Pongola, Swaziland and Nelspruit

Saturday, 21 February 2009 12:17 Last Updated on Wednesday, 18 March 2009 17:30 Written by Billy van Graan

When I woke up this morning my back was much better but not 100%. We ate some leftovers of the previous evening’s braai and made our way to the border after saying our goodbyes to Loenen. On our way to the border I stopped to get something for my back.

Once through on the Swaziland side we were back on the dirt. We did a bit of tar and then again tons of dirt. I set my GPS to keep us on the smaller roads. These in Swaziland are the dirt roads. I managed to get us a bit lost and when I looked to the GPS for guidance it claimed that we weren’t even on a road. With some help from the locals we managed to get back on track. But all this was taking longer than thought.

After a long day of driving loads of small dirt roads across Swaziland we managed to make the border at around 5:30pm. The next objective was to get to Nelspruit as quick as possible to catch the rugby. We raced the 90km to Nelspruit and once there I consulted the GPS for the nearest pub. We went to the Cock & Bull if I remember the name correctly. We got out own corner inside with enough space to put all our luggage.  Rugby, beers, pizzas and smiles all around.

After the game we asked some locals where we could find a camping spot but no one seemed to know. Then a guy and a girl told us they know of a backpackers that is cheap and they will show us where it is. We had a couple of drinks with them at the backpacker’s bar. The barmen said we can camp in the garden if we like and it would be cheaper than getting dorm beds. After the drinks we were so tired and lazy we just slept outside on a ground sheet.

Sodwana, Sibaya to Pongola

Friday, 20 February 2009 12:15 Last Updated on Thursday, 12 March 2009 18:40 Written by Billy van Graan

We woke up very tired from the little sleep we managed to get in. I had a relentless hangover and thirst and when the others got up I drove to the shop to get us some juice and water after having my second shower for the trip (I was starting to smell very bad).

After packing up it was time for the Sibaya road which from the start I thought was going to be the most challenging since I’ve been on this road a couple of times before and know how soft the sand is. We left Sodwana without having breakfast.

Once on the Sibaya road I was not disappointed with the road. The sand was very soft and made going difficult, but fun none the less. A couple of kilometers I sat waiting for Lance and Neil and saw them far down the road. Then they buzzed me on the walkie talkie and said they didn’t want to go any further. They are going to slow, the bikes are overheating and they want to turn back and drive to Pongola on the asphalt road. Disappointed that they give up so easily, I decided to carry on by myself. This was after all why I (obviously not them) came all this way.

I had to be especially careful since I was alone now and didn’t want to risk having to pick up my bike on my own if I let it fall. The road narrowed so that only one car could fit on it. Then a guy with an old beaten up pickup came from behind and hooted at me because he wanted to pass. I tried to move so he could squeeze past but in doing so I went into thick sand and my bike dropped.  The guy just looked at me as he drove past not offering to help me get my bike back up.

I then managed to lift the bike back up with all my luggage still on top of the bike with relative ease and I was quite relieved. That was till I turned to get back on the bike and I could feel a muscle in my back tense really hard. I stood still for a while waiting for the muscle to relax but it only got worse. Not long and I was in serious pain. I decided I was too close to Sibaya to turn back and I simply just had to go on and once I get to the gate I can take some tables for the pain.

The pain started to get really bad and I had to hold my breath sometimes till the pain passed. At this point the road became much worse than the previous sections (a pity my back was sore because I would have really enjoyed this section otherwise). Once I reached Sibaya I stopped at the gate but was unable to get off my bike by myself. The guard at the game and a friend helped me off and I sat next to my bike for a while. I asked them for some water and took off my jacket. By now it was blazing hot and I was completely soaked in sweat.

The guard could see I was in pain and he helped me take off my bag from the back of the bike and get some pain tablets out of them. I took two and told them I would wait a while for them to kick in. The guard and his friend offered to get someone to come and fetch me and take me to a nearby hospital (about 50km away). I declined but was very thankful that these guys were so willing to help.

Lake Sibaya is inside a nature reserve and no motorbikes are allowed inside the park so I had to turn back and take the same road I came on. I got on my bike and started my painful journey back to the asphalt road. It took me much longer on the way back since I had to stop a couple of times and rest my back. I really couldn’t afford to drop my bike again because I would have never been able to pick it up in the state I was in.

