Welcome to this tearful last post from the Valley. The bad news is that Naartjie’s doctors in Namibia phoned last week with a shocking diagnosis. While the damage to his carburettor is easily and quickly fixed, alas, he also has a suspected cracked piston (and he’s only got one) and damaged valve seats. The general consensus is that these injuries have been sustained by the frequent consumption of ‘village fuel’ in Congo and Angola, which is rumoured to be cut with butanol, palm wine or anything else that is vaguely runny.
The good news is that, instead of having a 1550km ride to finish the trip (my earlier 1200km calculation being wildly wrong), I got to have a 3100km drive instead as I had to drive up with a trailer and collect the stricken beast. Better still, I got to do it in a Mark 1 VW Golf (still manufactured in SA and called a ‘Citi’) towing a 600kg (empty) trailer. Oh joy of joys!!
Anyway, the drive up to Namibia from the Cape was a mini-adventure of its own. On day 1 I decided to take the ‘scenic route’ and ended up on an unpaved mountain pass in a rainstorm. That would have been fine, apart from the mudslides I kept having to tow the trailer through and the flooded fords in which the deck of the trailer kept vanishing under the water. After that, the road just went on and on(at 80kph, which is all the trailer-laden car could really do) until, at 1460km a cosy Namibian lay-by beckoned me in with it’s tempting gravel and picnic table. The next day saw a dawn raid on the KTM dealer in Windhoek, an emotional reunion with Naartjie and a suggested list of maintenance he might need (a complete engine rebuild, a carb rebuild, fork, shock and rear linkage rebuilds, brake overhaul, some new bodywork, new chain and sprockets, a new front wheel rim, a new exhaust system and some paint). Other than that, he’s fine.
Heading South, we crossed the tropic of Capricorn and took a celebratory photo, though having the bike lashed onto a trailer wasn’t quite the glorious passage that I’d hoped for at this point! The next morning, after some quick snoozes at the roadside, my adventure officially ended as we drove bloodied but unbowed ‘Into the Valley’.
So, what did we learn from all of the preceding shenanigans? Well, just what we all, I think, already know in our hearts – Most people in the world are good and mean well, but a few are scoundrels (though often through desperation rather than pure badness). Most people have a lot less than we do, but aren’t necessarily less happy. Many people have to endure, on a daily basis, things that make a lot of our own concerns look a trifle petty. Nearly everyone in Africa likes motorbikes. Me included.
There you have it folks – The End (until the next caper, naturally). All that remains, as with any such publication, is for me to write some credits. Here they are:
Thank you to everyone who read this Blog and whose comments and contributions gave much needed light-relief.
Special thanks to my father for his huge help in relocating my family while I was off having a joll and to Lauren and Alex for doing without a dad for nearly 3 months.
Most of all, very special thanks to Claire for making it all possible.
IntoTheValley2007 is dedicated to Africa and to the kindness of strangers.
The good news is that, instead of having a 1550km ride to finish the trip (my earlier 1200km calculation being wildly wrong), I got to have a 3100km drive instead as I had to drive up with a trailer and collect the stricken beast. Better still, I got to do it in a Mark 1 VW Golf (still manufactured in SA and called a ‘Citi’) towing a 600kg (empty) trailer. Oh joy of joys!!
Anyway, the drive up to Namibia from the Cape was a mini-adventure of its own. On day 1 I decided to take the ‘scenic route’ and ended up on an unpaved mountain pass in a rainstorm. That would have been fine, apart from the mudslides I kept having to tow the trailer through and the flooded fords in which the deck of the trailer kept vanishing under the water. After that, the road just went on and on(at 80kph, which is all the trailer-laden car could really do) until, at 1460km a cosy Namibian lay-by beckoned me in with it’s tempting gravel and picnic table. The next day saw a dawn raid on the KTM dealer in Windhoek, an emotional reunion with Naartjie and a suggested list of maintenance he might need (a complete engine rebuild, a carb rebuild, fork, shock and rear linkage rebuilds, brake overhaul, some new bodywork, new chain and sprockets, a new front wheel rim, a new exhaust system and some paint). Other than that, he’s fine.
Heading South, we crossed the tropic of Capricorn and took a celebratory photo, though having the bike lashed onto a trailer wasn’t quite the glorious passage that I’d hoped for at this point! The next morning, after some quick snoozes at the roadside, my adventure officially ended as we drove bloodied but unbowed ‘Into the Valley’.
So, what did we learn from all of the preceding shenanigans? Well, just what we all, I think, already know in our hearts – Most people in the world are good and mean well, but a few are scoundrels (though often through desperation rather than pure badness). Most people have a lot less than we do, but aren’t necessarily less happy. Many people have to endure, on a daily basis, things that make a lot of our own concerns look a trifle petty. Nearly everyone in Africa likes motorbikes. Me included.
There you have it folks – The End (until the next caper, naturally). All that remains, as with any such publication, is for me to write some credits. Here they are:
Thank you to everyone who read this Blog and whose comments and contributions gave much needed light-relief.
Special thanks to my father for his huge help in relocating my family while I was off having a joll and to Lauren and Alex for doing without a dad for nearly 3 months.
Most of all, very special thanks to Claire for making it all possible.
IntoTheValley2007 is dedicated to Africa and to the kindness of strangers.
