Zimbabwe (The reunion ride)

[Just Blip It!]

Having just returned from the official Zim Gravel Travel 2022 in August, I was approached by a friend (Marc Ongers) asking me if I was going to our Umtali Boys High School reunion in Mutari on the 1st October. I didn't really even know about it until he asked me, and I was still not very excited about the idea until he suggested we turn it into an adventure ride...........well Marc now you talking my language! The seed had been planted and it grew quickly from a group of 2 to a group of 12 "misfits" that all wanted to go to our school reunion.

The 12 "misfits"!
Ironically 10 of the riders never even went to the school, but felt it very important that they escort Marc and myself there and back!
I refer to the group of riders as "misfits" mainly because traditionally Zim Gravel Travel (ZGT) is strictly by invitation only and riders are hand picked for their riding ability which has to be of a high standard. Everyone that normally comes on the trip is a capable rider and I have personally made sure of that by either taking them on a tough prequalifying ride or they come highly recommended by one of the other riders that can personally vouch for them! I had only ever ridden with one of the riders Japie Schmidt (AKA Jaapster) whom I invited and was to be my wingman/Hotdog for the trip. Jaapster and I have done plenty of kilos together, but due to work and family pressures I had not ridden with him for quite a while and he had lost his spot to Canz (@Noneking) of late.

Jaapster and I.

The others were all friends and acquaintances of Marc's and some were really good capable riders and others were not experienced at all. This was a big worry for me who has to lead these guys through some rather challenging and tough routes. Getting to know these riders was mostly done during the 60 days before the trip on the WhatsApp group. Frightening to say the least listening to them talk about how terrified they were of sand (of which Zim has plenty of) and comments like "If i battle or hold you guys up I will climb in the back up vehicle." Needless to say there was a day or so of "radio silence" after I informed the group that there is no back up vehicle on the trip and that emergency breakdown/injury procedures was to flag down a local bakkie, load bike and/or patient on the back and send them to hospital or back to the border. After that had sunk in the guys quickly got the picture and started prepping for the ride. I was quite impressed by their dedication, jogging and gyming every day, riding every weekend, sand and mountain passes etc. The riding on weekends already got rid of one rider on Honda AT who fell and broke an engine casing on Breedtsnek. His spot quickly snapped up by another rider Devon who bought an old Transalp for R15k for the trip. ( WTF have I got myself into!? )
Sand continued to be an issue for most of the guys so I arranged for them all to attend a sand course with Andre Visser from iRide at Rhino Park for all the Gauteng boys. Organizing all the logistics and information for these guys was challenging, I was arranging and communicating by phone, WhatsApp and E Mail from White River, the riders were scattered across the country, Gauteng, PE and Tzaneen.
Disaster hit when Marc fell in the sand on his 790 and broke 3 ribs 10 days before the trip! The only other rider apart from myself that actually went to the school for the reunion we were riding to!

Grant bit his screen in a separate crash cutting his lip.

Bok fell off his Honda AT on another ride a week before the trip badly spraining his ankle!



Craig broke his finger riding his plastic bike! WTF did i get myself into FFS could anything else go wrong? The answer to that question was answered 2 days before the trip when Grant was admitted to hospital with kidney stones! I must give it to these boys they were all determined to do the ride with their injuries and all. Grant was literally collected from the hospital (with a stent in his ****) loaded into the car and driven up to our meeting point in Musina! Marc was in pain with his ribs, but he also arrived in Musina packed and ready to go. ( I was really concerned that he was still determined to ride with us, but he assured me that he wouldn't hold us up and if necessary would ride tar roads to the lodges. A brave or very stupid man, I still don't know which!
Part of my WhatsApp training for the guys was teaching them to pack as light as possible and what to pack. This was a bit of mission, with some learning fast and others not so fast.

Some started off packing like this!

.....and I eventually had them down to this!.

 

[Just Blip It!]

Everyone arrived in Musina safely and I got to meet the guys for the first time. There were 2 father and son teams, Marc & Dain Ongers, and peter and Timothy Gilespe. Dain had just bought a 990 for the trip, Timothy was probably the youngest and probably the most inexperienced in the group but his Dad Peter was really looking forward to doing the trip with his son. Peter has ridden all over the world so he was very experienced and accomplished rider.

We left Musina early morning headed for Beitbridge border post.

