bertrand
Race Dog
Swazi: Riding fit for a King
Date: 19-22 December 2009
Planned Distance: 970km
Actual Distance: +-1200m
Planning
The whole adventure started with me looking for a DS trip to join because my leave was due to start a couple of days before my wife's. I wanted to do a trip before we went down to the coast on our annual holiday. Quite a few suggestions were offered on the forum and Swaziland seemed to be a common one. Quite a few people seemed keen to go for a ride through the Kingdom.
It was decided that Swaziland it would be and the dates were fixed. Accommodation would be backpackers lodges to be able to travel light and cheap. At first it seemed that some of the guys were familiar with Swazi and would be able to guide us on the trip. Soon however the guys familiar with the Kingdom withdrew one after the other due to other commitments. It ended with only three of us going. None of us have ridden bikes in Swaziland before. I was the only one who have been there and only for two days for work near Mbabane.
Using a few suggestions from the forum and Mapsource I put together a draft version of the route. Day one would be Alberton to Bulembu riding as many dirt roads as possible for a total of 382km. Day two would be 110km that get us from Bulembu to Hawane via the Maguga dam. The third day would be nice and relaxed with only 84km from Hawane to Malkerns doing as much dirt as possible. The route coming back on the fourth day would be 390km mostly on tar.
In theory all seemed good and we were ready for a good road trip :ricky: . The saying goes: In theory, theory and practice are the same, but in practice they are not. We were to prove this once again over the course of this trip.
See the planning and draft map here: https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=40940.0
I also made a splash in the mud three days before we were set to leave. For no apparent reason I just dropped the bike in a bit of mud ;D This was during the Touratech ride. Luckily I could replace the broken mirror and battery (another long story) before the trip.
Touratech ride report: https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=42286.0
Youtube video of me losing the plot (you can click through on the Youtube logo to get to the HD version): Fall in the Mud - Touratech Ride
Day 1 with the first of the photos to follow...
Date: 19-22 December 2009
Planned Distance: 970km
Actual Distance: +-1200m
Planning
The whole adventure started with me looking for a DS trip to join because my leave was due to start a couple of days before my wife's. I wanted to do a trip before we went down to the coast on our annual holiday. Quite a few suggestions were offered on the forum and Swaziland seemed to be a common one. Quite a few people seemed keen to go for a ride through the Kingdom.
It was decided that Swaziland it would be and the dates were fixed. Accommodation would be backpackers lodges to be able to travel light and cheap. At first it seemed that some of the guys were familiar with Swazi and would be able to guide us on the trip. Soon however the guys familiar with the Kingdom withdrew one after the other due to other commitments. It ended with only three of us going. None of us have ridden bikes in Swaziland before. I was the only one who have been there and only for two days for work near Mbabane.
Using a few suggestions from the forum and Mapsource I put together a draft version of the route. Day one would be Alberton to Bulembu riding as many dirt roads as possible for a total of 382km. Day two would be 110km that get us from Bulembu to Hawane via the Maguga dam. The third day would be nice and relaxed with only 84km from Hawane to Malkerns doing as much dirt as possible. The route coming back on the fourth day would be 390km mostly on tar.
In theory all seemed good and we were ready for a good road trip :ricky: . The saying goes: In theory, theory and practice are the same, but in practice they are not. We were to prove this once again over the course of this trip.
See the planning and draft map here: https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=40940.0
I also made a splash in the mud three days before we were set to leave. For no apparent reason I just dropped the bike in a bit of mud ;D This was during the Touratech ride. Luckily I could replace the broken mirror and battery (another long story) before the trip.
Touratech ride report: https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=42286.0
Youtube video of me losing the plot (you can click through on the Youtube logo to get to the HD version): Fall in the Mud - Touratech Ride
Day 1 with the first of the photos to follow...
