Every dreamer knows that it is entirely possible to be homesick for a place you've never been to, perhaps more homesick than for familiar ground - Judith Thurman

1 April 2019, Kuibis to Alte Kalköfen, 69,6km
Alte Kalköfen Lodge R420

Goageb (both Gs pronounced as though clearing your throat) is a ghost town. We were surprised to discover this as we had hoped to draw cash at an ATM and buy supplies at a general dealer. We had seen it marked on Google maps, with a street plan of sorts, and were encouraged by the route markers from outside Aus proclaiming “Goageb 90km” and “Goageb 80km” and “Goageb 70km”… We had booked accommodation beyond Goageb, but had thought to stock up on supplies there first. Luckily Danie at Biltong Plaas had set us straight. Nothing there at all except a derelict railway station with rusted water tower and a few buildings fallen to ruin.
We had another spectacular day on the bikes, much of it flat or slightly downhill. The countryside remains dry, but extraordinarily varied. For awhile we had softer scenery, with scrubby bushes and feathery grasses catching the morning light. Then bushier terrain, the ground covered in stones - “hulle boer met klippe” (they are stone farmers), says Charl. Then the stones are replaced by sand. Then trees appear, including quiver trees, that wonderful aloe that bears flowers for the first time after 30 years and can live to 300.
We saw on the verge a dead horse, shrunken and dried and bleached white, and a dead buck, his smell assaulting us before we caught sight of him. We saw living goats pecking at meagre tufts of grass between stones, and a shepherd with his sheep.
Alte Kalköfen Lodge*, owned and operated by Frikkie and Hilde Mouton, is a wonderful oasis on the road between Aus and Keetmanshoop. It lies 70km east of the Biltong Plaas; 120km east of Aus. The main building is a restored farmhouse; there are cottages for guests and a campsite for three, with individual ablution blocks designed to resemble shacks, but a pleasure to use. We spent our afternoon sitting on the stoep admiring the view and quenching our thirst; and visiting Hilde’s Lithoparium (lithops hothouse)**; and swimming in a cool blue pool. And this evening we dined extremely well on farmer’s burger and game pie.
*www.altekalkofen.com: Alte Kalköfen Lodge … is situated on the farms Sandverhaar and Simplon in the Karas Region, Namibia. The name of the lodge was derived from the two old lime stone ovens on the farm. The one … near the lodge … was built in 1906 by George Köttker – he was a German Schutztruppe. He was married to Frieda Mueller who’s family came from the town Simplon in Switzerland... The lime that was produced out of these ovens was, amongst others, being used to build buildings in Kolmanskop, Lüderitz, Keetmanshoop and other small towns in the South. The 1906 oven operated up to the 1970’s.
**Lithops are succulents, also known as “flowering stones” or “bees kloutjies” (cattle hooves).

For today's route see below photos
For overview route, click on ROUTE tab above…