The Motorcycle

The BMW R 1150 GS - an incredible motorcycle - and the one 'borrowed' by Thobela for his epic journey.

Worcester

ABOVE: "He mastered the R 1150 GS just before the Hex River valley. He knew it when he came out of a bend and opened the throttle and there was pleasure in the power."

The last town before ther Hex River Valley is Worcester, with the beautiful mountains north of the village pictured here.

The Beaufort West Plain

ABOVE: The great plain below the mountain is part of the Great Karoo - and where Thobela had to speed away from the helicopter to reach the safety of the rain clouds.

Karoo Road

ABOVE: This is the gravel road Thobela had to follow after the 'Sneeukraal' turn-off, to get away from his followers. 'Karoo" means 'place of great thirst" in the Khoi langauge, and it is a semi-arid region. However ...

It rains in the Karoo

Taken at Bokpoort, just a few kilometres from where Thobela holed up in a run-down homestead - and met Koos Kok - this shows that it does rain in the Karoo, often violently.

Slippery when wet

The photograph shows the Sakriver Poort, a river crossing in the Upper Karoo, not far from where Thobela had to hide during the rainstorm. Although the Karoo is a semi-desert, in summer, huge thunderstorms can make the roads almost impassable, even for 4x4 vehicles.

The First Leg

ABOVE: From Cape Town to the 'Mighty Modder': This is the route Tobela took on the motorcycle before hi-jacking the helicopter to the Botswana border.