Day 14: Sendelingsdrif into Namibia.

I knew I would be in Namibia for a couple days so I had to have enough food and water to last, so I stocked up enough at the one café nearby. Carrying about 7litres of water sure added to the weight on my bike. Did the usual customs thing and the police were super friendly and chuffed with what I was doing. Then I was told to go pay for the pont crossing which was R15 I recall, then go wait at the bottom. So I did and shortly thereafter 2 guys came down to let me on the small raft which they ferried me across the Orange river with. I was now officially in Namibia. I was stoked as I was now in another country and again realized that I was actually doing this epic bike ride. Was a lekker feeling to be had. 

Lets go ponting!

Crossing borders and the start of many sun in the face shots.

Did the usual arrivals things on the Namibian side before I was left to carry on. Had to do a bit of a hilly ride around before arriving next to the Orange River. Plus there was minor road detour as a chunk of the gravel road had be washed away in a flood recently. The landscape wasn’t that much different from the day before. Hills aplenty on either side of the river with the only life being that which the Orange River gave to. It was like a wet, green outlined artery that flowed through the land. I found it absolutely beautiful.

Passport stamped. Lets get going!

Flood damage. Love the power of mother nature. Nothing to do but go around.

The day was as hot at the one before it but was no problem. Once I had gotten onto the road that ran next to the river I rode for a little bit before stopping to take a swim in the river. It was awesome. I could do this as much as I pleased. I went upstream and just let the river take me down. I did this a few times before pushing on. Plus I decided to just ride in my slops instead of putting on my shoes all the time.

Orange River bliss!!!

Hang 5 while I go for a swim, my baby Giant.

Just like a beach.

Pleasantly refreshed! Think I swam like 3 times.

This was awesome. Just riding alongside the Orange River in Namibia. Seeing as I was to spend a total of 3 days alongside the river, I didn’t have to cycle that far each day so after a fairly easy ride I came to a dried up stream bed that ran across the road. I followed it right towards the Orange River and found my spot for the night. This beautiful open green grassy section all to my own. I had thought the camp two nights ago was awesome, but this one blew it out of the water. Once I had set up, I went for another swim and decided to just swim to the bank on the South African side for fun. With this bloody huge red beard I was carrying I was definitely playing the part of wild man in this area. Flippen hey it was awesome being here.

And the heavens opened up and my spot was revealed. Ahhhhh.

Schweet! This was what I was looking forward to and it was better than I had imagined.

As much as I was enjoying being there alone, I knew that this was such a lekker place to share with other people. If ever I decide to return to this place, someone has to come with me.

Watching the shadow creep across the surface at the end of a perfect day.

Seeing as I was drinking so much water during the day to stay hydrated, I ended up having to pee about 2 to 3 times every night. This sucked as I ended up no having solid uninterrupted sleep for about 2 months of my journey. That being said, getting up out of my tent to relieve myself allowed me to see the stars which shone so clearly in this part of the country without all the light pollution from near a city. They were absolutely beautiful! Here were the stars as they were meant to be seen. And not just the main ones we are used to seeing, but all those smaller ones too sprayed across the sky. Millions of them, trillions, gabajillions!!! All little shiny dots of past light that had finally made their way to my eye. It was another good day.

Distance 40kms