Namibia –25th  June 2015 onwards

We were caught in a squall on the road between Clanwilliam and Springbok which soaked and chilled us through. A warm room was needed and the Springbok Information Centre gave us a list of possible accommodation. We ended up in the unlikely sounding Masonic lodge Hotel. It was managed by a lovely lady called Rebecca who got the room heating switched on and laundered our sodden clothes, demonstrating the friendliness which is so refreshing for us “Brits”.
The next morning we piled on several layers to stay warm in the cold temperatures and headed North for the final 100km to the border with Namibia.
Arrow straight roads cut through barren countryside which gradually turned more desert like nearer to the border. James was leading again. He showed great discipline in sticking at a steady 110Kph, just under the speed limit. The 3 of us fizzed along quite easily enjoying the calm conditions and bright sunshine albeit it was still a bit chilly. Inside the hour we arrived at Voolsdrift for our first African border crossing. We weren’t anticipating any problems as there are close relations between Namibia and SA and despite my best attempt to accidentally buck the system by riding straight through the Namibian side without stopping, caused by lack of signage in the building reconstruction, we were soon through with all paperwork officially stamped and our 154 N$ (£8) vehicle usage fee paid up.
So far so good and even better there was a marked increase in temperature. Roger (who we met in Clanwilliam) had said that the weather was much better North of the Orange River and he was absolutely right. We stopped for fuel a couple of miles past the border post and took the opportunity to remove some layers. A quick conference and the GPS was programmed to take us to Ai-Ais although as usual both the Garmin units (Zumo and Monterra) disagreed over route and distance. We decided to go with the Monterra as it seemed more consistent with what we thought the basic maps were showing. This meant I was leading and such is my lack of trust in the thing I decided to ignore it when we came to the first sign to Ai-Ais, 90Km before Monterra said to expect it.
We always knew that most of Namibia has to be navigated on dirt roads so it was no surprise that 80Km of it lay between us and our destination. However it was our very first Namibian dirt road so we treated it with respect gradually building speed from 50kph to 80kph. James and me were absolutely comfortable on the CCM’s, while Andrew was making it known that all was not well onboard the BMW.
We stopped after about 40km to take a photo of the bikes and us in the middle of all the “nothingness”. Seriously, until you are actually in the middle of it, having got there under your own steam, you really can’t imagine what it is like.
I swapped bikes with Andrew and was treated to the sight of him confidently riding off into the distance while I was reminded by the squirming Beemer that at heart it is a tarmac bike.  Gradually I got used to its behaviour but over dinner that night we christened it the “Red Peril”.
The final few KM before Ai-Ais Lodge and Hot Springs resort, were over “washboard”. These are sandy roads with sharp ridges running across them. I had read about this and the recommended approach of speeding up until the suspension harmonises with the vibration. This can mean getting up to over 80Kph, something that we were not willing to do at the end of a long day on unfamiliar roads. So we chattered up to the security gate, minus most of our teeth fillings and the odd eyeball shaken out of its socket…
The security guy (young lad in a uniform) did his best to be nonplussed by the UK format number plates by asking us to write them in his log before waving us through. Enticed by the sight of nice looking lodges, a tennis court, outdoor swimming pool and signs to the “Hot Spring” we all pressed the starter buttons to go and find out more. The Red Peril and James’s CCM started but my bike with Andrew still aboard didn’t want to know about going any further.
James and Andrew went on ahead while I fiddled with things. They returned to inform me that we were camping as all “proper” accommodation was fully booked. We later learned that the South African school holidays had just started so many families were already heading North for some Namibian sunshine. Just like when everybody in the North West heads up the M6 to the Lake District but without the sunshine…. or the space….. or the friendly helpful attitude of all other travellers. In fact it’s really nothing like when we head up the M6 to the Lake District….
We spent the next day swapping bits and bobs back and forth between the bikes to identify the problem. Starter motor seems to be the culprit but the good guys at CCM have organised an “aid pack” to be sent to their African missionaries. So we will be heading to Keetmanshoek in the next day or so to collect and hopefully resolve the problem. In the meantime we will have to bump start the bike.
A final note for this entry. We have been totally impressed by the generosity of the South Africans on the site. Advice, tools and offers of wine have not stopped for the 3 days we have been here. It also has to be said that being on motor bikes has made a big difference. People in this part of the world like motor bikes. One family in particular who make wine not far from Capetown spent a long time sharing tales of their own motorcycling tours with the lady (Mum of 2 daughters) riding a GS1200 when they toured on bikes. They have even invited us to stay with them when we are back in Capetown area….I might have to indulge in a wee glass of their red if we do…would be bad manners not to ;-)

