GS & KTM Botswana & Zim 2010

[kevinogden]

Some Pilot mates of mine and my wife and I decided to take on Botswana and Zim one day at a time with only a general idea of our route.  It certainly led to a great adventure and afforded us the opportunity to gain intimate knowledge of these two beautiful countries - including the flavor of the sand en route to the Makgadikgadi salt pans!!!!

Sunset on the pans.


After somersaulting the GS 650 and breaking both mirrors and the clutch lever, dropping both GS1200's and the loaded KTM 990 in the thick sand, a visit to the local hospital for x-rays, a call out from the local Search and Rescue Hilux, a visit from the resident mechanic and suffering from the advanced symptoms of dehydration and heat-stroke we finally made it through the pans to Gweta Lodge via the picturesque Kubu island.  The Beer, and pool were AWESOME!! St Louis Lager was the real winner!! Moral of the story - "Don't split up!!" (A support vehicle would have been helpful but changes the experience).

The scene of the crash


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Tiger Wyn!!


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Campsite at Kubu Island (45deg later that day and  8hrs in the saddle)
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Still lookin Good & Still lookin pretty!!


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Big toe Barry!!



Do, Hear & See No Evil!!



Sidestand Shelly


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Beer, coke and rehydrate formula at the pool in Gweta!!


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Chobe Safari Lodge


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A sorry looking Pirelli Scorpion!!


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After the dust settled and we were all shacked up at Gweta we had only one problem left... The KTM had shredded it's rear tyre and there was not a single suitable replacement in the whole of Bots.  (The tube was sticking out between the tread about 2cm x 10cm).  Thankfully the local engineers came to the rescue and fitted a gator into the tyre and declared it good for the +- 500km to Kasane at a max speed of 80km/h.  A new tyre was ordered from JHB to be flown to meet us in Kasane in 24 hrs. (Yeah right...!)

“Courier” Kev traveling at 8okm/h on the damaged tyre.


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A night stop at Elephant Sands (Yeah, more thick sand on the way in but by now it was a piece of cake!) North of Nata proved unforgettable with us being visited by a herd of Elephants while sitting with our feet in the pool and a Frostie in hand.  They were just as thirsty and once they were finished the level of the pool had dropped a good 10 to 15cm!!  The buffet dinner was also spectacular!  In the morning the bike tracks were covered by Elephant foot prints only 2 meters from where the bikes were parked - I'm glad they didn't test the suspension!!


Elephants and Adventure bikes…



It was my first visit to Kasane and i was impressed. We camped at Chobe Safari Lodge and enjoyed some Tiger fishing and a game cruise down the chobe river.  Alas... my tyre was still in JHB according to the courier company (Names of people and companies have been omitted to protect the innocent!).  The tyre was re routed to Vic Falls as we had a deadline to meet after already spending extra time in Kasane waiting for the tyre.

ZimBobwe….


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Kasane to Vic Falls – Where’s Mommy Elephant?


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The ride from Kasane to Vic Falls through the park was really enjoyable with us having to stop for three Elephant to cross the road in front of us.  An exploded tyre 5km from Vic Falls and another Search and Rescue Hilux later saw us safely to Vic Falls!!  My tyre made it to Livingston 2 days later????? Luckily sent back to Vic Falls just in time for our departure to the Matopas.


Vic Falls.


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I can’t believe it actually arrived in the end….only five days late….


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We were amazed by the Big Cave Camp in the Matopos and spent an extra night there before heading back to SA via Beight Bridge. (The border post impressively only took us about an hour).

Matopos.


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Sunset in the Matopos


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Sunrise the next day.



A night at Tshipise and a ride through the tunnels ended the adventure with an Auzzie pulling up on his GS650 (800) next to us while we were posing for a "photo opportunity".  He was headed North on the N1 so I asked him where he had ridden from expecting an answer like Cape Town.  He replied nonchalantly "Brisbane"!! As anyone who has spent 14 days riding a bike through Africa we were all very chilled and relaxed and as you say in Africa "Youve got the watch but we've got the time".  Trying to figure out what road he could have ridden from Brisbane he filled in that he had ridden solo down Africa via Egypt and was on his way back up to Lake Tanganyika.  He had that thousand yard stare like someone used to spending days alone on introspection.  He took a photo of our bikes and headed out North through the tunnels. 

The Adventurous Auzie!! (We took note of the spare tyre – Lesson Learned!!) Note the Stetson – typical…


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Feeling slightly outdone after our little 14 day picnic joyride we headed back South to the land of Credit Card machines and clean Fuel!!

Were already planning our next trip!! Adventure riding is addictive....


 

 

[Piston Pete]

Hope there's more! 

 

[Gee eS]

Very nice, but please tell us a bit more about the crash and all the other interesting incidents. :thumleft:

 

[kevinogden]

All was going a bit too smoothly until we hit our first section of proper off road riding.  Shelly had really little experience off road at this stage and we had under estimated just how long and thick the sand section was to Kubu Island. 

An informant at Kwa Nokeng had told us the previous night that the sand would be thick for a few hundred meters but was not a problem as u could see the end of it and "paddle" thru for those not willing to take it at speed.

