In which we cross the desert and something important breaks.
Well, today was hump day. It’s day 10 and there are 9 days left so we’re on the downhill run from here. In a couple of days we’ll all be saying “oh, it’s nearly over… I’m not ready”.
Today was our first proper hot day – it started cool but in the middle of the day it was quite hot. It was OK while we were moving as you get the wind flowing, but while stopped, we cooked. And as you can see from the video, shade is hard to come by.
We crossed the Tropic of Capricorn today, so in Australian terms that puts us north of Rockhampton. No wonder it’s warm… However, as we reached the coast this afternoon, running into Walvis Bay, the temperature dropped about 10ºC in around 20 kms. This is due to the cold winds that blow off the Atlantic here, often creating thick fog.
The geography of the land continues to amaze. From rocky passes through the hills where you can see the geological layers bent and tipped by time, to the relentless sand dunes that flow over everything in their path. Namibia is a country of contrasts and we’ve all been loving it.
The one downside to today was that as we stopped for fuel this afternoon, I happened to notice an empty bolt hole on my bike. It’s not unique as there have been several bolts rattled loose on the bikes, but on closer inspection this was one of my bar clamps (the pieces that hold the handlebars to the bike) had rattled completely off. 😱 I checked through my videos of the day and it disappeared sometime around lunchtime, so I rode the whole afternoon (which included a LOT of very rough corrugations) with only one clamp holding the bars on. Yeesh! The boys are going to look at replacing it tomorrow morning, or I guess I’ll end up riding the backup bike.
Tomorrow morning we have a 4WD experience out in the dunes around here in Swakopmund. 7:30am pickup time so another not-restful rest day.
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