Ah, nice to have you back and in good shape by the sound of it Dusty. Now I've got to get my act together...
Over the Matebeng Pass we went and down into the valley. It's as beautiful as I remember. Right on the
crest of the pass they have built a radio mast which really spoils the view but yet again I guess one can't
hold back progress for the sake of aesthetics? Where are we progressing to though?
The road drops down fairly steeply and ever so often one crosses little streams of mountain water. Dustdevil
and Sack is visibly enjoying the ride.
[flash=700,525]https://www.youtube.com/v/2nM-gZP8M3g[/flash]
En route we bump into Greg and Lindie on a GSA! They stopped to scout and try negotiate the worst looking
section we've seen all day. The bike is heavily loaded and they came all the way up Sani Pass like this. Lindie
has opted for walking about 1km ahead and meet Greg on the other side of the section of road in question.
So came another opportunity for Dustdevil to tell a fellow adventure rider about his theory of tyre pressure
meets traction. Tyres deflated Greg still fell over twice before he made it to Lindie. Man van staal old Greg.
[flash=700,525]https://www.youtube.com/v/WtN3l5zQXjg[/flash]
Nearing Sehonghong we can see in the distance the road we were on the day before. This road did go right
up to the Senqu River. At the time we thought it would probably be impossible to ride along the river to
Sehonghong but now we are traveling on the foothills along the Senqu and it looks totally possible. Mostly flat
and sandy with what looks like a shallow stream criss crossing left and right, left and right. I've always fancied
riding in riverbeds and now I really feel an urge to get into the river and travel along it up to Sehonghong
where we will cross it anyway. Scouting the valley sides the opportunity to drop down into the river only
present itself when we actually get to Sehonghong. A blessing in disguise as I completely underestimated
the sand and mud the riverbed consists of.
Riding around the Sehonghong air strip we find a faint track leading down into the river. A steep rocky descent
brings us to a section completely washed away. I have noticed all along the ride we've been doing for the last
3 days that there must have been some really serious rain storms throughout Lesotho in the months before.
Although today the place is rather dry the erosion tells a different story.
Sack and I quickly sees an opportunity and descends the last couple of meters into the river by just sliding
down a steep embankment. Dustdevil on the other hand will not be convinced so easily. Once the HPN is
down there we won't be able to get it up the steep lose gravel in the event of having to turn around.
He wants to be sure we can actually cross the river and find our way up the other side, which looks a bit
more intimidating now that we are in the river, before he makes his descent.
We actually took very few pictures of the ordeal to follow. Mostly focussed on making video and just wresling
the bikes but Dusty did make a nice little teaser video which showcases some of the events. I'll get him to
attach the link again.
Sack saw a section of riverbed covered in rocks slightly down stream and indicates that he will go check
it out. I will have a look at the chances of crossing further up stream and Dustdevil will wait by his bike
and prepare mentally.
[flash=700,525]https://www.youtube.com/v/SPMQwOJpjjA[/flash]
Now both Sack and I are riding right in the riverbed and with this comes a big wake-up call. The sand is
nothing like we thought it would be, Atlantis my arse. The moment the bike's wheels makes contact with
the lose gravel-like sand it just sucks it down almost pulling my poor KLR to a stall in 1st gear. The only
way across this obstacle will have to involve speed.
Some of the local children were playing in the river and has now gathered to see what we are up to.
The are keeping a distance though. The sun is shining warmly and friendly. a Perfect day for fishing I'm
thinking. Besides the sound of water rushing over rocks and children calling to each other the air is clear
of any other sounds.
The spot where I will investigate a possible crossing point is almost underneath the foot bridge that we
already saw on Google Earth months ago. At the time we thought we could just cross on that but little
did we know the road leading up to it has a series of sheer drops barely negotiable with donkeys. Getting
my boots off I am reminded of my childhood as the soft mud pushes in between and past my toes, makes
fat worm like shapes that falls back on top of my feet. The stream is slightly stronger than I imagined
but at least it doesn't become much deeper than knee depth. The problem is though that, although one
can just about still negotiate water this deep on a KLR, the river bottom consists of the same soft mud
that squeezed past my toes on the bank. Heavy bikes will surely get stuck in this stuff and sink down to
a drowning point.
Nice to waddle in the mud but this aint gonna work. Now all our hope is on Sack and his rocky crossing.
