Midrand to Ponta Malongane June th till 16 th June

Transcription

1 Midrand to Ponta Malongane June th till 16 th June Range Rover Classic 3.9 efi 1991 with RTT- Dave and Liz Ingram Defender Puma 2008 with Desert Wolf Trailer Trevor and Marilyn Ingram, Colin and Bev Black As a result of my brothers mountain bike accident we needed to go to Moz again so that he and Bev could go diving, really so that Bev could do her first open water dive. Trevor managed to get a cancellation at Ponta Malongane. Expecting to go via Kosi bay, we discovered a week before that there were road works near Piet Retief so we checked out the overlander forum for the Swaziland route. It came highly recommended as did an overnight stay at Hlane. Except that the Hlane gate closes at 6pm and we could not get there before 8pm at the earliest. What with doctors appointments (to get the neck brace removed officially) and teaching to be done. I found Mabuda B&B which is in Siteki and as such is conveniently located.

2 June 12 I had to fix a few things during the week before we left, but it rained!! And was cold!! So on Friday morning I managed to sort out the new ladder bracket and mount the roof top tent and put the bedding in the tent by around 13:30. We set off for Oshoek, a few minutes later Trevor called to say they had got away more or less on schedule. As they left from Boksburg going on the N17 and we left from Midrand heading out to the N4 we agreed to meet at Oshoek at about 6pm. We had to stop at Carolina for fuel, money (remembering our last trip we did not want to be short again) and some other groceries. We got to Oshoek at 5:55pm, and called Trevor who was about half an hour away. We went through the border in about 20 minutes, not bad for a Friday evening. Bought some avos and got stuck into the ripe ones. While Trevor filled up with diesel we heard about his one roof rack bracket braking and needing welding in Ermelo, just catching the welders as they had locked up and were on their way home. Then as they left Ermelo a hawker s dog decided to chase a motor bike but did not see the Defender. Trevor had no reaction time to hoot brake or do anything and unfortunately drove over the dog. I discovered that I had somehow not loaded my Swaziland map, so Trevor would lead, I really thought I had checked this- for a change I was only using T4A. We left Ngwenya border at 7:18 (why are borders named differently in each country) and arrived at Mabuda B&B at my predicted 9:01pm. Liz and I settled for backpackers and the rest shared a chalet. It was a great place to overnight. I shared the men s packers with 4 Durbanites en route to Bilene. They snored a lot, I was sure they were sawing the legs off the bunks. June 13- Our Mom s Birthday Sunrise from near the chalet

3 We had coffee and rusks and set off for the border at 7:30 I topped up my tanks at Siteki. What a pleasure the border officials were all very friendly and efficient which made for a quick crossing- remind me never to go via Komatipoort again. We were not sure about the condition of the road from Goba to Ponta Malongane, but we had T4A so set off at a leisurely pace. The road was quite varied gravel all the way to Bela Vista, then a reasonable tar road till the Elephant reserve entrance where my GPS decided we were off road and would not navigate anymore. The road(s) were often about 4 in parallel in various phases of roller coaster, but not bad at all, there was a local who decided to overtake us as we returned to one of the main roads, we thought he was going to fast. We then joined a potholed tar road before heading off on to sand again. I noticed how my extra temp gauge (it is actually measuring the water temp back from the radiator) varies depending on speed and load- I really need to find a cowling for the radiator to improve cooling at slow speeds. I have manual switches for my electric fans which I use to when the temp goes above 90 degrees. We arrived at Ponta at 12:20 and took 50 minutes to check in as they record all names and passport numbers, a group of 30 had just arrived having been picked up from the crowded Kosi bay border post, and there were also about 6 cars in front of us. 394 people were booked in over the weekend. We set up camp, almost had the trailer tent up when we realised the electrical connection was too far away so we relocated it. Get a longer extension for next time. Had a walk on the beach, Liz went for a run followed by some Laurentina s at the dive shop while Trevor and Bev booked their dives. Tried a 2M but neither Colin nor I liked it, Bev had a 2M shandy, Trevor only drinks Amstel. The camp was quite full and we had a noisy bunch over the road. Eventually at 10:15 I asked them to switch their music off no noise after 9 is the camp rule. Around midnight we discovered they had baboons and donkeys with them or maybe it was because they were possessed by alcohol spirits. Asked them to keep quiet, at 2:30 another group came back with loud music. So no much sleep for us. June 14 Liz and Colin (they are planning to run comrades next year) jogged to Ponta do Oura and back, I walked towards Ponta Momoli. We met Fiona (the camp manager) on the beach and mentioned the noisy bunch at 11/12 who had started upo their ski boat engines to make a noise. She promised action!! Had breakfast, then set off to drive

4 around to Ponta Momoli over some dune tracks. Great view from the top, one could see past Malongane to do Oura. Looked like some ok snorkelling at Momoli but no snorkels and maybe a bit cold. June is not ideal for warm water lovers. On the way back we had some Laurentinas at the pub, took a number of sunsets to add to my collection. Trevor and Bev just made it back to book their 8:30 dive the next morning. We had a quieter night, made good beer bread and demolished a number of bottles of Red wine. June 15 This morning I walked to do Oura while Colin and Liz set off in the other direction. Not many other walkers, some guys holding fishing rods, but saw no evidence of fish. Colin and I tried to launch our kayak through as well as past the breakers but it was a bit rough. Some guys then helped Liz and I to go out through the breakers which worked. Liz had seen some dolphins on her run but we never managed to catch up them. The water had seemed very smooth, but we discovered a decent swell out there. We almost managed to ride the wave in but ended up swimming in. We relaxed on the beautiful beach for a few hours.

5 The others decided to go on a pub crawl, we decided to snorkel, and got the timing spot on. Just past the dive shop there is a good spot with a rock out crop which provides very sheltered snorkeling. Some other swimmers took a buoy with an anchor out so that the snorkeled on the other side of the rocks, it was quite rough out there. We had a warm shower then took a bottle of white wine to the beach for sundowners. June 16 Up at 6am to set off for home, we left at 7:30 and arrived at Oshoek at 1pm. Colin got the news that his father had passed away on the 13 th, which made for a sad ending to an otherwise enjoyable weekend. We headed our separate ways to meet up with our dogs. Overall a quick and enjoyable trip Lesson learnt 1 Get a longer electrical extension for next time 2 Fit a trickle charger, for use before and during a trip. 3 Take more money than you need, I have a car safe to keep it in anyway 4 Do not go through Komatipoort if you can avoid it. 5 The trip through Swaziland was perfect. 6 We will return Trip Distance 1260 km RRC Fuel used / 100km Defender unknown daverangie@gmail.com