D78……The Dunebelt.

We had a very different experience this morning. And again it was unforgettable. We set off on quadbikes at the crack of dawn, Nick and I wearing our special protective footwear! (Nick’s foot is still very swollen). Apparently they have never had a quadbiker wearing skiboots before, strange.

10 minutes in and we climbed a very steep shaley track to a small knoll overlooking the river, and the two countries, Angola and Namibia, either side. And there, on the ridge, was a long table with full settings and bacon grilling on the bbq behind. This really is a cool place and they do know how to do things with style. We tucked into a splendid breakfast with the most stunning views imaginable. To remind you we have the Angolan mountains to the North which look like they are coated with black lava and ash. Devoid of any vegetation. And to the South of the river we have the bright orange sand dunes rolling in from Namibia. Fringing each side of the river there is a thin band of greenery.

We took a little while to get accustomed to the quads which are light and skipppy and will certainly flip over. We took in some countryside and rolling hills, past a couple of abandoned Himba villages before we hit the dune belt. And then it was a blast. It was simply sheer fun. These dune machines would tackle anything, and fortunately the guide, Khali, was sufficiently happy with us that he took us down a couple of monster dunes that looked, from our vantage point at the top, virtually sheer! And we are talking hundreds of feet high. But down these buggies went. First gear, back brake and front brake all applied and then the descent in an avalanche of sand. And nobody rolled thank goodness!!

The dunebelt was unforgettable. Huge rolling dunes of orange sand reaching, in all directions, as far as the eye could see. It is a beautiful and rugged country up here.

The afternoon was reserved for a jog. Over dunes, over crags, over rocky descents. Fabulous all terrain stuff!!

We have seen little of Gregg and Lloyd over the last 2 days. They have been sorting. And there has been a lot to sort. We only have 1 sound spare tyre for cruiser and trailer. The other two are write offs. The trailer had been quite badly damaged over the Hartmann Pass but some welding and jiggery pokery seems to have cracked that one. And Gregg’s bike which expired 2k from home has also been resucitated. Namibia has taken quite a toll. We have to pray that the cruiser can survive on one spare tyre for the next 500k on sharp shale and sand.

Tomorrow is a very big day, well over 200k, and we don’t really know how much sand we have to tackle. Sand is less than 10kph. So an early start and everything crossed! J