GIVI Magazine - Novembre 2015

18  Givi Adventure 2,000 kilometres in the heart of the Waterberg mountains THE AFRICA YOU DO NOT EXPECT! DURING THE SECOND 2015 MOTORBIKE RAID SIGNED ‘GIVI’ THE PARTICIPANTS EXPLORED THE NORTH-EAST AREA OF JOHANNESBURG, TOWARDS THE KRUGER NATIONAL PARK. SAVANNAH SCORCHED BY THE SUN? HUNTING RESERVES FOR RICH WESTERN TOURISTS? ALL JUST CLICHÉS, GIVEN THE GREAT VARIETY OF LANDSCAPES ENCOUNTERED AND THE FEELING OF ADVENTURE THAT NEVER LEFT THE RIDERS. 28 PARTICIPANTS, 22 MOTORBIKES, ALL RIGOROUSLY YAMAHA, MANY GIVI ACCESSORIES TO TEST AND HEVIC TECHNICAL APPAREL. D uring our trip we encountered green hills and crossed ancient woodlan- ds, we even ‘climbed’ impressive mountains: on more than one occasion it felt like we were in the heart of Germany, not in the Dark Continent! This is the Africa you don’t expect to find. Focal point were the Waterberg Mountains, a vast area where you can find the ‘Waterberg Biosphere’, a fantastic protected natural reserve in the northern part of South Africa, with breath-taking views, very rich flora and fauna and roads of all kinds: from the infinite straight roads in the drier areas you pass to fantastic stretches of curves and hairpin bends that seem never-ending. The asphalt is almost always perfect and allows surprising lean angles even when, as in our case, the bike is equipped with tyres for mixed road/ off-road use. And when we go off-road, there is something for all tastes. From the red and compact soil of the hills you get to the mountain’s firebreak strips, full of stones, even if the most difficult challenge to face is the sand in the savan- nah. It appears suddenly and almost always catches you unprepared: the dirt track you’re on starts giving away, until the front wheel loses driveability and the front fork starts sinking. When the sand reaches a depth of 10/15 centimetres only two alternatives remain: to stop and go back, or trust who’s got more ex- perience and accept the challenge. With sand it’s a bit like learning to ski and to control the skis you have to move all your weight forward, towards the slope. An action that is not natu- ral and clashes against the most elementary instinct of survival. On very soft ground on a motorcycle you have to do roughly the same thing, i.e. overcome this instinct which tells you, actually shouts at you, to slow down. The right thing to do instead, is to open the throt- tle: in this way the front fork becomes lighter and stops sinking, while the bike increases its driveability. Keeping your weight balanced in the centre of the saddle, a light pressure on the foot-rests allows you to change direction perfectly safely. It’s not something that comes naturally but after a few kilometres you gain confidence and from that moment on the light bouncing of the front wheel becomes familiar and does not frighten anymore. To give you an idea, the feeling is very similar to when you’re gliding on water. In these situations the GIVI accessories we mounted on the Yamahas given to us by the South African organisation undergo a lot of stress: perfect conditions to test the mounting systems and the other components. GIVI SOUTHAFRICA TOUR: THE STORY The South African GIVI EXPLORER saw the par- ticipation of dealers and branch managers linked to the brand, coming from 4 continents, and some journalists that documented the event for their respective magazines. The Adventure Company (familyadventures@ mweb.co.za) was in charge of the logistics. DAY 1) Arrival at OR TAMBO airport in Johannes- burg and transfer to Indaba Hotel where the group prepared for the trip making sure the personal equipment provided by GIVI fitted perfectly (ja- ckets, helmets, underwear, gloves, etc.) A few hours of rest, dinner and briefing with the organisers, who explained in detail the itineraries and the points of interest along the tour, closed the first day. DAY 2) Transfer at dawn to the headquarters of Li- nex Yamaha to collect the bikes, perfectly equipped with our accessories and tuned-up ready to leave on the same day for the Waterberg Mountains. The day reveals itself to be very long, arriving at our overnight stay destination, the famous Couch House, a historic grand hotel buried in the mountains, well after sundown. All this after a journey of only 300 km. It all starts along a dirt track. At the beginning everybody is gripping tightly on the handlebars… then the ‘sand monster bites’ and people start fal- ling… continuously. Some participants choose to go back to the asphalt. This proves to be a reasonable choice. But it takes us more than two hours to get out of this desert track of about 40 km. the morale though is kept high by the glorious savannah and the many animals we spot: giraffes, warthogs, gnus, monkeys and a lot of small antelopes. The silence, when the bikes are turned off, is absolute… something never experienced before. After reuniting on the main road, we stop at the Legend Golf resort (with 32°C and a blazing sun), followed by a quick panoramic tour to the city of Mokopane to have lunch in one of the many famous South-African Steakhouses. Back in the saddle, the group carries on, going through very arid areas, but with a perfect asphalt ribbon, up to the picturesque African town of Total Nobody home of the tallest church of the country. From here on we begin our ascent, along a route that marks a new change in scenery. Everything is green with huge plantations and mountains with breath-taking passes. Due to the scarcity of water, the hotel has changed but the GPS can’t find it. After going round in circles on the dirt track in the forest we decide to ask some locals. Back on the main road we pass through the city of Tzaneen and then again we head towards the mountains, on beautiful roads, but always with our eyes peeled (due to the many holes in the road). When we see the lights of the hotel it’s 7pm. What a journey. DAY 3) Baobabs, boats and baboons… The day begins early: the distance to cover is challenging. The route heading towards fantastic mountain passes. The weather is hot and sunny and the scenery breath-taking. After filling the bikes at the Sasol garage (Sasol is the first local producer of petrol in South Africa) we leave for the Blyde River Canyon, where we will stop for lunch. The journey is full of contrasts and goes throu- gh the poorest rural areas, followed by green farmland and natural reserves as far as the eye can see. The farms are surrounded by huge elec- tric fences to keep animals out. Another two hours and we reach the beautiful Drakensberg (dragon teeth) mountains. Swadini is a natural reserve in the Blyde canyon (where the Blyde river flows), the third biggest in the world, after the Grand Canyon in the US and the Fish River, also in South Africa. Here we abandon the bikes in favour of a boat ride, to observe hippos and listen to local stories. In the afternoon the altitude increases, between mountains and forests a far as the eye can see. We will get our deserved rest at the Protea Kruger Park Hotel, located in the park with the same name, but not until after a traditional South- African braai (barbecue) under the stars, while listening to the sounds of a local marimba band…