We opted not to deflate the tyres as it was "only a few hundred meters" of sand and then we would be through and have to ride the remainder of the way on deflated tyres and who knew where the next garage would be...? Famous last words...

I led the way on my KTM with my wife and the kitchen sink on the back and hit the soft sand before I was expecting it.  I've done a lot of sand riding on my YZ 250 so I stayed on the gas and tapped the rear brake to slow and straighten the bike from time to time when I realised that it was quite a bit more than a few hundred meters of sand and a fall at this speed would be "undesirable"!!  I came off the gas and pulled in the clutch but as the bike slowed down I began weaving and luckily managed to keep the bike up until about walking speed when the weight became too much and we ended up with a sleeve and a mouthful of sand!  Luckily the panniers kept the bike off us and we easily slid out and picked up the bike to see Shelly in a cloud of sand about 200m behind us.

Her bike was on top of her leg under a tree on the side of the road and both her mirrors, the clutch lever and her indicator button were broken off.  She squirmed out and we managed to slide the bike out from under the tree.  Her leg was really hurting her and she had broken it before and she had the same pain as before so we feared the worst.

This girl is tough as nails...


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We were well and truly in the middle of nowhere and luckily had a cell phone signal and phoned our contact in Kwa nokeng who put us in contact with the local operator who maintains Kubu island.  Luckily he had some employees in the nearby village with access to the Kubu island Hilux and after about an hour and a half they picked us up.  We loaded the GS 650 onto the hilux and the rest of us followed along the sand and gravel road in the dark back to the local hospital in Lethlekane. 



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It took about 3 hours before Shelly had her dodgy x ray which was held up against the ceiling light for a minute before the local doctor announced that there was no fracture.  It ended up costing nothing as it was after hours and too much effort to organise payment.... go figure!!

I got driven around the town searching for accommodation and decided not to take the one next to the shebeen that rented the rooms by the hour..!!

That was day 2..........

On day 3 we deflated the tyres!!


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Turns out we were on the right road after all, which way to Kubu Island?


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She rode like this for the next 12 days and then all the way down to Durban...


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[Ian in Great Brak River]

Great ride and good thing no bones broken, quite a bruise that will be.

Keen to see the next installment..

 

[Just Blip It!]

Awesome adventure! Africa is n place for sissies! Thanks for sharing!

 

[johang]

Well done, thanxs for sharing..

 

[letsgofishing]

Awesome ride guys - big up to all of you!  :thumleft:

 

[Walkaway]

Fantastic guys - Well done. This is a trip I have to do.

 

[Jacko]

Respect!

Those girls are tough.

Rather you than me in thick sand with pillions. I'm too much of a pussy to ever want to do that!

 

[KAT-WP]

Nice RR so far - those pans do look awsum 2 ride :drif:......i want 2 one day

 

[Mark Hardy]

Excellent trip and RR. Thanks for sharing  :thumleft:

 

[user 5710]

Fanatstic RR and I really like your avatar pic of the Cheetah C  :drif:

 

[SandMan]

Great trip there!!!
A pity about the incident but as said at least no serious injuries!

There is a KTM dealer in Gabs for future reference. He usually strips my bike for travellers and then replaces later.  
I have donated spares to a few guys coming through Africa.

 

[funacide]

Really nice trip, I love that area around the Pans.

Which route did you follow from Kubu island up to Gweta? Was it the left direction that brings you out in Gweta or the right hand path that brings you out closer to Nata?

That section between Kubu and Gweta is hectic sand!!

 

[Wheelman]

Very nice report guys :thumleft:

 

[The Badger]

Great trip and RR. Thanks for sharing and Respect. :thumleft:

 

[kevinogden]

Fanatstic RR and I really like your avatar pic of the Cheetah C  :drif:

Hey, well spotted!! She's a beauty and now off to make some sonic booms in South America...

 

[kevinogden]

Really nice trip, I love that area around the Pans.

Which route did you follow from Kubu island up to Gweta? Was it the left direction that brings you out in Gweta or the right hand path that brings you out closer to Nata?

That section between Kubu and Gweta is hectic sand!!

We took the road to the left past Chapmans baobab and then North until hitting the dirt road about 1 km West of Gweta.  My GPS stopped charging so there was a fair amount of dead reckoning going on.... Not so much fun when there are beers at stake!!

Will update that section of the trip shortly!! Was REALLY SANDY!!

 

[kevinogden]

Great trip there!!!
A pity about the incident but as said at least no serious injuries!

There is a KTM dealer in Gabs for future reference. He usually strips my bike for travellers and then replaces later.  
I have donated spares to a few guys coming through Africa.

Thanks, good to know although I did make a number of calls to Gabs and the Honda dealer (I think they're across from the KTM dealer) informed me that they all only had MX tyres. 

Worth a try next time.  Always handy to leave some spares along the way - Some helpfull guys working at the lodge in Gweta dug up an old rear MX tyre in someones house in the village for me - unfortunately it would have been too narrow to seal but it just shows just how keen all the guys are to help out!! (Obviously for a few dollars!!$$)