Trip to Vic Fall

[johan700x]

We are planning a quick trip to Vic falls at the end of the month. The plan is to go via Zanzibar border post and then on to Selebe Pikwe etc. The reason for selecting the Zanzibar border post is because it is quiet and there are lots of roadworks on the popular road that runs via Martins Drift. I wonder if anybody might know what the condition of this road is and if it is NC700 friendly. I know that there is about 40 km of dirt road on the SA side of the border but I have no clue what to expect on the Botswana side. Anybody who has been that way recently?

[johan700x]

Well, while nobody seem to have any info on the Zanzibar border crossing we decided to exit there anyway. We leave today and should be at Vic Falls by Saturday if all goes well. On our way there we sleep at Elephant Sands and on our way back in Francis town. Should be back on Monday afternoon. Nice little breakfast run this weekend! Will report back on how it went.

[royw]

Enjoy

[ryc]

Awesome :thumbup:
Please let us know and ENJOY!

[goingslowly]

Aug 11, 2015 9:17:14 GMT 2 johan700x said:

the condition of this road is and if it is NC700 friendly

Any road is NC700 friendly

Have fun, enjoy

[johan700x]

Ja well, done and dusted. Trip was GREAT. Four days of NC700 heaven. We did not exit via Zanzibar but rather Martin's Drift on advice by our hostess at Bosveld Skerm B&B. The road after Border is under construction for about 10 km but rest was great. I deflated to 1.2 and 1.7 for gravel and that worked great even for next 100 km before re-inflating. Temperatures varied between 9 and 38! I used Trax panniers and 45 liter Top case which I found to be adequate. Tent was on the back seat. Fuel consumption took a knock (because of the panniers I assume) and averaged out at about 25 km/l. On one section of 300 km I only had .5l left in the tank. Power was more than adequate to cruise at legal speeds (which is advisable in Botswana because of all the domesticated and wild animals and humans on the roads). I never got tired or sore because the seating position is just so good.

The Falls was magic as usual but the town is very expensive with $4 (US) for a beer and $18 for a T-Bone. That reminded me of the weakness of our Rand.

The route taken was: Potties, Martin's Drift, Palapye, Nata (stayed at Nata Lodge), Kasane, Vic Falls, and back the same way (which was unfortunate since I wanted to return via Bulawayo).
Total km was 2500 and I used about 100l of fuel. Time spent in saddle was 27 hours. Fuel price in Botswana is about R10/l. We mostly eat at restaurants but preferred camping to chalets. Total cost for me came to about R3500 including cross border charges. For my companions it was probably more like R6000 for the two.

Would I recommend this or similar trip to someone else on a NC700? Absolutely. Just not in summer because of heat, rain and malaria. Instead of panniers maybe rather use a pack that can fit behind your back (if you ride without a pillion) for reduced wind resistance.

[royw]

Nice. Glad you guys had a great trip. Will have to put that one on our bucket list too
Nice tip about the reduction of tyre pressures for the gravel. Makes sense


By the way, what were your companions riding that it cost them so much more, or did it cost that for the two of them?

[johan700x]

Yes it was for the 2 of them. They were on a 1200GS. Their mileage was about 19km/l. And I made a mistake - it should be around R4500 - R5000. The saving is on the shared fuel and cross-border charges. The rest is the same, both have to eat and both have to sleep.

[ryc]

If you can gooi some pics

[revert]

We'll be going to Vic Falls from Cape Town in January 2016. On our return we'll go to the Eastern Transvaal. Can you (or anyone else) recommend good camping sites in and around Pilgrim's Rest, Graskop, Sabie or White River?

[royw]

revert

We went down to that area last year and we stayed at Sabie River Camp. [e-mail] They were reasonably priced, and some of us stayed in their permanent Tents.



They were also biker friendly. (Watch out for some places - they don't allow bikes on their property for some strange reason!





Also, the road from Sabie to Hazyview is one of the most fun roads to ride. Can't remember the exact numbers, but loads and loads of fun twisties. Just watch out for potholes as you get to Hazyview.

[revert]

Hi ROYW
Thanks for the info. What do you recommend I get in the line of luggage? I noted your concerns about the panniers. (I will be riding without a pillion). Are soft panniers advisable?

[EcoRider]

I also find your comments regarding panniers very interesting. At what speed did you ride most of the time ? Maybe the extra weight, as well as speed also played a role ?

My Givi V35 panniers have not been installed yet. I bought it 2nd hand, with mounting brackets for a Yamaha FJ 1200...still need to modify the brackets for the NC..

[johan700x]

We kept to the legal limits so below 120, mostly about 115. The problem with the Trax is that they do not hug the bike at all. Anything that is narrower should work better to the degree that they avoid wind resistance. Soft panniers can work if they are installed close to the bike. The best (I guess) would be something that sits behind you. That way it does not add to the wind resistance issue. Just make sure you can still get on and off. Weight is not so much of a factor since it is mostly flat terrain. Though I complained about the mileage I still averaged about 25km/l which is good in most peoples books, but it can be better. Thing is that I am a efficiency freak. Something else to mention is the fact that we stayed in campsites that often were very sandy so we manufactured extra large plates for the side stands to prevent the bikes from falling over and that worked very well - about 75x100mm does the job.

When you install the Givis make sure you install them as close to the bike as possible. I don't know the model but the ones I saw was not as square as the Traxes and should be slightly better in the wind.

Companions took (most of) the pics and we exchange them tonight. Will post tomorrow. Been slightly busy with a long weekend down to Drakensberg this past weekend...

[EcoRider]

Thanks for the feedback. The bottom half's of the V35's are quite wide, but it will be possible to get installed very close to the bike. I will keep your comments in mind when the panniers get installed within two or three weeks.