| ADVENTURE MX KICKS UP A SAND STORM IN BOTSWANA PLACE:
KWA NOKENG LODGE
DATE: 20-22 JULY 2007
RIDERS: PETER & TANYA (KINGQUAD), LYNDSAY (TRX 450), MARYNA
(LTZ 400), GEORGE (RAPTOR 660), RIAAN (KFX 400), MORNE (LTR 450), OLLIE (PREDATOR 500),
JANNIE (LTZ 400), CHRIS PELSER (LTZ 400), RUDI (RHINO), KERNEELS (TRX 400), ALAN (LTZ
400), CONRAD (RAPTOR 660), CHRIS PROVIDAS (LTZ 400), BARNIE (LTZ 400), CLAUDIO (RAPTOR
700), LYNN (KINGQUAD).
KIDS: ROBYN (TRX 300), LAURA (KYMCO 250), DAVID (KTM ADVENTURE
50), MARK (AEON COBRA 100)
TOTAL RIDERS = 18
TIME STARTED: 7:00am
TIME: ENDED: 17:30pm
BREAKDOWNS: 1 (CHRIS PELSER - LTZ 400: seized his engine about 1km
from the end. Due to broken engine casing caused earlier in the ride.)
PUNCTURES FIXED: 0
INJURIES SUSTAINED: 2 (CHRIS PELSER - When Ollie decided to ride
straight into him and his quad because of no brakes.)
(ALAN RAHME - Flipped his quad on some irrigation pipes just 500m from the end of the
ride.)
TEMPERATURE: ± 25 Deg C
DISTANCE: ±200km
At the Kwa Nokeng Garage complex early Saturday morning. Everyone had to check
tyre pressures and buy the regular cooldrinks and snacks for on the route. This
garage is right at the border post and you cannot miss it. Clinton gave us a quick
riders briefing and then we where on our way. Before you knew it there was a dust
cloud that was trailing our group that couldn't be missed.
One of the fast sections early on in the day. This was a brilliant section as you
could really go fast. The bush was very sparse so you could see quite a distance in
front of you. This made it easy to anticipate where the track was going to turn or
sweep. Maryna and Lyndsay coming through with some good speed.
Tanya was helping me take photo's and video for the day. We got some excellent
footage of the riders going through all the popular sections.
This was one of pitstops just outside a settlement. The tradition is usually to
have a quick cooldrink and then to give some lucky kids a lift through the village.
Unfortunately there are so many kids, not all of them get a ride, so some of them will
have to wait till next time.
This donga section gave us a couple of laughs. To get into the donga you had to
ride down it sideways. Some of the guys managed to do it right first time while
other had to manouvre their quads back and forth a couple of times before they could get
going. Even our esteemed guide (Clinton) managed to ride into the wall of the donga.
The start of the Power Line section. We had to make use of a 10-15 second dust
gap in order to see where you were going. It is a reasonably straight sprint but
everytime you get to a pylon the track veers left or right around it. This section
eventually leads into a huge dry river bed which is about 20km long. At the end of the
river section lunch awaits you under the trees on the river bank.
Lunch is served! Tables are set, and all you need to do is help yourself to the cheese,
cold meat, buns, potato salad and a green salad.
The Power Line section back to the lodge again. The photo below is Riaan jumping
an anthill and managing to keep his quad in wheelie mode for a couple of metres. You
will also notice that I am still busy with the capturing of this awesome ride on video
while Tanya was taking photo's.
Now as always there was a huge party on Saturday night with everyone having loads of
fun. If you want more details about this then you will need to contact someone that
was on this weekend and that is willing to share some of this info with you.
Otherwise you know how the saying goes. What happens in Kwa Nokeng stays in Kwa
Nokeng!
I would just like to end off by thanking everybody that committed themselves for this
trip. I hope you all enjoyed yourselves as much as I did and it was great to spend a
weekend with some really good riding friends. |
