Expeditions / Trips Triple D Dairy / Updates Sodwana, Sibaya to Pongola
Friday, 20 February 2009 12:15 Last Updated on Thursday, 12 March 2009 18:40
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.
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