By Sean Badenhorst
It’s taken five years for me to make it to Botswana to experience Cycle Mashatu, the only mountain bike safari in Africa. And boy, was it worth the wait. Greg Bond, creator of Cycle Mashatu, invited me every year since 2004 and every year I just couldn’t make it.
I decided this year would be different. My wife, Joanne and I needed a break from our daily grind, having spent 18 months working flat-out with no more than a weekend’s break every once in a while. We were ready for a recharge. No, actually we were in need of one…
We headed for the Botswana border last Tuesday morning, expecting something different and we weren’t disappointed. We experienced our personal holy trinity – mountain biking, new trails and big-game bush.
There isn’t a better way to view game and experience wild Africa. By riding our mountain bikes on this special safari, we reignited our city-dulled senses. We heard the sounds of birds and insects and animals, smelled the wild plant life, felt the warm sun and cool breeze on our skin, tasted our own sweat and touched the sand, rocks, trees and grass that was our home for a few days.
We experienced the most amazing hospitality from Joe, Sparks, Mosa and Goms, who took care of our every need and patiently answered our every question about birds, climate, geography, animals, insects and more. Joe and Goms rode with 458 rifles to keep any charging elephants at bay. That’s a few kilograms of unevenly distributed weight on their backs and they handled their bikes like masters, no matter what the trail terrain had in store for us.
We shared our incredible journey with another South African couple, Natie and Elsa Potgieter, from Thabazimbi. They’re new to mountain biking, but not to the bush and have a rich treasury of personal bush experiences that made us realise how much we’re missing out on, spending most of our time in urban confines.
We washed under a tree-mounted bucket shower. We sat around a fire for warmth and protection. We slept (deeply) under the stars – well actually, below the canopy of Mashatu trees through which we could see the stars. We used a long-drop toilet on the banks of a dry river. We experienced complete silence in the middle of the day. We breathed the cleanest air we’ve ever breathed. We got as close as 50 metres from a herd of elephants. We saw the most amazing variety of wild animals. We did all this with our mountain bikes; with each other. For four days and three nights, we really lived.
Look out for a more indepth feature of our Cycle Mashatu trip in an upcoming issue of TREAD magazine.
To find out how you can sample this unique experience, visit www.cyclemashatu.co.za
Camp 1 - Tents are only slept in, during winter. This was home for two nights.
We rode along with the elephants for quite some time.
This herd of Eli were a few metres from our camp!
Joe and Jo on some of the rare jeep track.
TREAD Sundowners in Botswana.
Camp 2 - The Boma. Sleeping under the stars is what it's all about. Home for one night.
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