Ride The Rhino
It was with great
anticipation that the six of us set off for the Rhino Rally in
Harrismith.
No children (not
even the adult ones) were allowed to go with us on this very special
trip. We were, after all,
going to the RHINO rally. Like real ‘rough’
bikers, we pushed the envelope to stop for a drink at the Caterpillar and
Catfish, en-route to our accommodation at Little Switzerland. Even wilder, while at Little
Switzerland, we rode around on our bikes without helmets or protective
gear. We were preparing to
blend in at the Rhino.
Saturday morning
and we were off. We arrived
just in time to witness the Mass Ride through the streets of
Harrismith. With mouths wide
open, we were in awe of all the beautiful machines that were part of this
ride. We paid our
entrance fee (maybe a bit steep for just a day-visit), collected our
special Rally badges and then we were ready to experience the Rhino
Rally.
We were pleasantly
surprised by the great family atmosphere that was present at the
rally. At the many stalls you
could shop to your heart’s content, while food and drinks were
plentiful. The general vibe
was more that of a large country fair than a rough biker
get-together. Yes, maybe we
were there at the wrong time and also, we didn’t overnight at the resort
to really get into the whole vibe and inner workings of the rally. Or maybe we just didn’t drink
enough, but we left the resort feeling a little bit let down by all the
hoo-hah that surrounds the Rhino Rally.
The Rhino is now,
most definitely, a family weekend as the organizers want it to be, and
maybe in this way the bad reputation of rallies will be
changed.
As far as we are
concerned – been there, done that and got the badge. What I will say is that biking is
HUGE in
