28-Jun-2007 -- The Confluence is about 250 km from our place, so we set out at 6:30 a.m., my wife and I, my son and his girlfriend. We had a driver with us and two trail bikes on a trailer. The car drive was uneventful with the exception of the fact that the left side trailer springs broke in half and we had to make a rudimentary repair on the roadside. At 9 a.m. we ran out of good road, offloaded the bikes, and sent the vehicle back to wait for us at Chakari. We had planned to make a bit of a trip out of it to show my son's girlfriend a bit of the countryside, since it was her first time in Africa.

First to the Confluence, a small road on the map appeared to go within a km or so of the site. However, this road was abandoned and would make a challenging 4X4 outing, especially since it climbs up a very steep rise in the terrain. It was like foot-up trials and since we were two up it was slow, as the girls had to walk. We got there with no problem, the Confluence was on the edge of a field near the edge of the plateau.

After doing our thing we followed the same road to the Gokwe road, turned north toward Kuwirirana, then left to Nembudzia. There was a section of tar here and this place was a thriving rural business centre with a cotton gin and several cotton depots. We stopped for a chat and a Fanta and then headed out for Copper Queen (56 km), then 30 km towards Chinhoyi (very remote and scenic). We turned right toward Hombwe and St. Ruperts Mission, finally crossing the Mupfure at a wading point, proceeding on a donkey track towards Chakari. We had eaten our snacks enroute and time had got away from us. We rode the last 30 km in the dark nursing a slow puncture (thorns). It was with tired bodies and tender backsides that we completed the 260-km ride to see the pick-up vehicle waiting at the end of the tarmac.