The border was surprisingly quiet and although it is organized chaos most of the time after a few hold ups and frustrations we were through both sides by 09H30. We headed into the dirty crime ridden town of Beitbridge and stopped at a Cell phone shop so that the guys could buy out Zim simcards.

Where ever we stopped crowds of inquisitive people & street vendors would descend upon us. Mostly very well mannered they were very distracting and we had to be wide awake whilst guarding the bikes against theft. A man from the local municipality approached us and demanded a parking fee of R10 for all the bikes. We paid him and received a receipt.
Cellphones sorted it was time to get out of town a hit the dirt!

The sand monster was upon
us almost immediately and some struggled to find their rhythm with the loaded bikes and thick sand. Timothy was not happy, he fell a few times and was really struggling, at each stop the guys gave him advice and encouragement trying to keep him motivated and positive, however he kept asking "where the tar road was?"

It was turning out to be a hot day, the guys were working hard and shade was in demand!

Lucky we found this water well with lovely cold water!

Re-hydrated and refreshed we pushed on through the Mopani veld with sightings of majestic Baobabs everywhere.

Then we found some cold beer!

Marc was battling a bit with his broken ribs, and decided to make sure he was covered if he didn't make it.

Devon on the Transalp that later became known as "the Tranny".

Some hours later we arrived at our overnight lodge. Everyone in one piece, hungry and thirsty, some jumped in the pool, other relaxed.

Sun downers in the riverbed.

Supper! Nyala stew!

 

[Chrisl]

Sub!!!
Can we have some more Sir!!

 

[0012]

however he kept asking "where the tar road was?"

Oh dear

literally collected from the hospital (with a stent in his ****) loaded into the car and driven up to our meeting point in Musina

If that's not dedication, I don't know what is!!

 

[0012]

It was turning out to be a hot day

October in that part of the country, hectic heat!

Sub, looking forward to this

 

[Just Blip It!]

After a hearty breakfast we left Threeway Safaris and headed to the first refuel stop. R35 per liter later we continued through the first roadblock where we were waved through with a friendly wave. Things have changed, in the past they would have harassed us and found a reason to fine somebody and extract some US$ from us.

We turned into the Nuanetsi conservancy keeping an eye out for animals, we were in a big % area.

Stopping midday at a small town for a cold one!

And a chance to try out some local 2 wheels with zero brakes. Werner was the test pilot!

We crossed the Rundi river at the low water causeway.

Spotting the dry riverbed some of us decided to test our sand skills, some very capable and some not so.

We entered the Devuli conservancy another big 5 area where the signs of elephant were all over.

The road was extremely corrugated with sections of sand. Everyone was trying to scan the bush for elephant and trying not to hit the walls of sand on the sides and middle manetjie. We stopped at this dam for a break and a KitKat.

We were eventually rewarded with a great sighting of ellies, although they were somewhat agitated by the presence of the bikes.

We arrived at out overnight lodging Gomo Lodge with a few hours of sunlight left. Wow! What a spot! Perched on a river bank with spectacular views over the bushveld. The older riders got the best rooms which were really 5 star. Open thatched chalets built along the river bank. No windows, no doors open to the bushveld smells an sounds.

A quick swim and a beer after a long hot dusty day.

The younger unmarried guys were put into dormitory type accommodation much to their disgust.....that was until they realized they were to share with 6 pretty young ladies from the UK, France a Germany. These ladies were volunteers working on the farm helping with conservation and day to day chores of running a hunting concession. It wasn't long and the younger guys had turned from dusty smelly bikers to charming social butterflies with big grins!

After our swim we were all loaded onto gameviewers and driven to a stunning spot on the river bank where we were to have supper and drinks, served by the very same young ladies. They waited on us hand and foot as we watched the sunset in this fabulous location. Sharing fireside stories well into the night.

After the lovely evening supper served in the bush we all returned to our rooms at the lodge by gameviewer.
Lying in bed I could here the jackals, hyena and lions roaring in the distance. What a fantastic way to end the day.............

Only to be awoken at 2am by the roaring of lion that seemed to be right inside the chalet with us. The screams of a terrified troop of baboons that were sleeping in the trees close to our chalet. The lions were roaring and squabbling with each other. The noise was terrifying and extremely close to our completely open chalet. Jaapster and I jumped out of our beds and shone the small head torch into the bush next to the chalet only to see about 8 lion on a kill no less than about 20m from us. Shining our torch on them seemed to anger them more. There was no place of safety that we could retreat to other than our beds protected only by flimsy mosquito nets! The lions continued to feed on their kill so close we could hear them biting through the bones of their kill. After 2 hours they eventually moved off allowing us to go back to sleep. That was a little too close for comfort!

