Distance: 118.2 km
Ride time: 8:39:21
Average: 13.7 km/h
Max speed: 36.0 km/h
Total: 45134 km
From Maltahöhe I decided to take a more direct route towards the capital Windhoek instead of continuing on the remote dirt roads. Somebody would say “Oh, but you will miss Sossusvlei then!” – to which I will respond; Yes, but I don’t really see each country as a list of tourist hot spots where I should go and take a photo and tick it off. I have already been enjoying spectacular landscapes in Namibia – for now civilization seems more attractive.
Not that there was any civilization today whatsoever. I only met a few cars and saw a couple of farms during the entire ride.
By the end of the day I crossed the Fish River. I had spent a night camping at the very same river in the extreme south of Namibia. A long river indeed. I jumped in for a quick swim before continuing towards Kalkrand.
Ever since I left Cape Town I feel like I have been in beautiful remote areas in the middle of nowhere. As I arrived in Kalkrand there was a busy gas station where things felt chaotic. People were running to and from their buses, people yelling and pushing, beggars hanging around asking for money. Quite a change from the peace out at the country side. I felt I had arrived in the real Africa!
It looked like rain was coming our way, and since it didn’t feel completely safe to camp I opted for hotel room instead. At 25$ a bit over my budget, but that’s how it goes sometimes.
Two days to Windhoek from here!
Fish River. What an appropriate name. 🙂
Btw, how is the bike holding up? I still can’t decide what kind of bike to take with me, when I finally start my circumnavigation.
My new Specialized is holding up great – and it works great on the dirt roads. A bit heavy and slow on tarmac but yes, bike choice is always a trade-off…
I’m leaning more towards mountain or some kind of touring bike. Then there’s the age old debate as to whether to use Rohloff or derailleur, flat bars or butterfly. haha. the options are endless. Though, I’m not a fan of drop bars these days. Not enough room for gadgets. haha. 🙂
Yes, the options are truly endless… My “words of wisdom” are that equipment is not that important in the end. Preparing your mind for a big ride is much more important. That’s what really matters 😉
Tom Allen (tomsbiketrip.com) has pretty much the same point of view. 🙂
I’m currently in Steinkopf on my 1983 Schwimm with butterfly bars and a homemade gadget thjingy for my Rixen bar bag. Bit rough on the corrugated sand roads but doable – so far 🙂
100% agree with “Preparing your mind for a big ride is much more important. That’s what really matters”