- Joined
- Jan 24, 2006
- Messages
- 5,159
- Reaction score
- 345
- Location
- Brakpan, South Africa
- Bike
- BMW R1200GS HP2
A bad day in the saddle beats a good day in the office. These thoughts spilled through my mind as I was battling a fierce wind trying to blow me and my bike off the road. In my rear view mirror I could see Excalibur wasnâ??t doing any better, him weighing 75kg (thatâ??s with an erection â?? regular weight is 68kg) was really battling to keep the big bike on the road but doing a splendid job.
As per usual I am getting carried away, so let me start from the beginning. Regular readers here must have noticed that I have a real liking for the Swazi rally, yea I know revving bikes isnâ??t really my cup of tea either, but the added bonus of riding in Swaziland is a definite bonus.
Excalibur, Derick, Keith, Hoervoer and myself were going to meet at the Shell Ultra City between Witbank and Middelburg at 9am Friday morning and from there we would take the road past Amsterdam, enter Swaziland at Nerston and from there we would split as Excalibur and Keith had to meet some of their customers in Manzini, while Derek and I was going to explore new roads less travelled. Hoervoer never pitched, so by 9.30 we hit the road. Some where else in SA Crazyporra and Kie were following a gravel road but we would meet in Sidvokodvu.
We made our regular stop at the butchery 8 km outside Amsterdam enroute to Lothair for some quality meat and by 11am we were at the border post.
Very quiet at Nerston, we were the only people there.
About 5 kmâ??s into Swaziland we split and Derek and I explored the roads less travelled. Fantastic scenery awaited us, although the area is fairly dry this time of year.
The roads were in excellent condition and we manager a favourable pace.
Soon we were in the mood for a shebeen, but all these kids had to offer was the need for some sweets. Fortunately this roadside shop owner (the large lady in white) had some lollipops, so we bought all the sweets she had, lotsa happiness all around and off we went, still in need for a beer.
Our next stop was this shop that displayed a regular shop look-alike, but needless to say, no beer.
Another river crossing, this time with some water. Aint she a beat, against a magnificent backdrop? Surely the best bike money can buy for my riding style and the type of riding I do.
When we arrived at the camp site, Excalibur and Keith had already pitched their tents, and we soon had a cold on in hand to celebrate a good days riding!
Not long after, Crazyporra, KTVroom and Il Deuce (members of the Pielkoppe bike club) arrived and we spend a good few hours talking k@k, grilling some meat and just exchanging tales of places and peoples weâ??ve visited, seen or wanted to see.
That evening we were entertained by a few girls who were really enjoying the heat of the moment, although I must add the one had a scar from a hernia operation from her navel all the way to the left of her anus. It really rectum image. Saturday morning a few weary eyes were observed, but after a good few laughs we were ready for a good days ride. Crazyporra, KTVroom and Il Deuce were heading for Badplaas, so we said our good byes and hit the road. We clapped it along a good gravel road to Siphofaneni where we enjoyed a cold one and bough more kids some more sweets.
Excalibur, Keith and Derek â?? three toppies and great riding mates.
A good place to stop and enjoy some local is lekker
All in high spirits after sweets were handed out and smiles were smiled.
Derek taking his GSA across a riverâ?¦..
Followed by Keith on his (seriously) blingâ??ed machine
Excalibur bringing up the rear. Hell this man enjoys the dust. I though he was sick, he was so pale. Turned out he was just dirty. Sif sakkie will be his new name from here on
Our antics took us to a town called Siteki in the mid east section of Swaziland where sign posts to a local B&B led us to this spot. Excalibur, please post the name, I have forgotten. This Afrikaans speaking lady will host you in one of the chalets with this view for R200 pppn a night. She also has backpackerâ??s type accommodation for R80 pppn. Unfortunately they donâ??t sell beer.
Excalibur re-paying the lady for her hospitality by peeing on her lawn. Real hooligan.
We ended up at the Siteki hotel where we did find beer and some food. They served us a 700gram rump steak â?? I havenâ??t eaten since. We left Cinicidi, the bar lady a huge tip to buy batteries for her power tool
From here we rode on a plateau on top of the Lebombo Mountains till we finally went rode down into the soaring heat (37 degrees) and lotsa sugar cane plantations.
Hereâ??s Keith admiring the crop
The area has lotsa water and one is frequently advised to be aware of hippoâ??s and crocks.
The dam seemed to cool things a bit down, but not much. Lovely roads.
Beware of flat dogsâ?¦.
Another sign, another warning
Not a bad stretch of road
We arrived at Big Bend where they have a sugar plantation. Although it was Saturday afternoon, the mill was in full production.
