“If You Gonna Be Dumb, You Gotta Be Tough”

At this point in the rally it would be fair to give you a rundown of the state of our 3 Big Boy Scooters to which we have become remarkably attached to (and not just because of the fact that we are spending 15 hours a day on them). Molly has become the troublemaker, riding at her own pace, giving us a few headaches, but remarkably fuel efficient. Frances (Fish’s) is just a loose gal. She has a tendency to lose her nuts and at this point in the rally has severe steering play. Roxy has acquired a keen taste for fuel and is the thirstiest of the lot!

So we powered on through the Caprivi Strip, and what a ride it was. Elephants, kudu’s, hippos, and the odd goat cheered us on as we approached Popa Falls. Confidence was high, and the road seemed good (even by moonlight). Then Fish hit a speed wobble. Leading us into a petrol station he accelerated through a corner and quickly found himself face first in the dirt. Without any consultation to Fish we ran to check up on Frances. With a bruised ego Fish dusted himself off and gave a salute to the 50 odd hysterical Rundu’ians. A Go Pro moment for sure! Back on track, within the hour and on a pitch black Caprivi road, more drama incurred when a herd of cattle mozied on across the road. James veered left, Jared right, and fish thought he would have another go at extreme tar surfing (this time at 70km/h). Frances had a few scratches, Fish a few bruises, but the biggest casualty was our map book which now has massive holes in Angola, Mozambique, and Zambia! With a few words of encouragement we got Fish back on that horse and made the last 100km. However the night wasn’t over just yet. The last 2km to our destination involved thick sand, tricky manoeuvres, and the three of us pushing our bikes all the way to camp. But what a camp it proved to be.

The damage to Fish, and his luggage after extreme tar surfing 5000

While reflecting on our journey on scooters so far Fish had regained his humour coining the catch phrase “if you gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough”. The night ended sipping on moer-koffee while listening to the hippos on the Okavango River banks. 550 km to Livingstone…

Jared found something new to ride

Keeping it Silly