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ADVENTURE<br />
ADVENTURE BIKING AT<br />
OPPIDAM.<br />
AN MPUMALANGA GEM<br />
Mpumalanga’s rolling green hills and<br />
winding roads are my favourite riding<br />
ground, so when Rassie Schoeman<br />
invited me and a few friends to recce<br />
his new resort on Vygeboom Dam<br />
near Badplaas, I grabbed my phone<br />
and started dialing. Within minutes<br />
riding stalwarts Rodger Gannaway and<br />
Arne Herz had signed on, whereafter<br />
Frans Havinga agreed to represent the<br />
BMW Central Region Motorrad Club.<br />
They’re always looking for new places<br />
to visit, so Frans’s role was to evaluate<br />
Oppidam’s potential for his club.<br />
An early Friday morning exit through<br />
Springs and on to Devon, then Leandra<br />
saw us riding past huge fields of<br />
cosmos, before we reached the coal<br />
and power station belt near Kriel. Here<br />
we deflated our tyres for the dirt and<br />
potholed tarmac to come. Fortunately<br />
cool morning air kept the sand firm,<br />
not fluffy, so we arrived in Carolina<br />
unscathed, but in serious need of a<br />
protein and sucrose top-up. Messrs<br />
Wimpy and Coca Cola soon sorted<br />
that out, after which we toured happily<br />
down to Badplaas, where Rodger’s<br />
gal Jenny met us in their Toyota<br />
grondbuster. From there it was a quick<br />
ten kilometer trip on the R38 past the<br />
turnoff to Swaziland and the R541 to<br />
Waterval Boven, before Vygeboom<br />
Dam’s turnoff appeared on our left.<br />
A bit of sand dancing saw us safely<br />
around the dam to Rassie’s place,<br />
where a warm welcome, comfortable,<br />
homely accommodation and delicious<br />
supper awaited us.<br />
by PATRICK MOORE<br />
52 DIRT & TRAIL MAGAZINE JULY 2016
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