “Opuwo Country Lodge” when we arrive, we look like warthogs. And we probably smell that too. Opuwo is the only city in Kaokoland. Everyday life here is far from the usual, the Himba, Hereros and other ethnic groups live in the corrugated iron huts. Often their faces are marked by alcohol. Plastic rubbish and wrecked cars are lying around outside, the hygienic conditions are tough.
Thundering waterfalls in the Kunene River
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Out and about with a motorcycle in Namibia.
We reach the Epupa Falls on the border with Angola. Stones fly, the rear wheel barely has any grip on a steep, bad slope that leads up a hill. But from there we have a fabulous view of the thundering waterfalls in the Kunene River, which are surrounded by Makalani palms and baobab trees about 25 meters high. Crocodiles also feel at home there, so the hoped-for bath has to be canceled. The Kaokoland is one of the last wilderness areas in Africa. Axel drives in front of me, the first mud huts and goats in the distance. We stop at an Onganda, a Himba homestead. Women, clad only in loincloths, greet us. Their skin is ocher-colored, they never wash themselves, at least not with water. Instead, they rub a paste of iron-containing rock powder and butter fat on the skin to cleanse and protect against malaria. Mary, mistress of this Onganda, invites us to a hut made of brushwood and clay. On the floor, wrapped in a horse blanket, lies a baby who is only a week old. A large stone wall at the entrance of the hut protects the newborn from jackals. The communication works through gestures, we are allowed to spend the night in the Onganda and invite the friendly residents to our grill for dinner.
Like on a roller coaster
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We cross the river with great difficulty.
When we reach the river bed of the Hoarusib, the journey ends abruptly. The river is too high to ford. Axel and Uwe wade through the current in some places, but treacherous quicksand lets them sink in again and again. So no more chance today. We decide to set up our night camp above the bank. The next morning the water continued to rise. We break up camp and drive back the route. A tributary that we crossed with confidence the day before now cuts our way back. On the opposite bank, women and men have settled down to wait longer. Waiting for the water to sink. We decide to give it a try and actually manage to cross it with great difficulty.
Back on the slopes, I feel like I’m on a roller coaster. It goes up and down all the time. As we pass the Burned Mountain, a bog charred by lava, our track begins. One highlight chases the next. Often it goes through river beds, sometimes through hard sand, sometimes through soft, then burst mud surfaces. Suddenly savanna grass to the horizon. An ostrich family runs across the track in front of us, the sky is steel blue with fleecy clouds.
After the junction to the Brandberg West Mine, it becomes rugged and desert-like. Mountains littered with sharp boulders. Then it goes west, Atlantic coast. Suddenly I freeze so much that I put my rain jacket on over my motorcycle jacket. On a road made of salt we continue to Swakopmund on the Atlantic. The city is like a German seaside resort. We drive our enduros further into the lunar landscape southeast of Swakopmund and feel like astronauts. Bizarre stone formations, dust, rubble and sand. When we drive back inland from the Atlantic to get to the Spitzkoppe, the heat is shimmering again. From a distance I can see a huge, glowing red granite rock. Spherical stones float on its back, as if a giant had placed them there. An unreal area.
Coast, salt road and huge dunes
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We’re in the Dead Vlei salt pan.
Coast again, salt road. On the left in front of me huge dunes, over 200 meters high, on the right the deep blue Atlantic. At dune 7, Axel shows me how to ski in the dunes, and then we drive on runway C-14 to the “Camp gecko”. Rene Aebi and his wife Heidi, the “Camp gecko” welcome us warmly. In the evening I climb a nearby hill with Axel. A glowing red light shines in the vastness of the savannah. “Stop! Not further!”, says Axel suddenly. He points to a puff adder. Many fatalities are due to them.