Cape Town – 19th to 24th  June 2015

After weeks of wrestling with bureaucracy and logistics, arriving in Cape Town seemed like an end in itself instead of the beginning of what hopefully will be a fascinating, engaging, educational, perhaps even exciting, motorcycle road trip through Africa.
Cape Town immediately qualified for the first 2 adjectives. What a great place and the weather was unseasonably hot. The locals explained that we had only just missed several days of heavy rain and winds to be succeeded by clear blue sky, temperatures in the low 20’s and beautiful orange sunrises.
We ate well, slept well and enjoyed friendly interest wherever we went. This city was beginning to feel like home after only a few days.
Recovering the bikes from the shipper was straightforward. Screens and mirrors refitted, some duct tape deployed to attach the BMW indicator, and we were off to the nearest petrol station to fill up – the first of many to come. We then made our way through the Saturday morning traffic to Motorcycle City on Voortrekker Road. The BMW had been booked in for new chain and sprockets to be fitted with the workshop closing at 1pm. We had agreed to arrive early but didn’t get there until 11:30ish. I was anticipating a grumpy reception and an instruction to return on Monday. Not a bit of it. Gus in parts wasn’t fazed and Greg the owner simply wheeled the bike down to the basement workshop. 40 minutes later the job was complete with the mechanic asking Andrew to sit on the bike with luggage to ensure the chain was tensioned correctly. All done with a friendly and obliging attitude.
On Sunday we had a day of “faffing” about with bits and bobs, luggage, fitting electrical charging points for our phones, GPS and intercoms but we did manage to finish in enough time to play the tourist on Table Top Mountain. Absolutely stunning! The cable car ride to the top should terrify you as the car swings in towards the cliff face seemingly for an unavoidable collision but of course it lifts up into the docking bay smoothly and without incident as it has done several thousand times before.
We had to break away from the gravitational pull of Cape Town. So on Monday we checked out of the very comfortable Blue Sky B&B and decided to head South for an official start to the journey from Cape Point.
Clear skies and comfortable temperatures defied the norm – something that later the same day we would be grateful to have more of! After taking the obligatory pictures at Cape Point, feeding the confident unafraid birds with our lunch and chatting to some very friendly Welsh Zoology students who were studying baboons, we headed North. First stop was Stellenbosch to pick up a pair of motorcycle trousers that I had ordered while in the UK. This meant going to the large BMW Motorrad dealer where the staff were very helpful. One of the customers struck up a conversation with James while I was changing and it turned out he had a wealth of knowledge on our intended destinations. He pointed out towns and locations of interest on the map so we now had a few recommendations to aim for in Namibia.
We had previously decided that we were going to do no detailed route planning, going instead with a broad brush general direction of travel, the detail being worked out the night before. This meant we could change our plans at no notice.
Following the advice from the guy in the BMW dealership, we headed towards Towies River. It was 3pm and the GPS showed we were 85 miles away. It gets dark around 5:30pm. The initial flush of enthusiasm waned as I realised we would be arriving in the dark to a strange town with no accommodation pre-booked. Another route choice had to be made. A Toll road would cut 10 miles off the distance or we could take the old road. I made a snap decision to avoid the straight, enclosed Toll road in the hope that accommodation would be more likely on the old road. This was one of my better decisions as the road snaked up into the Cedarburg mountains giving beautiful views and really engaging riding. As we got higher the temperature dropped markedly. We needed to find somewhere to stay and on cue an out of season fishing lodge appeared with a vacant chalet.
In contrast to our time in Cape Town the mountain lodge was cold and it made us want to head North. The route plan for the next day served that purpose. More stunning roads through the mountains had me momentarily thinking that a big road bike would have been perfect but suddenly and without warning the road to Citrusdale turned to gravel. The CCMs came into their own. James who was leading, by virtue of his GPS being the only working one, barely slowed down. Gradually his dust cloud disappeared as Andrew and I took it a lot easier for this initial introduction to “gravel” as the locals all called untarred roads.
This was a really good days riding. Beautiful roads through the mountains with a chance to try out our off road abilities finishing in a workman like town called Clanwilliam where we found a hotel with a walled in carpark. Just as we were preparing to move our bikes out of sight from the road a couple of “meaty” trail bikes thudded by. I just managed to see the riders flash a look into the car park. Their engines slowed and the sounds of a U turn were obvious. Sure enough they both rumbled into the car park to say hello as you tend to do when you see other overland motorcycle travellers. That’s how we met Michael and Roger, two guys in their mid 60’s riding KTM 690s who had started from Addis Ababa in April. The astonishing thing about this is that I already knew of them from MotoFreight, the logistics company we had used to airfreight the bikes to Cape Town. What were the chances that our paths would cross like this? Anyway we had a good natter and they were both very helpful in making suggestions for our intended route as they has just covered most of it heading South. It was great to see them and I hope they finish their journey to Cape Town in style.
Off to Namibia next. We hear great things about it. Watch this space!