Patrick wrote me a 6-page recollection of the incident many years ago. I'll be publishing it, and the stories I've had recorded since 2006, soon.
He said they left Oshigambo in a rush, Lionel (De Lema, I think from listening to his recollections) was in front, lifting the tracker. He couldn't remember if the tracker was Kevin O'Neill or Sergeant "Rooibaard". (That may have been another Swanepoel, a tracker PF sergeant we worked with at Spes in 1982). Patrick was 2nd out of the gate, Swannie was behind him, then Johan le Roux, then CP Nell, Olwage and ??
Shortly after leaving the gate Swannie passed Patrick, then signalled slow down/spread out, Johan le Roux was up his (P's) arse.
I never went near Oshigambo, so don't know the landmarks, but he talked about the Delta pipeline close by and the "bus route". They were turning onto the bus route when Swannie overshot the corner, went onto a parallel track and hit the mine.
Re. the weight: if I remember right, it took around 220 kg to set off a cheese mine. It didn't seem like a bike could set it off, until you start adding up the numbers.
The 1979/80 XR 500 "bigwheel" weighs 135 kg wet, according to spec sheets. The extra "protection" the SADF welded onto it, probably 15 or 20 kg. The fucking steel bash plate alone was probably 10 kg. Rider, say 80 kg, plus R4, seven full magazines, grenades, flares, food, water, tools, Swannie probably carried an A53 VHF radio........adds up to easily over 250 or 260 kg total weight.
In 1982 a Platoon 11 oke rode over the edge of a cheese mine, crossing the cutline one day and popped it out of the sand like a frisbee on a beach. It wasn't his turn that day. We had a saying, "jou beurt is jou beurt" haha........... We had many close calls with mines in 1982, I used up two of my 9 lives that way. Wasn't my turn, either.
Time flies, whether you're having fun or not.
Cheers