Brushcutter Brilliance

A miracle of modern times, the lowly brushcutter ought to be strapped to every mountainbiker should they encounter dense brush too tricky to navigate through. Luckily the folk at Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary have such devices and even better, people who know how to wield them.


Single track cutting is most definitely underway in preparation for the Imvelo Mountain Bike Classic, 7 June, 2008. With the admin issues taken care of (Nedbank have ok'd the use of the proceeds from preceeding events for charity) the focus is undeniably on the creation of a brilliant race - a route that has top SA and Swazi MTB'ers excited.


Ngulube was out for some geocaching (two great caches at Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary) and luckily had a bike in tow (Specialized Epic comp).

The park was on great form with a variety of animals making arrangements for the approaching winter, so it was good to see the kudus roaming, including one large guy with 3 turns in his horns. Also present were the funny Wildebeest along with the ubiquitous impala. A strange site was 3 warthogs huddled close to the main camp fire.

As far as riding is concerned, the Donga section looks like it could be a single track bike park, it's a mini grand canyon (the result of water blasting ages ago for tin mining) - so while the trail cuts through parts of this donga section, I had immense fun tracking the game trails over mounds, natural berms etc.

Further into the park, one can join the steep gravel road to the the sundowner spot which in wet weather is entirely impassable in any type of vehicle...regardless, it is a 30 min hard climb and a 10 min descent - it is a most worthwhile excursion.

I also managed to spy some of the track going through the Usuthu forest...there are some massive mountains to contend with and then there is the scorpion...will need to ride that and revert...

Trail Running paradise

Swaziland was designed for trail running, it has some serious mountains, remote areas and plenty of tracks and trails. And if you search just a little bit - you'll find places like Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary where you can run to your heart's content.

Ngulube went on a burn around what is part of the Imvelo MTB route which took in the Rock of Execution, nyonyane and a few other peaks. All told, the climbing alone was in excess of 700m. On foot that's a fair bit, but the real pain is no free wheeling down. However, Ngulube is in training for the Swazi xtreme http://www.swazixtreme.co.sz/, for the sport event this year - should be a hoot, but tough.

Looking forward to the Imvelo MTB race! Apparantly all the accommodation is just about sold out - great for tourism.