I've done a few blog posts on some amazing adventures available to
fellow South Africans right in our own backyards, and this weekends Quad
Biking Trail ranks high up on that list.
Unlike most adventure weekends which require some extensive planning and possibly expensive gear, this weekends adventure was organized in a week and required no more than the love of the outdoors and two platters of chicken tikka. The joys of travelling with Indians :)
The day started off with a brief but important safety talk considering that we were about to mount these massive quad bikes and only a lucky few in our group had ever had the experience of having that much power between our legs. I don't recall all of the safety talk except the bit about "It's not how you stand by your bike, it's how you ride your bike" and the other bit about "When in doubt, accelerate!"
Next it was on to a grazing pasture to familiarize ourselves with the bikes and terrain, and also to get used to the taste of Kudu poop getting flung at you from the bike in front. nomnomnom.....
The best way to experience quad biking in the wild is to ride with your tongue sticking out. That way you get to feel, smell and taste the experience.
The entire ride lasts anywhere between an hour and 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on how many pain-killers you take and what their dosage is. Since there are set trails to follow, it's almost impossible to get lost. I use that term almost very loosely since two of our intrepid adventurers managed to do exactly that. In Faaiq's defence though, he simply went to look for Shenaaz who had strayed from the path of those whom Thou has favoured and found herself on the path of those who go astray.
Think Adam, Eve and Apple and you'll know what I mean.
I would have been happy to see two or three animals, so you can imagine my surprise when we got to get up close to Zebra, Giraffe, Kudu, Wildebeest and some other spotted beast that looked like a leopard. Maybe a cheetah. I couldn't tell because at the time I was going at full throttle on a steep downhill while chewing a mouthful of Kudu poop.
Unlike most adventure weekends which require some extensive planning and possibly expensive gear, this weekends adventure was organized in a week and required no more than the love of the outdoors and two platters of chicken tikka. The joys of travelling with Indians :)
The day started off with a brief but important safety talk considering that we were about to mount these massive quad bikes and only a lucky few in our group had ever had the experience of having that much power between our legs. I don't recall all of the safety talk except the bit about "It's not how you stand by your bike, it's how you ride your bike" and the other bit about "When in doubt, accelerate!"
Next it was on to a grazing pasture to familiarize ourselves with the bikes and terrain, and also to get used to the taste of Kudu poop getting flung at you from the bike in front. nomnomnom.....
The best way to experience quad biking in the wild is to ride with your tongue sticking out. That way you get to feel, smell and taste the experience.
The entire ride lasts anywhere between an hour and 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on how many pain-killers you take and what their dosage is. Since there are set trails to follow, it's almost impossible to get lost. I use that term almost very loosely since two of our intrepid adventurers managed to do exactly that. In Faaiq's defence though, he simply went to look for Shenaaz who had strayed from the path of those whom Thou has favoured and found herself on the path of those who go astray.
Think Adam, Eve and Apple and you'll know what I mean.
I would have been happy to see two or three animals, so you can imagine my surprise when we got to get up close to Zebra, Giraffe, Kudu, Wildebeest and some other spotted beast that looked like a leopard. Maybe a cheetah. I couldn't tell because at the time I was going at full throttle on a steep downhill while chewing a mouthful of Kudu poop.
We're always wondering where to go and what to do come the weekend, but with a little bit of effort we suddenly realize how truly blessed we really are to be living in this awesome and amazing country. How many other places in the world afford you the opportunity to drive for less than an hour north to get to nature and the sunny outdoors at it's very best, or 5 hours south and find yourself on a pristine Indian Ocean beach, or maybe even a ski trip in authentic snow in the Drakensberg in less time than it would take to walk through a Dubai shopping mall?
Get yourself a fun group of like-minded people (this lots already taken :) ).
Pack your kit-bag.
Get your butt out there!
You know you had a good time when you get back home and your family don't recognise you because you're two shades darker and one day away from looking like a homeless drunk.
We were like 10 Indians rewriting 50 Shades Of Brown.
Come the end of the day, nothing says 'SANHA Approved Sundowner' quite like Hot Chocolate on a mountain overlooking the Haartebeespoort Dam.
For white folk, that translates to "A moerste lekker weekend without any dop!"
Notice the absence of a cup in my hand. That's because the Hot Chocolate place were out of Hot Chocolate. That's their story and they were sticking by it.
Life's too short to spend it making Bucket Lists. Go out there and start enjoying yourself instead. You can either talk about the adventure, or live it.
What are you waiting for?
GO GO GO!!!
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