From Maun I traveled to Ghanzi and spent a night at a campsite in the bush. The roads were really sandy because it's on the outskirts of the Kalahari desert. I was overtired from the night before and went down on the bike in the sand. It wasn't bad, but pretty frustrating. There wasn't much for me to do in the area so I continued after just one night.
The next day I crossed the border into Namibia. It was a very easy crossing. There was no one hassling me to change money, or for that matter pestering me at all. I spent the night in Gobabis. When I got there it was raining so I got a room for about $15 at a rest house. It was a great decision because it poured on and off all night.
Then I headed for Windhoek. My bike was still making rattling sounds so I had it checked out at the Honda dealership. Turns out the chain was worn so I had to get a new chain and sprockets (about $200 USD). I figured this was the case. It's difficult to find proper chain lube where I've been, Rob and I ran out months ago. I'm still annoyed that the shop in Maun didn't fix the problem or even acknowledge that the chain needed replacing. I don't think they knew what they were doing. The Honda dealership told me it would take 5 days to get the parts from South Africa.
Conveniently I met up with a German I'd met in Maun and we decided to rent a car for 6 days to check out northern Namibia. First we went to Swakopmund on the coast. I tried sand boarding for the first time and had a blast. Next stop was Mt. Brandberg National Reserve where we saw cave paintings that were between 2,000 and 5,000 years old. Then we headed to Etosha National Park. They don't allow motorcycles in the park so I couldn't have gone through there on my own. The park was nice but it's too wet so animals were difficult to spot. Usually they all meet at watering holes, which makes spotting them easy. The highlights we saw were a black rhino and a white rhino.
The parts for my bike came in yesterday so it should be ready this afternoon. It was nice renting a car for a bit of relaxing. It felt like going on vacation with someone I didn't know, with a bit of a language barrier. We were silent a lot of the time in the car, which was nice because we didn't feel forced to talk. Namibia is a former German colony so there are a ton of Germans here. Traveling with a German allowed me to tune out most of the talking and let him be the social one. It sounds strange but I enjoy being able to avoid conversation in every social situation. In Namibia I've been sitting silently quite often unless they decided to stop speaking German for a few minutes and include me. I don't mind.
Yesterday I paid my first real bribe in Africa. I got caught speeding 137.5 km/h in a 120 zone. The officer said I could either drive about 90 km back and pay 1,780 Namibia dollars ($110 USD) or I could pay what I had in my wallet, but couldn't get a receipt. I ended up placing 500 Namibia dollars ($31 USD) next to the officer. I don't like bribing but we wanted to get to Windhoek before dark and it made things a lot easier. Immediately after paying I hit a bird the size of a football while going 120 km/hr. Luckily it didn't damage the car, but I was ready for a beer as soon as we got back.
Namibia is a beautiful country. It's also easy to travel with the exception that it's so rural. There isn't much public transportation so we were picking up hitchhikers all the way. I'd recommend anyone to come here, but during the high season. Etosha would have been much better if there were more animals around. At the campsites they even have seating and lights around the waterholes for night viewing. Unfortunately we didn't see any animals while we were at these spots.
Tomorrow I plan on heading south, assuming my bike is ready. I may hike in Fish River Canyon for a few days, but depends on the weather. It's been rainy the last few days. After that I'll head towards Cape Town, then up the east coast.
A couple months ago I said that Mt. Mulanje was the third highest peak in Africa. That is not true. It's worth checking facts occasionally instead of listening to everything the locals tell you. It's not a big deal but I wanted to make a note about it. It's not even in the top ten highest peaks in Africa, so maybe I misunderstood what the guide said.
The next day I crossed the border into Namibia. It was a very easy crossing. There was no one hassling me to change money, or for that matter pestering me at all. I spent the night in Gobabis. When I got there it was raining so I got a room for about $15 at a rest house. It was a great decision because it poured on and off all night.
Then I headed for Windhoek. My bike was still making rattling sounds so I had it checked out at the Honda dealership. Turns out the chain was worn so I had to get a new chain and sprockets (about $200 USD). I figured this was the case. It's difficult to find proper chain lube where I've been, Rob and I ran out months ago. I'm still annoyed that the shop in Maun didn't fix the problem or even acknowledge that the chain needed replacing. I don't think they knew what they were doing. The Honda dealership told me it would take 5 days to get the parts from South Africa.
Conveniently I met up with a German I'd met in Maun and we decided to rent a car for 6 days to check out northern Namibia. First we went to Swakopmund on the coast. I tried sand boarding for the first time and had a blast. Next stop was Mt. Brandberg National Reserve where we saw cave paintings that were between 2,000 and 5,000 years old. Then we headed to Etosha National Park. They don't allow motorcycles in the park so I couldn't have gone through there on my own. The park was nice but it's too wet so animals were difficult to spot. Usually they all meet at watering holes, which makes spotting them easy. The highlights we saw were a black rhino and a white rhino.
The parts for my bike came in yesterday so it should be ready this afternoon. It was nice renting a car for a bit of relaxing. It felt like going on vacation with someone I didn't know, with a bit of a language barrier. We were silent a lot of the time in the car, which was nice because we didn't feel forced to talk. Namibia is a former German colony so there are a ton of Germans here. Traveling with a German allowed me to tune out most of the talking and let him be the social one. It sounds strange but I enjoy being able to avoid conversation in every social situation. In Namibia I've been sitting silently quite often unless they decided to stop speaking German for a few minutes and include me. I don't mind.
Yesterday I paid my first real bribe in Africa. I got caught speeding 137.5 km/h in a 120 zone. The officer said I could either drive about 90 km back and pay 1,780 Namibia dollars ($110 USD) or I could pay what I had in my wallet, but couldn't get a receipt. I ended up placing 500 Namibia dollars ($31 USD) next to the officer. I don't like bribing but we wanted to get to Windhoek before dark and it made things a lot easier. Immediately after paying I hit a bird the size of a football while going 120 km/hr. Luckily it didn't damage the car, but I was ready for a beer as soon as we got back.
Namibia is a beautiful country. It's also easy to travel with the exception that it's so rural. There isn't much public transportation so we were picking up hitchhikers all the way. I'd recommend anyone to come here, but during the high season. Etosha would have been much better if there were more animals around. At the campsites they even have seating and lights around the waterholes for night viewing. Unfortunately we didn't see any animals while we were at these spots.
Tomorrow I plan on heading south, assuming my bike is ready. I may hike in Fish River Canyon for a few days, but depends on the weather. It's been rainy the last few days. After that I'll head towards Cape Town, then up the east coast.
A couple months ago I said that Mt. Mulanje was the third highest peak in Africa. That is not true. It's worth checking facts occasionally instead of listening to everything the locals tell you. It's not a big deal but I wanted to make a note about it. It's not even in the top ten highest peaks in Africa, so maybe I misunderstood what the guide said.
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