Jo'Burg to Botswana


Days 1, 2 – May 21/22

Flight


Day 3 – May 23 
Centurion to Mokopane

After an arduous flight of 16 hours (and that's just from Atlanta to Jo’Burg) I collapsed in my hotel bed at 8:00. Actually the flight and airports went pretty well except for the number of hours. Wednesday morning making use of a taxi, I found the bike shop in Centurion (believe me I would never have found it without help and the taxi driver drove around quite a bit as it was). With the help of Danie and the other Motorrad staff, the G650 was loaded and I set off driving nervously on the side of the road that I never considered before. I'm sure that for some it isn't a big deal but driving on the left side requires me to be very careful especially in busy traffic. It was a short ride to Mokopane, a smallish town in northern South Africa. Of course even a small town allows me to get lost. Fortunately past trips have made me less embarrassed to stop someone an ask directions (it’s getting the right directions that is sometimes tricky).

 (below) The BMW G650 GS, I’m riding, is a “thumper” like my KLR I took to Panama. The single cylinder purrs along getting good gas mileage with plenty of power.



Lots of luggage space and pretty too!



Nice hotel. They appropriately allowed me to use a "handicap"space

Day 4 – May 24 

 Mokopane S.A to Francistown, Botswana

A fairly long ride (from 8:30 until 4:30), this leg was a cross between past memories of Central America poverty and Argentina’s proliferation of goats. Immense stretches of shacks and squalor along with huge number of goats, oh and donkeys, grazing beside the highways did bring back memories. Unlike the frequency of seeing dogs in C.A, today I saw TWO. That was beat by the six “warthogs” that were near the highway. Nope no elephants yet. Francistown is pretty big and like smaller towns, I managed to drive around for an hour looking for a hotel. This isn’t so bad most days but today I was really tired. There was a lot of highway construction and heavy traffic. At least the pavement so far has be pretty good.

Day 5 – May 25
Francistown to Planet Baobab, Gweta, Botswana
Adventure! Well I got it! Rear brake locked up while going over some speed bumps this morning and before I knew what was happening (the bike seemed to lose power) smoke was pouring out of the rear disk area. Exactly at the same time that I was pulling over to find out what the problem was, I was "supposedly" speeding! Two Botswanan cops had stopped a car ahead of me and apparently wanted a "two-for-one". All I could think about was the smoke pouring off the rear wheel so I paid my $50 fine (amazing that a bike that had the rear brake locked up could actually speed) Luckily after the brake cooled, I was able to continue to ride but with no rear brake. And the bike has become difficult to start so I think the bike’s starter is going south. I don’t know what will happen now as riding with just the front brake is dicey and if the bike decides not to start. . . well you know what. . . I’ll be in real trouble.

The day’s bonus was two elephants about 50 yards from the highway! I stopped to take photos until the closest one looked at me and started flapping its ears. I also saw several warthogs and baboons along the stretch from Francistown to Gweta.

The rest of the ride was not pleasant as you can imagine with worry about the brake situation, but Planet Baobab is a dream with 2000 year old Baobab trees and African style huts (mosquito netting and all) and friendly English speaking staff. We’ll go out tomorrow to see the meerkats which will definitely be cool. I’ll check in with the bike guys in Jo’burg tomorrow morning (using Planet Baobab’s cell phone as my “international” cell phone doesn’t want to get connected here in Botswana).

Adventure Beginning

bobforsee@yahoo.com


In 1968 I read a story in Cycle World magazine about a fellow that rode from the U.S to the tip of South America and I was psyched to do the same. However, over 35 years passed and I hadn't taken that journey. So after retirement, I began to consider the possibilities.

For 12 years my wife and I put over 9,000 miles on our bicycles. We greatly enjoyed our two-wheeled activity, particularly the Katy Trail which covers over 200 miles across Missouri. However when it comes to adding a motor to the two wheels, I'm all alone. Brenda doesn't feel the same comfort on a motorcycle that she feels on her bike.

Beginning with that first Honda I bought in 1966 (only 160cc) I have always enjoyed the feeling of adventure that motorcycling gives you. In the 60's I traveled a number of times by motorcycle including two trips to the Rocky Mountains, once to New Orleans and once to Los Angeles.


In early November of 2006 after spending a year of planning and trying to digest a bit of Spanish, I joined Harold Brooks and we traveled through five Latin American countries totaling 4200 miles.


In 2008 I flew to Buenos Aires where I had arranged to rent a Honda Transalp and headed north through Argentina, Chile and Peru. The ride to see Machu Picchu in the Andes totaled over 5100 miles.


In 2013 I planned a ride from Jo' Burg, South Africa to Victoria Falls. The trip through Botswana, Zimbabwe and back to South Africa was wonderful. The Falls were amazing, but seeing elephants and other big game while traveling down the highway was a treat.


I got another bug to do another ride in 2015. Not so much an adventure, but none-the-less exciting. I joined nine other riders for a tour of Eastern Europe. Adriatic Moto Tours (of Slovenia) provided guides and bikes and our group traveled for eight days from Vienna to Prague and South to Salzburg and then back to Vienna. After that, I arranged to continue on with the bike and travel on my own. I rode into Hungary to Budapest, spent an additional day there, and then South past lake Balaton and returned the bike to the tour company in Ljubljana, Slovenia. This ride provided many amazing sights with the Alps and beautiful land of Austria and the Czech Republic being among the most memorable.


In 2018, I took on what may have been my final adventure. At age 74, I rented a small Honda motor bike in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and rode North to Hanoi. The 23 days of travel was everything I expected. Wonderful people and God-awful traffic. Truly an amazing ride.


PREPARATION

In preparing for each of my trips I found a great deal of information on Horizons Unlimited web site. This amazing site has journals, health info and active bulletin boards that allow for contact with other travelers. http://www.horizonsunlimited.com




About Me

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Professional: Graphic design for Steven mfg., Art Director -MFA inc. and Missouri State Parks. Teaching: Stephens College, Columbia College, Virginia Commonwealth U. and Rolla Technical Institute.

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