jossvw
Pack Dog
Is that " groet die grotman" gathering wood 
Malibu said:Scheduled to leave on Sunday, the rain had put a delay on servicing our bikes the previous day, we decided to leave Monday. Sunday was then spent doing the necessary for the machines, and we went walking. Dark Horse, who had shared Christmas with us, Dakota, Mark and I strolled around the area. Fiona, a friend of mine, had a few Appaloosa foals we visited and it was a super relaxing day, walking off the Christmas feast.
Monday morning dawned, traveling slightly lighter, we did the big haul from Nelspruit to Mafeking. The original plan was to stay in Groot Marico, but with loosing a day we had to catch-up with some distance. Not knowing the lay of the land in Mafeking, we eventually arrived in the afternoon, still rather hot, but promise of cooler air was there. Well, there is one camping spot in Mafeking, and it’s in the middle of the game reserve. Again, if you don’t ask... We did and they said ok! Another surprise. Maybe it was the Pimp Suits! I went shopping in town, while Mark finalized the arrangements with the park and the bottle store. We met at the main gate and rode out into the park. Our experience with game was again exceeded, riding past rhino with no fencing between us… and the cows all had calves. We entered the camping area, supposedly fenced, but most of that was laying on the ground. The showers were hot, they had loo paper, firewood was piled up, but the rest of the site was rustic to say the least. Perfect.
I remember Mark urgently waking me in the middle of the night, “There is a buffalo outside”. About 2m from the tent, with calf. We were very quiet.
Tomorrow promised some of the best riding along the Botswana fence-line and I was not going to allow anything to hinder that.
I have one word to describe the ride from Nelspruit to Mafeking……BOREDOM……but at least we covered good distance and caught up on the day we lost due to the rain. The one really good thing is that I found out where the Buddhist Retreat is in Bronkhorstspruit. I will definitely go spend a weekend there soon.
The Main Archway
I was really happy that we were able once again to camp the night in a game reserve. The camp sight was very run down, including the fencing around the camp which allowed the game to wonder in and out. Perfect…….and we were the only people there….double perfect. Again we saw plenty of game. The track from the main game to the camp site was about 4kms, along which we saw rhino, Kudu, Impala and some other buck which were brown and had stripes.
Malibu setting up camp
We had some visitors soon after the tent was up
Malibu getting the fire going…….this women is a pyromaniac of note. I was never allowed to start the fire. The glint she got in hers eyes as the wood was set alight was quite scary at times.
I was relegated to wood gatherer
Sunset
Supper on the go
Morning light blazed me out of bed, we packed camp and departed, winding out the reserve between the rhino. Today is going to be a good day. We set off with much enthusiasm.
Sunrise and the start of a spectacular days riding
Coffee in bed
Two happy little bikes
Again we had some visitors. The horn on the mother was the longest I have seen in many many years.
All packed and on our way, we had said goodbye to the rhino and headed for the Botswana fence line.
The tar was longer than it should have been, according to Google Earth, but we eventually hit the dirt with a sigh of relief. What a stunning ride. Red sand, white sand, red sand, white sand, the colours changing before us like a massive zebra crossing… the white stuff generally harder than the red stuff, but that is not a rule. We were heading for Avonster, Molopo Game Reserve. Initial target, Bray, for lunch. I was just getting into a good rhythm on the road, the sun high now with dead light flattening all the detail on the road, so the mounds of sand were barely discernable from the rest, when I hit a bank of red stuff… which promptly threw me into another bank, again and again. It was a rodeo of classic proportions, Mark behind me, first sucking in his breath in fear of me falling, then laughing at me for surviving, followed by his realization that he too would have to survive it… these thoughts flashing though his mind in a second or so. In Bray we had a good giggle about our ‘superb’ sand skills. Hey, we had survived. Mark too had bucked over the area.
On Google earth this tar road was not that long, but in reality it got to the point where you start wondering if you are in for a another boring day, I stopped at a local police station to inquire about this and they first looked at us as if we were mad, riding in this heat with all the gear on and then still looking for the dirt roads. Thankfully they informed us that the tar ends about 2kms down the roads. Life is good
Here’s a couple of pics of the days ride.
That red sand was soft….very, very soft at times. The one section in particular caught both Malibu and I. Malibu was leading at the time when the next thing is I see her and the bike bouncing from side to side across the road. We must have been traveling at 100km/h when we hit this stuff. My heart sank as I watched, waiting for the fall. But Malibu and bike handled it very well which then made me start laughing at their antics…….then as reality set in……OH SHIT I’m next. I dropped a gear, looked up, stayed loose and hit the sand. It was a 100m of sheer fun that scared the living day lights out you.
There were plenty of red sand bits
We got to the T junction, turned right on to the R375 and headed to Bray where we had lunch and fueled up my bike.
Petrol station in Bray
Last pics of the ride to Molopo Nature reserve
