The Unforgiven Trail - and the legends that tamed it

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It wasn’t a very deep or wide river, but the moment we drove through it you could feel the mud grabbing the wheels and the Cruiser started to sink in. Hardy always says that the last vehicle you want to get stuck in is a Cruiser, since it will take 10 Cruisers to pull it out.


When I spoke to Hardy I saw that look in his eyes, and realised his thoughts were elsewhere. That look usually means he is not in a talking mood, and that he needs to be left alone, I also realised that he is busy doing time calculations, and decided to help the others by packing the rocks.

At one point Hardy came to me and told me to stop, as we where now compromising the riders safety, since they were still far from camp.



The decision was made to get the riders safely to Purros, while we waited in the canyon (on the exact place that we watched numerous videos of Okondjomba lions a week prior to the trip)

We got hold of Hein on the satellite phone, and he got Greg ready to leave with his Unimog (as told by Jaco previously)



Hardy and Jean started to make a fire, and I very eagerly took out my lunchbox, half a cup of coffee and Hardy’s knob kierie.



Everything was fine and spirits were high until it started to get dark, very dark. We had our little fire, but you can feel yellow eyes staring at you. And of course the elephants Conrad saw earlier about 600m back from where we are.



We had no idea how long the wait was going to be, and navigating the canyon by night is a lot more challenging than you would expect.



Every time Hardy and Jean left to go and get more wood for the fire, I eagerly tagged along, to protect them of course.



Hardy then decided it to light up the driftwood in the middle of the canyon, it was an incredible feeling. The whole canyon lit up and you feel so small sitting there. I remember thinking, that I am very glad that I am here and not at the camp, my FOMO won’t be able to handle only pictures and videos. I took a video of Hardy next to fire, to show how high it was.



When the Unimog lights came around the corner I had mixed feelings of adrenalin, excitement and being very grateful.



We had everything ready for the recovery, but first we had to take 5 minutes to get Jaco’s FOMO under control.



Hardy attached all the equipment and told us to stand back for in case the winch rope snaps (wayyy back to were the lions might be lying)



When they cruiser got out, we quickly packed everything back into the vehicles and took another 5 minutes just to take everything in. It has been one of the most exhilarating experiences.



Jean decided to sit on the back of the cruiser on his bike in stead of in the Unimog, and we made our way back to camp.



When we got into radio contact with Alan & Sharon, they assured us that there will be coffee ready as soon as we get there.



I think I speak for the whole team if I say that Purros is one of our favourite places, but seeing Purros in the evening is definitely one of the best experiences of my life.
 

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Bart you dont have a pic of your ductape helmet? that looked hardcore!

😋
Ehh no, but just made a couple, below!

Somewhere along the route, 3rd day I think, I maneuvered my parked bike, with helmet on the bar-end - and it fell off.
All 3 screws shattered (holding peak & visor both) so Fanus' blue duct-tape was roped in. This held very well, in fact I've ridden with it this Sunday.
But, after my fall of Day 7 (sliding on that sandy ridge above) all was fine still, however the visor would not stay up anymore ..... so at camp I got some black tape to hold it up (y)
 

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Day 7:
Started off on my Dr650 but unfortunately halfway through the day the engine casing patch delaminated and we had to retire her, at least we could get the DRZ going with her clutch cable!

Martin’s bike getting some attention
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Fixing Steve’s 1st puncture
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Last photo behind the bars on my DR650
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Cable transplant
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Pierre getting on with it after my DR bakkie laai


Getting proper stuck in the mud
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Baboons keeping a watch on us as the sun goes down
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Bosveld vuurtjie
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Hardy as close as possible
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Turn on the lights!


Unimog to the rescue 1
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Unimog to the rescue 2
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The drive back to camp at 22:30 on the back of the Cruiser was quite amazing.
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Mens moet eenkeer in jou lewe so toer gaan doen.
Hardy hulle is PROFESSIONEEL in wat hulle doen en kyk mooi na hul "gaste" - al bars jy ook maar hier en daar.
Mens verlang vinnig terug.

Ek mis daai SAND baaaaie - die klippe nie so baie :ROFLMAO:
 
Mens moet eenkeer in jou lewe so toer gaan doen.
Hardy hulle is PROFESSIONEEL in wat hulle doen en kyk mooi na hul "gaste" - al bars jy ook maar hier en daar.
Mens verlang vinnig terug.

Ek mis daai SAND baaaaie - die klippe nie so baie :ROFLMAO:
Dankie Jean - ons het jou gemis op die' toer.
 
Day 8 – Rest Day at Purros

The first priority of the day was to retrieve Martin's bike and attempt to fix it. We unpacked the bakkie and Alan and Martin set off to where the 990 was left the previous day. They returned to camp at around 14:00 and immediately set to work.

For most others it was time to service their machines. Some replaced oil and filters, some tightened a few bolts and some gave the tyres a good kick.

Later in the afternoon we went up to Jan Joubert-koppie for a sundowner. For me this is a great opportunity to reflect on everything that has happened so far on this trip and to align myself mentally with what lies ahead. We saw some springbok and giraffe from the koppie.

The 990 managed to start, but it would cut out after running a few seconds. It was gut wrenching to see Martin try everything he could to get the bike to run, and while he got agonisingly close, it just wouldn't do it. This left us with a bit of a conundrum as to how we would transport two non-running bikes. Tomorrow we would also be tackling a very long day of riding through the Crowther trail.
 
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One of the more beautiful places in the world.... right up there with Trevi Fountain, Van Zyls Pass top.
 

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