LOOSKOP LEKKER LOOP

SOUTH AFRICA 2020

While 2020. was weird, 2021. is not getting better. Sometimes I feel overdue bills of the 2020. are
getting balanced in 2021. Actually maybe not only the overdue bills of 2020.

In February last year 9 of us Croatians, long time friends and riding companions managed to get away
to do something we have always dreamed of; riding bikes in Africa. Thanks to our friend Ivan
Knezovich, owner of a small tourist agency Croatia a-la Carte (https://www.facebook.com/Croatia-a-la-
carte-45761313675/) and his wife Debbie Knezovich who both moved from South Africa to Croatia
some years ago it has finally been made possible.

After a number of days spent working out the administrative part of the travel we managed to board the
plane to Istambul, a short flight of 3 hours was a piece of cake compared to a long flight to Joburg. As
most of us are quite big and tall a game of finding free seats was on from the start, something that the
flight crew was surprisingly tolerant to. They were not so tolerant to the quantity of red wine that
was….well, used to shorten airtime.

Tired, cramped and with a slight hangover we landed in Joburg. We did however have some additional
explaining to do with South African border authorities, well at least some of us, nothing serious….let’s
say a slight overstay in the past can be sorted out with a relatively cheap fine.

Met by Ivan’s friends, Dirk and Bodo we got into vans and headed to a motorcycle dealership where
we look around a bit, sorted bikes that needed to be rented and had a bite and a beer. Next was Ivan’s
farm. I guess a traditional inner city farm, a big piece of land surrounded with tall fence, a big main
house with smaller, rented out houses. After Ivan and his family moved to Croatia, Dirk, his wife Judy
and their son Troy used the house and Dirk had his small business (racing school, bike parts shop)
running from there.

Some random pics

In the vans we were tired, slow, some of us catching few minutes of sleep….but there was no rest
planned for us. And, of course, the first glance of the bikes waiting for us caused an adrenaline rush, as
always. A couple of Transalps, KLRs, Africa Twin, Triumph, Vstrom and a beautiful brand new KTM
1290R borrowed form James for Ivan to ride (not for long :) )!

Get used to the heat, repack, put your gear on, hop on the bikes and off to the Mangwa Valley Lodge
where we were supposed to stay for the next two days. Owned by Ivan’s cousin Mark Knezovich his
lovely wife Janine and their son Chad, Mangwa Valley Lodge is a place of your dreams, way too nice
for a pack of Croatians on a loose chain, if any chain for that matter. Check out the place at
https://www.mangwavalley.co.za/ or https://www.facebook.com/mangwavalley.gamelodge/.

We did have a mishap on the way there, coming from winter in Croatia and a long journey, hopping on
the bikes at 30C, riding on the opposite site of the road through heavy Joburg and Pretoria traffic took a
toll on all of us. We couldn’t wait to get off road and once we did we started riding a bit faster, having
fun….you know how it goes…. Hard packed gravel, sandy bits, dust, ridges, railroad crossings,
unfamiliar bikes….should have known better. On one of the old, out of use railroad crossings Gorans
Transalp lost traction and he took a tumble. A sore arm and some irrelevant damage to the bike was
enough to remind us that we have 9 days of riding in front of us and it would be very, very stupid to
hurt yourself on the first day.
More pics
The first night at Mangwa was chilling and getting some rest, the place is out of this world, first night
in Africa, the stars, the sounds, the smell, the taste. As a three year old I lived with my parents and
brother in Lybia for two years, mom and dad were doctors and at that time people from ex Yugoslavia
went to Lybia as the money was really good. People say Africa gets into your blood, it sure does. From
such an early childhood I longed to come back, to breathe and feel Africa. And there I was, happy,
thoroughly happy. Peaceful, content, feeling Africa in my veins, flesh, bones. Happy. Africa.
Anyway, our second day in Mangwa...Mark and Chad took us game spotting, we dipped into the pool,
had some fine food, some beers. In the afternoon we went for a quad tour around the property. The tour
quickly turned into a race, of course. Mark too didn’t mind opening the throttle so in a matter of
seconds there was a huge cloud of dust in the air, quads ripping through, sliding, overtaking, drifting...
As it was supposed to be an easy tour around nobody used helmets, bodyarmor or any other protective
gear, I guess, as I was on a dirt bike, I accidentally used a helmet. My bad.

