Challenge 1 - Coming to the End

Challenge 1 - The End

We end the day racing up and down the slopes; boarding down and quad-biking back up again.

Non-stop.

Again and again and again.

As dusk sets in the amount of energy we've burned through since we first arrived here in Namibia is simply unbelievable. Every day we set out to do more and every day, with the aid and assistance of our awesome hosts, we did.



Manzoor, Foyce, Shofat and Suhel have had the time of their lives and have got memories to last them a very, very long time...

The following day we're up at 5am to start the long 24hr journey home...



And as the Sun rises over the Hartman Valley, the lads pause for thought to take in the last six days of action...

Lads, it's over to you...

Challenge 1 - Dries' first time

We mentioned before about out awesome guides right?
Well, on the very last day we finally convinced Dries to have a go on the sandboard...

This is what happened...



GO DRIES!

Challenge 1 - The Himba Tribe

Lunch comes and goes and word is that we're not going straight back out to the dunes. Clement has spoken to some of the locals and thinks it might be ok if we swing by and visit a nearby tribe.

The Himba are a local tribe that have inhabited the surrounding areas for hundreds upon hundreds of years...



Moving between Namibia and Angola as the seasons change, international borders do not mean much to this nomadic people.

To be allowed into their 'camp' is a humbling and completely new experience. Clement briefs us on how to behave...



"Do as I do. Always address the elders first and remove your sunglasses. Do that and you will all be fine..."

It's not really spoken of what will happen if we don't do anything Clement tells us but as ever, we listen carefully and do as we're told...









From the camp we can see Eric & Raymond. They've found some good dunes and our boards are calling..

Challenge 1 - We Were Promised Quad Bikes

Today was the best day of the challenge by a long way. Admittedly the guys have been guilty of saying that nearly every day this week (and quite rightly so).

Today being the last full day of the first ever Lucozade Challenge though, the team here had something very special indeed lined up. In fact, there's so much to get through I doubt very much I'm going to fit it all into one update!

We'll begin at the beginning and, if you've been reading any of these udpates from the start then you'll know how this starts...

That's right!

*A 06:30 call from Eric! :D*

We're up, showered, fed and dressed by 07:15 and by 7:30 we're on our way to the next part of the Challenge.



That's right. Today, at long last, we get to go on the Quad-bikes that Eric & Raymond have been promising us all week! WOOOO!

The aforementioned duo pack up the 4x4 and drive on ahead scouting for new dunes for us to hit later.. that's right, they've got the sandboards (from Swakopmund - flown in with us) packed up onboard too.



Clement gives us a 30mins training course on the quads, sign language is learnt (which gear for which slopes, speed up, slow down etc) and the next thing we know --- we're off.



The awesome thing about racing out into the dunes (especially out here in the middle of nowhere) there are no roads. Like, none. The only tracks are the ones you make and well, you can pretty much go anywhere...

Racing through fields at 60kph, wiping dust and sand from your goggles, searching the red light of the quad in front.. hearts pounding, thumbs squeezing on that acceleration trigger just *that little bit tighter* - we go go go through the desert..



I guess it might be boring if the journey passed without event so when we turned a corner to find Manzoor trying to find new ways to park his quad, we all stopped to laugh (and take many, many photos).



Finally we find the 4x4 and once again, we're hittin' the dunes, sandboard style...







We board for what seems like hours when Eric stops us and yells, "Time to head back, it's nearly lunchtime..."

"WHAT?"

"It's 12:30, the Sun's getting too high. We should head back soon. It's ok, we'll come out later. Lunch first, rest. Then back again later. Ok?"

It dawns on the group that getting up so early has its advantages after all.

Challenge 1 - Destination: Damaraland

By now we're used to Eric giving us our pickup time before bed so it is of no surprise when we're told to be ready for 7am. We have an 8am flight to catch and if we're not on it, it WILL leave without us.

Today is Tuesday, we've been here three days now and already it seems like we've been here a week. Always laughing and singing, the early starts aren't anything these boys are going to get used to anytime soon, but they always greet the day with a smile.