 

[P.K.]

Eish Mark...what a lekker trip.
That lowveld area in Zim is special.

 

[tau]

WOW awesome!!!

 

[ClimbingTurtle]

 

[0012]

There was no place of safety that we could retreat to other than our beds protected only by flimsy mosquito nets! The lions continued to feed on their kill so close we could hear them biting through the bones of their kill. After 2 hours they eventually moved off allowing us to go back to sleep. That was a little too close for comfort!

a bit like this at Humani too (also in the conservancy), my brother grabbed a can of Doom, thinking he'll spray it into the lion's eyes the owners/managers must shake their heads at the "city people" haha

 

[0012]

The younger unmarried guys were put into dormitory type accommodation much to their disgust.....that was until they realized they were to share with 6 pretty young ladies from the UK, France a Germany. These ladies were volunteers working on the farm helping with conservation and day to day chores of running a hunting concession. It wasn't long and the younger guys had turned from dusty smelly bikers to charming social butterflies with big grins!

winning!!!!

 

[Dong147]

Best time of my 64 year old life..do everything you can to do this trip with Mark Taylor!!

 

[Werner Scheepers]

Just reading the highlight of the trip makes you want to go back and ride another one, what awsome experiance "thus far" misfits and all ....................

 

[Werner Scheepers]

come Mark where's the rest, makes for some good reading....................

 

[Just Blip It!]

a bit like this at Humani too (also in the conservancy), my brother grabbed a can of Doom, thinking he'll spray it into the lion's eyes the owners/managers must shake their heads at the "city people" haha

It was at Humani!

 

[Noneking]

It was at Humani!

This report is almost as slow as your riding…
Speed it up!

 

[Just Blip It!]

After hardly any sleep due to wildlife disruptions we were up early in time to watch a spectacular sunrise.

Everyone made it to an early breakfast in the lapa.

Leaving the lodge we crossed the Turgwe river where the first puncture of the trip occurred and 10km later the next one!

Corrugated sandy road!

We headed for Birchenough bridge to fill up and take in the spectacle of this magnificent bridge!

Crossing Birchenough bridge.

Thick Sand!

Crossing the bridge, we headed off road on a beautiful twisty dirt section that weaved its way along the Save river through the baobabs with an exceptionally sandy river bed section which became fun and games for some!

The "Tranny" battling for traction.

A well deserved rest and hydration stop.

We jumped on the tar for 40km climbing out of the lowveld heading past Chipinge. The vegetation changing from dry bushveld to tropical green mountainous conditions litterally within 10km. Temperatures dropped and the road twisted through the banana plantations. We turned onto a newly tared road with 100's of corners twisting uphill and down hill through rural villages and over clear mountain rivers. A beautiful road with stunning scenery. However you had to be wide awake as some of the corners were deceptively sharp with negative cambers that required hard braking and serious concentration. At the end of the tar section where the dirt started again, myself and Jaapster pulled up and waited for the other riders. After a longish wait we were about to head back to look for the other riders suspecting another puncture when Marc appeared. Disaster!! Bad news, we had a rider down on the tar! We rushed back the way we came expecting the worst but praying the whole way that the rider was okay. This road had no run off, if you got it wrong you were bound to be punished severely. Every corner had Armco barriers and huge drop offs! Arriving back at the crash sight I was relived to find Malcolm up on his feet and it almost looked like he was going to walk it off! (He's a very tough bugger!) His bike was looking worse for wear and a bit buckled and bent, but rideable. The other riders had already extricated the bike that was jammed between the Armco barrier and the tar. As luck would have it there was a small Hydroelectric plant around the corner from the accident sight and a chap by the name of Michael Cane ( a name I will never forget) that runs the plant heard the accident and came to assist.

Accident sight. The guys reassembling Malcolm's bike.

The accident had occurred on a 90 degree bend that was at the bottom of a long straight on a steep downhill. Malcolm had misjudged the corner on his 890R come in a bit hot applied his brakes and slid into the Armco barrier and he went over. Unfortunately, his bike was still in the offroad setting with ABS only active on the front wheel. The combination of the speed, no rear ABS and knobbly tyres lead to a very hard fall in a very remote section of Zimbabwe with the nearest hospital more than 200km away.

