Category Archives: Africa 2016

The Beast had some issues today….

When the roads became tarmac again just outside Swakopmund I stopped to increase the tyre pressures from their gravel settings, I discovered one rear tyre badly shredded. Thanks to quick efforts from Avis and with the luck of being on an easy staging day on the way towards the Skeleton Coast and so having time available, the Dunlop boys fitted new tyres. Any of the last 2 days I would have been 2 days away from the nearest spare tyre and on a schedule with sights to see, so I got lucky.

Its a little bit worrying how quickly the tyre went to hell, and I’m not sure why it did unless it had a slow puncture. Need to be extra careful with pressures for tar versus gravel and choose 2wd or 4wd carefully. And not go so fast.

Also needed a fuse for the 12v power socket. The Beast has 3 sockets and the fuses for all 3 had gone, 2 before I even got the car and one 2 days ago. I replaced it with one from the fuse box that was used by a non-essential light, but today I hoped to buy a couple of spares.

For 90 minutes I trekked to every car dealer, parts shop, 4×4 shop etc and couldn’t find one. I drove 20 miles back to the south to the other town in this part of the coast, Walvis Bay, and found a Ford dealer. 

Just like the last 10 people I’d asked, the parts man said sorry. Haven’t got any.

Unlike the last 10 people, this guy went out of his way to help me, eventually ordering in spares from the capital, Windhoek, to replace the two he then nicked out of a customers car to give to me!

Brilliant. And continuing the theme of that sort of kindness that has saved my bacon on Overland trips all around the world.

So then back to Swakopmund and the very swanky Bon Hotel, which appears brand new, empty apart from me and the receptionist, and is awesome except for the stunning photos of sand dunes all around the place that make mine look pahetic…

It’s funny how often overland travel is like this. You’re on the edge of a desert thinking ah shit I’m going to be stuck for 2 days waiting for a tyre, there are no fuses so if the last one goes I’ll be stuck without GPS or charging, I’m almost out of fuel, it’s 30 degrees and I’m covered in dust, and a few hours later you have two 2 new tyres, 2 new fuses, 150 litres of diesel, crisp white cotton sheets, and a plan to go hunting for shipwrecks on the Skeleton Coast that is still game on.

My GPS said this sign is in the wrong place, but still. Thanks to the driver of one of the “Overland Adventure” buses full of miserable looking German tourists for taking this photo. Miserable cos they’re all stuck in a bloody bus all day long.

Amazing evening at Sesriem and Sossusvlei, capped off with Ostrich burgers on the camp fire and Namibian red wine.

The dunes are huge, and it’s very tough to climb to the top of Dune 45, but I did.

Sadly the place is overrun by tourists (OK, so I’m a tourist too, but why are so many other tourists such monumental fuckwits?) and it was too windy to fly Solo (the drone)

I didn’t want to risk it because on the road from Fish River Canyon to Sesriem I tried to use Solo to film myself driving by, but Solo got confused and flew into a tree…

I could see the live video stream from up in a tree somewhere but it took ages to find which one. Lucky for me, Solo only broke some propellers, the tree caught him and didn’t let him tumble to the ground, and standing on top of The Beast left Solo just within reach. Narrow escape, and I have spare props.

Perhaps at sunrise the air will be still enough to try flying Solo at the dunes.

Today I began to experience the full horror of corrugated gravel roads the same as led to my crash when biking through Mongolia.

The action of vehicles over sand and gravel causes it to form ripples like a washboard (wtf is a washboard anymore?)

It shakes and pounds and bounces and it’s bloody awful.

The other problem is dust. Everything I own is covered in dust, even inside The Beast. It gets everywhere. On the road, you leave a dust cloud a mile long.

When there’s something car on the road ahead of you, you have to drop back and slow to their speed, or you have to drive entirely blind through the dust to try to pass, without a clue what may be coming the other way or even where the he’ll the track a actually is.

When something cones the other way and the wind is to the left, their dust cloud washes in front of you and you’re left blind for the next 30 seconds or more whether you like it or not.

Thankfully there’s only one other vehicle every 20 miles or so.

I don’t fancy biking through it like the group of bikers I saw onthe road today. Covered in dust, blinded by dust, and bouncing over the corrugations all day long. No thanks.