On the way back to Hazyview we ducked into KNP for a wee drive rougnd. In the Kruger proper you have to stay on the tarmac, but there's still plenty to see- hippos, Jackals, hyenas and some close up ellies


Back at the Rissington we spent a very enjoyable evening with the owner and some of his friends. The two young lads are English and were on their gap year. One had just finished at Sherbourne (posh private school) and the other had just left Harrow (super posh private school) I still managed to beat them to solving a puzzle on the bar, so one up to Egglescliffe Comprehensive, HA!
Chris, the owner (striped shirt with the money) was educated at Charterhouse (or Winchester, I forget), and I was beginning to get an inferiority complex. Fortunately I was also quite drunk (thanks to Humphrey, the smooth talking devil on the right) by the time I took this photo so I wasn't dwelling on my less glamorous education. Chris writes extensively for newspapers especially regarding Mpumalanga and is very knowlegable about the area.

The next day we ditched (not literally) the horrible Hyundai back at Nelspriut airport and jumped back on the bike for Swaziland.
We were going to get into Swaziland via Barberton, but the road was apparently in very poor condition, so instead we opted for the Jeppe's Reef border post. On the way there from Nelspruit we took a dirt road shortcut from the N4 through Kaalrug. Beautiful run but muddy in places. The border was easy and we climbed up towards Pigg's Peak.
We stopped for lunch at a nice cafe with a view, but the girl who served us did some creative accounting with our bill. Naughty. Could have argued, but couldn't be bothered. Must be relaxed:evil

Swaziland is lush and there seemed to be plenty of logging activity going on. This is a lake created by a large dam on the way to the capital Mbabane.

Swazis are a very good looking people- cool dudes and sassy gals abound.

This is Xolile who looked after us at our overnight in the Foresters Arms near Mbabane. The 'X' is actually a click. Nice name, charming young lady. The Forester's is a hoot- great atmosphere and food.

A little local enterprise...

And some not so local... Pulp mill. Jobs and pollution. Horse and carriage.

We left Swaziland at the Sicunuza crossing and took the dirt road to Piet Retief. This was actually in better shape than the tarmac alternative which was full of potholes.
Gassed up in PR. I was pretty sure I was getting great mileage as most of that last few days was taken at around 80kph. How about 352km for 16.85 litres. Is that nearly 59 imp MPG. Someone help me here.

We were on our way now to the Zulu battlefields and Rorke's Drift.

Faith writ large

Dundee

Ha! No problemo! Rorke's Drift Lodge. Unusual... They had a psycho chef there who didn't seem to mind telling us how he slapped his girfriend around if she got 'out of line' and the manager/guide was a very intense bloke who yelled at his dogs a lot. We were glad only to be staying one night- another couple were there for longer and looked a bit desperate. Pity, cos it's in a nice spot. This will all have changed by now I'm sure.

Nice view over the battlefields from the deck at Rorke's Drift Lodge. We were there two days before the anniversary.

The rebuilt mission building at Rorke's Drift.

Memorials to the fallen on both sides. I read a history of the battle and watched the movie again before we came out. The movie is pretty accurate - guess Mel Gibson wasn't involved :-)


After finishing our tour of RD, we headed off towards our next stop in the Drakensburg mountains. Unfortunately the weather deteriorated somewhat. Is that a tinted visor? Yes it is.


Pomeroy (?) was somewhat damp.


The rain was pretty relentless. We were mighty glad to get to Giant's Castle in the Drakensburg. There it is, in the mist. Funny thing, last time I was here (in about 1973) the weather was the same Main difference from then is that we were constantly pestered by kids in rags in '73 wanting sweets or whatever, now all the kids are wearing smart school uniforms - there seemed to be schools everywhere- so that has got to be a change for the better.

Nice place to stay

Useful woodburning stove in our rondavel.

The next day conditions on the road weren't good for a bike fitted with Bridgestone DeathWings. That wet clay was
slippy We were due to try the Sani Pass, but I doubted by now that it could be done.

Bridgestone DeathWings. Useless on tarmac (I've got a set on mine at home) useless on mud. What I would have given for a set of TKCs!

If only this tarmac went for more than 100m in either direction.

Gassed up in Himeville and took a deep breath. I was pretty sure I could do the Sani Pass in the dry, but it really didn't look good today. Also it had taken us too long to get from Giant's Castle to Himeville because of the slippery roads. But...heading up the Sani Pass. This is OK!

Yep. definitely can do this...

Hmm, not looking so good.

Front Anakee looks reasonably OK, gonna try a set on my bike.

Looks real bad- at least two up on a big ol' bus like the GS with rotten tyres. Two guys on KLRs tonked past while we were considering our options- they looked comfortable. Can you believe I dropped the bike in a car park turning round (sorry guys), not in this? Luck, not skill I can tell you..
