The final day.

Friday the 11th,  We cycle through the town of Ingwavuma. It is pension pay day and the road is lined with hundreds of stalls selling everything from food to clothes. Our first destination is the house of Hennie Hamilton, one of the doctors at the hospital. He and his wife have built an exceptional house with outside stone cladding on the edge of the Lubombo Mountain with a spectacular view over the Swazi lowveld. The house is off grid with wind and solar energy and uses a no water sanitation system. We have a wonderful breakfast on the stoep with the family and friends. It is already 10.30 when we set off along the district road all along the top of the Lubombo. It is up-up and the down-down again until we reach an outlook point with a spectacular view over the Pongolo dam. A 15 km downhill is the reward for the mornings toil. We have a choice of following a jeep track for part of the downhill but with the late start unfortunately does not allow this. We reach the main tar road just before we cross the Pongolo dam wall where we planned to meet the back-up vehicles. Timing is perfect and we are again spoiled with a sumptuous lunch while enjoining a spectacular view of the dam and the dam wall. A tar section now follows across the dam wall and uphill through a busy Jozini town. Essich decides to call it a day and Jono joins us again. Maryke and Gareth decides to skip the 5 km uphill to the top of the pass, a long grind up a busy tar road, every now and then with a disheartening little downhill. Again we are rewarded with a stunning view of the dam where the backup vehicles await us. Maryke joins us again and it is up and down, up and down again on top of the Lubombo on a gravel district road. Far in a distance we can see the tower at Ubombo, our destination. It is late afternoon when we reach the final high point and then the last exhilarating downhill until we reach the pass from Mkuze to Ubombo. For the last time our tired legs take us uphill on the tar road for a few kms to Ubombo and then the last 4 kms to Edwaleni. Just half a kilometer to go and Steve gets the final puncture and decides to walk home! Again we are welcome by the back-up team and a wonderful view of the Makhatini flats and the Mkuze River far below.

Pongola dam

The last uphill just before sunset

The Usuthu adventure

Thursday the 10th.

The story of the day!

