Gaels in Mozambique.

After Simon left I had my own reptile come to visit. Initially quite tentatively but once he realised I remained calm, he got more brave and walked past just a meter away. It seems our chalet terrace was normally on its daily path and he passed by 4 or 5 times. It's lovely to see these monitor lizards up close, they move so gracefully.P1020916.jpg20221129_095036.jpg

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There were also more birds close by in these couple of days. I had seen a tiny Kingfisher flying around and fishing but no photo. Then it came to perch a few meters away and obliged with a couple of photos. So here's the Malachite Kingfisher, not much bigger than a Wren.

Also nearby was this Weaver bird popping in out of its nest on the adjacent tree.P1020952.jpgP1020948.jpg

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As I'd popped into town a few times, I noticed a few of these elaborate dresses. They are worn by women of the Herero tribe and it is said, are a subversion of the traditional dresses worn by their German rulers. The dress is meant to be a reminder of how brutally the Herero were treated by their colonial masters. More on-line if interested, but the dresses are quite striking.20221129_124514.jpg20221129_131919.jpg

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Just after dawn on my last morning, the view of the pond from our terrace at the old bridge. The shower and sink got regularly blocked and the electrics were unreliable but this view made up for it all.20221129_190644.jpg

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In the few days before Simon left I'd not been feeling great, partly a reaction to the long ride from Kasane. My temperature was fluctuating a bit, never too high but a bit unsettling. I was also mindful of what happened in February this year, when I left Luderits not feeling too well and hours later had to be rescued by the side of the road. I was keen to learn the lesson from that incident and be cautious.

The concern was the 500km ride to the Namibian border, in this case on my own. One of the downsides of a shared ride from different locations. Of course I was not going to be with Simon either, on his ride to Joburg and Simon had given back the only spare tube and battery starter pack.

For me it was important to get my health checked out and I visited a clinic in Maun and saw a doctor. He checked me over, ruled out anything serious but said I had a slight infection and prescribed antibiotics. He felt that if the antibiotics stabilised my condition, he supported my riding plans but encouraged regular water intake. The antibiotics did seem to kick in and I was improving, so committed to the ride. You'll maybe understand my lack of updates, as my focus was my health and preparing to get myself and the bike safely to Windhoek.



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The road is not the most interesting and there is little to see on my helmet cam. The road quality was excellent and with a following breeze I was making good time. I made sure to stop every 100km for a stretch and short break. It did get warmer and in the last 150km I was stopping every 50km and dousing myself with water.

I made it to the border which was easy but even that seemed an effort. Luckily I was staying at the excellent East Gate Rest Camp, about a kilometer from the border. Its a new development and I stayed here in February. You get a little 2 bed cabin for £12, no ensuite. It has a restaurant and a shop. I bought a 1.5 litre water on arrival which went down a treat. If you get cabin 9 you can park a bike just outside.20221130_165037.jpg20221130_164836.jpg20221201_081748.jpg

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Next morning I had the 320km ride to Windhoek which of course is part of the Kalihari Highway. As I'm not sure when I'll ride it again, I thought I too could have one selfie in this RR, but the star is the road and then the bike. 20221201_095215.jpg

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The road to Windhoek is good and the only thing of note was this guy lying on the road. He was over 2 meters and happily never budged. Before someone says I should have got closer, just don't! He may have been run over but there were no signs of that.

I came across a snake on the road while walking in France. I was concerned it would get run over, so I got a stick and tried to lift it to the verge. I primed my camera women to get some photos if anything happened. The docile snake reared up like a cobra and lunged at me, then scuttled across the road at speed. I looked around hopefully at my brave camera woman, who was 20 meters away and still running. I wasn't going to try the same trick on our friend today.20221201_093103.jpg

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My plan for the morning is to go and catch up with the Windhoek Yamaha boys. Then go out to the farm near the airport where the bike is stored and begin unpacking. My flight is Saturday afternoon. I may do some further reflections when I get home. Thanks for all the interest and comments.

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Will do, I’ll be interested to see your travel KTM 👍
 
Great stuff Gentlemen, very enjoyable reading. Thank you for the effort you've gone to..👍
 
Thought provoking thread ( wishing should i , could i, )

thanks to both for sharing
 
Simon, Jim, I am a little late in catching-up on your final sectors of this neat adventure and want to thank you both for the narrative, the photos (I am not a 'twitcher' but I appreciate your observations of the many species!), the assessment of the bikes and for your time spent each day and after sometimes long rides in bringing the story to us.
Wishing you the best for the season and a healthy 2023.
Regards...
 
And an interesting post script last week from the bike hire guy in respect of the F800GS….that (as I gently suggested at the time) the head bearings were indeed FUBAR.
0688b3353e78a1475921b991838e0cac.jpg

A real pity that wasn’t addressed up front and a reminder to me whenever I rent a bike to allow time to do a good rod test before departure with it. The vague and sticky steering really detracted from my ride.

Ah well!


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