Ama ride ride
Grey Hound
Lekker RR and pics. :thumleft:
Zimbabwe's doors are open (THE STORY IS COMPLETE....PHEW!!)
- Thread starter Adventurer
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Orangeswifty
Race Dog
:thumleft:
Baie ouens wat gedink het dis 'n hoax!
:imaposer: :imaposer: :imaposer: :imaposer: :imaposer: :imaposer: :imaposer:
Baie ouens wat gedink het dis 'n hoax!
:imaposer: :imaposer: :imaposer: :imaposer: :imaposer: :imaposer: :imaposer:
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Day 7 Chinoyo Caves to Mutari.
After breakfast we left for Mutare, it was bitterly cold, Debs took strain not having heated grips but soldiered on bravely.
We had planned to take a ring road around Harare but on arrival we decided to gap it directly through town, it was Friday and town was busy, what impressed me was the amount of embassy’s, virtually every road going off the main road had an embassy.
We cleared town and headed towards Marondera, our next fuel stop. We refueled right outside a Spar Superstore that was as stocked as any Spar you care to name in SA, Zimbabwe is definitely on the up and up.
We found a coffee shop just outside town where we warmed up on coffee and a snack, then left town towards Mutare, not far out of town was Mr policeman with his laser gun…$10-00 later and no receipt we were on our way, Robs first ‘speeding offence’ of the trip…I swear he was doing the speed limit, but it is fruitless to argue.
Our next warm-up stop was Rusape, the Crocodile Motel, testimony to how cold it gets here was a roaring fire in the pub, manned by a very friendly barman who claimed to have won ‘Barman of the Year’ a few years ago.
From here it was a short haul to Mutare, vegetation now gave way to enormous rock outcrops seemingly from volcanic eruptions millions of years ago, we were gaining altitude all the time, we had to stop at the Christmas Pass Hotel, Rob was on a mission, apparently he fell into a longdrop here when he was 2 years old, he was scared for life..The longdrop had long since been covered up and was now a swimming pool change room.
From here it was down Christmas Pass into Mutare, quite a busy town, and out the other side to our lodgings for the next two nights, White Horse Inn.(www.whitehorseinn.co.zn)
We arrived mid afternoon, time for a few beers before dinner, the White Horse Inn boasts the finest cuisine in the Eastern Highlands, myself and Rob could bear testament to that, we ate so much that night we could hardly walk, the food was that delicious, we just had to eat it all, we made complete pigs of ourselves.
Thereafter we retired to the lounge where another fire was roaring away, and chatted until we could no more, then off to bed, we were bushed, a great day’s ride through ever changing scenery, meeting more and more Zimbabweans as we went along, every one of them upbeat about the economy of the country, the cherry on top was the Bvumba Valley, this place gives Mpumalanga a good run for it’s money when it comes to scenery and winding roads…tomorrow we were going to Troutbeck Inn and the Honde Valley….
Day 8, Mutare/Troutbeck Inn / Mutare
Today was essentially a rest day, after a scrumptious breakfast we left for Troutbeck Inn, our first detour was into the Honde Valley where there are quite a few tea plantations still operational, the scenery is breathtaking as are the roads, every corner opens up a new view into the valley, unfortunately due to a lack of time we could not explore the entire region.
Back on the main road we headed north, the winding roads are addictive, as is the view; this area makes Mpumalanga look silly, we finally arrived at Troutbeck Inn in the Nyanga mountains after climbing over 1000 metres in 100 odd kilometers, the higher we got the colder it was, now I understood why the Inn has a lobby fireplace that has been burning since the hotel was opened in the mid fifties….we parked off on the verandah overlooking the golf course and pigged out on tea and scones, as one does at such a fine establishment..
Our next destination was World View, found down a 3km dirt track, and what a view….on a clear day you can see Mozambique, apparently the sea as well.
From here we stopped in at Rhodes Hotel, Carol wanted to see the Rhodes Museum, quite a basic museum, but nevertheless very interesting..
I chatted to some guys outside who were repairing their Toyota Stallion gearbox, the front wheels were off and the disc calipers were missing, brake pipes tied off, I asked about the lack of front brakes…no problem, they said, the back brakes work….and we all know how crap drum brakes are on a bakkie…
We hightailed it for Mutare, we still wanted to visit the Vumba Botanical Gardens, Debbie was lusting after tea again…Rob wasn’t feeling well so he headed back to The White Horse Inn, the 3 of us went looking for the Gardens, The road to these Gardens was unreal, a tree canopy with a twisting road so tight you almost expect to see your taillights in front of you..
