Birthplace of the Hallowed One

---

We're in Swakopmund, Namibia. The majority of our group was eager to arrive in this adrenaline sport hotspot, and we all immediately booked 4-wheeling, sandboarding, and sky diving excursions.

Less than an hour after arriving in this town, we were already seated on our 4-wheelers (or 'quad bikes')! I (foolishly) thought that the 125cc automatic quads were too wimpy and selected a 250cc semi-manual with a kick shift. Steve weighed enough to be permitted the use of a 350cc automatic. We listened to the thirty second explanation of how the beasts work and (again foolishly) hopped into the fast group.

The leader took off at a ridiculous speed and I struggled to follow, kicking through the gears without the slightest clue as to which was best. I think the bike was a bit too powerful for me, and I managed to bury the rear wheels in the sand several times as I attempted to climb out of dips I'd veered into. I later noticed that my tires were completely bald, so I blame the bike, not the operator!

Steve sped along merrily in the front of our group without any of the problems I was having. After a few hours of gripping the handlebar (is there a cooler term for it?) with strained white knuckles, I was thrilled to find that the final stretch was a flat strip of packed dirt. Fantasticly easy! I was cruising along and admiring the view when I saw a bike go flipping through the air in one direction and a body in the other. It took another moment before I realized that it was Steve! He's not sure of what happened exactly, but he's really lucky that the huge bike didn't fall on him. Unlike his skiing wipe-out on a flat patch of snow in France which required head stitches, this time he only has a little cut on his leg to show for it.

When we returned the bikes, I barely surpressed a squeel of sheer joy when I saw a large display of pictures of BRAD PITT, ANGELINA, MADDOX AND ZAHARA enjoying the same spot. I love my celeb gossip, and to learn that I was standing in the town where the Chosen One was born was too much for me. Poor Steve had to take a picture of me grinning in front of the picture display. Yeah, I'm that cool. 😊

~Kelly

---