It has taken a while to get the final blog up because when you take leave
you don't get off work, you just get an opportunity to do the work before and
after you are away.
The lodge at Senuko is in an absolutely beautiful setting. The dining and
reception area was burnt down in a veld fire a few years ago and it will take
guts for the owner to rebuild it while there is a chance of part or all of it
being taken away from him by indigenisation . It's amazing how a government can
stifle growth and long term potential with short term greed.
On a "rest" day there we made a few calls into local schools which had
participated in the Pedal4Paws initiative. We drove on roads or tracks that
would have been magic riding. The commitment from the schools was amazing with
the area superintendent even riding quite a way on his bicycle to meet with us.
Our second school had lost it's roof last summer and there is little chance of
it being repaired by the authorities. The neighboring farms are not in a
position to help as they themselves are being squeezed by the government who has
withheld hunting permits thereby cutting off their income. They have to rely on
photographic safaris to keep their businesses ticking over and aren't left with
much spare to take on big projects.
Back to riding, there had been a bit of discussion about whether we could
ride the whole way on the final day as it was not only long but also had the
risk of seriously overloaded cane trucks. The distance was originally 70km, then
100kms and when we saw the map it was more like 135kms. As we had come to ride,
there was no choice, we just had to do it. Mark had spent the rest day carbo
loading and our bikes were washed and ready to roar. On our way in we had
escorts to take care of the dangers of the wild animals, but I noticed on our
way out we relied on Andie and Beth. I originally thought it was because of
Marks jokes the previous night but maybe they also realized how good our escorts
were. There was lots of evidence of lion, hyena leopard and elephant on the
28kms out of the reserve but all we actually saw was a few ellies. It was our
last chance for a lion encounter and I really was disappointed. I had thought of
many scenarios and in each one I survived, so why not test them? Or at least
one? To tell the real truth. ... I was really glad I didn't have to test my
bravery. I found out that if a lion attacked me, Beth would attack it with the
Landy. I didn't ever ask where I fitted in.
The tar road section was really interesting as there were no verges and
huge drop offs next the road. The cane trucks were no exaggeration with cane
hanging a few metres on either side of the trucks. If a car was coming the other
way the only place for us was down the bank. That was the coolest part of that
section. As we were all different strengths, Mark wisely didn't need to be
taught to slipstream to conserve energy. Jeremy has never been a roadie and was
a bit cautious about sucking Marks wheel. On the second day he was on my wheel
when I stopped in the sand and he took a dive. Going into a strong wind we kept
dropping back to pull Jeremy and somehow he ended up with a new name as we
became delirious. The last 40 odd kms was one of the best sections of the ride
as we hit a rocky twisting road. Young Nicky joined us on this section but I
couldn't help but notice her gears were jumping. Not knowing better, she just
persevered. When I couldn't set the gears I noticed she had a twisted chain and
it needed more than a Leatherman. We ended up swapping bikes and I was reminded
what it was like riding a 26" bike with hardly any shocks and jumping gears.
Good memories actually. I have been spoilt with my carbon Tallboy and will always
think of Nicky's bike when I am not happy with mine. Nicky seemed to really
enjoy my bike and enjoyed riding away from me in the rough stuff.
Reaching Chilo Gorge Lodge was a magic moment. After 8 hours we were
exhausted. Chilo had been our target for the past two weeks and it was no let
down. The lodge is designed to make the most of it's incredible setting
overlooking the Save river and onto the Gonerazhou park. For weeks we had been
told that it is probably the most beautiful serene place in Zimbabwe and that is
not an exaggeration.
Beth and I decided to stay another night at the lodge as it was our 30th
wedding anniversary. Everyone headed off in their own directions and it was an
anti-climax. We had done so much together and now we were exhausted, we didn't
even have a thrash.
We came across the most amazing places and people and will have to go back
to really appreciate them. We were moved by the needs of the conservation
efforts and the plight of the rural schools. Beth and I have made a commitment
to continue to raise awareness and where possible collect funds to support the
cause. We just hope everybody else considers support of the Painted Dog
Organization ( www.painteddog.org ), the African Wildlife Conservation Fund
(www.africanwildlifeconservationfund.org ) and Pedal4Paws ( www.pedal4paws.com
).
There has been suggestions that a cycle event will be organised in Save
Valley Conservancy. Look out for it and if it happens, it's worth the effort
going there
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