We found the Botanical Gardens, but unfortunately the tea garden ‘is not functioning’ according to the security lady…ah well , it was a lekker ride anyway. We headed back for our hotel, directly into the setting sun, viva DS helmets with peaks….VIVA!
That evening we ate dinner at a more relaxed pace, the pain of overindulging the previous night still fresh in our memories. Another night spent chatting next to the fireplace….good people, good riding, good country, life is grand!
After breakfast we left for Mutare, it was bitterly cold, Debs took strain not having heated grips but soldiered on bravely.
We had planned to take a ring road around Harare but on arrival we decided to gap it directly through town, it was Friday and town was busy, what impressed me was the amount of embassy’s, virtually every road going off the main road had an embassy.
We cleared town and headed towards Marondera, our next fuel stop. We refueled right outside a Spar Superstore that was as stocked as any Spar you care to name in SA, Zimbabwe is definitely on the up and up.
We found a coffee shop just outside town where we warmed up on coffee and a snack, then left town towards Mutare, not far out of town was Mr policeman with his laser gun…$10-00 later and no receipt we were on our way, Robs first ‘speeding offence’ of the trip…I swear he was doing the speed limit, but it is fruitless to argue.
Our next warm-up stop was Rusape, the Crocodile Motel, testimony to how cold it gets here was a roaring fire in the pub, manned by a very friendly barman who claimed to have won ‘Barman of the Year’ a few years ago.
From here it was a short haul to Mutare, vegetation now gave way to enormous rock outcrops seemingly from volcanic eruptions millions of years ago, we were gaining altitude all the time, we had to stop at the Christmas Pass Hotel, Rob was on a mission, apparently he fell into a longdrop here when he was 2 years old, he was scared for life..The longdrop had long since been covered up and was now a swimming pool change room.
From here it was down Christmas Pass into Mutare, quite a busy town, and out the other side to our lodgings for the next two nights, White Horse Inn.(www.whitehorseinn.co.zn)
We arrived mid afternoon, time for a few beers before dinner, the White Horse Inn boasts the finest cuisine in the Eastern Highlands, myself and Rob could bear testament to that, we ate so much that night we could hardly walk, the food was that delicious, we just had to eat it all, we made complete pigs of ourselves.
Thereafter we retired to the lounge where another fire was roaring away, and chatted until we could no more, then off to bed, we were bushed, a great day’s ride through ever changing scenery, meeting more and more Zimbabweans as we went along, every one of them upbeat about the economy of the country, the cherry on top was the Bvumba Valley, this place gives Mpumalanga a good run for it’s money when it comes to scenery and winding roads…tomorrow we were going to Troutbeck Inn and the Honde Valley….
Day 8, Mutare/Troutbeck Inn / Mutare
Today was essentially a rest day, after a scrumptious breakfast we left for Troutbeck Inn, our first detour was into the Honde Valley where there are quite a few tea plantations still operational, the scenery is breathtaking as are the roads, every corner opens up a new view into the valley, unfortunately due to a lack of time we could not explore the entire region.
Back on the main road we headed north, the winding roads are addictive, as is the view; this area makes Mpumalanga look silly, we finally arrived at Troutbeck Inn in the Nyanga mountains after climbing over 1000 metres in 100 odd kilometers, the higher we got the colder it was, now I understood why the Inn has a lobby fireplace that has been burning since the hotel was opened in the mid fifties….we parked off on the verandah overlooking the golf course and pigged out on tea and scones, as one does at such a fine establishment..
Our next destination was World View, found down a 3km dirt track, and what a view….on a clear day you can see Mozambique, apparently the sea as well.
From here we stopped in at Rhodes Hotel, Carol wanted to see the Rhodes Museum, quite a basic museum, but nevertheless very interesting..
I chatted to some guys outside who were repairing their Toyota Stallion gearbox, the front wheels were off and the disc calipers were missing, brake pipes tied off, I asked about the lack of front brakes…no problem, they said, the back brakes work….and we all know how crap drum brakes are on a bakkie…
We hightailed it for Mutare, we still wanted to visit the Vumba Botanical Gardens, Debbie was lusting after tea again…Rob wasn’t feeling well so he headed back to The White Horse Inn, the 3 of us went looking for the Gardens, The road to these Gardens was unreal, a tree canopy with a twisting road so tight you almost expect to see your taillights in front of you..
We found the Botanical Gardens, but unfortunately the tea garden ‘is not functioning’ according to the security lady…ah well , it was a lekker ride anyway. We headed back for our hotel, directly into the setting sun, viva DS helmets with peaks….VIVA!
