After two nights at Aranos and a brilliantly easy day of hunting which we observed on 'Bosduin farm' it was time to carry on to Gobabis to meet another friend of Flip.
The road to Gobabis wasn't uneventful and after slowing down countless times for patches of sand we made it in the late afternoon, this time I supervised the phonecall and directions. Gobabis now felt to us like a buzzing city compared to the one-road-towns we had gotten use to, the amount of people around you even at a distance was overwhelming and no fun at all, we are definitely desert people.
The directions to the farm were easy enough, 10km then turn left 20km and you,re at the farm. Easy game.
If we were taught anything this trip it is to never assume. The first part was the deepest corrugation we had come across, it felt like every time you crossed which felt like a speed bump your front tyre was swallowed by a monster of the deep and you then had to ride it out with the throttle only to be repeated 20cm further. After what seemed like ages we saw the sign D1017 and relief set in, as we approached the turnoff that relief started to slip away in a red disbelief. It was a bed of Kalahari sand, ever the optimist we decided we were going to be we speculated that it would only be the first couple meters. That soon changed when we rounded the first bend(after both almost falling a handfull of times and having to walk the scoots close on half of the first stretch) as far as we could see it was stretches and stretches of beautiful sand, funny how every time we were in trouble just the most beautiful of scenes arose around us.
After 20mins we had done one kilometer and after a quick calculation we realized it would take us roughly forever. We soldiered on but every time you're tiny front wheel touched the sides of the deep tracks it would suddenly get a mind of its own, best thing to do is just to hand over control and follow you're recently employed boss the scooter.
Not even halfway Flip's scooter again started choking and we had to open her up for the umpteenth time, frustrating was not the word and if it was a reality show the the rating would have gone up a couple of ages at this stage. By the time we got it fixed the the sun was setting and we were extremely relieved to see our help arriving in the shape of a Hilux. Pieter told us to meet him at the next bend which seemed easy enough, only thing was the next bend was 2km from us. With the sun having gone firmly behind the horizon the fun started(I was without my headlight ofcourse) . For the first bit I tried to make out the track but soon realised it was no use, I was like a blind person riding a bike in sand, the only thing I could do was react to it. After NEARLY going on my side a couple times we made it and I had the giggles from relief. This was by far the most challenging bit of riding of my life.
The ride was again rewarded with amazing Namibian hospitality which made for a wonderful couple of beers and dinner
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