2 January 2024, Mbombela (Nelspruit), 63km
Nelsguest R405

We began our day with loadshedding in Sabie and are ending it with loadshedding in Mbombela (formerly Nelspruit) - something we have grown unaccustomed to in our nine months abroad. 66km lie between the two.
We decided to go local-is-lekker this morning by breakfasting at the African cafe pictured above, the vetkoek (fatcakes) being particularly appealing before a long ride. Sadly, the two women managing the shop have no backup option during electricity outages and their vetkoek dough sat disconsolate in a baking tray waiting on Eskom for a hot oven. So we settled for a Wimpy breakfast.
We also pumped our tyres and shopped for padkos at Shoprite Checkers before tackling the 9km climb out of Sabie. (There's always a price to pay for a delicious downhill run into town at the end of a ride.) As we walked the last three or four kms of the 9, I began to wonder why, on what was essentially turning into a hike, I had chosen to bring along a 34kg bike!
Before we crested, a woman travelling in the opposite direction, pulled off the road to offer us a ride in her bakkie, willing to do a U-turn to drive us to the summit. Tempting, but "no thanks".
Although we dropped out of the highveld into the lowveld, we still had numerous, though decidedly less challenging, inclines to conquer before we could call it a day. We walked one or two of these, not because the gradient was unmanageable, but because sometimes you need to change the shape of your body or disembed the saddle!
The weather was kind to us, deep cloud cover most of the distance holding the heat captive, and the forecast rain deciding to fall elsewhere, or not at all. And the road was almost perfect, pothole-free, traffic-light and sporting a decent safety shoulder.
We are the only guests in a large house still being renovated for overnighters. Looking forward to a good night's sleep in our enormous bed.