MOTORBIKING
Words & Photos: Paul Marcellin
ROUGHRIDER DIARY OF A
“HERE'S THE DEAL: I'M GOING TO SWAKOPMUND, I'M GOING BY BIKE. WHO'S COMING?” THUS OUR BIKE TOUR OF KALAHARI COUNTRY AND NAMIBIA WAS BORN.
I accepted a gig at an annual event hosted by the Swakopmund Skydive Club and had work to do. I was quite happy to travel alone, but it'd certainly be more fun with a crowd. The recruits were Mark 'Maddog' on a BMW 1200GS, Mikey 'King Ding' on a Triumph 800XC, Peter 'Kala' on a BMW 1200GS, 'RSM' Johan on a BMW 800GS, and myself (Simba) on a KTM 950 Adventure. The plan is for us to ride as a trio from Johannesburg and meet Mark, coming in from Cape Town, at the southern edge of Namibia. Then over the course of about a week, get ourselves to Hentiesbaai where Johan will take us out on local-knowledge technical rides. Thereafter, they will drop me off at Swakopmund (to work) and continue touring the magnificent Nam. Once my work is complete, I will ride home solo.
Messum Crater, Goboboseb Mountains, Johan Rens.
#34 | DO IT NOW Magazine • 1
WE KNOW THAT OUR TURNING POINT DESTINATION IS SWAKOPMUND / HENTIESBAAI AND THAT'S ABOUT IT. AND AT THE START OF EACH DAY'S RIDE, WE ARE NOT SURE WHERE WE ARE SLEEPING THAT NIGHT. HERE'S MY CONDENSED MILK, SUPER-CONCENTRATED VERSION OF HOW THINGS UNFOLDED. [In the same way that I am about to compress long hot days into just seconds of reading, please also know that all quick mentions of the incredible scenery are puny attempts to have you visualise the most wonderful big, beautiful, bright blue, clean-cut rolling vistas of barren mountains, grassed plains, red dunes, white roads and wide, wide open spaces that are all simply awe-inspiring.]
for my bike ride over the Himalayas last year and I thought they'd be good for this trip." -Stunned silence- Kala and I look at each other. "You brought Himalayan mountain gloves on your bike trip into the Namibian Desert in high summer?" "Yes, I also brought my slippers." -Stunned silence- I lend him a spare set of gloves for the remainder of the journey.
DAY 1: JHB TO VRYBURG (SORT OF)
Kala has an active GPS on his bike. Nevertheless, and to my amazement, we somehow fall off the planned road without realising it and drive into iron mining country, with its associated landscape red-dust coatings, and land up in Posmasburg. A few minutes later we hit our first gravel road. On the one hand this is great; it's the type of riding we came for. On the other hand it confirms that we really do not know where we are.
This is intended as a quick warm-up ride to make sure we have everything in working order and allow Mikey to find out if all his pots, pans, kettles and sink are actually strapped on tight. However, we push a little harder than expected and get about halfway between Vryburg and Kuruman by sunset. En route, we stop to toast Madiba, one day ahead of his funeral, at a bar in Ventersdorp, which seems highly appropriate. At about 19h00, when all our kit is lying about the cottage, I notice that Mikey's gloves are soft shell, elbow-length and lined with something like yak fur. "What are those, Mikey?" "My gloves, man my hands were so hot today!" "I see that they're gloves, but WHAT are they?" "Well I bought them
Hakskeen Pan, Northern Cape, Paul Marcellin.
2 • DO IT NOW Magazine | #34
DAY 2: VRYBURG TO AUGRABIES
Some hours later than planned, we arrive at the gate of the Augrabies Falls - and are rejected by the guards. Camping is full and the park closes in 10 minutes. We backtrack a kilometre or two, find a place to stay, pitch tents and retire to the bar to drown Kala's sorrows since he never got to see the falls.
DAY 3: AUGRABIES TO FELIX UNITE (ORANGE RIVER VALLEY) We have a superb early morning ride to the N10 on a perfect gravel road. I'm not an early riser by nature, but that pain is always rewarded on a bike. By 10h00 we've crossed into Nam near Bakrivier and notice something that we will see every day from now on; sharp, crisp hills and mountain skylines contrasting starkly with the backdrop of deep blue air. The vistas are so clear and stark, and the scenery so immediate and tangible that I feel like we are riding through the pages of a 3D pop-up book. It's Omo for my soul. Later in the day, we descend into the Orange River valley and the temperature climbs dramatically. It's boiling down here. We find Maddog lying at the pool with a superb view of the river and valley. Beers, tents up, some bike maintenance, back to the beers and the pool and some supper. Fantastic.
DAY 4: FELIX UNITE TO KLEIN AUS / LÜDERITZ We trace the Orange for about 80 km through a sliver of the indescribable Richtersveld, then swing north to the interior and Rosh Pinah for breakfast. How things have changed since I was last here around 1997. Another 100 km or so and we roll into the metropol of Aus. After refuelling, we head to Klein Aus, another 5 km down the road and where I decide to stay overnight in a desert camp. The other guys want to see Lüderitz, but I'm nursing my tyres. On theirs they can burn into Lüderitz, about another 140 km, at high speed. My softer knobblies melt on tar and I need to save them for the roads ahead; particularly for the technical riding we anticipate. I pitch the tent, have a shower and then ride to the main lodge for some beer, a late lunch and bag of wood for the evening fire. Later, a giant orange, near-full moon rises over the desert, my bike, tent and fire. DAY 5: KLEIN AUS TO SESRIEM I'm on the stoep of the hotel in Aus by 07h00 having coffee and a sandwich when the guys arrive at 07h30. We fuel up and set out on 450 km of gravel and dust.
www.doitnow.co.za • 3
Overhead Swakopmund, Tony ‘American’.
