Wallis On Wheels Big Bicycle Adventure

• Part 1: Northern border to Windhoek.

The first night I camped at a family home just off the main road. Asking if I could pitch on their land they gladly said yes. Later asking if I could use some water from an outside tap to wash they offered me the use their shower, a promptly accepted offer after a 8 days of free camping and washing in cold, clear-water streams. Hopefully this fine hospitality would be common-place in Namibia. I was woke in the night by strong gust’s of wind, pounding the side of the tent like a ships sail. The wind continued into the following morning, a constant breeze with regular bursts of gusts. I was heading south, into the wind. Later that day I’m told that July and August are the windy months in Namibia.



The next main town shown on the map was Ondangwa, about 50 miles away. Having been informed much of Namibia has nothing but open space in between the towns so I stocked up on food supplies, but to my surprise small villages appeared every few miles along the road, these were mainly corrugated steel huts, and each village had several bars with big names painted on the front such as “Namibar”, “No’1 Bar”, “Best bar”. It looked like Namibians liked their drink!




 


 

The altitude had remained pretty much the same since climbing up to 1200m in Angola, just a slight climb up to Tsumeb, at ~ 1300m. On leaving the town the next day the climb continued up another 100m as the route twisted and winded on a minimal traffic road, clear blue skies and crisp fresh air.


The next town was Otavi, 40 miles away, and planned to re-stock on supplies and continue, still aiming for a minimum of 60 miles (100km) per day. At Tsumeb the direction changed from a south-east to a south-west, giving me a cross/tail wind, this helped greatly and easily achieved the distance. The town of Otavi was pretty much a large petrol station with café/bar/hotel and a collection of houses of on the far side, so only buying a few basics I head off.

The map showed a town, Platveld, 70km from Otavi, so I planned to head there. Unfortunately the town never turned up and I presumed it to be a farming village whereby any farms with-in a certain boundary of that area would have Platveld as there address. Toward the end of the day a passing car briefly de-accelerates and pulls over onto the grass verge, the Japanese driver jumps out and asks if I need water, still carrying enough I decline his offer but he then offers me 1 litre of milk, gladly accepting this he also passes me 2 yoghurts, 4 oranges and, of all things, a curry pie. A welcomed hand-out after assuming dinner would be peanut butter sandwiches. A few miles further down the road I spotted a farm set back away from the road, asking here if I can camp on their land I was shown a suitable area. The following morning I’m offered a coffee and I ask about the most suitable route, with regard to water as the towns are so far apart and rivers now dry I had to plot carefully. At the next town of Otjiwarango I had previously planned to take the secondary route as the towns are closer together, although the road would not be as good as it would take longer to reach Windhoek, the capital. The lady says staying on the main road to Okahandja would be ok as there is a farm 70km from Otjiwarango and they would no doubt help out. That town was very nice and also had a very American feel to it, calling in at a café for a cheese toasty and tea and then a spot of emailing and updating the blog’s map. Pushing-on the road continued much the same for the rest of the day. The route had started to become a bit ‘samey’, with occasional herds of vehicles zipping past at the 120kph speed limit and same open plan plateau views.

The farm soon turned up and the farmer, Bennie, gladly let me pitch the tent on his nice green lawn. Later, just after tucking into a tin of baked beans and crinkle crisps for dinner his son, Burtie, walks over and asks if I would like to sleep inside on a couch-bed as it was going to be cold that night. Initially declining but later, after being invited in for a few glasses of red wine, good dinner and coffee I accept. They had friends visiting, Evert and Erina, of whom were also farmers and living just 93 miles (150km) from Cape Town invited me to stay at their farm when passing…. on the closing days of my tour ;-(.
 Okahandja had one of the best campsites I had ever stayed at. It was a hotel / camping complex along with a bar, restaurant and swimming pool. The campsite felt so in tune with nature, the toilets and shower facilities were all open air, with 6ft grass reed screens to give total privacy. Showering under a tree with birds twittering around was certainly strange, the open-air acoustics, so different to that of a tiled bathroom gave it such a naturist’s feel. Being out of season the place was deserted, just like the campsites I stayed at back in Portugal, all those months ago. Due to Sunday trading laws I was unable to buy a beer at the ‘Pay n Play’ supermarket that evening so after dinner I popped to the bar for one. After downing a bottle of Windhoek I was just stepping down from the bar stool when the bar-man places another one in front of me and points to a man further down who had bought it. He seemed quite drunk and decided to buy everyone at the bar whatever they had been drinking, halfway through that one another one appears, and before I had chance to start that he shouts “another round of drinks for everyone bar-man” at which I have to decline. He slurs “What’s the matter, are you married?” I replied “No, I’m on a bicycle!”  To start cycling, on a cold morning after 4 beers the night before would not be clever, I’ll save the drinking for Cape Town!

The next day was just 44 miles (70km) to Windhoek. Talking to a man the night before I’m informed it’s a clean, tidy and well organized city, and how true this was. My “Africa’s cleanest city so far award” has now been retrieved from Gabon’s Libreville and handed to Windhoek, with a clear lead.  

 Accommodation was at the “Cardboard box back papers hostel + camping”. This place was a real bargain. N$70 (£7) to camp and included breakfast with coffee/tea, free wifi, hot showers, a kitchen with 2 double hobs and utensils, a swimming pool - although far too cold this time of year, and a well stocked bar. I took two days off there, mainly for blog work. Namibia is a popular country for safari tours and tour operators use the hostel as a stop-over so the hostel was constantly busy with new customers coming and going.

• Part 2: Windhoek to the Southern border:

 Accommodation on the first night from Windhoek was at a B&B, with a slight ‘twist’. I asked if I could pitch my tent and just have the breakfast, a first for the proprietor, but presented no problem. The second night was at Karkland. A rather smart campsite with a restaurant/breakfast bar, pond, stream and ducks. The gravel road I took from here was a welcomed break. A good condition, concrete based, route with just occasional washboard sections to bump over. Traffic on this route was almost non-existent so free-camping for the following three nights just off the road was safe, not having to hide behind hedges as normal. Here I had one of my best free-camp spots. For most of the day I had been following a long plateau, set back several miles away with and occasionally passing large natural ponds / reservoirs just inside the barb-wired fields, many times seeing cattle gathered around these drinking. When free-camping finding a good location with a water source is not always easy so upon passing a reservoir at 4:30pm I decide to call it a day. It was surrounded by a flat gravel area. Clearing the stones with a brush made from clumps of dried grass I pitched the tent. Making use of the water to clean myself and filling water bottles. The setting was perfect. How many times have you been somewhere and heard nothing, absolutely nothing, total silence? I could hear a pin drop a mile away, but it never happened, just silence. Sun-set revealed a wonderful orange glow on the horizon, making way for another chilly Namibian night. Morning temperatures since southern Angola had been about 5’C so the sun re-appearing over the horizon was always a welcomed sight, feeling its rays slowly warming.