Crawling under the reserve fence

We get up at 5 for the 2 hour ride to our starting point in the Usuthu Nature reserve where we will meet up with Maryke and Gareth. Fortunately the boys have loaded the four bikes the previous night in the back of the 4x4. We leave at six, at the last minute I realised I did not pack my helmet and a frantic search ensues, left it in my room!  It is down the mountain again avoiding potholes and then a reasonable gravel road to the Usuthu nature reserve gate where Maryke is waiting for us. We arrive there just after seven. Maryke and Gareth slept in the reserve at the starting point. Maryke had to leave early to take the vehicle to the end point near the entrance gate. We are now 6 riders squeezed into the double cab,  slowly driving along a beautiful deep track in the reserve which finally brings us to the starting point. Maryke has spent many weekend days preparing today’s route. This included employing some locals to hack open part of the trial. After assembling our bikes, we start by carrying our bikes down a steep boulder strewn slope to the river. Gareth leads the way, it is his 3rd trip, and he has already taken down two bikes. After about 40mins we manoeuvre our bikes under the reserve fence and then crawl through ourselves. This finally brings us to the Usuthu River, not far from where we slept on the other side on Tuesday night. Maryke leads the way on lovely single tracks along the river, quite sandy, now and then we get off our bikes to negotiate a rocky section. After a couple of kms we reach a road used by water trucks to get water from the river. An exhausting uphill takes us inland, pushing our bikes past a couple of locals repairing the road. On top Maryke miraculously find a way through some dense sisal plants to a wonderful cleared single track down again. Disaster struck twice, our first flat tyre of many that day and Jono has a bad fall over his handle bars leaving him with a very sore chest. It is uphill again on a very rocky jeep track. I have the first of many slow motion falls, on a steep section I am just not able to keep going and cannot get my foot unclipped in time, I topple over on top of in a sisal plant. What goes up must come down; a rocky downhill at speed makes the adrenalin flow. We enter the game reserve again through a gate. Jono is too sore, probably a broken rib and call it quits. Fortunately it is not too far from where we left the bakkie at the start and he is able to take it back to the end point. We pass three majestic giraffes awkwardly moving their long legs to get away from us. A herd of zebras steep dice us down a very steep and rocky path. On the way up again we stop for a flat tyres again. It is midday already and we enjoy lunch while repairing two flats. There is no water along the way and we have to ration the water in our camelbacks. We reach the reserve fence again. This time to get over the 2meter fence, Danny has to sit on top while we take our bikes one by one over the fence. We have to carry our bikes up a rocky slope to a single track. The first part is too steep to ride but then it is single track at its best along a ridge that takes us back to the road we ascended earlier. This time though it is downhill to a little settlement with a couple of homesteads. Our water stock is now depleted. No water at the school but there is a shop with only iron brew in stock, never tasted so nice! We wait for Gareth who has to repair his umpteenth puncture. It is 5 o'clock when we reach the district road junction, another shop where we can buy drinks. We have only done 30kms so far and we are left with another 20kms. Sadly we decide not to take a single track route Maryke has planned due to the imminent sunset and follow the district road, uphill and downhill again to meet up with the road back to the reserve entrance. It is flats again and we split up into three groups of two. Danny and Maryke go ahead.  Steve and I both have slow punctures and we stop every now and then to pump. Eventually I decide to put in a new tube. It is dark now, but fortunately the near full moon provides enough light. Along the way Gareth and Essich repair another flat with the help of a headlight. We take Maryke's bakkie's keys and cycle along the ever smaller road to the reserve gate through moonlit veld, what a serene experience. Danny waits for us at the fence; Maryke has gone ahead to her bakkie where Jono waits for us. Steve and I have to take the kay to Maryke. The directions are simple, 2nd road left and again 2nd right, but after about 30 mins of cycling we are lost and decide rather to return to the gate where all the others have arrived safely. Fortunately Jono now arrives with the 4x4, still in considerable pain and takes the key back to Maryke. It gives us time to put on our warm clothes and finish what is left of the padkos. The very friendly and patient game rangers wait while we load all the bikes, well past the closing time of 6 o'clock. We arrive back at Ingwavuma where our hosts treat us to a sumptuous meal of steak and pap.

Coffee shop to coffee shop

Wednesday the 9th. Coffee shop to coffee shop. As we did not get permission to cross the border, it means we have to go back to Siteki, then cross the Swazi border again to Ngwavuma where we plan to spend the night. Jono is taking the Landy back with Essich to Siteki. Maryke and Gareth leaves early to go the Usuthu Game reserve just across the river, but a five hour drive! Steve, Danny and I decides to cycle back up the way we came to just the other side of Tikhuba where there is a pass down the mountain to Big Bend where we plan to meet up with Jono, Janet and Essich. Just as we start to cycle Steve has a flat and we return to fix it. Danny's front tyre now starts leaking at the valve and we are unable to fix it being a tubeless and no spare tube! Sadly Danny had to load his bike and accompany the others to Siteki. It is a long slow uphill to civilization at Mambane and then on the district road towards Tikhula, every downhill exhilaration means hard work uphill but finally we arrive at the turnoff that takes us on the pass down the mountain. At the juncture we stop at a small roadside shop, the shop attendant wants my bike for her son who walks 7km every day to school. It is a "hold on for dear life" downhill for 10km to the valley into kms of sugar cane fields with water canals for irrigation. A sign next to the big dam that supplies the water says "Beware of crocodiles and hippos". Our rendezvous in Big Bend is this time a real coffee shop next to the Spa, timing is perfect with the backup vehicles arriving as we enter town, a 70km four hour ride. It is another 3 hour drive through the border post on to Jozini and then up the Lubombo again to Ngwavuma to stay at friends of the Reids, Daniel and Maryna Heese. Daniel has worked as a doctor at Mosvold hospital for the last 25 years while Maryna, an artist, runs community projects that involes local women in craftwork that are really works of arts. The last ten odd kilometres up the mountain is a zig-zag ride trying to miss the biggest potholes. The Heese’s built their own house just outside the hospital premises. We arrive as dark settles in overwhelmed by the their hospitality.

