Great African Divide Ride: Day 5: Friday 30th September

Francistown to Khama Rhino Sanctuary, near Serowe

Distance: 62 kms
Altitude gain: 610 metres
Altitude loss: 530 metres
Difficulty: A moderate ride, our first encounter with hills
Temp: 32 Celcius
Max heart rate: 162
Average ride speed: 17.2 kph
We drove from Woodlands Campsite back into Francistown to see how we could get some Pula. Being Independence Day, all the banks were shut, but Patrick found a furniture store run by a young Chinese guy who happily exchanged US$. Patrick has the ability to just keep asking until he gets what he wants.
We needed to get back onto our schedule, so drove to Palapye and then started riding from there to Serowe and onto the Khama Rhino Sanctuary campsite. In 1902 the Ngwato tribe moved to this area. The family that led the Ngwato are the Khama. Seretse Khama became the first president of Botswana. Subsequently, his son Ian became the 4th president, serving until 2018.
We rode the 60kms from Palapye to the Khama Rhino Sanctuary. It wasn’t too hot, and the road was not too busy. It was also good to finally have some relief in the topography. There were a few upward slopes, the longest being the 3kms gentle climb away from the Paje River, but there were also a few downhills. The first time we have been able to freewheel since the Vic Falls-Kaz section. We got the last campsite available at the Rhino Sanctuary, several hundred metres from ablution blocks and other sites. It was a damn fine site – and because we were so isolated, it felt like being miles away from anyone. The site was dominated by a baobab, with bunches of birds visiting us – glossy starlings, fork-tailed drongos, grey hornbills, crested barbets, pied and arrow-marked babblers, Burchell’s sand grouse.
Yes, a short day – but a good day.
Hi all, it’s Jaime again. I’m loving intercepting Ali’s blogs to tell you my stories. So today was a good day! Sometimes, working on the charity side of things can be hard. We have so many people in need and the truth is that our waiting list is longer than our pocket. But, today I received a very happy voice note. Mavis, not her real name, has just received her hip replacement surgery. We are two weeks in and she is just delighted. Her voice note said, “I need to really thank you from the bottom of my heart, I’ve never ever come across such wonderful people you are. I thank you for everyting you are doing for me, you really made me come back to life.” It’s stories like these that keep us riding, and keep us coming back to you asking for a donation.
Alistair is riding The Great African Divide. Please support the Old Legs Tour by buying a brick on Ali’s wall for $20. You can go to the donate page on www.oldlegstour.com or click here to donate directly to Ali’s fundraiser. https://oldlegstour-gdg-j1141n.raisely.com/al-watermeyers…

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