Once I made it back to the asphalt I then had another 200km to drive to get back to Loenen’s house in Pongola. I also opted for the asphalt route rather than take the shorter dirt route we rode in on the previous day. The first 90km to a small town called Hluhluwe was a constant battle to stay awake. I think the pain killers on my empty stomach were the cause of my sleepiness. If it wasn’t for the extreme pain in my back I might just have fallen asleep on my bike.

In Hluhluwe I stopped at a garage with a Steers and hot myself a burger and a coke. I still couldn’t stand up straight but could at least get on and off my bike by myself. When I walked into the shop hunched over with my hand on my knees the staff couldn’t help stare. After the burger I felt a lot better and the sleepiness wasn’t so bad anymore. I knocked the last 100km off as fast as I could and when I arrived at Loenen’s house I got him to take me to the doctor almost straight away.

After getting an Voltaren injection on my bum we met up with Lance and Neil at the grocery store after they got buzzed me on the walkie talkie. We went back to Loenen’s house where I spent some time on my back and later than evening my back was already much better again. We watched the rugby, braaied and I went to bed early to rest for the next day’s fun.

Although I hurt my back this was still one of the days I enjoyed the most out of the whole trip. It was an adventure for me and I have no regrets not turning back before Sibaya.

Pongola to Sodwana

Thursday, 19 February 2009 12:14 Last Updated on Thursday, 19 March 2009 11:38 Written by Billy van Graan

From Pongola we drove to Jozini where we stopped to fill up and get water and eat something before the dirt road to Sodwana. This was the hottest day for the trip for sure and wearing a bike jacket wasn’t a pleasant experience.

Jozini Dam - Click to Enlarge

The dirt road was lots of fun but the road surface was rock hard and every couple of meters there would be a huge bolder sticking out of the road which meant you had to keep your speed relatively low. Then after about 40 km of the hard the soft sand started.  I let Neil and Lance go in front so I can see when to help if a bike has fallen over which never happened but there was a couple of close calls. To my disappointment a big stretch of this road has been tarred since the last time I’ve been there so the sandy stuff didn’t last that long.

We drove to Sodwana Liquor store and sat on the steps in front of the shop and had a beer. Lance bought a bottle and a half of brandy and we booked ourselves into the campsite. Once inside our campsite Lance and Neil had a bit of a duel. They threw sand at each other using their bikes back tires but Lance was aiming skew and Neil covered Lance and his bike in sand.

We then went down to the beach where I went to jog while Neil and Lance cracked open the half jack of brandy. While jogging down the beach a huge cloud came rolling in from the south which almost looked like a huge wave or alien ship.  When I got back to Neil and Lance I had my share of the brandy and was very quickly feeling the effects.

When we got on our bikes Neil’s bike didn’t want to start so we ended up pushing it up and down a couple of times to get it started. Then Lance got lost in the campsite (sigh) but after a while we heard him driving around and I went to fetch him. When he was looking for us he fell with his bike in thick sand. We then jumped straight on to the big bottle of brandy and started a fire. We got drunk and talked the usual shit.

Neil and I passed out next to the fire. When Neil woke up Lance was hiding in the dark from the mosquitoes. We moved to the tent with all our luggage still in it. Lance decided to sleep outside but then later couldn’t handle all the insects and animals around and also got into the tent.  With three of us and all our luggage it was not comfortable at all. Lance couldn’t shut up and on top of that it started raining and we had to put up the rain cover.  Needless to say we didn’t get to much sleep.

Cloud at Sodwana Bay - Click to Enlarge

Golden Gate to Pongola

Wednesday, 18 February 2009 12:12 Last Updated on Monday, 09 March 2009 13:37 Written by Billy van Graan

Somehow I managed to calculate the days wrong and with the days calculated wrong this was supposed to be our longest day for the trip. We were heading for Sodwana Bay but our chances making it quickly disappeared when we took nearly 2 hours to fix our bikes (replacing the bolts that fell out of the 2 Kawasaki’s in Lesotho) in Harrysmit.