Dangerous country!

Mabuda to the "Coffee shop"

Tuesday the 8th. Mabuda to the “Coffee Shop”. The plan for today is to cycle all along the top of the Swazi Lubombo mountain range and then down to the Usuthu river that forms the border between SA and Swaziland. The original plan was to cross to SA there but Jono could not get the necessary permission from the relevant authorities. The day is cold and cloudy but the thankfully no rain. The district road took us past the Good Sheppard hospital where Jono has developed an amazing ophthalmological service for Swaziland. Jono introduces us to staff at the Eye clinic. A hard uphill slog brings us to the Muti-Muti conservancy, a short ride off the road. From a vantage point we can see far across the Swazi lowveld with the bright green big round sugarcane fields standing out. Jono points out the Mabuda farm ridge down from the escarpment. Our next stop along the road is the Ebenhaeser clinic, an initiative of a retired teacher from the community who build the clinic with her pension money. Jono partners with her to get funding for the running and staff expenses. We meet the staff who is still volunteering in the hope that government will employ them. The road undulates on top of the Lubombo with steep downhills followed by low gear uphills. We stop frequently to engage with the locals or  to appreciate the stunning views to west and east. The local kids greet us with load "how-a-you's". However our response of " we are fine, how are you" is met with silence. At Tikhuba after about 30km, we stop and support a local shop buying refreshing cold drinks enjoying it in the sun shielded from the cold wind with the locals passing by enthralled by our mode of transport. We only see the very occasional bike, the mountainous road probably not vey conducive to biking. On to the next cell phone tower far in the distance on another high rise. Steve takes us every now and then on little single cattle track excursions alongside the dirt road. One takes us to another awesome view down into Swaziland. Painted on the side of a small abandoned building "use my phone" is a sign of failed entrepreneurship. At a school we stop to watch a group of school boys practising a traditional dance but soon the whole school has come out to marvel at the unusual spectre of white people on bicycles. Lots of how-a-you's are exchanged. Finally the Ubombo drops down into the Usuthu river gorge far below. The back-up team with three vehicles catch up with us and we are treated on a sumptuous meal alongside the road with a stunning view over Mozambique to the east at Mambane. The fun now starts with a 15km downhill through uninhabited veld to the Coffee shop. The first part is newly graded (just for us!). The loose gravel makes for many scary moments but fortunately man stays on bike. After a couple of kilometres the road becomes a jeep track winding through bushveld, no human in sight. With just a few kms to go, Steve has a flat, a side cut in his tyre and we have to put in a new tube. The coffee shop, a misnomer if there ever was, is a building donated by the Queen Mother of Swaziland to encourage the local community in their endeavour to create a conservancy. The mostly unused building has a huge veranda with a view over the gorge and Mozambique, smoke from a veld fire rising slowly up in the air. The one back-up vehicle has to leave soon with the drivers to get back before dark. There is enough light left for Jono and his Landrover to takes us down to the river edge on a very bad road, the Usuthu slowly making its way down to the sea. It later joins the Pongola River to form Rio do Maputo. Near the river we found two men from the Foot and Mouth Disease control unit asking for a drink. Shopping for them means a 15km uphill trip to Mambane! As the sun sets, we make a huge fire on the side of the building sheltered from the wind and enjoy a gorgeous meal brought by the back-up crew. Make shift shower means washing from a plastic bucket with water from plastic drums, water that was specially heated in the morning by the support team and now is still bearable.  Soon the day’s hard work takes its toll and we retire on mattresses on the cement floor.