That evening we ate dinner at a more relaxed pace, the pain of overindulging the previous night still fresh in our memories. Another night spent chatting next to the fireplace….good people, good riding, good country, life is grand!
faniesmith
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Yet Another place I shall have to go and see. Thanks for sharing. :thumleft: I am quite jealous! ;D
Awesome pics - brings back many good memories!
Great stuff Adventurer - more please ;D
Schnelga
Pack Dog
Kick myself for not making a plan to come along.
Zim seems spectacular!
Zim seems spectacular!
JACOVV
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domstes said:
:ricky:
Adventurer
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Day 9 Mutare to Lake Kyle
After another delicious breakfast at the White Horse Inn we bade farewell to the owner, David Graham, Gift and the rest of the staff and departed for Lake Kyle (Mutirikwe), we had been warned that there would be a lot of police blocks because of the recent diamond rush, we were also warned that anyone next to the road showing the sign of the diamond with his hands was either a diamond thief or the Zimbabwe Secret Service, both were to be avoided and ignored, there were in fact a lot of police blocks, but all were friendly and courteous.
At some stage a guy on a BMW 1150 GS with Limpopo plates buzzed past us with not so much as a waved hand, totally rude in my books, especially on foreign soil! We reached the Birchenough Bridge without incident, and marveled at this feat of engineering, it was built by Sir Henry Birchenough in 1935; it was also an experiment for a much longer bridge that was later built in Sydney Harbour, Australia.
En route to the turnoff to Lake Kyle we stopped in at some remote town in search of fuel, no Zesa (power) but we can pour five litre…..five litre…at this point Rob was offered some treebug, a delicacy in these parts, much to the local’s entertainment, he actually ate it!
This garage was a potential Chernobyl, they were decanting fuel from larger drums into 5L containers in a closed room, one match and they would have blown the place sky-high. Anyway, we had our fuel, Rob had his snack, we quickly found the turnoff to Lake Kyle, dirt at last, but it was short lived, we arrived at the dam wall all too soon.
While Carol took pictures of the wall I bought jewelry from a local trader, a kid was selling the same stuff I had just bought, the tears welled up in his dark eyes, he needed money to go to school, so, more jewelry was bought…..
We soon found Norma Jeane’s Lake View Chalets, cell number 263 712 889887, an ideal stopover if you ever visit the Zimbabwe Ruins. We paid USD100.00 for an 8 sleeper house, bargain!
After a late lunch we went in search of the Ruins, accidently stopping in at The Lodge at the Ancient City, a lavish lodge designed along the lines of the Ruins, an amazing place, unfortunately a bit to rich for my blood, USD 160 per couple…..
We found the Zimbabwe Ruins and spent the next 2 hours touring the place, an absolute MUST if you’re in the area, it’s amazing how this place was built by hand hundreds of years ago.
We left just after dark, Debbie and Carol visited the Upper Ruins, myself and Rob decided to wait for the pictures. Back at Norma Jeane’s we feasted again at their restaurant, then lit a fire outside our ‘house’, and parked off reminiscing about our wonderful trip so far.
Day 10, Lake Kyle to Lion & Elephant Motel
Today we had some dirt roads to ride, we had been given this route by Just-Blip-It, the dirt roads led us to Renco Mine, very different scenery, wild bush interspersed by numerous settlements, what these people live on I don’t know, very remote.
The roads were shocking, good for dual sport bikes, but shocking for cars, goats walked next to the road in places, it was easier, Debbie was in her element, her dusty grin every time we stopped proved this. Back on tar at Ngundu we headed towards Lion And Elephant Motel, and our last night in Zimbabwe, just after being fleeced by more police, this time we were speeding, but not as fast as they claimed, we stopped off at this huge Boabab tree, hollow inside.
A quick photo session and we were on our way, arriving at the Motel in time for a late lunch and sundowners.
There we met an amazing couple, dairy farmers from the Chimanimani area, a new slang word was learn…’point’…lekker/nice in our language, we had dinner with them, the stories they told had us in fits of laughter, ever been victimized by a parrot?....You had to be there…
Day 11, Lion & Elephant Motel to home.
With heavy hearts we rode out of the Lion and Elephant Motel, today was our last day in Zimbabwe, we had come here with no expectations, with trepidation about how the police would treat us, happy with the fact that we were most welcome everywhere we went, and that this country is on the up and up, the whites are still pissed off because they were cleaned out by the government, the blacks are positive about the future, they’ve all battled and been hungry, but they’ve survived and see a brighter future.
