DAY 4 HONDEKLIPBAAI - ROSH PINAH NAMIBIA.

Hondeklipbaai - Kleinsee - Port Nolloth - Sendlingsdrif  Lekkersing - Oranjemund - Namibia - Rosh Pinah   435 km.  11.5 hrs

Had a toastie for breakfast which was something new and then left to Kleinsee on dirt and asphalt road up along the coast. Arriving in Kleinsee the wind was pumping and it got cold all of a sudden, had a cuppaciano and fueled up and headed back inland to warm up through Lekkersing. The

road leading north from Lekkersing to Sendlingsdrif is rarely used and changed constantly and I hit an unexpected sand drift which I was lucky to ride out, sheer luck,.. certainly not by skill. 

    Lekkersing Main Street 

Got up tp Sendlingsdrif only to find out the border is closed, so headed back and then west to Oranjemund border at the coast.

Took maybe four minutes to go through  the SA border and then into Namibia.

    Namibia Border Post  Oranjemund. 

No vaccine certificate no entry, had the card but not accepted so had to take another PCR test (R 950 ). Took four hours before I could proceed, I asked one of the immigration offi ers jokingly if they could make me some coffee and she invited me inside and made me coffee and sat me down inside the immigration  office, was nuts, where in the world would you be able to do that . At 7pm the results got back and then I proceeded through immigration but on the other side of the glass. Then paid R215 for my bike's road tax and then drove 96km to Rosh Pinah n the dark and got a nice room at the Four Seasons for R 715 with brekkies.

CEDARBURG all dirt roads to Garies. 380km. 11*C.- 19*C. 26July 22 Day 2

 Clanwilliam  - Doringbaai - Lutzville - Transhex - Koekenaap - Brandsebaai - Lepelsfontein - Kotzesrus- Garies.   380km  6hrs.

Left later than I normally would, had no water but that was resolved quickly,  had left over lasagne and a cup of tea and was on my way. 

Am trying to do all dirt/gravel roads all the way up and today was about 95% dirt. The road right alongside the coast was a little hectic with sand and I did succumb at slow speed unfortunately, the first of many I am sure. Overall they were really enjoyable dirt roads and was rolling hills all day with just small shrubs, not much grows along the coastline here, zero trees. A lot of mining along the coast on the beaches and had to turn around a couple of times as you were not allowed to enter eventhough the map showed the road ,didn't  come across a soul on the entire coastal route.

The wind blew all day and it got cold approaching the Atlantic Ocean and the surf was pounding the rocky shoreline the whole way.  

    Doringbaai, stopped for coffee and has a huge abalone farm, and a winery.

Got to Garies around 5pm and found the only hotel, which is way better inside than it looks from the outside.

DONE WAFFLING. DEPARTED TODAY 25 JULY 2022

25 th JULY 2022   SIMON'S TOWN TO CEDARBURG      318KM   10 HRS  12*C - 19*C

Could not have picked a better day to leave, the weather was absolutely perfect, a little nip in the air but the sky was pristine clear which made the mountains jump out at you.

Stopped in Paarl and had some coffee with some friends who were happy to see me, depart.

Went over Baine's Kloof which has just, just re opened after being totally repaved and upgraded, what a scenic drive that  is. Then into Ceres, over Op die Berg and then hit the dirt road through the Cedarberg to Oasis.

    Baine's Kloof,  see the warning  sign !

    Op die Berg Passs

     Entering Cedarberg 

    Endless dirt road

Had lunch there and the owner advised me not to do the Wupperthal road on my own during the week as it was very technical, lots of sand ,loose rocks and gravel. When I got to the junction, I couldn't help myself and took it. Was 32km of sheer beauty and amazing riding, comparable le to Moab in Utah, it blew me away, absolutely  stunning. So I must be a good rider then cause I had no offs and for not being on the bike for four years, it felt good. I just think he doesn't  want guys to know about it as it is such a gem and doesn't  want to advertise it.

    Eselbank , in the middle of nowhere, 17km before Wupperthal. 

Wupperthal had a devastating fire that virtually burnt to the ground a few years ago but was happy to see the place is almost all rebuilt. Johan Rupert donated R70 million  and they need another 70 to finish it up according to the Dominee. 

    Wupperthal in the distance

    Wupperthal 

From there I shot over to Clanwilliam 70km away over another two passes of beautiful gravel road. The landscape is so rugged and crisp as you ride through the valleys and everything is so green at the moment and I hardly saw another vehicle. 

So great to start a ride like this and that's exactly why I didn't  want to go on that boring N7 on tar all the way to Springbok. 

 Fueled up in Clanwilliam and then went S down the Cedarburg to find a place to stay and found Klein Bosch Kloof Farm, an orange farm with cottages, but self catering, but I have no food. The owner said they don't serve meals, I almost started crying. She said if I am not to fussy she'll  make me some lasagne which she did and it was delicious with a cold Windhoek. 