Legend says Chad is still not talking to his father Mark, as Mark always insists that there is no racing
around on quads. Chad came to the Lodge later, shocked and stated he’s seen skid marks all over the
property. We accused him of drinking too much and insisted he is halucinating, but Mark…..seems like
Mark got caught with his fingers…..on the throttle :)

Pool, wondering around, beers, fine food, beers, the stars, the sounds, the smell, the taste. Africa.

Next day we were off to Dullstroom and some off road riding was do. Coming from the Europe where
the changes in terrain are gradual over here changes are sudden, a long hard packed straight changes
into a rocky descent in a matter of meters, a washout can surprise you anywhere and sand patches are a
regular occurrence. As SA is a huge country roads are flat, straight and boring. A sudden rush of
adrenaline is guaranteed by more than common pot holes that are very common, specially the ones
right at the apex of a blind corner. Trip to Dullstroom was quite eventful, a puncture on the rear tire of
one of the rented Transalps became a series of punctures. Generally a puncture is no big
deal….but….of the 9 idiots traveling only Bodo had tyre levers and a patch. It’s not that we go around
unprepared but this time, of all the times, nobody carried tools. Retards. The wide street tire on the
Transapl didn’t help too. We somehow managed to fix it but it was not a good fix and the tyre kept
deflating regularly. Continuous fixes consumed time and while we were warned not to ride after dark in
SA we did just that. Beers did help manage the situation.
Pics

Suspension setup on the Triumph

https://youtu.be/gQUQ6_-ckcU

A stop at one of Ivan’s friends who was a BMW mechanic and dealer also gave us a chance to fix the
overheating issue an the Tenere 660. Unfortunately I can’t remember the kind man’s name but his
collection of motorcycles will stay in my mind for many years to come. Has a good taste in cars too.

https://youtu.be/q4pBn-59Vdc

Random riding vid

https://youtu.be/5aa86ltCvJo

We checked in at the Dullstroom Inn (https://www.dullstroominn.co.za/) after dark, the Inn is a very
special place, dating from the Boer war in the early 20 th century it remained unchanged. Fine food, cold
beers and a shower...well, a shower is maybe a bit pretentious….a bath is more fitting. Being
unchanged for decades, rooms have a bathtub and a tap with hot and cold water. A shower is non
existent. So...an average male 190 cm tall and weighting 100 kg has a very demanding task of washing
himself in the given conditions (warning; explicit pic coming!)
After a good nights
sleep we were off to Nelspruit, God’s window, a spectacular place to see. Pics.
Lunch time at the Bush Kitchen/Blyde river canyon/Sabie (Fearful river), got the name as in the past it
was full of crocs.
Disclaimer: Dear James, it may seem that I’m spinning the wheel of your fancy KTM to pull a roost for
the photo but no! I was showing Ivan that the bike is in perfect order, likes me and not starting when
Ivan is about to ride it has to do with Ivan’s bad attitude! :)

This is the mode I used on your KTM, Ivan used the….girly mode :)
The night at Sabie was...eventful. Wine, food, wine, wine, singing, deep philosophy, wine, singing,
wine. I do have some pictures and clips….but….that’s not for general population! :)

In the morning….Swaziland!
Spending the night in Swaziland was good, being at higher altitudes the temperature was lower and it
was enjoyable. In the morning we were on our way to Amersfoort, Country Trax Riding Academy.
Owned by another of Ivan’s friends Jan Du Toit, Country Trax is a BMW off road riding academy, a
huge property set up for training, a place where BMW develops its GS models, where BMW Trophy
competitions take place and where people from around the world come to brush up their riding skills.

https://www.countrytrax.co.za/

A truly magnificent place for anyone that likes off road motorcycle riding.
Accommodation is first class, the service and training you get is second to none. This place is waay too
good to be true. Jan doesn’t allow alcohol on his training courses but as we were friends and we were
not there to train he got some beers for us. The barbecue, bike talk, beers, more food, more beers.
Things got really sketchy when we started drinking Mampoer, a liquor made from peach, high-proof.
The night went on and on….enough said.