Looking back at the way we came
Business is booming in Swaziland
We managed to make our way back to Siphofaneni, but this time opted to take the road less travelled on the northern side if the Lusutfu river. Many moons ago this must have been a railroad maintenance road, but that was long ago! I had serious dejavu of the GS challenge red route at Moolmanshoek (Day 3) but for me this section was the pick of the day
Keith needed some serious cooling down â?? hard work for the toppies
No ride in Swaziland would be complete without some serious river crossing and sand riding. Fortunately no spills â?? guess there is no replacement for experience.
Excalibur demonstrating the fine art for hitting shallow water at speed in 3rd with the weight off the front wheel.
We arrived back at the campsite at 4.30pm only to find the rest of the rally go-ers in a fair state of intoxication. That night was rather uneventful â?? they had male strippers for the ladies, so we hit the sack straight after the lucky draw. Sunday morning we hit the road north to Piggs Peak, lovely twisty section in a fairly good state, while the King of Swaziland was having the reed dance ceremony. During this ceremony his scouts have selected 1000â??s of young virgins that dance naked in front of him and he then picks his Top 20 by Friday next and his next wife (No 11) by Sunday. Imagine 6000 naked virgins all wanting to impress you â?? must be a helluva life
Bridge over the Komati river
The Komati river looks more like a dam here.
Another view of the river
From Piggs Peak we took the road to Bulembu, a scenic route twisting through some forest with signs of a forgotten colonial era. This old house probably belonged to some plantation keeper 30 years or more ago.
Bulembu is a forgotten town where homeless people seemed to have settled in the 1000â??s of empty houses. Heavens know what they do for a living
Well I guess some of them mown the lawn, but generally not a helluva lot seems to happen here
Honey was covered in a fine red pinkâ??ish dust.
Lotsa empty houses decorate the hillsides. Any homeless personâ??s dream come true
Once back in SA we turned south towards Badplaas on a mountain pass that has to rate as one of the most scenic out there, unfortunately some fucker has burnt it to smithereens, so really not a beautiful as it could be, but I recon in the rainy season well worth a visit.
The SA side of the Komati river
Wonder if this local still appreciated the beauty?
We had breakfast at this spot across the BP garage in Badplaas. Although they donâ??t serve alcohol (yet), their food is real value for money.
The rest of the route was k@k, we were riding with a wind that was trying to blow us off the road, but by 2pm we were at Que Sera ready to see a fine display of psychological warfare by Rossi sending Stoner to his pitts early looking for comfort in the arms of his young wife.
Another Swazi rally, and a good bitta riding except for the last section in the wind. Thanks to all who joined, Crazyporra was nice meeting with you okes, Il Deuce and KTVroom â?? have known you for ages, just never knew you resided in this mad house.
Good lluck to the King on selecting No 11. Lucky baastid.
See you all at the Marico bash? :ricky:
As per usual I am getting carried away, so let me start from the beginning. Regular readers here must have noticed that I have a real liking for the Swazi rally, yea I know revving bikes isnâ??t really my cup of tea either, but the added bonus of riding in Swaziland is a definite bonus.
Excalibur, Derick, Keith, Hoervoer and myself were going to meet at the Shell Ultra City between Witbank and Middelburg at 9am Friday morning and from there we would take the road past Amsterdam, enter Swaziland at Nerston and from there we would split as Excalibur and Keith had to meet some of their customers in Manzini, while Derek and I was going to explore new roads less travelled. Hoervoer never pitched, so by 9.30 we hit the road. Some where else in SA Crazyporra and Kie were following a gravel road but we would meet in Sidvokodvu.
We made our regular stop at the butchery 8 km outside Amsterdam enroute to Lothair for some quality meat and by 11am we were at the border post.
Very quiet at Nerston, we were the only people there.
About 5 kmâ??s into Swaziland we split and Derek and I explored the roads less travelled. Fantastic scenery awaited us, although the area is fairly dry this time of year.
The roads were in excellent condition and we manager a favourable pace.
Soon we were in the mood for a shebeen, but all these kids had to offer was the need for some sweets. Fortunately this roadside shop owner (the large lady in white) had some lollipops, so we bought all the sweets she had, lotsa happiness all around and off we went, still in need for a beer.
Our next stop was this shop that displayed a regular shop look-alike, but needless to say, no beer.
Another river crossing, this time with some water. Aint she a beat, against a magnificent backdrop? Surely the best bike money can buy for my riding style and the type of riding I do.
When we arrived at the camp site, Excalibur and Keith had already pitched their tents, and we soon had a cold on in hand to celebrate a good days riding!
Not long after, Crazyporra, KTVroom and Il Deuce (members of the Pielkoppe bike club) arrived and we spend a good few hours talking k@k, grilling some meat and just exchanging tales of places and peoples weâ??ve visited, seen or wanted to see.
