\n

Tour d'Afrique Ltd. | Global Bicycle Expeditions, Races and Tours

  • Icon_social_newsletter_on
    Newsletter
  • Icon_social_rss_on
    RSS Feed
  • Icon_social_twitter_on
    Twitter
  • Icon_social_facebook_on
    Facebook
  • Icon_social_youtube_on
    YouTube

Blog | Namibia Icon_16x16_light_rss RSS

Last day in Namibia




After being on the road for almost four months and getting to see some of the most beautiful sights on earth you start to think you’ve seen it all. It can’t possibly get any better than this can it?



Then you get to Namibia and things take a turn for the incredible. The scenery gets more and more breathtaking and as we enter a new and different scene it seems to get more surreal. Red dunes against blue skies are followed by endless silver grass fields before herds of zebra and springbuck crossing the road have you stopping dead in your tracks.



It has been a truly spectacular country and today, on our last day of riding here, we have been treated to incredible Mars-like scenery before crossing the final mountain with the Orange River spread before us and on the other side… South Africa.



After travelling non-stop for a third of the year with nothing but the promise of Table Mountain at the end, the sight of the final country of our trip came as a bit of a surprise. As a South African I thought it was only me who had this feeling of relief mixed with sadness and happiness when I saw the green grass of home on the other side of the river, but it seems the feeling is mutual. At least that’s what the smiles on all the riders faces told me when I told them, that’s it, that’s where we’re heading. It is time.


  -- Catharina Robbertze

Posted May 07, 2012 by Guest Author
Namibia 		Btn_share_twitter Btn_share_facebook


Magical Namibia




As this year’s tour starts heading toward a conclusion in Cape Town we’re trying to make peace with the fact that we’re not going to see majestic sights every day. Africa, and Namibia in particular, is making it extremely hard though and since leaving Windhoek we have been treated to some of the most beautiful sights we’ve seen yet.



Only 11km after leaving the country’s capital the paved roads disappeared and we were back on some pretty daunting unpaved roads. Sharp rocks, corrugation and deep sand will be what the riders will have to deal with for the next two weeks and everyone was reminded that this show isn’t over yet. There is still another 2000km left before we get to cruise into Cape Town and the riding isn’t going to get any easier until we have Table Mountain in our sights.



However, the scenery we have been treated to has made the pain and suffering worth every minute. Travelling through Namibia has been simply magical. Coming down Spreetshoogte Pass most of us were speechless as the view spread open before us. From the top of that pass you can see almost two weeks into the future. The landscape is flat as can be, with little ‘Koppies’ sprouting all over the place. The grass looks silver and the dunes red and when you stop to listen the silence is deafening.



What makes this country truly special is the desolation that surrounds you and makes everything you see more intense. It’s like a drug that heightens your senses and makes the experience truly spectacular. I struggle to think of enough adjectives to describe how we have enjoyed these past few days and to describe the beauty we’ve seen but suffice to say it has been special.



With all the beautiful sights we’ve seen so far it was difficult to believe that we’ll see something even better but it seems the best was indeed left for last.


  -- Catharina Robbertze

Posted May 04, 2012 by Guest Author
Namibia 		Btn_share_twitter Btn_share_facebook


TdA Race & EFI Update – One Section To Go!





As of Windhoek Namibia which marks the beginning of the Diamond Coast, the Tour’s 8th and final Section and the “top of the home stretch” 14 intrepid souls were still “EFI” having ridden Every F*cking Inch since they jumped on their bikes at the Pyramids some 15 weeks and almost 10,000 km ago. Through the heat of Sudan, the long climbs of Ethiopia, the brutal lava rock road of Northern Kenya, the Tanzanian mud, and the long flat Botswana days these 10 men and 4 women have rolled into camp every day, determined to join this exclusive club. And now their goal is almost in sight …
2012 EFIers as of Windhoek
Carlos Baez Spain
Esther Borg Australia
Alaric Britz Namibia
Jennifer Davenport UK
Herman de Grave Netherlands
Jana Dumas Canada
Alan Emerton South Africa
Adam Lister Canada
Jurgen Meijer Netherlands
Marita Reilly Ireland
Christian Sailer Switzerland
Steve Smith South Africa
Miguel Teixeira South Africa
Bryce Walsh USA
 

With 9085 km of racing completed out of 9961 total km since Cairo, Swiss all rounder Christian “Clockwork” Sailer is still in the driver’s seat. After the 5 allowed grace days are factored in, his lead over Germany’s Raffael “Giraffe” Schrof is just under 2.5 hours. American Bryce “Ultraman” Walsh is maintaining his grip on 3rd , with young Canadian gun Adam “Powerhouse” Lister in 4th, and Alaric Britz, now riding across his home land of Namibia in 5th. All the top men worked together on the 207 km “big kahuna” from Botswana’s wild west town of Ghanxi to the Namibian border with the aim of breaking Jos “the Animal” Kaal’s 2008 record time of 5:46. Despite fighting headwinds for the last 80 km they succeeded when Raffa crossed the finish line in 5:41, just ahead of Bryce, with Jon Cowan, Christian and Adam also coming in under 6 hours.
 
  Tour Mechanic Doug Percival pulling the Longest Day Peleton

Among the ladies Dutch dynamo Femke “Fembot” Nelissen holds a huge advantage over her friendly fellow competitors, Brit Jennifer “Mother Hen” Davenport, Aussie Esther “Easter Egg” Borg, and Irish lass Marita Reilly who are more focused on inhaling Africa and maintaining their EFI status than on racing hard, although Femke and Jen also went for it on “the Longest Day” coming in just a few minutes behind Gizzy Gartmair’s women’s record of 6:23.

 
                   Leading Lady Femke Nelissen

With the number of opportunities dwindling, several other racers realized it’s “now or never” and rode like mad men and women to grab their elusive first stage winner plates in Botswana and western Namibia. Now with 14 stages and 1732 km to go – over half of which is off road, it’s evident that Femke will add her name to the list of TdA Race Champions. Christian on the other hand cannot afford to stop putting pedal to the metal or a major mechanical problem.


The Longest Day Race Team: Jurgen, Douglas, Peter, Christian, Bryce, Jonathan, Adam, and Raffael

Here are the overall standings after 80 of the Tour’s 94 stages, including cumulative and adjusted times:




For the latest stage times and overall standings, please visit our race results page here.
























Posted May 01, 2012 by Brian Hoeniger
Namibia 		Btn_share_twitter Btn_share_facebook


The Naked Kilometre




After more than three months on the road it is inevitable that people will go just a little crazy and when riding for hours without seeing another living soul it has become tradition for riders to let it all hang out in the Namib Desert.
This week it was time for that tradition and this year’s riders did not disappoint.



Several records have been broken on this year’s tour: The time trial up the Blue Nile Gorge was shattered by Pal Fritsvold and the longest day record now belongs to Raffael Schrof but one of the hardest ones to break is the Naked Mile one which Lisa Kingsley-Correia can now call her own. She managed to ride the full stage of 84km in her birthday suit while almost all the other riders did more than 10km stark naked and one group even stopped for a Coke at a roadside lodge… where they managed to get a free shot from the owner!
Needless to say the clinic has been overrun by sunburn complaints but everyone agrees the experience was empowering and a whole lot of fun.

  --- Catharina Robbertze

Posted April 30, 2012 by Guest Author
Namibia 		Btn_share_twitter Btn_share_facebook


Straight into Namibia




With only two weeks left of TDA2012 riders have left behind the long, straight and flat roads of Botswana and have turned back south, entering the final stretch to Cape Town.



Botswana provided several highlights including the privilege of experiencing elephants from their bicycles – something not many of people have done and an experience that will stay with many riders for years to come; and improving the record for the longest day on tour (207km) – this record now belongs to Raffael Schrof in a time of 5:41 though all the racers worked together to make this happen and Bryce Walsh crossed the finish line shortly after Raffael.



Crossing the border into Namibia the scenery stayed more or less the same until Windhoek but since then the tour has entered into spectacular scenery of wide open spaces, with roads that seem never-ending. Gone are the smooth, paved, straight roads of the Elephant Highway and after just one day of this, the last section of this year’s tour, the Diamond Coast has already proven that this race is not over until it’s over. Riders face more or less 1000km of hard-packed gravel and sand-blasting before they reach Cape Town and if today’s headwind is anything to go by it seems as though they’ll have to work hard to accomplish their final border crossing.



