3 African Countries - 4 Day Solo - RSA, Mozambique and Swaziland

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

cono

Pack Dog
Joined
Mar 29, 2007
Messages
335
Reaction score
0
Location
JHB South
Bike
BMW R1200GS
This relates to the LDBA and my own Recce down to Macaneta, Mozambique.
Hey, I did the Prawn Run, I did it my way, the only way know, on a BMW 1200 GS.

Now ...... If you guys and girls do not yet know, the only reason, Rieks, rides a KTM, is because I bought it for her. Yep, she always remembers me as her Sugar Daddy.  :3some: Sounds like a exciting story on its way ... wat dink jy  :biggrin: :lol8:

I bought Rieks BMW 1200 GS and she had plenty of change to get that other fun machine. She was busy planning the 1st LDBA and i promised to be on the ride. Alas, with a busy life I lead ... you know, gardening on Saturday and Sundays, taking the wife off to the shops, etc, etc......i never got on the ride. Damn ... did i lose out on a big discount and an even bigger trip of a life time?
But, then this year, I decided i will be doing the LDBA ..... so I rode up to Nelspruit to spend the evening with Rieks. You see when i took over her BMW, I promised to return her specialized "Rieks" number plate. Started up my BMWobbleU, Rieks old bike and took it for a ride, to show her I have kept it all new and shinny like the day she gave it to me.

Arrived Nelspruit from Johannesburg ...ok...along the winding and lekker tar roads, late ...very late afternoon, as the sun was dropping behind some rain clouds, which I was chasing to get under. Luckily, i got to Rieks all dry  >:D OK...perhaps i did pee a little in my pants, as there was no time to stop along the road. Apparently, they lied in that movie about those old dudes who rode across America. Never ever stopped for a pee. I did stop at Milly's (Machado Dorp) for a great Trout Pie and coffee. ......so I am an El Cheap Ou, ... coffee comes for free only if you buy a Trout Pie.

Rieks was more excited to see her old bike than she was to see me. I guess it was expected. And then I did it....I kissed her on the cheek and handed her the old number plate. Score.   :thumleft:  I kept one promise since meeting Rika, almost a year later. Hey... I am a man of my word. Needless to say, the lady got me up into her bedroom  :3some:  ... where I left my bags, in my owm room ....." wat dink jy", went downstairs to a moerse big steak, she was going to feed to me. She did a braai with a couple of wet ones, to sooth the parched throat. I felt like a cowboy, arriving back at the ranch after riding a couple of 100 km's. My gat was sore ... it was a entire days ride. Lekker meal and we got busy.

Anyway, had a great night's rest, after Rika plotted my GPS, doubled checked my paper work, kept reminding me how to deal with Border Control, how to swop Rands to Metical and how to do what, how much, etc, etc. Hey...this old boy was on his way to Mozambique on a solo 4 day trip. Why, because he can and there were roads, not yet travelled.

Seeing as I really want to be on the next LDBA, I was doing a practise run. Now, if this old fart, could make it there and back in one stuk, anyone can do it. Since pawning my old KLR650, I now had the right wheels and needed to test it to see if I can cross Africa. (Add to bucket list) - not done Lee Soen Toe, maar sal nog.

Spent most of the next day riding around Nelspruit .... looking for a battery for my video cam. Struths ...... Johannesburg never had one, but found the elusive battery at Vision 2000, in Nelspruit. The guys there, were fantastic and bent over backwards to run through their stock until they found the last battery. I was now ready, for my Border Crossing at Lebombo.
What a great ride to the Border and then I fell down right in front of the Wimpy and Chemist at Komatipoort. Forgot to put my foot down when stopping and bike fell over with me. At least that gave the locals a good laugh. hey .... I really enjoy falling ... you just gotta keep practicing to pick up a heavy loaded bike. When you are on your own, there is no-one there to help pick up a bike for you. Check, test passed .. ready for the trip. Sat in the Wimpy rather long, while I charged up my new video cam battery, so I could start taking pics and video. And we all know, a ride report is not a ride report with outs pictures. OK.. did run out of memory as I forgot to delete old stuff from the video cam.
I found my first off road route ... donner the GPS took me over a bridge covered in water and a gravel road of a couple of meters, threw me out at the filling station and couple of hundred meters from the Border Post. Next thing, a moerse lot of woman started to run towards me with piles of cash in their hands. I kaked myself ... ok, just farted and then started to haggle about the exchange rates, etc. Ended up buying R500.00 worth of Metical ( Mozambique Currency), which worked out to be MZN 1,700.00. (https://coinmill.com/MZN_ZAR.html - link takes you to a great Currency Exchange Rate Conversion Calculator.)

Anyway, i had a "last meal" at Wimpy, which would not give me a runny nose, I was expecting across the Border. I was ready for that mysterious Mozambique I have always heard about. It was exciting knowing, that after a night a Rieks place, she taught me everything, (Ok, I never done the dishes ....but hey, what are woman for  ::)) I learnt about foreign cash, border control etiquette and how to deal with the Police, etc, etc. I had all the confidence to take on Mozambique with my new found knowledge.   :3some:

 
Top