That evening we were entertained by a few girls who were really enjoying the heat of the moment, although I must add the one had a scar from a hernia operation from her navel all the way to the left of her anus. It really rectum image. Saturday morning a few weary eyes were observed, but after a good few laughs we were ready for a good days ride. Crazyporra, KTVroom and Il Deuce were heading for Badplaas, so we said our good byes and hit the road. We clapped it along a good gravel road to Siphofaneni where we enjoyed a cold one and bough more kids some more sweets.
Excalibur, Keith and Derek â?? three toppies and great riding mates.
A good place to stop and enjoy some local is lekker
All in high spirits after sweets were handed out and smiles were smiled.
Derek taking his GSA across a riverâ?¦..
Followed by Keith on his (seriously) blingâ??ed machine
Excalibur bringing up the rear. Hell this man enjoys the dust. I though he was sick, he was so pale. Turned out he was just dirty. Sif sakkie will be his new name from here on
Our antics took us to a town called Siteki in the mid east section of Swaziland where sign posts to a local B&B led us to this spot. Excalibur, please post the name, I have forgotten. This Afrikaans speaking lady will host you in one of the chalets with this view for R200 pppn a night. She also has backpackerâ??s type accommodation for R80 pppn. Unfortunately they donâ??t sell beer.
Excalibur re-paying the lady for her hospitality by peeing on her lawn. Real hooligan.
We ended up at the Siteki hotel where we did find beer and some food. They served us a 700gram rump steak â?? I havenâ??t eaten since. We left Cinicidi, the bar lady a huge tip to buy batteries for her power tool
From here we rode on a plateau on top of the Lebombo Mountains till we finally went rode down into the soaring heat (37 degrees) and lotsa sugar cane plantations.
Hereâ??s Keith admiring the crop
The area has lotsa water and one is frequently advised to be aware of hippoâ??s and crocks.
The dam seemed to cool things a bit down, but not much. Lovely roads.
Beware of flat dogsâ?¦.
Another sign, another warning
Not a bad stretch of road
We arrived at Big Bend where they have a sugar plantation. Although it was Saturday afternoon, the mill was in full production.
Looking back at the way we came
Business is booming in Swaziland
We managed to make our way back to Siphofaneni, but this time opted to take the road less travelled on the northern side if the Lusutfu river. Many moons ago this must have been a railroad maintenance road, but that was long ago! I had serious dejavu of the GS challenge red route at Moolmanshoek (Day 3) but for me this section was the pick of the day
Keith needed some serious cooling down â?? hard work for the toppies
No ride in Swaziland would be complete without some serious river crossing and sand riding. Fortunately no spills â?? guess there is no replacement for experience.
Excalibur demonstrating the fine art for hitting shallow water at speed in 3rd with the weight off the front wheel.
We arrived back at the campsite at 4.30pm only to find the rest of the rally go-ers in a fair state of intoxication. That night was rather uneventful â?? they had male strippers for the ladies, so we hit the sack straight after the lucky draw. Sunday morning we hit the road north to Piggs Peak, lovely twisty section in a fairly good state, while the King of Swaziland was having the reed dance ceremony. During this ceremony his scouts have selected 1000â??s of young virgins that dance naked in front of him and he then picks his Top 20 by Friday next and his next wife (No 11) by Sunday. Imagine 6000 naked virgins all wanting to impress you â?? must be a helluva life
Bridge over the Komati river
The Komati river looks more like a dam here.
Another view of the river
From Piggs Peak we took the road to Bulembu, a scenic route twisting through some forest with signs of a forgotten colonial era. This old house probably belonged to some plantation keeper 30 years or more ago.
Bulembu is a forgotten town where homeless people seemed to have settled in the 1000â??s of empty houses. Heavens know what they do for a living
Well I guess some of them mown the lawn, but generally not a helluva lot seems to happen here
Honey was covered in a fine red pinkâ??ish dust.
Lotsa empty houses decorate the hillsides. Any homeless personâ??s dream come true
Once back in SA we turned south towards Badplaas on a mountain pass that has to rate as one of the most scenic out there, unfortunately some fucker has burnt it to smithereens, so really not a beautiful as it could be, but I recon in the rainy season well worth a visit.
The SA side of the Komati river
Wonder if this local still appreciated the beauty?
We had breakfast at this spot across the BP garage in Badplaas. Although they donâ??t serve alcohol (yet), their food is real value for money.
The rest of the route was k@k, we were riding with a wind that was trying to blow us off the road, but by 2pm we were at Que Sera ready to see a fine display of psychological warfare by Rossi sending Stoner to his pitts early looking for comfort in the arms of his young wife.
Another Swazi rally, and a good bitta riding except for the last section in the wind. Thanks to all who joined, Crazyporra was nice meeting with you okes, Il Deuce and KTVroom â?? have known you for ages, just never knew you resided in this mad house.
Good lluck to the King on selecting No 11. Lucky baastid.
See you all at the Marico bash? :ricky:
