Botswananananaa!

[wino]

great trip, stooges!

[letsgofishing]

Just got round to reading your report now - awesome trip LS! Really enjoyed reading about you adventure - got to get to Botswana sometime soon!. Thanks again.

[bud500]

Top Notch trip and report!!

Please keep us updated on the shock issue.

If possible, could you give us an idea of what you packed for the trip? 

[LuckyStriker]

If possible, could you give us an idea of what you packed for the trip? 

No news from the western front aka. BMW dealer
Sure thing:

Food & drink
1x CupNoodle (unused)
3x Vacuum bagged John West Tuna (unused)
1x Bull Brand bully beef
750ml OBS
750ml Bells whiskey
500ml Boxed red whine

Bike gear
Helmet
Rider suit
Suit thermal liners
Boots
Gloves
Inner gloves
Wilddog buff
Ear plugs

Camping & emergency gear
North Face 3-man tent
ThermalComfort inflatable mattress
+2 CampMaster sleeping bag
Small camping pillow
Army tarpaulin
3m rope
First aid kit (several items)

Clothes
4x Long-sleeved shirts
2x t-shirts
1x shorts
1x jeans
4x underpants (1 pair unused)
8x socks (1 pair unused)
1x comfortable shoes

Cutlery & toiletries
2 plastic plates
1 metal/enamel cup
1 pikstel (Fork/knife/spoon/can opener)
Toothbrush & toothpaste
Deodorant
Soap
Mini travel towel
Small hair brush (unused)
Zambuck lip balm

Tools
Standard BMW toolkit
Shifting
Ratchet and a few sockets
Torx set
Four popular size allen keys
Pliers (unused)
Cable ties (unused)
Small roll of duct tape (unused)
Tubeless plug set and CO2 canisters
Tubeless tyre valves (unused)
Tow strap (unused)

Electrics/electronics/entertainment
iPod & portable speakers
iPod car-charger
Lead acid Batteries AA + AAA (unused)
Petzl headlight
Camera - compact
Camera - SLR & 10-22mm wide angle, 80-200 zoom, 35mm fixed lens
Camera battery chargers (unused)
Camera tripod
Cellular phone
Cellular phone car-charger

Documentation & Finance
Passport
Driverâ??s licence
Medical Aid card (unused)
Copy of bike registration papers (unused)
Exit letter from financier (unused)
Exit letter from insurer (unused)
P1800 bank notes

Butch and Kaboef took some other stuff like cooking pots, playing cards, dominoes and who knows what else...
I always pack too much clothes. Next time I'm going to half it

[growweblaar]

Het nou baie lekker gelees, LS. Great report!

10. Roaming Animal Hazards
...
The donkey are the more stupid of the lot.

Does anyone know why on earth there are so many donkeys in Botswana?

I always pack too much clothes. Next time I'm going to half it

So only 2x underpants then?

[DARTH VADER]

apart from the 3 places you mentioned there is some other lesser know places which is well worth visiting if you like sand riding :drosky's caves is 180 km west of the small town TSAO on a single track of sand and thorns ,right up to the namibian border and is reputed to be one of the deepest caves in the world in the remotest part of southern africa hardly visited by anyone -- to get there is an epic of note and secondly tsodilo hills where you will find 3500 rock paintings of breathtaking beauty. i visited both (on bikes) and on the way back we even attempted to cross the okavango delta from GUMARE TO MAUN right through the buffalo fence and via jeep and animal tracks.there were or is no maps indicating the paths and we navigated via the sun and our general sence of direction.eventually we were defeated by the upteenth river crossing and the elefants(at least 40) blocking our way.it was incredible.

[Goedi]

hi guys,

nice report, and beautiful pictures.
first we check out this nice forum.

greetings from the two german bikers,

gerd & gerd
www.vonBnachA.de

[Mark Hardy]

Once again a stunning report, pity you did not come down to Gaborone, can show you some really nice sand tracks and excellent watering holes

[Vonkprop]

Excellent report !!

What was the eventual outcome with the broken shock ??

[Trackz]

Newbie here. I notice you had some very different luggage carriers. If would be great to know what you used. I notice the KTM just carried some big bags tied down with no particular carrier mounts - how did this work? Also, I notice some bottles tied/mounted on the back of the panniers ... what is this about? Sorry for the dumb questions.

[LuckyStriker]

Excellent report !!

What was the eventual outcome with the broken shock ??

Thanks

The shock was replaced under warranty last week
It was a leaky seal just as I suspected - I complained about the lack of available parts in South Africa but was once again given the old excuse: There is no need to stock those parts locally because there simply is no demand... (the official stance is that BMW motorcycles don't ever break down. Their blind attitude is embarassing)

[LuckyStriker]

Newbie here. I notice you had some very different luggage carriers. If would be great to know what you used. I notice the KTM just carried some big bags tied down with no particular carrier mounts - how did this work? Also, I notice some bottles tied/mounted on the back of the panniers ... what is this about? Sorry for the dumb questions.

Hi there

The luggage system is by Touratech (See the sponsor logo at the top right of this page)
I prefer the touratech system to the BMW panniers becaue they are cheaper, easier to repair and they are also lighter.

The KTM has a large luggage plate over the tail light that allows extra large bag to be loaded. I believe Butch used rubber bungees to secure the bag to his bike.
The disadvantage of a bag is that the bike is a little top-heavy, whereas the panniers keeps the weight low down. but obviously boxes ad extra weight on their own.

The bottles are for extra water when we decide to bush camp and there are no ficilities. We would need the water for cooking, washing and mix for our whiskey. The bottles can also be used to carry extra fuel but that ruins the chance to ever carry water in them again.

[Ama ride ride]

Excellent report !!

What was the eventual outcome with the broken shock ??

Thanks

The shock was replaced under warranty last week
It was a leaky seal just as I suspected - I complained about the lack of available parts in South Africa but was once again given the old excuse: There is no need to stock those parts locally because there simply is no demand... (the official stance is that BMW motorcycles don't ever break down. Their blind attitude is embarassing)

Ok they dont break down but what about the many accidents etc?

[LuckyStriker]

Ok they dont break down but what about the many accidents etc?

Good point... unfortunately clients have argued with BMW for I don't know how many years now. And still they don't keep adequate stock in South Africa (excluding tings like mirrors and indicators of course)

[Captain Zef]

That sounds like a nice trip.

I would like to do something similar in the future

LS great trip...

Generaal.... ek kom saam.... 

[Trackz]

Thank you kindly.

[Kev]

LS, you NEED to do more trips... or rather more to the point, you need to WRITE MORE ride reports. They are good! Very enjoyable... thanks you three!