Going to Namibia for me it has been the scariest trip to book as it was my very first big one, very big one indeed!!
I knew this was going to be a spectacular challenge and the first real adventure, I thought this dream couldn't be realised and instead I pressed "book", bought the flights and all of a sudden, one day in March, I found myself with the seat belt fastened and flying to Windhoek!
This ride has been truly amazing and tough and spectacular all at the same time! If you want to test yourself and be in an extreme environment this is the ride you want to book.
You will discover what it means sleeping in the dark starlit vastity of the desert, falling asleep in the warm and cosy super fluffy duvet which is going to be your only kind of "bedroom" for days, you a tiny dot surrounded by the immensity of the horizon.
You will experience a new ways to brush your teeth whilst walking around with a tin mug filled with water and watching the sun rising in the desert, you will learn to adapt, there is nowhere to hide in this vastity.
Each and every day your yummy warm meal will be cooked for everyone super fresh from the magics of a wheeled portable kitchen and a great chef. You will never eat anything so delicious in such settings. Each day a different view and a different menu.
Each day a new adventure filled with awe and emotions, places and unforgettable instants you will share with the your horse and fellow riders. Down into canyons and flat out gallops, dust flying everywhere, if there is a place where I have learnt the meaning of biting the dust this is the one.
There are days where you might ride with Zebras or Giraffes popping out at the horizon with their unmistakable silhouettes, you can share your evenings sundowners with Scorpions crawling around the camp and enjoy these chilling encounters.
We had a couple of close encounters with Scorpions due to the weather, incredibly enough after experiencing the rain storm in Jordan, as you may have read on that post, after 12 years the first rain arrived in the middle of our first riding day in this part of Namibia, the locals could finally relax as finally the drought was over but for us it was another pair of shoes!
The show must go on, but with incessant rain it was hard to cook and sleep and stay warm whilst riding ! Luckily no wind at least.
The team was amazing in reacting quickly and find a way to help us dealing with the situation.
In the first morning after the rain, we had to walk the horses for a while as they were shivering, Radya my Arabian mare was shaking before my eyes and I kept whispering to her, to relax her, and make her walk next to me to warm her up, I was feeling horrible in seeing her so cold!
The second and final night of rain I slept with the team rather than with the guests as to me adventure is adventure; I refused to use one of the tents provided, I wanted to keep sleeping in a space as open as possible so I dragged my bed under the tin canopy where the kitchen was improvised and slept crammed with the boys and girls.
Sleeping was hard as the noise of the rain on the tin roof was like trying to sleep while someone is playing the drums! later in the night water started to percolate inside and of course I woke up with half of my bed damp.
We kept going nevertheless, you cannot stop, our horses were waiting for us, we had our breakfast enjoying the sight of another lethal scorpion strolling about the kitchen. We kept a respectful distance and everything went well.
With the rainy days behind us, we went back to speeding through the desert, galloping full blast, no boundaries, except those you decide to have, towards the horizon, and canter long and slow for minutes feeling the joy and the power of these great big hearted horses born and bred to do this.
No sense of freedom can be bigger than this.
In time we learnt to move as a large family with two and four legged members all with their quirks and personalities. get ready for the thrills of the lose horses as each of them might like or dislike your steed and see what happens with the herd dynamics!
We crossed the Tropic of Capricorn and snapped the "family portrait" we took and saw our horses swin and shower in the few water ponds we crossed we fed them groomed them each morning then at lunch and in the evening.
In our last day in the desert during a long and fast canter along a river bed as we were reaching the Atlantic, one of the lose horses Baladin decided he didn't like at all Xerox, my mare, and that it was about time to show off who was in charge.
He suddenly closed on me on a narrow passage with a ditch coming fast in front of us and trees to my right, I had my very first near miss, at that speed all of a sudden Baladin lurched forward baring his teeth like a shark and stretched his neck to bite Xerox in her neck!
I saw it all in slow motion as I couldn't believe it, I didn't have any manoeuvring space plus we were going fast enough that my reaction time was in a tiny window before the ditch arrived, the only thing I could do was to scream! I literally screeched to Baladin and for some reason in a split second he realised I was there and he stopped, everyone saw it and some laughed, I did too later, but in that moment I only thought …"oh sh**t".
I would have protected Xerox by any other horse at any cost, in hind sight these are the stories you want to tell!
I ended up this wonderful tough ride with two symmetrical skin abrasions on each leg by the knees, both fairly wide and they healed when back, we did spend hours on the saddles and I was also "jogging " on Xerox all the time, the real Arabian thing it was predictable I would have left Namibia with some marks!
I ended up as well leaving behind one of my favourite old time breaches as my beloved Xerox managed to rip them on my left thigh during a break as she started scratching very heavily her head against me, typical of arabians, and the header buckle cought the fabric and a nice two inches long opening appeared.🙄
I have never been so covered in dust sweat and sun screen in my life yet I loved it! I would do it all over again a thounsand times!!
It has all been beyond my dreams until the final burst when we reached the Atlantic, and the toast with a glass of bubbly whilst still on the saddle.
Even this beautiful dream came to an end, I parted from Xerox and went straight to the hotel where I spent hours again under a shower and got mentally ready to my return to civilization.
To ride this desert you need to be riding fit, very fit if possible, as the hours will be long and the going challenging and fun, the climate can be really hot during the day and cold in the evenings and nights. You might as well, as it happened to our team, ending up experiencing torrential rain in the desert!
Hard Facts
Ride: over 350Km, long hours and fast - be fit;
Horses: 5 stars, you need to be a good rider and be able to know what you are doing when on the saddle;
Horse Ridden: Radya, Arabian white mare, Clinton chestnut gelding boerperd, Xerox white Arabian cross mare and very fast! My fave one!
Food: 5 stars, always freshly cooked and warm, vegetarian catered for;
Landscape: 4 stars
Camp comfort: 5 stars, it doesn't get any better than that!
Organisation/Team : 5 Stars
Logistics: 5 Stars, like a swiss clock
All text and photos by Veronika Strange
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