Friday 10 April - Ngepi to Hukuntsi

It was very tempting to spend another day at Ngepi camp, but after breakfast, we are ferried back to the bikes and start out on the sandy track back to the main road. With the memories of Ngepi luxury fresh in our minds, we ride through part of the Mahango game reserve before crossing back into Botswana at Muhembo.

From here we rode down the Western side of the Okavango delta past places like Gauxa, Ikoga, Nokaneng, Tsau and Lake Ngami to Ghanzi. No fuel here, and after leaving our contact details with the attendant at the filling station to call us as soon as the fuel truck arrives, we head out to Tautona Lodge for the night.

To get to the campsite we had to ride a very sandy track and when we got there we found that we are again unable to camp due to a double booking of facilities. We were subsequently accommodated in tented chalets – not complaining – and had supper at the restaurant.

Above all expectations, we did in fact get the call at around 21:00 when the fuel truck arrived, but opted to fill up in the morning. A long riding day, mostly tar, and very little time or need for pictures other than at the campsite.

Thursday 9 April - Kasane to Popa Falls

We break camp and head off for the day. We sign the visitor’s book at Chobe Sedudu control gate and continue through the northern section of the Chobe game reserve. We spot Giraffe, Buffalo and some elephant along the way. At the Ngoma exit gate while signing the exit register, we are fortunate to see a young elephant and its mother close by and there is lots of close up photo and video opportunity.

From here we crossed the Chobe river and entered Namibia through the Ngoma Bridge border post. For the rest of the day we followed the trans Caprivi highway east through the Bwabwata National Park to Popa falls and our final stop for the night at Ngepi camp. By now just about day is a highlight and Ngepi camp is no exception.

As we arrive looking for our campsite, we are told that the river is too high and that we cannot drive to our campsites. We park our vehicles in a guarded spot and are transported by ferryboat to the high lying part of the lodge where we checked into luxury bush huts. Evening drinks, supper and a soft bed with a view - right on the water with the sounds of hippos playing throughout the night – the spoils seem to be endless!!!

...moonrise over the Okavango

...the ferry ride

...welcome drinks in the bar

...sunrise over the Okavango

...a bed for the night

Wednesday 8 April - Day visit to Vic Falls

This was a spare day intended to visit Vic Falls and explore the Chobe area. Due to the incident with Louise’s bike, Johan and Wynand had to track back with the support vehicle to recover the bike. Louise and the support guys took the shuttle to the falls while Deirdre and I opted to ride there on our bikes. This meant crossing into Zimbabwe at Kazungula for the day with all the associated costs, but it was well worth the effort. The falls were in full flood and absolutely amazing – words and pictures cannot do justice - definitely another personal highlight.

...on the way to the falls

...meeting Dr Livingstone

We returned to Botswana again via Kazungula and rode to Chobe lodge where we enjoyed sundowners while the sun sets over the Chobe river. I often say that every sunset in Africa is precious, but this one was definitely one of the most stunning sunsets I have ever seen – another highlight after another tough day in Africa!!

Tuesday 7 April - MakgadiGadi Pans to Kasane (via the Hunter's route)

Today was definitely one of the highlights of the trip.

After leaving our campsite at MakgadiGadi, we first took a ride across part of the pan to Kukonje Island and the well known big Baobab tree.

After the heavy rains mentioned earlier, the pans were quite soft and slippery and provided for some scary moments on the bikes.

From here we made our way back to the eastern side of the pans and followed the fence north to Nata from where we sent the support vehicle up ahead to set up camp in Kasane while we set off on the Hunter’s route. This is a concession area and provided for an experience of note. Being just one month before the opening of the hunting season, wildlife was abundant and although not good practice, it was impossible to not ride through the many elephant droppings that were strewn all over.

