Motorcycle trip to Namibia: Day 2 - Into Namibia

Clearing the formalities at the border post offered us more than merely access into Namibia - it actually set us free.

We – Adriaan, Willem and I – came to explore a part of this vast country. And as our motorcycles headed West on the gravel road closely following the lazy flow of the Orange River, we realised in awe that we will be getting more from this wonderful country than what we could ever ask for. 

"Barren moon landscape" was an understatement of what we saw and experienced for the next 160 km. With the river and water permanently to the left of the road, one would expect lush vegetation to the right. But the absence of vegetation was simply amplified by the rigid and barren low mountains with exposed black rocky surfaces and loose boulders which continued for kilometre after kilometre. A pale half-moon above, clearly visible in the midday sunlight, added to the eeriness that surrounded us.

Depending on the angle of the sun, the black shiny surfaces at times reflected a golden shine when viewed through my Polaroid sunglasses. "Would the gold be a promise of what was waiting for us for the next eight days?" I wondered as I negotiated the wavy, twisty road.

At a control point close to Rosh Pinah, we were waved down by a police member and two soldiers who were managing the post. After completing formalities, I politely asked if I could take a photograph of them. The abrupt "no!" confirmed that my policy of first asking permission before taking pictures of people was still appropriate. And I realised that it was even more correct to do so if those that you want to have in the picture, were wearing camouflage uniforms and semi-automatic rifles. 

North of Rosh Pinah the landscape offered wider, open spaces with low mountain ranges still prominent. But now, for the first time, dunes on the outskirts of the Namib Desert – the oldest desert in the world – started to appear in the distance to the West. And gradually it dawned on me why I had to undertake this journey. As I was entering a new phase in my personal life, I had to be here to rediscover myself against the backdrop of something else that was new to me. What I needed was not another new city where the neon lights flash "fool’s gold, fool’s gold" in rhythmic cycles, but a new environment of open plains and magnificent dunes anchored in history as old as the world itself, Namibia and the Namib desert.

We were traveling on a tar road now. And as the rhythm of three BMW boxer engined adventure motorcycles carried us further and further into the beckoning hinterland, I was humbly looking forward to the life refreshing experience that awaited me in this country called Namibia. 

Sunset at the end of a perfect day of riding