1510 DT final

A quick scenic tar route took us to the town
of Mokopane for a lunch at one of the famous
South African Steak houses. No Hurry In
Africa! More than two hours for a light lunch…
Back on the bikes and out through town, the
surroundings start changing, the country
became very dry and almost desert like. The
tar roads are excellent all the way to the
quaint African town of Total Nobody. We even
saw signs to Bolivia guesthouse, we were
concerned that we were a little bit lost…
After a while we started to climb, past the
largest church in South Africa – The ZCC
village outside Total Nobody, again the world
changes, suddenly the world goes green huge
plantations and alpine like mountains with
glorious sweeping mountain passes. Due to
water shortages, our hotel has changed – and
our GPS got us lost. Tried to turn us into gravel
roads into the forests and by now the sun is
starting to set… Quick pow-wow among the
guides – if all else fails ask directions…
Back on the correct route, we cut through
the town of Tzaneen and back up into the
mountains, beautiful roads, but quite badly
potholed, so you need to keep your eyes wide
open. Soon the welcoming lights of the hotel
are in the distance… 7pm we arrive – what a
day! What a ride.
DAY 3
Baobab trees, Boats and Baboons…
The day started early because we had a lot of
distance to cover. The route took us from our
hotel into some stunningly beautiful mountain
passes. The day was sunny and warm, the
views coming through the mountains around
Tzaneen, breath taking. After a refuel at the
Sasol garage (Sasol is South Africa’s local
petrol manufacturer), we took off for our lunch
stop in the Blyde River Canyon.
The ride was one of contrasts, through
poorer rural areas into verdant farmlands
and eventually, game reserves all along the
roads for as far as the eye can see. Everyone
was amazed to see the huge electric fences
that are erected round the farms to keep the
animals in – and poachers out.
A two-hour ride saw us enter the stunning
mountains of the Drakensberg (Dragons
teeth). Swadini is a nature reserve in the
Blyde canyon. The Blyde River runs through
the canyon, which is the third largest canyon
in the world, after the Grand in the USA and
the Fish River also in South Africa. We spent
a leisurely hour floating along the river in a
barge, checking out the Hippo’s and listening
V
th
Ba
•
•
•
w
SU
F
So
•
52 OCTOBER 2015
1510 DT Givi tour.indd 52 2015/09/18 10:53 PM