Down the uMkomaas river

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Joined
Mar 26, 2016
Messages
238
Reaction score
14
Location
Hilton, KwaZulu Natal
Bike
KTM 1290 Super Adventure
An overview of the trip can be found here, with a map, as well as the picture locations.

https://adventures.garmin.com/en-US/by/2468103/umkomaas-river-adventure-ride/#overview

Starting from Hilton,  we turned off to  Sweetwater’s,  just past Cowan House, on Knoll Drive, just opposite Wicken Way  this was where we hit our first dirt, and, as the dawn was only just breaking , it was fitting that the journey was just beginning! We did not have to travel far to begin our adventures! After around 2km of traveling along flat  dirt roads we turned east, i.e. heading towards the sea, and thus down the escarpment and into the valley that is the greater Pmb area. We have just had a week of really heavy rains, and the soil is waterlogged. Only well drained  dirt roads are passable, and , mostly, the roads are well made. However, as we turned down a road on the edge of the escarpment, heading to the valley I noticed that Jimmie had stopped, he was in the lead, knowing this particular route down to the Taylors Halt road. I rode up to Jimmie and encounter the same thick mud. The road had been dug up, and the soil had been put back, but not yet compacted, nor gravelled. On top of this, cows had been on the road, and the thousands of hoof prints were like little dams. Moreover, this was the thick red clay that prevails in the area, and it had rain the previous night, so the road was one big, slushy mess! We were about 10m into the quagmire and, as  gravity was on our side , the only choice was down! Going up was NOT an option! It was simply impossible! With the only way being  down,  Jimmie left the other bike (no stand needed to keep it upright, the deep channel the wheels had cut kept it perfectly upright), and came across to help me. Between myself, Jimmie, and Nikki pushing we managed to push the motorcycle, slipping and spinning the 100 or so meters to firmer ground, where I parked, and went back up to help Jimmie get going!! If the day stared like this, how much more where we in for??
 

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