A magnificent view of the Swazi low veld

The coffee shop

Hlumeni_Goba

Monday the 7th, the official start of our adventure, was cold, cloudy and rainy not exactly cycling weather. The plan was to cycle on to the proposed Hlumeni-Goba conservation initiative be part of the Lubombo Transfrontier Conservancy. We travelled on tar road to the Goba border crossing into Mozambique for about 20km and then turned off on a lovely gravel track winding through the local homesteads up to a beautiful view of the Swazi lowveld.

Adventures like ours, I have learned, are never smooth sailing. The best option to replaced the back tyre oif my bike was to drive to Manzini, the nearest bike shop from Siteki. A phone call confirmed that they had the right tyre in stock, a 650B. I left early while the rest of the group started the cycle. The road was busy with lots of slow traffic and road bumps. The bike shop people were very helpful, but eventually I had to settle for a tyre with a tube rather than a tubeless. The young guy at the shop is a MTB cyclist himself using 650B. While waiting he entertained me with stories about his most recent Swazi race and how good the South African riders are. It turned out that the bike mechanic, clearly good at his job, also rode the Argus this year. Back at Mabuda, I got on my bike after twelve and met up with the rest of the group on their way back. A tail wind took me out but the return journey was quite a slog, a total of 52km.

Prepared for the worst!

At proposedHlumeni-Goba conservation site 

Mabuda Farm

The beautiful Mabuda homestead

Sunday the 6^th: We wake up to a rosy sky and take an early morning walk to a view point over the Mkuzi River. On our way back, we visit the Reid’s country neighbour who works at the hospital. He proudly shows us the new rondavel he is building. Back at Edwaleni the neighbour visits us to share cool drink and home baked scones that we all enjoy on the stoep and experience real Ubuntu. When I unpack my bike, the back tyre shows a huge bubble. That happens when you forget to let down the tyre pressure when you fly! Midday we travel back to the N2 and on to the Swazi border, busy with Sunday afternoon cross border traffic. Travelling from Big Bend to Siteki, the challenge was to avoid as many of the numerous potholes as possible. Little boys along the road fill up the potholes and ask for a contribution. From close to Siteki we follow the road signs to Mabuda just outside Siteki.We arrive just in time for the Pons’s to take us on a walk on their farm. Maryke and Gareth arrive just in time to joiun us on the walk. That evening after supper we also sit around the huge family table. Danny presents us with the logistics plan neatly set out on flip charts. The logistics for the ride and especially the back-up vehicles proves to be quite a tricky exercise but with everyone contributing a provisional plan is agreed on. 

The start

Saturday the 5th of July 2014

The idea of the Lubombo Transfrontier mountain bike route started at the Rural Health 

conference in 2013 at St Lucia, KZN when Steve, myself, Maryke ( a physio at Manguzi hospital) and Jono started talking. The proposed MTB route was to cycle from Swaziland all along the Lubombo mountain range across the border into northern KZN in SA. Jono and Helen Pons lives in Siteki on Mabuda farm on the Lubombo mountain range in the Swaziland. Steve and Janet Reid worked for ten years at Bethesda Hospital in Ubombo in KwaZuluNatal also on the Lubombos. Jono is part of the Lubombo Transfrontier Conservancy initiative. The Lubombo Mountains are shared by Swaziland, Mozambique and South Africa along a narrow range about 800km in length with an average elevation of 600 meters. The region is a recognized global biodiversity hotspot.

Steve, Janet and I left Cape Town by plane Saturday morning with our bikes to Durban where we rented a 4x4 double cab. We planned to spend the night at Edwaleni, the Reid's house on the Lubombo near Ubombo. On the way we stopped to stock up on food for the trip at Ballito. At Mkuze we turned off the N2 on the mountain pass that takes us onto the Lubombo mountains to Ubombo and then another 4kms to Edwaleni ( on the rock) just in time to enjoy the beautiful view from the mountain over the Makhatini flats with the Mkuze river snaking through the Lubombo mountain.

Steve on the stoep of Edwaleni

The Mkuze River from the stoep