Blog 2. Ben Freeth’s Ride for Hope across western Namibia Day 1.

Ben Freeth has embarked on another epic Namibian ride, this time across western Namibia from Okahandja, north of Windhoek, to Cape Cross on the Atlantic Ocean’s hauntingly beautiful, desolate and remote Skeleton Coast. He is doing this to raise awareness of a travesty of justice in Zimbabwe and the subsequent fallout for the entire southern African region. This was the closure of the regional court of justice, the Southern African Development Community’s SADC Tribunal, in 2012. Ben’s objective is to raise the profile of the need to have the SADC Tribunal, which was located in the Namibian capital, Windhoek, reopened. He is also fundraising for a small rural school in Zimbabwe, a free seed project for poor families and to run conservation agriculture training courses.

I walked the first hour leading Warrior and the rode to Rock Lodge where they have put up a beautiful new white cross on the hill.  They invited me for some lunch which was so special.

I then walked for a little while, and afterwards rode, then walked again to where Kalla and Sonia so kindly invited me to stay.  They met me at the gate.  Warrior was amazing.  I put him into a trot once we were off the main road and he trotted the last 4 km without being urged on once. After a long day, going for the first time in a horse box so calmly, and then going for the first time with big lorries and even a cavalcade of sirens going at breakneck speed along the road, he did amazingly.  We covered about 34km and will do a similar amount tomorrow.

What is so special in Namibia is the hospitality of its people.  I am so blessed to experience that.  Even as I was riding to Kalla and Sonia another person came out to look for me, having seen me on the road, to ask if I needed a bed for the night. 

I have often thought that the highest form of love is to invite a stranger into your home and make them so welcome.  God’s blessing flows through such love.

Warrior is suspicious of carrots!

In fact, even after biting some off and putting into his mouth, he still spat it out.  I will keep trying!

A helpful suggestion from the Namibian WhatsApp group read: “Dip the carrot in water, and then dip into brown sugar, that helps a lot”👍

Water is life!

A curious gemsbok calf

The gemsbok calf and Warrior size each other up!

What I have also found incredible is that on a relatively small area of “desert”, Kalla and Sonia have carved out a very productive little farm.  They have cattle, sheep, springbok, kudu, giraffe, gemsbok, bees, vegetables and chickens etc.  They separate their own cream and make butter, have their own eggs, beef, venison, mutton, chicken, honey etc.  They also have a solar system, so they don’t draw any power from the national grid.  It’s so good to see what can be done with a vision and a plan.