These thoughts were brought to a crashing halt at Beit Bridge, Carol was taking picture as usual from the pillion seat, but only of the transport vehicles laden with cars just outside the actual border post, she was spotted by a low life excuse for a human being, how he saw the camera with one eye amazed me, the other eye was not functional, encased in a damaged scared face, this led me to wonder how he lost his eye, and later I wished I could have removed the other….After lots of argy-bargy between the border official, this vulture disguised as a human, and one or two other scam artists we cleared the Zimbabwe side, after learning ‘to speak the right language’….school fees…..Lesson learnt…DON’T EVER TAKE PICTURES OF BEIT BRIDGE!! Google it, you’ll see how severe it can be…
The day was not lost though; we arrived at the SA immigration counter and were welcomed back by this ever so friendly customs official, Rob was almost in tears, we have NEVER received such a welcome before….
After refueling in Musina we headed home, the day’s excitement was not over though; my KTM started spluttering again, we limped to Louis Trichardt where I changed the fuel filters again, first in Namibia, now just after Zimbabwe, this issue needs to be addressed, KTM!!!!
From here on it was an easy ride, we arrived home after dark, the last few kilometers in heavy rush hour traffic…..welcome back to the rat race!
Will I go back to Zimbabwe, absolutely! It is a wonderful country with wonderful people, everything is available, the doors are truly open!
A big thanks to Carol who endured the KTM pillion seat again, took over 3000 photos, chundered alongside me on the ferry, to Rob, my riding buddy and good friend, and to Debbie, this was your first trip with us, it was great to have you as part of the team. I look forward to the next adventure……
:ricky: :ricky: :ricky: :ricky: :ricky: :ricky: :ricky: :ricky: :ricky:
After another delicious breakfast at the White Horse Inn we bade farewell to the owner, David Graham, Gift and the rest of the staff and departed for Lake Kyle (Mutirikwe), we had been warned that there would be a lot of police blocks because of the recent diamond rush, we were also warned that anyone next to the road showing the sign of the diamond with his hands was either a diamond thief or the Zimbabwe Secret Service, both were to be avoided and ignored, there were in fact a lot of police blocks, but all were friendly and courteous.
At some stage a guy on a BMW 1150 GS with Limpopo plates buzzed past us with not so much as a waved hand, totally rude in my books, especially on foreign soil! We reached the Birchenough Bridge without incident, and marveled at this feat of engineering, it was built by Sir Henry Birchenough in 1935; it was also an experiment for a much longer bridge that was later built in Sydney Harbour, Australia.
En route to the turnoff to Lake Kyle we stopped in at some remote town in search of fuel, no Zesa (power) but we can pour five litre…..five litre…at this point Rob was offered some treebug, a delicacy in these parts, much to the local’s entertainment, he actually ate it!
This garage was a potential Chernobyl, they were decanting fuel from larger drums into 5L containers in a closed room, one match and they would have blown the place sky-high. Anyway, we had our fuel, Rob had his snack, we quickly found the turnoff to Lake Kyle, dirt at last, but it was short lived, we arrived at the dam wall all too soon.
While Carol took pictures of the wall I bought jewelry from a local trader, a kid was selling the same stuff I had just bought, the tears welled up in his dark eyes, he needed money to go to school, so, more jewelry was bought…..
We soon found Norma Jeane’s Lake View Chalets, cell number 263 712 889887, an ideal stopover if you ever visit the Zimbabwe Ruins. We paid USD100.00 for an 8 sleeper house, bargain!
After a late lunch we went in search of the Ruins, accidently stopping in at The Lodge at the Ancient City, a lavish lodge designed along the lines of the Ruins, an amazing place, unfortunately a bit to rich for my blood, USD 160 per couple…..
We found the Zimbabwe Ruins and spent the next 2 hours touring the place, an absolute MUST if you’re in the area, it’s amazing how this place was built by hand hundreds of years ago.
We left just after dark, Debbie and Carol visited the Upper Ruins, myself and Rob decided to wait for the pictures. Back at Norma Jeane’s we feasted again at their restaurant, then lit a fire outside our ‘house’, and parked off reminiscing about our wonderful trip so far.
Day 10, Lake Kyle to Lion & Elephant Motel
Today we had some dirt roads to ride, we had been given this route by Just-Blip-It, the dirt roads led us to Renco Mine, very different scenery, wild bush interspersed by numerous settlements, what these people live on I don’t know, very remote.