Nonetheless, spirits in camp are high and getting higher with some of the most beautiful scenery having been saved for last and everyone in camp now knowing more about each other than most of them know about their best friends. We’re all one big, happy family.

   -- Catharina Robbertze

Posted April 28, 2012 by Guest Author
Namibia 		Btn_share_twitter Btn_share_facebook


Rain, rain. go away




It's been an unusually challenging 48 hours in the normally dry desert lands of southern Namibia. After a crystal clear day of riding from Betta a front started rolling in at Konkiep Lapa camp. By dinner it had begun to rain. The night was full of thunder and lightning and a steady downpour meant many would've rather stayed hunkered down in their tents. While it didn't stop pouring until afternoon, the show had to go on. And so after breakfast the riders dealt with 30 km of gumbo like mud in the rain, some of whom were exhausted after 4 hours of grinding through this stretch. Fortunately the pavement then started at Bethanien and while a new found head wind was daunting more than half the riders completed this epic day into the rustic Seeheim Hotel.

After scouting the next day's route all seemed passable but when the lunch truck arrived at the normally strightforward Lowen river crossing it was greeted by a torrent due to the dam upstream having been opened. Luckily there was a railroad bridge a mere 300 meters away and the riders dragged their bicycles through the bush to the bridge while the vehicles doubled back 60 km to cross over at the Naute Dam. Now the 1st riders are arriving at the unique and bizarre Canon Roadhouse where a museum of ancient cars, amarula cheesecake and Windhoek draught are fine rewards for having completed "just another adventure"on the Tour d'Afrique.

This afternoon its off to the Fish River Canyon and then its time for early bed before tomorrow's last mando day of the race.

Posted May 06, 2011 by Brian Hoeniger
Namibia 		Btn_share_twitter Btn_share_facebook


Kimsie Wimsie - TDA Chef




From sand strewn beaches to the city lights of Beijing, Kim finds herself at home in the furthest of places.  There’s no denying that this here trip sits at the top of her list, which is not to say that there hasn’t been some fair competition.

Barreling up a steep mountain pass, riddled with potholes, chugging along at a snails pace only to arrive at the final destination in the cover of darkness, Kim found herself at the farm she would be staying at for the coming month.  Initially heading out in search of rural indigenous artists, Kimsie found herself living on a farm at the top of a mountain living amongst the Sierra Madre people of rural Mexico.  This life of farming became the spur to Kims love of fresh food from the ground, a dream that was first  realized in a world far far away.

Living on the top floor of a 27 story apartment building in the heart of Beijing, listening to the never ending hum of the city below.  Kim knew this wasn’t right.  What was keeping her there was the Kung-Fu she was studying, and what was taking her away was a dream of a different life.  Laying in bed one night, the city bustling below, and suddenly the image of herself in gum boots and a sweater on a farm and thought “That’s my life”

Back in Canada, it was clear what the mission was, and off to Everdale she went.  Everdale is not only a productive CSA farm but also an education centre where school groups from the inner reaches of Toronto would come out to.  Kim managed their CSA, farmed, and of course, cooked for the masses.

Preparing vast amount of tasty, healthy food has remained a passion of Kim’s to this day, a talent we appreciate daily here on TDA.  Serving up 10’s of thousands of calories per day to our team of hungry cyclists, Kimsie continuously out does herself with a new masterpiece each and every day.  

How are we ever supposed to go home and cook for ourselves now? 

   -- Adele Woodyard

Posted May 04, 2011 by Adele Woodyard
Namibia 		Btn_share_twitter Btn_share_facebook


Namibia Update




The world’s longest bicycle tour/expedition is almost over. After 10,000 km on the road, the Tour is currently in Namibia (where it covers 1350 km on 10 riding days) and has now only 2 weeks to go until Cape Town.