Arriving at Swakopmund Airport

Today we meet our very own personal private plane over the coming few days: the Cessna 208 'Caravan'.


It's a bit small no?

Boarding this tiny aircraft could very well be a Lucozade Challenge in its own right. The plane is minute and we all just about manage to cram into it. All cosy, we're giggling and joking as Elsa explains the safety procedures without a tannoy.

We're off to Damaraland. Raymond's hometown. He's excited as we are to go as Naimiba is such a large expanse of land he rarely gets the opportunity to go back and visit. The boards have been packed away for now. The next couple of days is safari time!

Challenge 1 - Keeping the Pace

Stopping for a break, we must extend the first of what will no doubt be many huge thank you's to our guides here in Namibia.

For some reason me and a few of the other lads all thought that we might lose weight on this trip. What with getting up at 6am every day, cruising into the dunes at sunrise and hurtling ourselves down the slopes all day; we all thought we'd be burning through the calories like there was no tomorrow. Out in the desert there's no corner shops, no mini-supermarkets and certainly no bars or pubs, so we all have to rely on our guides for each day to keep us fed and watered throughout.

You can dehydrate very easily out here in this arid climate, because of the cool breeze you hardly notice and our companions here keep a close eye on us to make sure we keep our energy levels up and our danger levels down. We're already pushing ourselves to the limit with this challenge, the last thing we need is to collapse from heat exhaustion.

But when I say they're looking after us, we really mean it

:)





After the banquet we're back on it. Hard, fast and raring to go.. Higher and higher still. Raymond scouting ahead, the competition winners following close behind. We're all picking up some technique now. Of course, we have a great teacher but these boys are fast learners and they're not stopping for anyone.



We're in such a rush to get to the next big dune that we leave the boarding wax somewhere along the last stop... We've been driving for an hour, even if we could go back - we doubt very much we'd find it. The wax is a very important part - something which I'll come back to in more detail later but - it keeps the board slippery and smooth for getting the best speeds on the fine sand.

No Wax = No Speed. And suddenly, we have no wax. Damn.



Manzoor, refusing to give up, experiments with sunblock. Smearing on the underside of his board he leaps down the dunes at a lightening pace...

"Superb!" says Eric, "We have a wax replacement, come quick! Let's get boarding!"

We continue for a half hour or so more, but the sunblock is in short supply and our hunger for the next rush is relentless. As dusk begins to settle we high tail it back into town to buy some more wax and make our way back to the training slopes where we started on day one, to board the hills we know as the Moon rises above us.

Tonight we ache. But it's a good pain. Later, we dine. Then head to bed well before midnight.

It's an early start tomorrow...

Challenge 1 - Big Ones

Yeah. Herman wasn't kidding.

Today we have seen some of the largest 'sandscapes' that exist in the entire world. These dunes are unique to Namibia in that they don't change shape or 'walk', so our guides, Herman and his buddy Wally, know these lands like the back of their hands (luckily for us).

We drive for what seems like an age, Herman's been driving across the dunes since he was seven years old - "We start doing things at a very young age here in Namibia" - he tells us, before educating us about the fauna and wildlife that is indigenous to the area.

This man loves his job and more than that, he loves Namibia. We're here to take on the extreme, but it's important to remember that these lands are carefully looked after and the conservation of the entire desert is paramount.



Needless to say, as a result, not one piece of litter has been left behind.
By any of us.



After some awesome off-road action, we finally find the dunes we're looking for.
Describing something of this magnitude is not easy, they have an almost regal quality to them, and I type this to you now they tower over us and we can only marvel at their majesty.

"Enough messing about lads, let's get going!"



Raymond scouts ahead for the big ones, we kit up and throw ourselves down the slopes after him... Yeah we crash a few times, but that's the whole point!

"Don't be afraid of the speed" .,.he repeats, so we go again - faster and faster still...

As I said, words cannot express the amount of adrenalin pumping through our veins attempting these hills. Energy?! We're living on the stuff...

Check these out...



So. Much. Sand.



No really, SO. MUCH. SAND.



That is some slope...



Preparation



Do More? Oh go on then....

:D