Zim Gravel Travel Tour 2014. Rough, tough and rewarding!
- Thread starter Just Blip It!
- Start date
BLK
Race Dog
- Joined
- May 29, 2013
- Messages
- 2,081
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- 34
- Location
- Rembrandt Park
- Bike
- KTM 1290 Adventure R
I think I need to speak to Paddy(Jesus) to find out the whole truth!
Thks for RR looked like a great trip
Thks for RR looked like a great trip
Martyn
Pack Dog
:sip:
To the chap who stopped to help me when i had tne second flat, thank you, you where in fact the only person who did stop in the 3 hours before henry arrived with his bakkie to save my day.Home and healing but very disapointed i missed the rest of the ride.
BMWf800GSA up for sale and a shiny new 990 should be parked in the garage shortly.
Will be back on the dirt soon. GRANT
BMWf800GSA up for sale and a shiny new 990 should be parked in the garage shortly.
Will be back on the dirt soon. GRANT
Just Blip It!
Race Dog
Farking hard work these ride reports! What have I got myself into here? Eish!Carrots said:
JustBendIt
Grey Hound
Hit it !
Carrots said:
haha!
and SUB! :ricky:
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2011
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- 10,699
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- 4,351
- Location
- sasolburg
- Bike
- BMW R1200GS Adventure
wow wow and more wow
way out of my league , but verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry interested ( and impatient) for the rest of the RR
way out of my league , but verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry interested ( and impatient) for the rest of the RR
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2012
- Messages
- 33,675
- Reaction score
- 11,263
- Location
- Slowveld
- Bike
- KTM 890 Adventure R Rally
Sub :thumleft:
Just Blip It!
Race Dog
Day 2 - Time to play!
We awoke to beautiful sunny morning, after arriving at the motel in the dark last night, it was great to see the massive Ana trees (Acacia albida) which grow alongside the dry river bed of the Bubi river.
After a hearty breakfast the boys gathered in front of the Lion & Elephant Motel for the traditional photo shoot. Here we all said goodbye to Grant our injured rider who decided to spend another day here at the motel and leave the next day for a slow ride back home. It was sad to lose a rider so early in the trip, but every sport has its injuries and Adventure riding is no exception!
Dries noticed his Mitas tyre which he had fitted for the trip was disintegrating! The knobblies were breaking out of the tyre, very worrying when there is still more than 2000km to go!
We filled up at a nearby garage and headed out on the tar for 30km till the gravel turn off which would take us through a game conservancy. Here we all rode in pairs to keep the dust gaps down, we also split into 2 groups, with me heading the front faster riders and Chuck the others.
Gameviewing from the bike is always a privilege; we saw giraffe, Kudu, Impala, warthog and baboons along the road and often had to stop to allow the herds of impala to cross.
Our own Zimbo on the ride! Dries.
We stopped to refuel in a small village, there was no garage just a small shop selling petrol in litre bottles for us$2 a litre! It was here that Jagsding inspected the rear suspension on his 950SE only to find that his rear shock had blown the seal and leaked all the oil out. The shock had done less than 200km since it had been serviced and new seals fitted! Very disappointing! He would ride the remaining 9 days of rough roads with zero damping, rear wheel bouncing and clattering like an old rural taxi! It amazed me that the suspension actually survived the rest of the trip!
A dissapointed Justin with his Africa Explorers Pith Helmet on!
Buying fuel by the litre!
Travelling along a rural gravel track where the road hadn’t see maintenance since the early 80’s and even the locals had taken to rather driving next to the road than on it was hard work and hard concentration.
The locals use the road next to the main road, its smoother!
It was here the Rabbi decided things weren't kosher!
We eventually arrived a the mighty Lundi river on the border of the Gonorezeu Game Reserve, the bridge was washed away during the 2000 floods and never rebuilt, we stopped here for a few photos then moved up stream under a massive Baobab tree to eat our padkos lunch. We again had the opportunity to hand out a few more Bic pens to a group of children.
We headed up stream 20km toward the low water bridge. Along the way we found a shabeen, with a quart Zamalek each we sat down under the tree only to be entertained by one of the locals who took one look at Paddy and declared him to be Jesus! Hence Paddy’s new name was born!
Very prophetic t-shirt! If only it was true!
Having downed a quart each the pace of the ride increased somewhat and a few guys could have left their front wheels behind at the shabeen! We finally arrived at the low water bridge, the water was low and had left behind a massive sandy river bed which instantly became a play ground for the 990’s, jumping off the bridge and riding like processed maniacs up and down the river bed. Hard work but awesome fun!
It was then decided that a drag race was in order of which I won the first one and came last in the second one! Traction and throttle input were directly linked, too much throttle and you went nowhere! The locals gathered to cheer us on and we even had them chanting “Kay Tee Em, Kay Tee Em!” ;D
[flash=480,385]https://www.youtube.com/v/OjEaPneWlPo[/flash]
After the reserve lights came on we saved our remaining fuel for the short haul through the sugar cane plantations to our overnight stop at Hippo Valley Country Club.
Mother of a Baobab!
A basic but comfortable spot to stay over where colonial past still had strong influences with the clubhouse boasting big veranda’s, a big pub and dining hall with smartly dressed waiters.
Local newspaper reporters arrived at the club to do a story on our group.
This chap was quite a character!
We all hit the showers and gathered in the pub for some refreshments and some Super 15 Rugby!
The pink ties were handed out to The Rabbi and Zulu, they were the only ones to fall for the day!
It was a good day!ccasion14:
We awoke to beautiful sunny morning, after arriving at the motel in the dark last night, it was great to see the massive Ana trees (Acacia albida) which grow alongside the dry river bed of the Bubi river.
After a hearty breakfast the boys gathered in front of the Lion & Elephant Motel for the traditional photo shoot. Here we all said goodbye to Grant our injured rider who decided to spend another day here at the motel and leave the next day for a slow ride back home. It was sad to lose a rider so early in the trip, but every sport has its injuries and Adventure riding is no exception!
Dries noticed his Mitas tyre which he had fitted for the trip was disintegrating! The knobblies were breaking out of the tyre, very worrying when there is still more than 2000km to go!
We filled up at a nearby garage and headed out on the tar for 30km till the gravel turn off which would take us through a game conservancy. Here we all rode in pairs to keep the dust gaps down, we also split into 2 groups, with me heading the front faster riders and Chuck the others.
Gameviewing from the bike is always a privilege; we saw giraffe, Kudu, Impala, warthog and baboons along the road and often had to stop to allow the herds of impala to cross.
Our own Zimbo on the ride! Dries.
We stopped to refuel in a small village, there was no garage just a small shop selling petrol in litre bottles for us$2 a litre! It was here that Jagsding inspected the rear suspension on his 950SE only to find that his rear shock had blown the seal and leaked all the oil out. The shock had done less than 200km since it had been serviced and new seals fitted! Very disappointing! He would ride the remaining 9 days of rough roads with zero damping, rear wheel bouncing and clattering like an old rural taxi! It amazed me that the suspension actually survived the rest of the trip!
A dissapointed Justin with his Africa Explorers Pith Helmet on!
Buying fuel by the litre!
Travelling along a rural gravel track where the road hadn’t see maintenance since the early 80’s and even the locals had taken to rather driving next to the road than on it was hard work and hard concentration.
The locals use the road next to the main road, its smoother!
It was here the Rabbi decided things weren't kosher!
We eventually arrived a the mighty Lundi river on the border of the Gonorezeu Game Reserve, the bridge was washed away during the 2000 floods and never rebuilt, we stopped here for a few photos then moved up stream under a massive Baobab tree to eat our padkos lunch. We again had the opportunity to hand out a few more Bic pens to a group of children.
We headed up stream 20km toward the low water bridge. Along the way we found a shabeen, with a quart Zamalek each we sat down under the tree only to be entertained by one of the locals who took one look at Paddy and declared him to be Jesus! Hence Paddy’s new name was born!
Very prophetic t-shirt! If only it was true!
Having downed a quart each the pace of the ride increased somewhat and a few guys could have left their front wheels behind at the shabeen! We finally arrived at the low water bridge, the water was low and had left behind a massive sandy river bed which instantly became a play ground for the 990’s, jumping off the bridge and riding like processed maniacs up and down the river bed. Hard work but awesome fun!
It was then decided that a drag race was in order of which I won the first one and came last in the second one! Traction and throttle input were directly linked, too much throttle and you went nowhere! The locals gathered to cheer us on and we even had them chanting “Kay Tee Em, Kay Tee Em!” ;D
[flash=480,385]https://www.youtube.com/v/OjEaPneWlPo[/flash]
After the reserve lights came on we saved our remaining fuel for the short haul through the sugar cane plantations to our overnight stop at Hippo Valley Country Club.
Mother of a Baobab!
A basic but comfortable spot to stay over where colonial past still had strong influences with the clubhouse boasting big veranda’s, a big pub and dining hall with smartly dressed waiters.
Local newspaper reporters arrived at the club to do a story on our group.
This chap was quite a character!
We all hit the showers and gathered in the pub for some refreshments and some Super 15 Rugby!
The pink ties were handed out to The Rabbi and Zulu, they were the only ones to fall for the day!
It was a good day!
ccasion14:
:thumleft:
Great trip ..... thanks for sharing
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