We rode through areas of South Africa I have never seen.  Between Vryheid and Pongola there are some really beautiful hills and everything is very green. I loved riding here. We stopped near Louwsburg to fill up with petrol and a break and discussed our option. Still under the impression we where one day short I suggested we stay with Loenen the night in Pongola since we won’t make Sodwana Bay in daylight. Then the next day we wake up really early and do Sodwana Bay and Lake Sibaya in one day. They were not happy with the idea and reckoned the roads are too bad and the time too little. In our little discussion the word “impossible” even came out. I didn’t know how to respond to that. I wanted to laugh and I wanted to cry. Instead I did nothing and decided if they don’t want to give it a try I’ll go about it alone and they can sit and wait at Loenen’s house.

On our last stretch to Pongola we stopped for a quick photo and I noticed a huge bolt lying in the frame of Lance’s bike. We couldn’t immediately locate the spot where this bolt came from but judging by it size this was definitely an important one.  

Once we arrived at Loenen we realized we had an extra day so we could go ahead with our planned schedule to Sodwana without having to try and cram too much into one day. Lance spent most of the evening fixing his bike and tightening all the bolts and screws on his bike. While doing this he noticed 3 bolts missing from the engine, which made the total count of 5 bolts.

Sani Pass, Lesotho to Golden Gate

Tuesday, 17 February 2009 11:54 Last Updated on Tuesday, 24 February 2009 20:43 Written by Billy van Graan

Finally the real fun was about to start!

We woke up early because we knew it was going to be a long day. We skipped breakfast packed up camp and were on the road towards the Sani Pass. It started off slow and wasn't very steep at first but this quickly changed. At the bottom of the pass there was quite a few stream going over the road. We all managed to get our shoes soaking wet again. There is almost no way you can cross these streams and many pools of water without getting wet so after a while we stopped trying to lift our feet.

The South African border is at the bottom of the pass and the Lesotho border is at the top and in between the border posts is the main stretch of the pass which I think is about 8-10km long. We passed the South African border and got on the trickier parts of the pass. It was loads of fun and the views where getting better the higher we went. We drove up high enough to be above the clouds.

The last section of the pass is quite tricky and you need a 4x4 (or a bike) to be able to go up the pass. We let Neil drive in front so I didn't have to keep waiting for him or to wonder where he was all the time. As we came around a bend we saw Neil's bike on the ground but luckily nothing serious. We went around the corner and the bike went down but he couldn't hold it. Neil's bike - a BMW F650 - is much heavier than my and lances' Kawasaki KLR 650's. We helped him pick up the bike and off I went on the next section. I went up a rough stretch and lost speed. Once standing still I had to fight not rolling back down the pass. Even with the breaks in the bike was still going backwards. It was hard getting the bike moving again on the loose rocks at such a steep angle. I had to stand over the bike and walk with it pushing it forward until it got enough grip to go again. I was relieved to get up to the next section where I could park the bike and get off. This was really a lot of fun.

I told Lance and Neil to take the other section of the road and they manage to get up that stretch just fine. Neil went up in front again and once more he dropped his bike, this time on a much more tricky section. I carried on past him until a found a place where I could park and take off again easily then I ran down to help him lift his bike. When he tried getting his bike to go again he had the same problem I had a little earlier. The bike just won’t grip. Lance came up to help as well. Meantime a couple of 4x4's arrived on their way down the pass. They found us quite amusing trying to get the bike to go again. With some pushing and pulling we got the bike going again.

Once at the top we went through the Lesotho border straight to the "Highest Pub in Africa” which is at the top of the Sani Pass. We each grabbed a beer and sat outside and enjoyed the view.

Then it was off through Lesotho. The roads where still dirt but in much better condition than the Sani Pass so it all went relatively quickly. Neil dropped his bike again, this time a little off the side of the road and me and Lance had to help him get it back up and onto the road.  Amazingly for all the times Neil dropped his bike it had very little damage. When the road turned to asphalt again we quickly wished we were back on the dirt. The roads in Lesotho are in extremely bad condition  with potholes everywhere. You dodge one and hit two. The bikes took a lot of his and Lance and I both lost a bolt in exactly the same position from our bikes. Riding these bad roads took a lot of time.

I like Lesotho because it is different from the rest of South Africa although it’s completely surrounded by it. There are some places and mountains in Lesotho that are really beautiful.

Once out of Lesotho we decided to camp in the nearby in the Golden Gate Nature reserve. We fist stopped at Clarens and had something to eat, our first real meal for the day.  We only arrived at the Golden Gate campsite after dark and where immediately terrorized by mosquitoes.