STATS. 24 JULY 2022

Will be leaving tomorrow,  weather looks good and am all packed. 

       A rough route to Cairo on the first map, 

      Will be doing same same but different. 

Weight of :

Panniers     60 lbs

Tank Bag    6.5 lbs

Dry Bag       33 lbs

Riding jacket and pants   8 lbs

Bike              392 lbs

    mileage on departure.

    Always need Marmite.  

    My clothes for the trip. 

    3 x  socks

    3 x underwear

    3 x Columbia short sleeve shirts

    3 x Columbia light long sleeve sweat shirts

    1 x Columbia long sleeves

    1 x Kuhl short pants

    1 x costume

    1 x puffer jacket

    1x long underwear

    1  pair Keen shoes

    1  pair slip slops

Went for my last swim today and the penguins seemed happy and the Dassies were awaiting me on the boardwalk and the baboons even came down to the beach to say good bye to me !

    The water was 14*C with a slight breeze from the SE.

    

LACK OF PROGRESS 13 JULY 2022

Was hoping to leave this week but it ain't  happening. We had a week of summer weather and I didn't  get much done besides going to swim twice daily. 

     View of Simon's Town 

    Boulders Beach looking towards Muizenberg. 

Then got on it again, but have been spoiled with Amazon back in the US, just didn't  realize how it works here. I can't  get a paper map for Ethiopia, Sudan or Egypt here, non to be found, so gave up on that which took days. Then ordered a battery for my Garmin Montana, well there is none in the country, okay well that's hard to believe  and then it's Friday, so will wait till Monday to get my paperwork, Carnet, Comesa done.

Had a great weekend, dinner at my cousin's house , went to the Shark Museum for a talk on the Orca's in Norway. On Sunday some old friends had us over for dinner where much food and libation was consumed.

Anyhow on Monday  I tried to get my Carnet de Passage (CDP) only to find out that a bank guarantee doesn't work anymore and they need the R128 000 ( $8K  R16 = $1 ) in cash which they hold, with no interest. When I get back to SA with the bike I get my deposit back .

 So the Carnet is basically  a TIP, (Temporary Import Permit ) for each country but Egypt requires a 200% value of your vehicle to be deposited to enter the country, so hence the large amount of cash you have to give them. So if your bike doesn't get back here, you are tits up. 

So don't know what I am going to do yet about that,  and then the Comesa, which is 3rd part insurance for all the countries is another joke, and will just buy it at each country as I enter, cause the lady sent me a quote of R 7800, which I queried and then it dropped to like 4K, so am done with BS. 

So it's very frustrating, but then have been trying to get my inreach mini active and set up with Garmin has been a huge challenge for a dumbass like me, have been on the phone for hour's trying to figure it out. Has taken the whole week and am done with it. The only reason I got it was cause I am on my own and it has an SOS button, so they can come get my lame ass when the sh1t hits the fan, and then people, god knows who or why, can follow my tracks in real time so I am told,  but to set it up has me at my wits end.

Why do we need all these gadgets, guys just use to use paper maps in the day, but no, now everyone has to have instant contact, and it's  a lot of distractions trying to keep all the gizmos charged and keeping in contact and everything synced, don't know if it's worth the hassle. 

Enough of that, I just gotta get going, come hell or high water by the 25th of July. I never thought it would take this long. The place we are renting overlooks the the the harbour and False Bay and we get to see the whales quite frequently and walk to the beach daily and swim, so don't get much done in a day, I just stare at the view most of the time.

    View overlooking the Naval harbour from the deck.

Wednesday 20th July 2022

Five days to go and am getting stuff sorted, my Carnet will not be, and decided against using a Comesa. Have most stuff packed in my panniers and dry bag, so looks like Monday is going to work ,plus weather wise looks like a decent day.

    View of Simon's Town from atop of Red Hill.

Thursday 21st July 2022

Woke up again at 3:30 am, and decided I need to go buy a compressor, as I doubt the bicycle  pump will break the bead. At about 7am the sun rises over the Hottentots Holland Mountains and today's sunrise is like a fire in the sky and it changes so quickly,  by the time Charmain brings the coffee it is done.

 So after coffee, I  washed, brushed and combed and then did my daily walk to Fisherman's Beach, swam, came back home had ProNutro, showered then drove to Cape Town and bought a Desert Fox compressor,a tow rope and a 1L fuel can.

    Penguins at Boulders. 

    Fisherman's Beach. 

Am sitting here writing in the lounge, watching a spectacular sunset and the sea is like glass and there's no load shedding , so all the lights are on across the bay and the clouds are ablaze, another end of shitty day in Africa.

 

PPREPARING MY BIKE FOR THE TRIP