Michael Cane the local Zimbo that assisted Malcolm told us it was the 20th accident on the corner in 2 months and that there had been 7 fatalities on that corner already! He took Malcolm to their first aid room and tended to his visible injuries. Malcolm started to lose feeling in his left arm which was a major concern, Michael (who turned out to be an absolute angel) immediately loaded him in his bakkie and drove him to the clinic in Chipinge where Malcolm was referred to the hospital in Mutare. The ambulance cost would have been US$700 to get him the 200km to Mutare. Again Michael stepped in and drove him all the way to Mutare and the following day through to Harare to a better medical facilities. He even returned to the Hydro plant collected and loaded Malcoms bike and took it through to Harare! What a fantastic human being! The Zimbos are such good helpful caring people!

Marc volunteered to follow Malcolm to Chipinge to assist where possible. The rest of us continued on the route, the mood was sombre.

Malcolm on his way to Harare by bakkie.

Turns out Malcolm was really badly injured, 9 broken ribs, punctured lung, dislocated left shoulder, and 3 crushed vertebrae. He would spend 2 weeks in hospital in Harare and then was flown back to SA where he spent another 2 weeks in Milpark Clinic where they drained 3 liters of blood off his lung! . We are all extremely grateful that he is on his way to a full recovery. Tough guy that's for sure! Thank you to all the people who selflessly stepped in and assisted him especially Michael Cane!

The whole accident saga put a big damper on the spirits of all the riders. Never a nice experience. Thanks to Michael Cane we could continue riding whilst he sorted out and assisted Malcolm. My duty as the tour leader was to get the riders minds off the accident and get them back into the ride, no beter way than to throw them into a bit of an "opfok"! We hit a goat track from the valley up high into the montains of Tarka forest. This rough rocky little track climbs 650m in less than 5km!
Emerging at the top, the banana plantations gave way to timber plantations with spectacular views of the Chimanmani mountains.

Japie on his 890R, Chimanimani mountains in the distance.

We were running out of time due to the days events. I pushed the pace up a bit, the roads were extremely rough, rutted rocky and dusty, this was logging teritory. Then the inevitable happened........ "the Tranny" got a puncture! Another delay! 3rd puncture for the day!

Racing the sun I lead the group deep into the Chimanimani mountains to a a really special spot, Tessa's pool. A spot that cannot be missed, with the essential and obligated dip in it's cold waters. There is a bit of a hike down to the pool so everyone was keen to hit the icy cold waters and wash away the sweat and dust of the day's ride!

The beautiful Tessa's pool!

The sun was starting to set as we hiked back up to the bikes.

We arrived in the small town of Chimanimani as the sun was setting. We met Marc coming into town from Chipinge where he had accompanied Malcolm to the clinic and seen him off to Mutare. Perfect timing!

Chimanimani, Zimbabwe. Formerly Melsetter, Rhodesia. My home town, I grew up here in this lovely town perched in the mountains of the eastern highlands. My Dad was a saw-miller and managed Charter Sawmill. I grew up here during the bush war, a rough but exciting time for a young boy. Its where I first started riding bikes, starting off on the forestry bikes, Yamaha AG175. The love for riding and exploring the bush, mountains and forests was instilled in me right here from a young age!

Chimanimani was founded by the brothers Thomas Moodie and Dunbar Moodie in 1892. In 1895 it was moved to its current site and was officially called Melsetter after Moodie's family home in Orkney in Scotland. Following Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, the name of the town was changed to Mandidzudzure, in 1982. However, after consultation with the population, the name was changed to Chimanimani.

The 1982 national census estimated the population of the town at 1,370. In 2004, the population of Chimanimani was estimated at 2,752. Most of the inhabitants of Chimanimani are of Ndau origin.

 

[Sheepman]

Great report in progress The information on the rural towns and landmarks of Zimbabwe is very interesting. The scenery is stunning.

 

[0012]

Again Michael stepped in and drove him all the way to Mutare and the following day through to Harare to a better medical facilities. He even returned to the Hydro plant collected and loaded Malcoms bike and took it through to Harare!

Wow! what a legend!
Malcolm sounds tough as nails with that long list of bodily damage.

Thanks for the report and awesome pics, what a ride

 

[mulmi]

What a ride.