Namibia

Wild camping in dry riverbeds is the best way. Soft ground, shelter and plenty of dry wood.

Cookery program being filmed at the roadhouse

Robert Martin, no a motorcycle tour from Cape Town to Namibia

Fish river canyon. Second only is size to the Grand Canyon. The river is nearly 500 meters down below

Layers of Mica in Quartz, some of the fascinating geology of the region

Ai-Ais, hot water springs. A perfect for a winter warmer.

Breakfast with my fellow campers

I’ve found a way of carrying extra food supplies

Orange river used to irrigate a massive wine growing region in the South near the border

Housing built by the vineyard workers. Next door is a massive airconditioned Spa supermarket, after all this time in the desert I thought it was a mirage!

The first ‘Warning, Chameleons’ sign I’ve ever seen

Desert lichens, nourished by the occasionally morning dew

Sand and more sand. away from the coast the temperature climbs

Kuiseb Pass

Wild horses

Begging for water.. the road is 3 days of cycling without any habitation. Nothing, no farms, houses no water!

Solitaire

Its a collection of buildings that makes up a garage, petrol station, bakery, bar, lodge and campsite. After eating apple pie, the birds help me finish the last few crumbs

Sunset over the campsite

Jackel

Sossusvlei
Deep in the Namib desert are the dunes. Following a dry river a road leads right into the centre

The dune peak behind is 250 meters above the base

Footsteps on the ridge of the dune. Looking down I could see the ridge line shift a few millimeters as the position of the dune moved slowly.

View forcthe top. Surrounding dunes are hundreds for meters high

Leopard print on the road. They are very common around these parts, even considered a pest by farmers

Dinosaur tracks preserved in ancient sandstone

Mountains make a pleasing change for the eye. Since Southern Kenya the terrain has been very flat and fairly uninteresting.

Game

Two nights stay and Peter and Birgit’s house in Omaruru

On the road with Peter to setup an troubleshoot a solar installation

The farm with the solar panel has a tame orphaned young giraffe and a comprehensive game butchery

Visit to Brandberg, the highest mountain in Namibia. A short pretty walk leads to ancient rock paintings. I arrived just as the staff where leaving. “Camp up there and you can visit tomorrow morning at 7”

White lady rock paintings, said to be thousands of years old

Scramble over granite boulders

leaving the mountain behind me I head for the coast

changing landscape becoming less bush and more desert as I approach the sea

I can see the sea!! first time since Cyprus.
Strong prevailing south westerly winds means if your engine fails you’re going to end up here..

Salt is extracted by evaporating sea water. Even the coast road is made from salt. They run trucks that pour concentrated saline solution onto the road where it quickly evaporates filling in any holes

After 3 days on salt roads, anything made with iron turns to rust. Locals complain how it corrodes their vehicles

Cape Cross seal colony

Cape fur seals. The first thing that hits you is the smell, a mix of urine and rotting pilchards. Then the noise.. its an assault on the senses

Called Cape Cross after a 15th Century Portuguese explorer erected a cross claiming the territory for the king of Portugal. Its was carried all the way from his home country. I imagine him sailing for weeks down the skeleton coast seeing absolutely nothing except sand dunes. Finally he sees some rocks and seals and says “quick, get rid of this thing and lets go home!”

If you fancy a picnic on the moon..

Swakopmund, a touristic seaside town. Cold an misty with sea too cold to swim in.

Interesting museum

With medals that matter!

German first and second world war memorial

Cold morning mist rolls in from the sea

Pets of the Fisherman’s inn.
Ate a delicious marathon meal of fresh fish and chips (first main) followed by 1/2 kg steak with chips and a side order of an extra large portion of chips. It took 3 beers to wash it all down! Staff could not believe their eyes.. “How can someone so skinny…?”

Okavango river at Rundu

Namibian sunsets are some of the best

Jan and Elmaria, met at the campsite in Rundu. Spent a rest day with them.

When unsuccessfully looking for a wild camp spot I happened upon Mathews farm. He patiently answered questions and described life on a large farm that gets little to no rainfall. Kindly made sure I was well fed and watered!
Mentioned that I was visiting a friend I used to work with in England. “I know a Beckers.. I bet you its the same one..”
Sure enough a phone call was made and the connection confirmed, he also knew his father! He passed me the details of Beckers senior and an invite to stay on his farm.

Baobab tree

Amarulla tree with the fruits used to make the famous alcoholic drink

Mamba, seen a few live ones but never hung round to take photos as they lift their head and flatten their neck when you stop and stare..

War cemetery in Grootfontein

What a hairstyle. Any twitchers who can identify?

Standing on a giant meteorite made mostly from iron

These giant crickets are everywhere. They crawl up your leg, in your bags and are ferocious cannibals, not even waiting for the other cricket to die before chomping away. its quite disturbing to watch.

So do I go left or right??

Caution, dogs with moustacheos

This is a Namibian horsefly.. very annoying

Gravel road in the north. A pleasure to ride on.

Was kindly hosted and fed by the family who run a campsite / guest lodge. Talked about and questioned over the trip by the youngsters at the dinner table. A fun social evening with great people. Sadly lost the group photo.

The Beckers family. I worked with Peter at HiTek Power in England (second from left).
Peter Beckers (senior) gave me an interesting tour of the farm. As a biologist he can provide many fascinating insights. Very well fed on the best cuts of game and an array of dishes to cater for the hungriest of cyclists.

Main family farm house

Rigging up a pump to use an engine due to lack of wind

Animals spotted on the farm. Bird is a bustard, the heaviest flying bird in the world.
On the second day Beckers (junior) and Birgit joined