Change of scene, we’re in Dead Vlei’s salt pan. Merciless heat, only skeletons of trees. The last five kilometers on foot make us sweat like hell. We lose more water than we can drink. Namibia is extreme. If it rains anywhere, it can be completely parched two kilometers away and the sun is scorching. Solitaire is at the intersection of slopes C-14 and C-24. Both slopes lead through the Namib-Naukluft-Park. There is also a gas station and a grocery store there. For us, however, it is not only important to refuel, but also to Moose McGregor’s bakery. Everyone loves their apple pie. Back at camp, I smelled the smell of grilled meat. Uwe, our campfire star chef, serves us springbok steak with fried potato cubes in an old brown sherry sauce. Then there are campfire stories and Rene Aebi shows us his knife workshop. His knives are very finely crafted. I get on the enduro a bit wistfully, because today is my last day. I could never have dreamed of so much adventure combined with such comfort.
Facts and Tips
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The author and his guides mainly went to the community camps.
Namibia:
The country is located in southern Africa and borders Angola in the north. It is sparsely populated with two million inhabitants. Namibia is about twice the size of Germany. The population is made up of many ethnic groups. San, Damara, Himba and Herero are just a few. English is the official language. In Windhoek or Swakopmund you can still find numerous buildings from the German colonial era. Like many parts of Namibia, Windhoek has a dry climate. The city is at an altitude of 1700 m. In Kaokoland you often don’t meet a soul. The petrol station network is quite decent. Only in the north does it get thin. You should plan carefully and never miss a gas station, a range of 600 kilometers is a must.
Travel time:
The rainy season runs from January to April. The temperatures are pleasant at around 17 degrees at night. During the day it can get over 30 degrees. A good sun blocker with protection factor 50 is recommended. In the rainy season the desert landscape blooms – a terrific experience. If you take the trip in the winter time from May to September, the temperatures during the day are between 20 and 25 degrees Celsius in the pleasant range, but it gets freezing at night.
Camp:
The author and his guides mainly went to the community camps. In doing so, they supported the local communities. Most of the camps are tidy, but the toilets are sometimes very dirty. Leftovers shouldn’t be left because of the animals.
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The country is located in southern Africa and borders Angola in the north. It is sparsely populated with two million inhabitants.
Motorcycle:
The author was traveling with a Suzuki DR 650 SE, which he rented from Enduro Namibia as part of the guided tour with Axel Cordes. This type of motorcycle is perfect for Africa. In the event of a breakdown, the simple technology can be repaired anywhere. GPS and satellite phone are beneficial. You should drive at least two people on the tracks in the Kaokoveld.
Equipment:
A well-ventilated enduro suit is ideal. The helmet should also be airy and have a sun visor. Rain jacket and rain trousers in your luggage can be put on quickly in the rain or cold. Cross boots and protector jackets are a matter of course. In addition, the author relied on an orthosis. Protects well and is more comfortable than you think (www.ortema.de). Trekking boots keep snakes and scorpions away. Mosquito spray helps in the evenings. Malaria prophylaxis should be discussed with the doctor.
Photography:
The author used a photo backpack that he carried on his back. If you transport your camera in your tank bag, you can carry a camel bag on your back and then drink while you are driving. Very useful in the heat. A wide-angle and a telephoto zoom are ideal for Namibia subjects. Attach UV filters in front of the lenses to protect them from dust. Photographing the exotic-looking country residents is often allowed on request. More photo tips: www.matthiashaupt.de
organized trips:
The MOTORRAD action team offers great tours with partner Gravel Travel. Information: www.actionteam.de, phone 07 11/1 82/19 77. Additional travel offers (e.g. off-road vehicles): www.gravel-travel.de. Enduro Namibia with tour guide Axel Cordes also offers off-road-oriented trips with the right amount of action: www.enduro-namibia.de. Duration of the trip: 21 days; Distance covered: 2500 kilometers. Namibia Capital: Windhoek Area: 824116 square kilometers; Independence: 1990; Currency: Namibian Dollar; Population: 2,104,900.
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