Mechanical Dramas – in the Beautiful Middle of Nowhere!

We are lucky enough to live close to some amazing places, so in mid November we took a short road trip after closing our shop on a Saturday afternoon. About a 70km ride takes us through the Chobe National Park on the transit road, and out to the beautiful area of the Chobe Enclave, following the floodplain all along the border between Botswana and Namibia.

No more than an hour away from home, we arrived at our mini break destination – Mwandi View – for one night of camping and a bit of quality time with our friends Anton and Amelia. November is one of the hottest and most uncomfortable times of the year, with everything and everyone just waiting for the rains to start. Nothing better on a hot November weekend, than escaping from town and heading for an oasis on the edge of the floodplain!

On Sunday morning we impulsively embarked on a quick off-road adventure – instead of turning back for home we decided to accompany Anton on a trip out to his small vegetable farm/plot to harvest and collect tomatoes. The fields being out in the middle of nowhere, it seemed a perfect opportunity to test the bike out with our newTurkana soft luggage, recently installed. We were keen to get more of a feel for how it had changed the bike’s centre of gravity and handling on rough difficult gravel road surfaces.

After leaving the tarmac at the village of Kachikau, we took the relatively newly constructed gravel road, which, ironically, is avoided at all costs by the locals, as the corrugations are absolutely shocking. On a combination of the official road and the detours, we successfully tested out several different off road conditions, from the wicked corrugations to deep sand and gigantic humps.

I so love this part of the world, and riding through this palm tree belt into remoteness is very appealing!

Map of our route from home, via Mwandi View, out to the farm fields, in middle of nowhere!

Eventually Anton’s vehicle was loaded up with crates of newly harvested tomatoes, and we all prepared to leave together. He confidently turned the ignition key on his little trusty Suzuki jeep which spectacularly failed to start, instead producing dramatic puffs of smoke out of the bonnet!! After checking out the engine compartment, it was decided that he could absolutely not drive the Suzuki due to a massive electrical short. Luckily we had options, so we two bikers jumped back on the bike to go back to the lodge, collect another vehicle and return to fetch Anton, Bruno the dog – and the tomatoes. They all duly settled in for a long wait at his farm, while we departed on our next off-road trip, so happy to be out on the bike in the bush, and furthermore – today we were the ones rescuing our friends, instead of being the beneficiaries as per usual!

After about three minutes on the road, congratulating ourselves on our good rescuer karma, I suddenly felt that one of the dry bags on my right hand side was slipping off, so we had to dismount and check, even though of course it turned out to be one of our fantasy “we are losing our luggage” moments. However, as we inspected the intact luggage setup, I noticed a scary sight – fluid leaking out on the rear wheel!  Upon closer investigation the Biker Boy tentatively diagnosed a damaged oil seal or worse, a wheel bearing, so we had no choice but to immediately turn back to the farm. Anton’s face as we showed up again so strangely soon was oh so puzzled, as his gallant rescuers crawled back and parked next to him, joining in the ranks of the broken down!

Now that we were all stranded out in the back of beyond, we needed to get help. Unfortunately, due to a prolonged power cut in the region, all cell networks were down and we were sitting in the very middle of nowhere with no comms. I suddenly had a lightbulb moment and activated my international roaming, remembering that we were right on the Namibian border! The Namibian cellphone tower over the border happened to be in perfect working order and I hopped onto their network asap.

I realise it sounds so obvious a solution, but international roaming is usually an absolute curse for us due to our unique location. Living in a border town with 3 neighbouring countries a stone’s throw away dictates that we keep our roaming strictly off automatic, otherwise our phones are constantly preferring and selecting expensive international networks, and with a choice of a good few different networks per country it can become very annoying!

In this case, when used judiciously, it turned out to be a blessing as we managed to contact a friend from one of the other lodges in the area. A rescue team was despatched to collect us three, Bruno, the tomatoes and a complete motorcycle-load of camping gear and luggage!

Leaving the two stricken vehicles behind on the farm, we all squeezed into the Landrover, grateful for our lift back, and the very welcome cooler box of refreshments that had also arrived!

Our whole entire nomadic world, sadly removed from the bike and deposited on the lawn at Mwandi View!

An unplanned second night at the lodge was a bonus, so we enjoyed a beautiful and entertaining Sunday evening out there. It was all arranged for us and our bike gear to hitch a ride back home to Kasane next morning as part of Amelia’s shopping trip to town. Very grateful for the help of our friends, as ever!

During the working week, we became increasingly anxious to fetch the bike. Anton had already been back, repaired and retrieved his little Suzuki, and we were well aware of the lonely bike temporarily abandoned, plus the looming rainy season was a concern. As soon as the rains start, it totally transforms the condition of the roads and the environment out there and not in a favourable way!

By the Thursday afternoon we had managed to free up some time, hitched a borrowed trailer, threw a few basic overnight camping essentials into the Pajero and headed back out into the bush on our own self-help bike rescue mission.

Along the way, we surprised this gorgeous brood of ostrich chicks and their parents!

The vegetable farm plot is located on a backwater of the remote Lake Liambezi, and this is the source of the water for the veggies. I took this photo standing in a hippo trail at the water’s edge, just over the fence from the fields.

Bike was finally safely loaded on the trailer as the sun set… pictured here in getaway position for the next morning!

The Botswana cell phone networks were working this time round, but highly marginal. I tried to stay inexpensively local by standing on the summit of the anthill pictured below – answering calls and messages from my customers, (who always seem to travel along with me), but eventually resorted to Namibian networks for essential comms if needed and summarily closed down the mobile office for the day!

Our evening was minimalistic and perfect in its simplicity. What more does one need on a Thursday after work: A camp fire, some red wine, and a couple of steaks – accompanied by the freshest salad featuring tomatoes, basil and wild rocket harvested straight from the fields!

I wrapped this sickle bush with my beautiful fairy lights, and we enjoyed our magical evening out in the absolute remoteness, with the bike safely stowed next to us and the sounds of the African night in the background.

A very early start was required to get us and bike back to town and back to work the next morning. I am constantly blown away by the rewards of being a morning person, although this is not my natural state of being. This sunrise alone made it worth being dragged out of bed at such an unearthly hour!!

Biker Boy checking on the bike and trailer, along our scenic breakdown recovery route.

Safely back home and unloaded, the bike’s wheel could eventually be properly investigated in the home workshop. The verdict: a failed output bearing and oil seal. It had been a very good call to stop riding and tow the bike in in order to prevent further catastrophic damage!

This small weekend story gives a glimpse into the unique part of the world we live in, and at the same time some typical insights into the world we choose as part of our biker lifestyle. Minimalism, spontaneity, adventures, unexpected incidents and the conquering thereof, continue to keep us feeling alive and sufficiently challenged!

Thanks as always to our readers, for coming along on the ride with us…