mostly rocks, but sometimes a bit of space to appreciate the views
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...psoxqkxbje.jpg
then back to this
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps0dbgrqvy.jpg

and this is black mamba territory ... this is not one ... this one is feeding a remote patch of organic mountain cabbage
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...psi7n67ueq.jpg

the climb does not end nicely, it goes all bouldery
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...psqmftcfrs.jpg
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps78noci3v.jpg
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...psjskgfaql.jpg

with a rewarding view at the top
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...psosssujem.jpg

by now we had been riding for about 4 hours, covered about 30km and my 3l of electrolytes were done! All we had to do now was get down the mountain and into the "river bed"!!

my experience of riverbeds in this part of the country is not what we eventually found. My expectation was a snaking wide sandy riverbed where you give your main jet a good testing. in this instance it was narrow and rocky with sandy sections inbetween, but not long enough to get enough speed to ride on top of the sand, so the next 2 hours were slow and taxing (and hot at about 28deg C)
would have been nice if i was feeling fresh, but after running out of fluids my energy levels dropped surprisingly fast!
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...psdyr2fvvr.jpg

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...psnzejzaz4.jpg

so much so that i had to strip off and take a few minutes to recoup
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...psqla797iv.jpg

fortunately at the end of this there was a shop selling ice cold coke - i guarantee these are the best in the world!!

we then decided to hit the tar back to the car, a wise choice as i freewheeled the last 200m on fumes (70km on a tank!)

the red loop is the ride
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...psik5lttah.jpg

ok so it seems i cannot change the thread title!

wow
 

great pics!