In the morning (the one after noon) our helmets were way too small to fit our heads in. We got our gear
on, Jan came out, looked at us and started shaking his head. So instead of grabbing the opportunity to
see the property, do some riding and maybe some informal training with Jan we did a quick tour and
had to go. Man, if I was ever sorry for getting shitfaced :(

More random pics of Country Trax:

Off we were to Clarens. To Clarens with a hangover. I have no pics from this part of the journey as I
had bigger problems and taking the cell phone out of the pocket to take pics proved to be a task too
complicated for my state….of everything. On our way we visited Golden gate, the famous vulture
spotting place and a magnificent piece of nature.
Got to Clarens, checked in and went for a walk around town. Clarens is a really nice small town with a
somehow a pleasant vibe around it. We found a restaurant to our liking and we hit jackpot!

Highly reccommended https://www.clementines.co.za/

One of the best steaks we ever had. Also, the place had gin tonic on tap! Game over. Again.
Two days in a row were too much, couldn’t sleep, head buzzing, stomach too….walking around the
hotel until 04:30, catching some sleep after 05AM...on the bike at 08:30. We did make fun of the
Mercedes crew that was testing the new S class, trash talking about how BMW is a better car, offering
tools to fix it etc. Good spirits but the body was tired.
A long on road ride to Patrick’s farm awaited. Some African rain too. But we managed to visit the
Historic motorcycle museum at Deneysville; https://www.facebook.com/Historic-Motorcycle-Museum-
280924478686210/
 EnduroLab :)

The last few days were hard on the body and soul but we managed to get to Patrick’s farm….just a
short strip of sandy road and we were there. Well...some of us. The fatigue kicked in, lost
concentration, let off the throttle and took a spill into the sand. After the vid gets dark you can hear me
whining. My ribs were hurt, my ego too but more than anything I was so embarrassed to crash Bodo’s
Triumph on flat ground 200 meters from the farm’s gate. Clown.

https://youtu.be/5DdoXKAdFKg
Patrick made us feel at home, what a great man, smiling, happy, full of energy. Handling a huge farm,
not an easy work, with such positive attitude. Crazy as all Africaans are, it was a true pleasure to meet
him. We did manage to control alcohol but we spiced up the evening with some 12 gauge rounds if you
know what I mean.

https://youtu.be/4J-10vqBi5M
On the last day we went from Patrick’s farm back to Joburg to spend the last night at Ivan’s farm, get
some rest, pack and have a dinner with Ivan’s friends and relatives. The trip was not very long but
heavy rain made it hard. Again, everything was flooded. Riding through the water, sometimes way
deeper than wheel axles was tiring. A lot of people came for the dinner and the rest of the day was spent
in a family atmosphere and much needed rest. Mark and Janine, James and Pauline, Dirk, Trudy and
Troy...many other Ivan’s relatives.

We kind of had a special moment that evening. We got Dirk to tell us abut his racing career. I won’t
write much but…..Dirk was a South African racing legend, six times SA champion, a full blooded
racer, experienced as they come. Having health issues from youth this skinny man with a oxygen tube
on his face never complained, helped others, cared for his family and if you think you can ride a
motorcycle….he could prove you how wrong you are in all his modesty. A great honor to meet him and
hear his stories. A true Champion.

And that’s it! Back onto the plane, got hove and Covid took over. Nine days spent in the best possible
way! Big thanks to Ivan and Bodo for making it possible, leading us around and keeping the leash
reasonably tight. Also thanks to Anton R., Pere M., Duje D., Vjeko K., Sven E., Goran W. Hat’s off
gentleman, it’s an honor to have friends with the same disorder as I do.

As I said at the beginning, 2020. was not much and 2021. still follows its steps. I wrote this in March
2021., didn’t think I will….but deeply saddened by the passing of Patrick Desouza, Trudy du Plooy and
Dirk du Plooy I kind of wanted to do this writeup to have some kind of a reminder of the great time
spent with you in South Africa.

Dear Patrick, Trudy and Dirk, it was an honor to meet you. Thank you for the time spent with us. May
you rest in peace.
Zagreb, March 2021.

M.