Dirt & Trail Aug2020

campsite on the Nwanedzi River,
crocodiles and hippo’s lazily
swimming by. There was a lot of
information to take in. We were
also told that there were other
dangers too, elephants, lions and
of course smugglers. I started
wondering, if this really was a
good idea?
The following morning we kitted
up and met with our hosts who
showed us to the first gate. From
here on we would be all on our
own. The second we went through
that gate the adventure began.
The path we followed ran all along
the great Limpopo River. Rocky
twisty farm trails with plenty
of hills to cross. The riding was
fantastic and we stopped to take
photos of the great trees along
the Limpopo Rivers banks. The
area is extremely picturesque
and combines the best flora from
the neighbouring countries, the
waving palms of Mozambique, the
giant baobabs of Zimbabwe and
the beautiful acacia trees of South
Africa. The second the road went
up close to the river, we pulled
into the dry Limpopo riverbed and
rode along the sand. We were told
to not cross the halfway mark or
we might end up spending the rest
of the weekend in a Zimbabwean
jail cell, something we were not
so keen on doing. There were a
number civilians walking across
the river in places, clearly they did
not get the same memo we did.
When the riverbed got too rocky
and huge boulders blocked our
way, we went back inland along
the river path. The Limpopo River
is vast, spanning up to 1km across
Crossing one of the many streams
flowing into the Limpopo River
Riding in the
Limpopo Riverbed
in some places. I would like to come back
here one day and see it in flood. We spot
a rusted vehicle stuck in the river further
ahead. Supposedly thieves had stolen the
vehicle on the SA side and tried to drive
through the riverbed to reach Zimbabwe.
Needless to say they failed quite dismally.
The police left the vehicle right where it
stood as it was impossible to recover.
We have a quick bite to eat under an
ancient baobab tree on the banks of the
river. So far it had been a brilliant day
and we were enjoying the warm weather
(32 degrees) as opposed to the freezing
temperatures we had back home. We
continued along the rocky river track
which eventually met up with the border
patrol route. The route is tarred, but it is
in a dismal condition with many holes and
washed away sections. Traces of barbed
wire can be seen, but the double electric
fence which once protected our border is
no more.
As we follow the border patrol road to
the where it meets the Nwanedzi River
again we also faced our first obstacle. The
double bridge over the river had been
What is left of our
border fence
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