Day 3: (…of ghost towns and ghosts in the darkness)
Friday 1 September 2006
The next morning was taken easy once we discovered that Namibia was one hour behind SA time. Instead of waking up at six, we had accidentally roused ourselves at 05:00! We also established that the Kolmanskop tour started late in the morning and we therefore took the time to ride around town and visit the tourism centre for some info regarding the next few days’ travel.
Leaving
(When Joe and Gurtrude returned to their beach house the next summer they discovered to their horror that gophers had completely decimated their lawn.)
S26 42.189 E15 13.872
We arrived at Kolmanskop at 9:30. Just in time to join a group of Canadians, Chinese and what I think were Portuguese. It was a windy morning and the corrosive dust scratched at our eyes. The guided tour ended mercifully soon and some of us headed for the cool shelter of the restaurant while the remainder of us braved the heat and dust to take some pictures of the abandoned buildings.
We left that wind swept ghost town and made our way to Aus along the long stretch of tar. The road was littered with small birds that flew up at the last moment. They swooped away, sometimes missing the rider in front by mere inches and sometimes they didn’t miss at all. My bike was struck several times and Kobus and I took turns at point. He got a few hits on the helmet and eventually resorted to riding so slow that he could punch and kick in the air to get rid of their incessant harassment. It was so funny to watch that I nearly crashed from laughing so.
Next stop Aus. This time we stopped at the hotel and were extremely surprised by the well kept establishment. We had plenty ice cold beers and ordered chicken schnitzel while we removed our smelly boots. A group of 1 beemer and 3 KTMs thundered past without stopping or waving back at us.
The waiter was a local who had seen his town fall from grace to almost the depths of ruin but seemed hopeful that it would regain its former glory.
S26 01.093 E16 07.692
We knew that reaching Sesriem before nightfall was impossible so we headed for Duwisib Castle instead. But no journey should be rushed and we took the looping D707 along the Naukluft National Park as per Jacko’s suggestion.
The first kilometre or so had me quite nervous and I adjusted the steering damper to maximum. I soon discovered the trick of the road though. Stand up, relax and twist that throttle open every time the front gets too wild.
Pieter also used this method but did so much throttle twisting that when he entered a turn in the road he was going way, way too fast. He struck the sand bank aside the road and for some reason managed to remain upright. He later reflected on the incident and confided in us that he was actually trying to postpone the inevitable crash until he could find a soft place to fall when the bike mercifully found it’s way back to the road again.
Zanie saw Gemsbok, Kudu, Springbok and a multitude of other wildlife but I saw only the road… I must admit, it was one of my favourite roads of the whole trip. Slightly demanding but extremely rewarding.
S25 15.668 E16 32.457
We arrived at Betta after dark and the pumps were already locked. There was no turning back or going forward for fuel so we rode the last 20 kilometres to Duwisib Castle in pitch darkness avoiding roaming cattle and small vermin. It was not a pleasant ride but the campsite looked promising when we finally found it.
(Despite his friends’ misgivings, curious photographic evidence would later confirm Kumar Popadopolous’ claims that he is in fact a saint)
The campsite at Duwisib was great! Easily the best on the entire trip. Running water at every plot. Clean, revamped ablutions with hot water and awesome trees. Each and every morning a small boy comes to rake the sand of every campsite so that new visitors will feel like the first ones there.
It was an awesome evening. We collected wood from the surrounding velt while barking geckos made their music. We cooked pasta and tuna with cheese sauce and drank from our large stash of old brown sherry.
Now and then we heard or saw movement in the tall yellow grass and someone set out to investigate.
Frequently one of the guys would accost Zanie with tales of snakes witnessed in trees. She would assure us that these were merely harmless lizards and their ilk.
We concocted a new cocktail called ‘Njakker-Miaau’ (Brandy, Whiskey, white wine & Cream soda) and got well and truly sauced. Kobus and I eventually retired to our respective tents but I shook with silent laughter when I heard the hilarious discussions still emanating from the fireside.
It was a great night!
Route of the Day - Click on the GoogleEarth image for an enlarged view
No comments:
Post a Comment