We followed a very soft jeep track and within a kilometer came across the first herd of elephant standing no more than 20 meters to our left. I was riding at the back and as the 4 riders in front of me passed safely, they obviously disturbed the animals – especially Deirdre’s noisy XT. The elephant closest to the track turned around and stepped into the road right in front of me. At this moment the skillful elephant turn that I had to master on Jan du Toit’s advanced training was instantly forgotten and I could do just one thing – hit the back brake and kill switch at the same time and sit dead still. After some flapping of ears and staring at me for what felt like eternity, the rest of the herd had moved further away and she stepped back into the brush on the side of the road and continued grazing. During these few heart stopping moments I had time to scan the area looking for possible alternatives of escape and also noticed the baby in the herd – obviously the reason why she was being protective.

I had a few thoughts about what to do next, but only really had one option – forward. This required me to gather all my courage, and think through the process – what if the elephant turned back the moment I started the bike, what if I couldn’t get going, what if I fell in the soft track right next to them? I knew that it had to be a very quick succession of events – back to basics stuff – bike in 2^nd, start, drop the clutch and get going as quickly as possible – don’t look at the elephant, don’t look at the sandy track in front of me – look up, stand up and go – so I did. Needless to say all went well and a few hundred meters further along the track I found the very worried group waiting for me.

After calming the nerves and getting rid of the excess adrenalin, we got going again. After about 30 kilometers, the clear track ended at the cut line which represents the border between Botswana and Zimbabwe with only a steel cable lying flat on the ground marking the separation. From here we followed the clearing of the cut line for roughly 50 km, through a mix of sandy as well as overgrown grassy sections. There was no path other than clearly trodden out elephant tracks crossing our way and we passed by many watering holes while having. We had to be on the constant lookout for animals as well as hidden dangers such as rocks, hollows and holes and it was a true test of our technical riding skills as well as our fitness levels.

A rest stop on the Hunters route

The cut line

An elephant mud hole similar to the one Louise fell into

Typical waterhole scene

Our intention was to follow this route all the way to Pandamatenga, but at 16:00 we realised that we were not going to cover the remaining 80 km before sunset and opted to take one of the escape cut lines back to the nearest main road. We were fast running out of daylight hours and the pressure to get out was on – we knew that we definitely did not want to be in this area after dark and so we pushed the pace up. It had already been a tough day until this point and the signs of exhaustion were starting to show as we had quite a few minor falls in short succession. And then disaster struck as Louise hit an unexpected hollow dug by elephants. She managed to stay on the bike but as she looked back to warn the rest of the group, she rode into a subsequent hole and was less fortunate. Although the fall left the rider with bruises to a few parts of the body (including the ego), the bike ended up with a broken rear shock and was unable to be ridden any further.

Louise & Johan after the fall!!

Sunset on the cut line

After allowing for Louise to regain her composure, and hiding the bike in the bush (to be recovered later), we were ready to continue, but noticed an elephant in the clearing ahead of us. Again we had a choice – wait for it to clear the way, or try to push past since darkness was setting in fast. We noticed that the elephant was lazily walking along the cut line in the same direction that we were heading, so waiting wasn’t an option. After a few quick instructions to stick together and make lots of noise as we got closer, we headed out with Louise now “demoted” to pillion on Johan’s HP2 (not the most comfortable ride I believe). Fortunately for us, the elephant soon stepped out of the way and we could continue. We reached the tar road with just about no sunlight left. From here it was still another 90km to Pandamatenga and another 90 from there to Kasane. This was a long ride which took us almost 4 hours. Apart from the fact that one shouldn’t be riding in Africa after dark due to wild animals in the road, these roads have huge pot holes and there are lots of trucks with blinding spotlights, so we progressed at average speeds of 60km/h.

We reached the camp just after 22:00 and were very happy to find all but 1 tent pitched and supper prepared. We were exhausted but safe after a day which everybody rates as their highlight of the trip.

Due to the circumstances and conditions on this route there wasn’t too much time to stop and take pictures opportunity but the images of the day will live in everyone’s memories for a long long time.