So after a night listening to wild donkeys and jackals I am awoken by some noisy birds. Another 360km mostly on the dirt & sandy roads, through the beautiful mountain landscapes of the scenic Kuisib canyon and across the Namib desert to the coastal resort town of Swakopmund. We stop occasionally to take in this extraordinary every changing landscape. During one of these stops I had a close encounter which I care not to repeat. I was standing and then sitting on a bench above a deadly puff adder. Although we were warned to watch out for snakes but our guide had never seen one before now.
After some time in the dry heat of the desert it was supposed to get cooler as we approach the coast, but the wind is blowing from the desert and the temp reached 40deg on the bikes, the last few km is a smoother ride on a compacted salt road to Walvis Bay. We end the day with a short ride along the breaking waves of the Atlantic Ocean as we head north to Swakopmund, where we will have a rest day tomorrow..... 4x4 through the sand dunes.
After 3 or 4 days on these roads I think I have spent as much time standing as sitting while riding. although I have been in some challenging situations on the other rides I have been on, this has been the most challenging so far, with constantly changing road conditions stretching my riding skills daily.
for my Bonsai friends here are a couple of photos of the very old stunted trees growing in this area, overnight bedroom and views outside the windows
this was our route today https://www.relive.cc/view/vrqo5Jj1KyO
No comments:
Post a Comment