Honda Quest True Adventure 2018

[JannievandieVaaldam]

a

 

[JannievandieVaaldam]

O, and I forgot to mention, why we arrived so late was because our shuttle driver was the most law-abiding citizen I have ever came across, he never ever went over the speed limit and on the open roads never over 100 km/h not even when overtaking. As we all knew we were running a bit late we asked him to drive a bit faster but even then, he still did not go over 100 km/h. We respected him for that and left him to do his job.

 

[JannievandieVaaldam]

But we were not alone in this camp, it was like we intruded the scorpion kings home base, I have never seen a scorpion in nature and only at zoo’s or in books. But here they were crawling all over the place and you had to be careful not to step on one, from small to big they were all there. But fortunately, we were prepared by Ockie at Bootcamp who advised us to get a scorpion flash light…. I was sceptical and have seen it on television before, but they really glow in the dark just like fireflies, wonder if you can use them for fishing indicators then you do not need to buy them all the time, the tail would curl nicely around a fishing line.

 

[JannievandieVaaldam]

As if scorpions was not enough, during dinner some unwanted guests were spotted and we had to patrol the campsite during the night, that meant as there was only 7 hours left and we are 7 teams each team was going to stand guard for a hour, myself and [member=14604]JesseH[/member] lucky draw was 02:00am to 03:00am, just what we needed before a full day of hard riding and heat to combat the next day..... and of course, 5 hours sleep the previous day. We fell asleep immediately but were supper confused when we got woken up by Stephan who was doing the 01:00am to 02:00am patrol. It took some time to wake up and [member=14604]JesseH[/member] even asked Stephan what he was doing outside as it was our turn not recognising that he was before us doing patrol. Well what do you do for a hour in the middle of the night? Well let’s make a coffee and go scorpion hunting again….. 

 

[woody1]

:ricky:

 

[Casting from Turd]

As if scorpions was not enough, during dinner some unwanted guests were spotted and we had to patrol the campsite during the night, that meant as there was only 7 hours left and we are 7 teams each team was going to stand guard for a hour, myself and [member=14604]JesseH[/member] lucky draw was 02:00am to 03:00am, just what we needed before a full day of hard riding and heat to combat the next day..... and of course, 5 hours sleep the previous day. We fell asleep immediately but were supper confused when we got woken up by Stephan who was doing the 01:00am to 02:00am patrol. It took some time to wake up and [member=14604]JesseH[/member] even asked Stephan what he was doing outside as it was our turn not recognising that he was before us doing patrol. Well what do you do for a hour in the middle of the night? Well let’s make a coffee and go scorpion hunting again…..

2,4,or8 legged unwanted

 

[JannievandieVaaldam]

The two-legged ones unfortunately

 

[Casting from Turd]

The two-legged ones unfortunately

**** boet. That far out in the middle of nowhere,

 

[JannievandieVaaldam]

After getting some more sleep after our patrol it was an early wake up. Pack up camp, breakfast, pack the Iveco and line the bikes up for inspection.

[flash=600,400]https://www.youtube.com/v/0mgNDz6erpQ[/flash]

 

[JannievandieVaaldam]

Received our briefing for the next couple of kilometres…. Finally done with all the formalities, time to ride!!! Video footage courtesy from [member=22614]PhantomCupcake[/member]

[flash=600,400]https://www.youtube.com/v/ULCGS_yzfns[/flash]

 

[JannievandieVaaldam]

After some gravel highways and some nice desert scenery with some soft sandy patches to get used to our new bikes we arrived at the turnoff where the roads turn in to twee spoor, the terrain we have been waiting to ride!!! 

 

[JannievandieVaaldam]

After some gravel highways and some nice desert scenery with some soft sandy patches to get used to our new bikes we arrived at the turnoff where the roads turn in to twee spoor, the terrain we have been waiting to ride!!! 

 

[PhantomCupcake]

Hi guys,

I see the report is already well on its way. That first day of riding was a great introduction to the bikes for most of us. Mostly gravel highway for the day, with patches of sand, which allowed us all to find the settings we like and fiddle with our suspension where needed.

I think most of us found that the suspension is quite good off the bat, but benefited from a couple of turns down.

The DCT was another thing to get used to, but it didn't take long for us to start finding our preferences (Traction off, Gravel mode, S2 for me personally). The gearbox really is quite smart and I quickly found myself worrying less and less about the gears. Personally, I had never been offroad with such a big bike, so, I started off riding in the normal Drive setting to make the throttle seem a bit less responsive. I have to say, that didn't prevent me from spinning the bike out from under me and being the first person to put it down for the trip. Good thing I was near the back so most people didn't see.  :biggrin:

And to top the day off we were introduced to some sand. Nothing too daunting compared to day 2, but we didn't know that yet. You'll have to wait a little to hear all about that. 

 

[JannievandieVaaldam]

We had a quick rest and continued down the twee spoor... with a fall or two... temperatures were already in the high 35’s…. the green in the background is the mighty Oranje river.

 

[JannievandieVaaldam]

[flash=600,400]https://www.youtube.com/v/lWQqlzBzTvA[/flash]

 

[JannievandieVaaldam]

After a while of riding we found the only tree for kilometres, at a distance was a group of donkeys slowly coming closer now and again but keeping their distance. I guess it was their tree that we took over. It was also the ideal spot for the backup vehicle to catch up and refill our bladders with some cold water. The shade also allowed for a good spot to lay down for a bit.

 

[JannievandieVaaldam]

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[JannievandieVaaldam]

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[BLK]

Great pics and video coverage,thks.

Us desktop warriors really enjoy it,thks.

 

[JannievandieVaaldam]

But one cannot lay under a tree the whole day there was still some trail left to Groot Melkboom. We got up and started to make our way over there. After combating some thorn threes that usually only grow where the thick sand and the best line through the corners are we met up with the rest of the crew in the support vehicles.

[flash=600,400]https://www.youtube.com/v/6ntFx_olnaE[/flash]