ABOUT TWO HOURS LATER, WE COME ACROSS A GUY WALKING DOWN THE ROAD, LITERALLY IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. HE FLAGS ME DOWN AND ASKS FOR WATER. IN AFRIKAANS I ASK HIM WHERE HE'S HEADED. "AUS," HE SAYS AND I NEARLY FALL OFF MY BIKE. "WHAT AND YOU’RE WALKING?" "No other
way to get there. Maybe someone will stop, but I have no money to pay them." Wow. At an absolute minimum, he has two entire days of walking ahead of him. He has no water, no food, no money and not much clothing. That's commitment for you. I give him some of my water and then I am on my way - I hope he is ok. I really have an easy life.
4 • DO IT NOW Magazine | #34
www.kiska.com
READY FOR MY
Do not imitate the riding scenes shown, wear protective clothing and observe the traffic regulations! The illustrated vehicles may vary in minor details from the series model and some show optional equipment at additional cost.
Photos: R. Schedl, H. Mitterbauer
NEW ADVENTURE
Pack the limousine and head off on a relaxed trip. Accelerate the sports car dynamically out of the corners. Pilot the SUV along dirt tracks and across wild streams. For this you need three cars or just one motorcycle – the new KTM 1190 ADVENTURE! Fully specced with high-tech equipment for all your adventures – no matter where in the world!
STANDARD EQUIPMENT:
THE NEW KTM 1190 ADVENTURE
150 HP (110 KW) / 230 KG INCL. 23 LITRES OF FUEL C-ABS / TRACTION CONTROL WITH 4 MODES + OFF 15,000 KM SERVICE INTERVALS COMPREHENSIVE TECHNOLOGY AND SAFETY PACKAGES
YOU CAN FIND ALL THE FEATURES AT WWW.KTM.COM
KTM Group Partner
AT ABOUT 18H30, WE ARE WITHIN TWO KILOMETRES OF THE SOSSUSVLEI PARK. AS ALWAYS, WE HAVE NO ACCOMMODATION ARRANGEMENTS. While stopping to discuss possibilities, I see a Land Cruiser and flag it down to ask the driver if he knows of any options. It transpires that we've pulled over the manager of two local lodges, Franz-Heins. After making some radio calls, he offers us a superb deal at the magnificent Sossusvlei Lodge, and there’s a swimming pool. The deal is struck and I’m a hero amongst my mates, for about four minutes. DAY 6: SESRIEM TO SOLITAIRE We have only about 90 km to ride today, so we take it real easy. We have a leisurely breakfast on the terrace, whilst drinking in the amazing view, and then take a walk to the Sesriem Canyon. This is really one giant donga, but very impressive. At its head is a small pool of water with some fish visible. It is amazing.
6 • DO IT NOW Magazine | #34
We get going around 12h00 for a great run to Solitaire. By 14h00, we are sitting at the Restaurant and Bakery in Solitaire, with some welcome beers and a giant slice of fresh apple pie. The proprietor recommends some routes for the next day and arranges a campsite for us at the Solitaire Desert Camp, about 5 km up the road. DAY 7-9: SOLITAIRE TO HENTIESBAAI The early morning rain draws the most wonderful smells out of the sand. An earthy-mineral perfume that is as energising as a quality espresso. Some hours later we are rolling through a slice of the Namib-Nauklift Park in a scene out of the Lion King. A light cloud layer is protecting us from the raw heat and in the distance rain is falling from beautiful cloud formations. The grasslands, mountains, clear-cut lines, open spaces, and our tiny winding track through the middle of it. Our own yellow brick road. We hook up with ‘RSM’ Rens that evening in Hentiesbaai for a little planning and Tafel lager. Hentiesbaai becomes our base for the next few days, and some technical day rides and beach picnics are the agenda.
TECHNICAL DAY RIDE INTO THE MESSUM CRATER We meet up with Johan, who takes us into the heart of the Messum Crater, an extinct volcano. Apart from the hour out of and into Henties, the riding is pretty technical. To exit the crater, Johan leads us down a river bed of approximately 35 km. It's hot, sandy, and hard work, but the skill learnings are incredible and the views across the crater are the reason why we have bikes. DAY 11-19: SWAKOPMUND For the next nine days I am based at Swakopmund for the work that I came to do. The rest of the gang leave for their continued adventures. DAY 20-22: SWAKOPMUND TO GOCHAS AND BACK HOME I am riding home solo, approximately 2,000 km in total. I'm not big on GPS, so I travel with a map, compass, a pretty good sense of direction, and a couple of flares in case all of the above is not adequate. I decide to push it quite hard and as it turns out, a bit too hard. I ride 12 hours per day, for two consecutive days and 5 hours on the third. When I get home, it takes me about seven days to recover.
JOB DONE! NEXT PLAN? •
Hentiesbaai, Erongo, Namibia, Johan Rens.
www.doitnow.co.za • 7