After entering the country from Botswana along the Trans-Kalahari Highway at the East Gate Buitepos, we continued on the B6 west through the town of Gobabis and past the international airport to Windhoek. Having enjoyed the amenities of this modern city, we then followed a brand new TDA route, heading southwest on dirt and sand roads across the plateau and then down the escarpment into the Namib Desert. The highlight of the section is bound to be the dawn visit to the dune sea at Sossuvlei, near Sesriem (to come on Sunday). Departing the dunes, our route will turn south and traverse harshly beautiful and thinly populated lands, en route to Fish River Canyon, another of Namibia’s natural wonders. From there it’s a long days’s pedal to our rest day on the scenic Senqu (Orange) River, near to our final border crossing into South Africa.

Paul Wolfe (CAN) is still the men’s race leader (with an overall time of 344 hours) with a 26 hours of advantage over Dennis Kipphardt (GER), the second place. Tori Fahey (CAN) is still the  women’s race leader. On Sunday there is a individual Time Trial on the sandy roads of Namibia, before a rest day by the dunes.

South African Ryan Paetzold is now racing (he likes the off road sections), and won the stage out of Windhoek, something he was really looking forward to. According to him, he decided in Malawi that he would race the dirt road days in Namibia. “Today was a long hard individual Time Trial day for me. I rode by myself all day long and got everything that my legs could give me. I could not have done it one second faster”. It would not be necessary, since Ryan won the stage and is taking the stage plate he wanted so much home.

Posted May 03, 2011 by Tour d'Afrique Ltd.
Namibia 		Btn_share_twitter Btn_share_facebook


A funny thing happened on the way home…





Jethro and I have been on a bit of an anniversary vacation.  We left Cape Town a little over a week ago and headed north to Namibia. NAM was one of our favourite countries on Tda 2010. We’ve been cycling through our favourite spots, Orange River, Helmeringhausen, Sesriem, and finally Solitaire.  We stopped in at the Solitaire camp site a few days ago it looked empty without the Tda trucks, bicycles, and riders.  There is a sign at the Solitaire gas station with last years rain fall 133mm in 2010. I’m pretty sure that was all on the day we rode into town!  We spent a few days in the Solitaire area hiking and cycling and sleeping in.   Today we packed up and made one final stop for apple crumble.  There it was...flagging tape…Brian…and Elvis…

Arriving back with the Tda is like warm apple crumble nostalgia. It feels both alien and completely normal. Looking around camp she looks like Dana, he looks like Sunil, oh that is definitely this years Adam.  Things change and things remain the same, as someone rides in they asked me ‘do you know about the hotel rooms?’ later on I hear someone else ask ‘which tyres should I use tomorrow’ and ‘what about the weather’.

It’s been fun stepping back into tda life, if only for one night. Jethro is heading out tomorrow to ride with them. He asked if I could ride with him. I think he might be a little afraid of what a year of office work has done to his racing legs.

See you all in Cape Town!

   -- Kelsey Wiens

Posted May 03, 2011 by Tour d'Afrique Ltd.
Namibia 		Btn_share_twitter Btn_share_facebook


All in a Nice Day's Ride




Today’s ride was one of the most beautiful yet – 123km commencing with a few rolling hills, a few big mud puddles, a nice big steep descent, and a truly amazing view – something to please everyone!

Although even today (as seems to happen every day in Africa!) things don’t go according to plan.  The first big dilemma is when the lunch truck gets bogged.  Lunch is set up 10km earlier than planned while it goes and gets itself unstuck.   This causes minimal interruption to the riders who are now used to when things don’t go to plan.  When I arrive at lunch I find Paul the lunch truck driver and Sharita piling up a boggy mess with bricks next to the road to prevent the truck getting bogged a second time. 

The next mud puddle in the road and the landcruiser runabout vehicle also gets stuck. Four people fell off their bikes today – thankfully only minor cuts, bruisers, grazes – nothing that the clinic can’t handle! Then as I’m riding along I somehow manage to run out of water in my camelback – the worst thing about camelbaks is that it isn’t easy to tell how much is left in there!

Not long after that I notice that my rear tire is flat and I get flat tires number 15, 16 and 17 for the tour!!! Despite all of this the beautiful scenery, the terrain, the mud, and that beautiful descent all keep me in good spirits and I finish the day with a big smile on my face.  And there’s still apple pie left when I arrive at our camp at Solitaire 


    --  Claire Pegler

Posted May 02, 2011 by Tour d'Afrique Ltd.
Namibia 		Btn_share_twitter Btn_share_facebook