6-7 January 2024, Badplaas, 70.83km
Mumo Resort R653

Our day in numbers...
4 punctures
71km of which perhaps 45km uphill
1300 metres elevation gain
54.9 / 46 kph maximum speed (Charl / Gail)
12 hours door-to-door
2 exhausted bodies
1 very tough ride
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We had been told, and had confirmed via Google Maps, that we faced a mammoth climb between Barberton and Badplaas, and that even beyond the summit, the road climbed as often as not.
A man at Barberton's Echo garage, where we bought sustenance for the road and pumped our tyres, said: "Liewerste julle as ek!" (Rather you than me!)
At the turnoff toward Carolina (and Badplaas), are several fruit stalls. One fruit seller did an enthusiastic dance for us, in solidarity it seemed.
A hearse driver, seen on Robbers Pass en route Pilgrim's Rest, passed us again today, with a wave out his open window.
Two women pulled their white double-cab onto the verge ahead of us so they could ask us about our doings. They had seen us shortly after 0630 in Barberton and were amazed to run into us again 6km outside Badplaas. The tightly woven braids on the driver were very beautiful, but gave me a headache just looking at them.
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We had pre-booked a cheap room at Mumo Resort. When we arrived, dragging ourselves up the driveway, we were met by Lynette, the owner's mum, and Busi. Lynette told us that when she heard we were cycling from Barberton, she told her son she was going to upgrade us to an en suite. How nice is that? In addition, when we asked about dinner and a beer, she arranged for Busi to deliver a chicken wings dinner to our room, and gifted Charl with her son's last Castle. Wonderful to be so spoilt at the end of a long, hard day.
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As I send this, Charl is sitting on his bed patching four holey tubes. Shame.

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The Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains' 3.5 billion-year-old rocks are amongst the most ancient in the world, and the sequence of volcanic and sedimentary rocks found here comprise earth's oldest and best-preserved. These rocks provide clues about the early earth, the formation of continents, and the conditions under which life first arose.
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Apparently the 38km GeoTrail is worth drive-stopping. Something we missed on the bikes...

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Tyres & Punctures
We are undoubtedly getting more punctures than usual, due in large part to our tyres being extremely worn.
Good quality tyres are pricey and those we put on the bikes before departing for Morocco last March should in theory have given us around 8,000km of relatively puncture-free riding. They lasted only 5,000km in good condition. Our odometer now reads over 6,000km.
We thought to continue using them as is for the SA trip, replacing them before going overseas again. However, we are going to need to rethink this strategy.
The main culprit when it comes to punctures is a tiny sliver of wire torn free from truck tyres. These 5mm long splinters are sharp enough to pierce rubber tyres and then our tubes. They are also difficult to find and remove, which means on occasion that you might get more than one puncture from the "brigand". Second in line are thorns.
We tend to pump our tyres pretty hard for increased speed when riding flat roads. Given that we use a hybrid tyre suitable for tar roads but also with decent grip should we find ourselves riding dirt, we have not found slipping to be an issue.
We used tyre liners the year we did Rajasthan and found they made our riding so sluggish, we removed them after just a couple of days and have never tried them again. Perhaps there are new improved options.
There is quite a debate amongst long-distance cycle tourers about whether to go tube-free or not with no real clarity on the issue. What we have taken away from the debate is that the tube-free option still requires you to carry tubes and repair kits should anything go wrong on the road.

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The only reason I woke up at 0745 today, after almost 10 hours' sleep, was to answer a bladder call. After briefly consulting Charl, I phoned our host to ask if we could spend a second night. When she said yes, I went back to bed! The most strenuous thing we did all day was to walk 700m to a supermarket, and back. We napped in the afternoon, read and ordered in a room service dinner, resting our tired bodies.