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2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia (Page 8)

← Continued from Page 7 of "2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia"DAY 7 – OFF-ROADING IS WHAT WE DO
2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia2010 BMW X5 Adventure Trip in Namibia
After a not so good breakfast, we rushed to travel the 30 kilometers until the Walvis Bay port. This is where our cars' tire pressure was adjusted to approximately 1 bar to be able to face the desert conditions.

We then stepped onto a little boat to cruise through the Walvis Bay lagoon, so we had the chance to see some Namibian seals (one of them even got on the boat), dolphins, flamingos, pelicans and cormorants.

This is where we found out that the seashell industry is a profitable business, but the first "samples" where brought from South America. Since the water contains much oxygen, the seashells are growing very fast, but the low water temperatures prevents them from regenerating. After a long talk about birds, fish and seashells, the boat turned and we saw our cars parked near the Atlantic Ocean.

What an idyllic view!

So, we had lunch and we prepared for that day's adventure: dune riding. We listened to a lot of recommendations, including how to ride the dunes, how to follow the traces of the cars in front, when to accelerate and when to decelerate. It is extremely important to avoid using the brakes, especially when trying to stop, because the car could go deep into the sand.

We really don't know how that happened, but we once remained the only car that passed some dunes so we had to wait in the middle of the desert for around 45 minutes because other cars remained stuck in the sand. The most interesting part was the one when we had to go down a few almost-vertical ramps (with an angle of around 70 degrees) and we liked it so much that we repeated it until be got bored.

A few minutes later, the dashboard instruments tried to make themselves noticed so the "service" message was displayed every once in a while, with the car generating a terrible sound when accelerating. Tim got the solution again, as he knew that sand entered the portion between the driveshaft and the engine shielding.

Surprises were about to go on even after reaching the hotel, so we traveled for around 15 kilometers on paved roads plus another 5 in the desert. Our car's turbine decided to say goodbye, but then came back to life and it worked pretty well at speeds below 100 km/h.

At the end of the road, we've found a large alley surrounded by candles, guiding us to two large tables, catering services and waiters. An impressive dinner, in the middle of the desert, under a clean and emission-free sky.

During dinner, with minimum light from the candles, the BMW guide started talking about all kinds of things that happened during the Nurburgring courses he teaches for those interested, so we're sure we'll be his students as soon as possible.

We talked about all sorts of things, including high speed driving, safety, clutches, engines and funny stories. The common term remained RESPECT, regardless if we were talking about cars, driving, driving conditions, desert or people... Impressive, isn't it?

We also found out that the cars brought in Namibia aren't exactly mass-production models and they are usually phased out, but BMW decided to use them for our very own fun. In Namibia, these cars' lifetime doesn't exceed three years, after which they are destroyed by a bulldozer and buried.
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About the author: Bogdan Popa
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Bogdan keeps an eye on how technology is taking over the car world. His long-term goals are buying an 18-wheeler because he needs more space for his kid’s toys, and convincing Google and Apple that Android Auto and CarPlay deserve at least as much attention as their phones.
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