The roads were shocking, good for dual sport bikes, but shocking for cars, goats walked next to the road in places, it was easier, Debbie was in her element, her dusty grin every time we stopped proved this. Back on tar at Ngundu we headed towards Lion And Elephant Motel, and our last night in Zimbabwe, just after being fleeced by more police, this time we were speeding, but not as fast as they claimed, we stopped off at this huge Boabab tree, hollow inside.
A quick photo session and we were on our way, arriving at the Motel in time for a late lunch and sundowners.
There we met an amazing couple, dairy farmers from the Chimanimani area, a new slang word was learn…’point’…lekker/nice in our language, we had dinner with them, the stories they told had us in fits of laughter, ever been victimized by a parrot?....You had to be there…
Day 11, Lion & Elephant Motel to home.
With heavy hearts we rode out of the Lion and Elephant Motel, today was our last day in Zimbabwe, we had come here with no expectations, with trepidation about how the police would treat us, happy with the fact that we were most welcome everywhere we went, and that this country is on the up and up, the whites are still pissed off because they were cleaned out by the government, the blacks are positive about the future, they’ve all battled and been hungry, but they’ve survived and see a brighter future.
These thoughts were brought to a crashing halt at Beit Bridge, Carol was taking picture as usual from the pillion seat, but only of the transport vehicles laden with cars just outside the actual border post, she was spotted by a low life excuse for a human being, how he saw the camera with one eye amazed me, the other eye was not functional, encased in a damaged scared face, this led me to wonder how he lost his eye, and later I wished I could have removed the other….After lots of argy-bargy between the border official, this vulture disguised as a human, and one or two other scam artists we cleared the Zimbabwe side, after learning ‘to speak the right language’….school fees…..Lesson learnt…DON’T EVER TAKE PICTURES OF BEIT BRIDGE!! Google it, you’ll see how severe it can be…
The day was not lost though; we arrived at the SA immigration counter and were welcomed back by this ever so friendly customs official, Rob was almost in tears, we have NEVER received such a welcome before….
After refueling in Musina we headed home, the day’s excitement was not over though; my KTM started spluttering again, we limped to Louis Trichardt where I changed the fuel filters again, first in Namibia, now just after Zimbabwe, this issue needs to be addressed, KTM!!!!
From here on it was an easy ride, we arrived home after dark, the last few kilometers in heavy rush hour traffic…..welcome back to the rat race!
Will I go back to Zimbabwe, absolutely! It is a wonderful country with wonderful people, everything is available, the doors are truly open!
A big thanks to Carol who endured the KTM pillion seat again, took over 3000 photos, chundered alongside me on the ferry, to Rob, my riding buddy and good friend, and to Debbie, this was your first trip with us, it was great to have you as part of the team. I look forward to the next adventure……
:ricky: :ricky: :ricky: :ricky: :ricky: :ricky: :ricky: :ricky: :ricky:
Piston Pete
Teach Peace
Great RR and a good read! :thumleft: Thanks for sharing ;D
Thanks for sharing! :thumleft:
GlenInk (R.I.P)
Race Dog
Excellent :thumleft:
bmad
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Awesome stuff Adventurer :thumleft:
I look forward to doing something similar, Zim really does look like a great riding destination.
Thanks for sharing :biggrin:
I look forward to doing something similar, Zim really does look like a great riding destination.
Thanks for sharing :biggrin:
Awesome trip Adventurer!
Thanks for the effort
Thanks for the effort
Nyala
Pack Dog
A great ride report - it makes me feel homesick!
Adventurer, if your fuel filters need changing more often, aren't they doing their job of cleaning the fuel, especially after refuelling from a can after being in a drum. In my opinion, better to change filters than other spendy bits.
Adventurer, if your fuel filters need changing more often, aren't they doing their job of cleaning the fuel, especially after refuelling from a can after being in a drum. In my opinion, better to change filters than other spendy bits.
Adventurer
Gentleman Dog
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Nyala said:
Agreed, they are catching the dirt, but after 8000km they are blocked....Rob rode the same roads, filled at the same places, on the Namibia and Zimbabwe trip, and he's done a trip to Malawi, all on the same filters, fitted last November. I have taken this up with KTM SA, waiting for a response.
Rokie
Race Dog
worth the wait :thumleft:
faniesmith
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Debbie, Please tell me you did not have TWO sets of riding pants...
Oi oi oi. You can take a girl out of the city...!
Oi oi oi. You can take a girl out of the city...!
nreyneke
Race Dog
vrek naais !!! :thumleft:
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