Sani –
The third trip up the
Intro:
This was becoming a regular trip now, something we
both looked forward to.
1998 saw very little in the way of snow, but we
weren’t put off.
The dates on the photo’s are way out.
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Nissan |
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JR had a new car at that
point, a Nissan Maxima. Better than the |
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Chalet guard |
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We chained the bikes up
at night just outside the chalet. I also carried my Glock 23. We never had
any problems though; I think that the region was fairly safe. Crime stats
were a bit lower in that part of the country. I upgraded my WR to a
new Honda XR600R that year, another excellent bike. I used this bike on a
daily basis to beat the traffic into I put various bits and
pieces on it, a Wiseco hi-comp piston, Pro-circuit exhaust, skid plate,
bark-busters etc. The motor was 100% reliable – I’ve heard that anvils have
higher failure rates… I would start first kick, hot or cold, and had more
than enough power. It’s only downside was weight, compared to JR’s KDX it was
a tank. But I never had to worry about rupturing its cooling system and it
was pretty quick, especially at altitude. |
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Breakfast |
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Cooking up a storm. We made sure to have a
good breakfast (good=lots of calories). Fried bacon and eggs, toast and tomatoes
(mushrooms too I think!) Don’t know who was drinking the bottle of Reds… |
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SA Border post |
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At the SA Border post. I think we were waiting
for the border to open here (8:00am) |
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Stream on the pass |
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We jumped over this little
stream a few times. |
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Sani Top |
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JR standing over the
pass. Nice hat dude… |
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Wheelie practice |
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We are at the top of |
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More Wheelies |
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Here he is again,
looping it this time. Silly boy… |
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XR snow blower ? |
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Riding around on top of |
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How deep ? |
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Me testing a drifts
depth. Sometimes these would be
a few inches, sometimes a few feet. Hit a deep one at the wrong speed and you
went down. Caution recommended… |
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No caution… |
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JR took another
approach, i.e. flat in 3rd, hope for the best, that’s the spirit. Snow tends to stop the
bike quite quickly but it makes for a soft landing. The KDX just spun up as
can be seen above and came to a stop. Start digging JR. |
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Top of |
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Me riding over the top
of |
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Mokhotlong road |
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We saw this ‘bakkie’
(Seouth Effricen for pick-up truck or ute) that had burned out on the road to
Mokhotlong. It was completely deserted; there was nobody within 20 miles of
this. I think it was a Ford
Courier and looking at the NIX number plate I believe it was from the south
coast area of Scottburgh or Unkomaas. It must have happened
within 24 hours as wrecks like this are stripped very quickly in Africa. This
one still had its tail lights and loading gate, which were perfect. The
roll-bar and load bed would be salvageable too. We both hoped there were
no casualties! |
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JR and myself coming
down Sani at the end of another great ride. |
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